Psalm 104 praises our Creator God and His power encompassing everything from creation to justice. With only His Words, He spoke creation into being. He controls life AND death. Everything we see comes from God. It is a review of creation that showcases God’s wisdom in how everything works in tandem and harmony, yet with a purpose. We all depend on God for what we need. It’s a praise song about how awesome God and His creation — including us — are. Let’s dig in.
Psalm 104
1 Let all that I am praise the Lord.
O Lord my God, how great you are!
You are robed with honor and majesty.
2 You are dressed in a robe of light.
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;
3 you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot;
you ride upon the wings of the wind.
4 The winds are your messengers;
flames of fire are your servants.5 You placed the world on its foundation
so it would never be moved.
6 You clothed the earth with floods of water,
water that covered even the mountains.
7 At your command, the water fled;
at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away.
8 Mountains rose and valleys sank
to the levels you decreed.
9 Then you set a firm boundary for the seas,
so they would never again cover the earth.10 You make springs pour water into the ravines,
so streams gush down from the mountains.
11 They provide water for all the animals,
and the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds nest beside the streams
and sing among the branches of the trees.
13 You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,
and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
14 You cause grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for people to use.
You allow them to produce food from the earth—
15 wine to make them glad,
olive oil to soothe their skin,
and bread to give them strength.
16 The trees of the Lord are well cared for—
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests,
and the storks make their homes in the cypresses.
18 High in the mountains live the wild goats,
and the rocks form a refuge for the hyraxes.19 You made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to set.
20 You send the darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals prowl about.
21 Then the young lions roar for their prey,
stalking the food provided by God.
22 At dawn they slink back
into their dens to rest.
23 Then people go off to their work,
where they labor until evening.24 O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
teeming with life of every kind,
both large and small.
26 See the ships sailing along,
and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea.27 They all depend on you
to give them food as they need it.
28 When you supply it, they gather it.
You open your hand to feed them,
and they are richly satisfied.
29 But if you turn away from them, they panic.
When you take away their breath,
they die and turn again to dust.
30 When you give them your breath, life is created,
and you renew the face of the earth.31 May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!
32 The earth trembles at his glance;
the mountains smoke at his touch.33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
I will praise my God to my last breath!
34 May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let all sinners vanish from the face of the earth;
let the wicked disappear forever.Let all that I am praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 104 NLT
Our Creator God is Mighty!
The psalmist lays out his praise of creation as Moses did in Genesis 1. It starts with LIGHT. We are reminded of this in the Gospel of John…
In the beginning the Word [Jesus] already existed.
John 1:1-5 NLT
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
We covered this in my End Times Bible Study. Here’s the summary video…
Check out other Bible Study Recaps here.
God Controls the Earth
He placed the world on its foundation! Naturally, it’s not going anywhere — for now. However, in the future, there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth.
God made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights — when it had never rained before — to punish evil people. (Learn about the Great Flood)
When the waters receded, the mountains rose and valleys sank. That’s when the Grand Canyon was created.
The Flood Did It!
Our Creator God Provides
Jehovah Jireh — the God who Provides. He gives every living creature exactly what it needs. As for us humans, he gives us the ability to earn a living. That’s why we must always live in an Attitude of Gratitude like it was Thanksgiving every day.
The Magnificence of Creation
The psalmist is blown away by the “variety of things” God made. He even mentions “Leviathan” (v26). Some folks say that it’s an early sea creature or dragon. I think it’s just a whale.
Every living creature depends on God to give them food to their satisfaction and nourisment. Additionally, he controls when they die. Yet, He gives breath to create life and “renew the face of the earth” (v30).
He even controls earthquakes and volcanos!
Our Creator God’s Judgment
In verse 35, the psalmist reminds us that God will deal with sinners and the wicked! We are assured of that in the Book of Revelation. Jesus warns us about the sinners who will not enter the New Heaven and the New Earth…
7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Revelation 21:7-8 NLT
When God created humans, He gave us Free Will. That’s something no other created being has. So, it’s up to us to decide where we’ll spend eternity — Heaven or hell! Furthermore, it’s a choice you need to make while you’re alive and coherent!
What are you waiting for?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
