PSALM 104 - THE GREAT PSALM OF NATURE
Posted: 02.07.21 in Articles category
Psalm 104 has been described as "the Great Psalm especially devoted to Nature" by the Christian writer C.S. Lewis. It's a psalm that celebrates the goodness of creation and worships its Maker. Pantheism therefore has no place in the psalmist's understanding. Yet the Jewish doctrine of creation still leaves "Nature full of manifestations which show the presence of God". In the opening verses of Psalm 104 light is seen as God's garment (verse 2), clouds as His chariot (verse 3) and the winds as His messengers (verse 4). Lewis goes on to highlight a paradox: "By emptying Nature of divinity... you may fill her with Deity, for she is now the bearer of messages. One of those messages is to see Nature as an achievement and another cause for worshipping God."
The psalm is loosely modelled on the creation narrative in Genesis 1, taking each 'day' of creation as a starting point for praise. The opening four verses focus on God's regal relationship to the universe in which the heavens are his tent. From verse 5 the focus moves to the earth; the sea, mountains and fresh water - which animals drink and birds nest by and sing in the trees. Verses 14 onwards describe how plants grow for animals to eat and people to cultivate, trees are well watered and grow tall enough to shelter nesting birds including large species like the stork. Then in verse 19 the psalmist considers the moon and the sun in setting the daily pattern of existence with animals prowling by night and people working by day before summarising his message in verse 24 - the key point of the psalm: How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. He goes on to describe the sea and the myriad creatures that live in it including the sea monster whose very existence glorifies its creator. The psalmist then observes in verses 27-30 that all creatures look for sustenance to God in whom we live and have our being, before he prays in verse 31 that God will rejoice in the wonders of all that he has made. He concludes by praising God, echoing his words at the start of the psalm, but he also notes the problem of evil and the battle to overcome it. What a wonderful psalm that begins and ends with praise. Little wonder it inspired the marvellous 17C hymn, 'O worship the King'.
1. Praise the LORD, my soul. LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendour and majesty.
2 The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent
3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.
10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains.
11 They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth:
15 wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.
16 The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to their work, to their labour until evening.
24 How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small.
26 There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
27 All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works—
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.
35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD.