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Psalm 104

Psalm 104 praises God’s wisdom in making the world and his continuing rule over every creature’s food, breath, and habitat.

The psalmist calls his own soul to bless YHWH, then surveys the world under God’s care. No author is named in the supplied text. God sets boundaries for the waters and sends springs through valleys; animals find homes and food, while people work until evening. Every creature depends on God for breath. The song closes with a pledge of lifelong praise and a plea that the wicked disappear from the earth God has made.

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1Bless the LORD, my soul. The LORD, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty.
2He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.
3He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.
4He makes his messengers winds, and his servants flames of fire.
5He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.
6You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood above the mountains.
7At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried away.
8The mountains rose, the valleys sank down, to the place which you had assigned to them.
9You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they don’t turn again to cover the earth.
10He sends springs into the valleys. They run among the mountains.
11They give drink to every animal of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing among the branches.
13He waters the mountains from his rooms. The earth is filled with the fruit of your works.
14He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may produce food out of the earth:
15wine that makes the heart of man glad, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart.
16The LORD’s trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted,
17where the birds make their nests. The stork makes its home in the cypress trees.
18The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set.
20You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the animals of the forest prowl.
21The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God.
22The sun rises, and they steal away, and lie down in their dens.
23Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening.
24LORD, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches.
25There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals.
26There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
28You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good.
29You hide your face; they are troubled. You take away their breath; they die and return to the dust.
30You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground.
31Let the LORD’s glory endure forever. Let the LORD rejoice in his works.
32He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.
34Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in the LORD.
35Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD!
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Key verses
Psalm 104:24This exclamation gathers the psalm’s many creatures and landscapes into one claim: God made them all in wisdom.
Psalm 104:34After surveying creation, the psalmist wants his meditation to please the God in whom he rejoices.
Psalm 104:2Light as clothing and the heavens as a curtain establish God’s majesty over the world the psalm describes.
Where this chapter reaches

Genesis shares the account of God ordering waters, land, and living creatures, while Job shares attention to animals beyond human control and their dependence on God. Hebrews quotes the psalm’s language about winds and flames in its discussion of angels and the Son.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

Which detail of God’s care for wild creatures changes how you think about his world?

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How does the closing plea about the wicked fit with the psalm’s delight in creation?

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Questions people ask about Psalm 104

Who wrote Psalm 104?

The supplied text does not name an author or give a historical occasion. The speaker addresses his own soul and speaks to God, moving between descriptions of creation and praise. Identifying the author as David goes beyond what this text states; its focus is YHWH as creator and sustainer.

What is leviathan in Psalm 104?

Leviathan appears among the living things of the great sea in verse 26. The psalm describes it as a creature God formed to play there. Its exact identity is uncertain. Here the emphasis falls on its place within God’s creation and its dependence on him, alongside other sea creatures.

Why does Psalm 104 end with a prayer against sinners?

Verse 35 asks for sinners to be consumed and the wicked to be no more. That severe request follows praise for a world sustained by God’s wisdom and care. It expresses the psalmist’s desire for wickedness to have no place in God’s earth, though no particular offenders or acts are named.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).