Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
Psalms 104:1-35.-Theme: Bless Yahweh for His works, which reflect His majesty (Psalms 104:1); His creation of light, the heavens, the earth; separation of water and land (Psalms 104:6-9); watering the ground by fountains (Psalms 104:10-12); the hills by rain, to nourish man and beast, to produce trees to shelter the birds (Psalms 104:13-17); from the hilly refuges of the wild goats (Psalms 104:18) the Psalmist passes to the sun, moon, and night, and their uses to the beasts and to man (Psalms 104:19-23); the wide sea embosoms countless beings, small and great, and affords a transit to ships for contact between distant lands (Psalms 104:24-26); all wait upon God for food. When He takes away their breath they die; when He sends His Spirit the earth is renewed (Psalms 104:27-30); the gum is, Yahweh's glory shall be forever; when earth's high hills fulfill not their purpose, His mere touch consumes them; the Psalmist therefore will ever be glad in Him, whereas sinners shall be consumed (Psalms 104:31-35). The praise of God in nature is the means: the end is to assure the Church in trouble from the pagan world-power, that however sinners now seem to have the upper hand, they shall at last be consumed out of the earth. The first and second days' work of creation (Genesis 1:1-31) is given, Psalms 104:2-5; the third day's work, Psalms 104:6-18; the fourth, Psalms 104:19-23; the fifth, Psalms 104:24-26; the close of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh are alluded to, Psalms 104:31. Yahweh, who cares for the lowest of His creatures, will surely care for His endangered Church (Matthew 6:25-33). This trilogy Psalms 104:1-35; Psalms 105:1-45; Psalms 106:1-48 is appended to David's trilogy Psalms 101:1-8; Psalms 102:1-28; Psalms 103:1-22. This 104th Psalm celebrates God's works in nature: Psalms 105:1-45; Psalms 106:1-48 His deeds in history.
O Lord, my God - Israel's God. The Psalmist speaks as representative of the elect nation and of the Church.
Thou art very great - proved by what follows. It is developed throughout the psalm.
Thou art clothed with honour and majesty. This royal apparel of glory wherewith thou didst clothe thyself at creation, thou dost still wear in the continued preservation of the world. The same creative power and beneficence preserve, as originally called into being, the world. This the Psalmist proceeds to show; and hence, infers (Psalms 104:35) that God will similarly clothe Himself for the final salvation of Israel and the Church (Psalms 93:1; Isaiah 51:9).