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Psalm 104:9

You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they don’t turn again to cover the earth.

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.
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← Psalm 104:8Psalm 104:10 →
Notice

The boundary around the waters draws attention to God’s rule over what looks boundless, and to the earth kept from being covered again.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What changes in your view of the sea when its boundary is God’s command?

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How does the move from restrained waters to life-giving springs shape your praise?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

9 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Jeremiah 5:22Don’t you fear me?’ says the LORD; ‘Won’t you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it can’t …Both passages describe God setting a boundary the waters cannot cross; Jeremiah names the sand and the sea’s roaring waves.
Proverbs 8:29when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,Both texts describe the waters receiving their boundary from God, whose command sets their limits.
Job 38:10–11marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,Both passages speak of God establishing a boundary; Job adds the concrete images of bars and doors.
Job 14:5Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his bounds that he can’t pass.Both speak of bounds appointed by God that cannot be passed, though Job concerns human lifespan rather than waters.
Genesis 9:11–15I will establish my covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the …Both speak of waters never again overwhelming the earth; Genesis states this assurance as God’s covenant concerning a destructive flood.
Isaiah 54:9“For this is like the waters of Noah to me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah will no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be …Both speak of waters no longer covering the earth; Isaiah names Noah and recalls God’s sworn assurance.
Job 26:10He has described a boundary on the surface of the waters, and to the confines of light and darkness.Both describe God drawing a boundary associated with waters; Job also speaks of the confines of light and darkness.
Psalm 76:10Surely the wrath of man praises you. The survivors of your wrath are restrained.Both attribute restraint to God, though Psalm 104 concerns waters and Psalm 76 concerns survivors of his wrath.
Psalm 33:7He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses.Both portray waters under God’s control, with boundaries in Psalm 104 and gathering and storehouses in Psalm 33.
Where this verse fits

Praise and worship. gratitude.

What the Bible says about worship →What the Bible says about gratitude →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read verses 7–11 and mark what God does with water

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Encouragement

The boundary belongs to God’s ordering of creation. Your praise has something concrete to rest on: the waters that covered the earth are under his command.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 104:9. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 104 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

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).