Psalm 104 commentary

PSALM 104 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
I TRODUCTIO
SPURGEO , "GE ERAL, REMARKS. â€”Here we have one of the loftiest and
longest sustained flights of the inspired muse. The psalm gives an interpretation to
the many voices of nature, and sings sweetly both of creation and providence. The
poem contains a complete cosmos sea and land, cloud and sunlight, plant and
animal, light and darkness, life and death, are all proved to be expressive of the
presence of the Lord. Traces of the six days of creation are very evident, and though
the creation of man, which was the crowning work of the sixth day, is not
mentioned, this is accounted for from the fact that man is himself the singer: some
have ever, discerned marks of the divine rest upon the seventh day in Psalms 104:31.
It is a poet's version of Genesis. or is it alone the present condition of the earth
which is here the subject of song; but a hint is given of those holier times when we
shall see "a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness, "out of which the sinner
shall be consumed, Psalms 104:35. The spirit of ardent praise to God runs through
the whole, and with it a distinct realization of the divine Being as a personal
existence, loved and trusted as well as adored.
We have no information as to the author, but the Septuagint assigns it to David, and
we see no reason for ascribing it to any one else. His spirit, style, and manner of
writing are very manifest therein, and if the psalm must be ascribed to another, it
must be to a mind remarkably similar, and we could only suggest the wise son of
Davidâ€”Solomon, the poet preacher, to whose notes upon natural history in the
Proverbs some of the verses bear a striking likeness. Whoever the human penman
may have been, the exceeding glory and perfection of the Holy Spirit's own divine
authorship are plain to every spiritual mind.
DIVISIO . â€”After ascribing blessedness to the Lord the devout psalmist sings of
the light and the firmament, which were the work of the first and second days
Psalms 104:1-6. By an easy transition he describes the separation of the waters from
the dry land, the formation of rain, brooks and rivers, and the uprising of green
herbs, which were the produce of the third day Psalms 104:7-18. Then the
appointment of the sun and moon to be the guardians of day and night commands
the poet's admiration Psalms 104:19-23, and so he sings the work of the fourth day.
Having already alluded to many varieties of living creatures, the psalmist proceeds
from Psalms 104:24-30 to sing of the life with which the Lord was pleased to fill the
air, the sea, and the land; these forms of existence were the peculiar produce of the
fifth and sixth days. We may regard the closing verses Psalms 104:31-35 as a
Sabbath meditation, hymn, and prayer. The whole lies before us as a panorama of
the universe viewed by the eye of devotion. O for grace to render due praise unto the

Lord while reading it.
ELLICOTT, "This psalm touches the highest point of religious poetry. It is the most
perfect hymn the world has ever produced. Even as a lyric it has scarcely been
surpassed; while as a lyric inspired by religion, not only was all ancient literature,
except that of the Hebrews, powerless to create anything like it, but even Christian
poetry has never succeeded in approaching it. Milton has told the story of Creation,
taking, as the psalmist does, the account in Genesis for his model; but the seventh
book of the Paradise Lost, even when we make allowance for the difference between
the narrative and lyric styles, is tame and prolix—seems to want animation and
fire—by the side of this hymn.
At the very opening of the poem we feel the magic of a master inspiration. The
world is not, as in Genesis, created by a Divine decree. It springs into life and
motion, into order and use, at the touch of the Divine presence. Indeed, the
pervading feeling of the hymn is the sense of God’s close and abiding relation to all
that He made; the conviction that He not only originated the universe, but dwells in
it and sustains it: and this feeling fastens upon us at the outset, as we see the light
enfolding the Creator as His robe, and the canopy of heaven rising over Him as His
tent. It is not a lifeless world that springs into being. There is no void, no chaos; even
the winds and clouds are not for this poet without denizens, or they themselves start
into life and people the universe for his satisfaction. He cannot conceive of a world
at any time without life and order. or has any poet, even of our modern age,
displayed a finer feeling for nature, and that not in her tempestuous and wrathful
moods—usually the source of Hebrew inspiration—but in her calm, everyday
temper. He is the Wordsworth of the ancients, penetrated with a love for nature,
and gifted with the insight that springs from love. This majestic hymn is anonymous
in the Hebrew. The LXX. have ascribed it to David. Its close connection with Psalms
103, and an Aramaic word in Psalms 104:12, indicate a post-exile date for its
composition. The verse shows every variety of rhythm.
1 Praise the Lord, my soul.
Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

BAR ES, "Bless the Lord, O my soul - See Psa_103:1.
O Lord my God, thou art very great - This is a reason why the psalmist calls on
his soul to bless God; namely, for the fact that he is so exalted; so vast in his perfections;
so powerful, so wise, so great.
Thou art clothed with honor and majesty - That is, with the emblems of honor
and majesty, as a king is arrayed in royal robes. Creation is the garment with which God
has invested himself. Compare the notes at Psa_93:1.
CLARKE, "O Lord my God, thou art very great - The works of God, which are
the subject of this Psalm, particularly show the grandeur and majesty of God. The
strongest proofs of the being of God, for common understandings, are derived from the
works of creation, their magnitude, variety, number, economy, and use. And a proper
consideration of those works presents a greater number of the attributes of the Divine
nature than we can learn from any other source. Revelation alone is superior.
GILL, "Bless the Lord, O my soul,.... As for the blessings of grace and mercy
expressed in the preceding psalm, so on account of the works of creation and
providence, enumerated in this; in which Christ has an equal concern, as in the former.
O Lord my God, thou art very great; the Messiah, who is Jehovah our
righteousness, Lord of all, truly God, and the God of his people; see Joh_20:28 and who
is great, and very great, in his divine Person, being the great God, and our Saviour; great
in all his works of creation, providence, and redemption; great in all his offices of
Prophet, Priest, and King; a Saviour, and a great one; the great Shepherd of the Sheep;
the Man, Jehovah's Fellow.
Thou art clothed with honour and majesty; being the brightness of his Father's
glory, and having on him the glory of the only begotten of the Father, and a natural
majesty in him as the Son of God and King of the whole universe; and, as Mediator, he
has honour and majesty laid upon him by his Father, Psa_21:5, he has all the regalia and
ensigns of royal majesty; he is on a throne, high and lifted up, even the same with his
divine Father; he has a crown of glory on his head, he is crowned with glory and honour;
he has a sceptre of righteousness in his hand, and is arrayed in robes of majesty; and, as
thus situated, is to look upon like a jasper and sardine stone; or as if he was covered with
sparkling gems and precious stones, Rev_4:2 and, having all power in heaven and earth,
over angels and men, honour and glory given him by both.
HE RY 1-4, "When we are addressing ourselves to any religious service we must stir
up ourselves to take hold on God in it (Isa_64:7); so David does here. “Come, my soul,
where art thou? What art thou thinking of? Here is work to be done, good work, angels'
work; set about it in good earnest; let all the powers and faculties be engaged and
employed in it: Bless the Lord, O my soul!” In these verses,
I. The psalmist looks up to the divine glory shining in the upper world, of which,
though it is one of the things not seen, faith is the evidence. With what reverence and
holy awe does he begin his meditation with that acknowledgment: O Lord my God! thou

art very great! It is the joy of the saints that he who is their God is a great God. The
grandeur of the prince is the pride and pleasure of all his good subjects. The majesty of
God is here set forth by various instances, alluding to the figure which great princes in
their public appearances covet to make. Their equipage, compared with his (even of the
eastern kings, who most affected pomp), is but as the light of a glow-worm compared
with that of the sun, when he goes forth in his strength. Princes appear great, 1. In their
robes; and what are God's robes? Thou art clothed with honour and majesty, Psa_104:1.
God is seen in his works, and these proclaim him infinitely wise and good, and all that is
great. Thou coverest thyself with light as with a garment, Psa_104:2. God is light (1Jo_
1:5), the Father of lights (Jam_1:17); he dwells in light (1Ti_6:16); he clothes himself
with it. The residence of his glory is in the highest heaven, that light which was created
the first day, Gen_1:3. Of all visible beings light comes nearest to the nature of a spirit,
and therefore with that God is pleased to cover himself, that is, to reveal himself under
that similitude, as men are seen in the clothes with which they cover themselves; and so
only, for his face cannot be seen. 2. In their palaces or pavilions, when they take the
field; and what is God's palace and his pavilion? He stretches out the heavens like a
curtain, Psa_104:2. So he did at first, when he made the firmament, which in the
Hebrew has its name from its being expanded, or stretched out, Gen_1:7. He made it to
divide the waters as a curtain divides between two apartments. So he does still: he now
stretches out the heavens like a curtain, keeps them upon the stretch, and they continue
to this day according to his ordinance. The regions of the air are stretched out about the
earth, like a curtain about a bed, to keep it warm, and drawn between us and the upper
world, to break its dazzling light; for, though God covers himself with light, yet, in
compassion to us, he makes darkness his pavilion. Thick clouds are a covering to him.
The vastness of this pavilion may lead us to consider how great, how very great, he is
that fills heaven and earth. He has his chambers, his upper rooms (so the word
signifies), the beams whereof he lays in the waters, the waters that are above the
firmament (Psa_104:3), as he has founded the earth upon the seas and floods, the
waters beneath the firmament. Though air and water are fluid bodies, yet, by the divine
power, they are kept as tight and as firm in the place assigned them as a chamber is with
beams and rafters. How great a God is he whose presence-chamber is thus reared, thus
fixed! 3. In their coaches of state, with their stately horses, which add much to the
magnificence of their entries; but God makes the clouds his chariots, in which he rides
strongly, swiftly, and far above out of the reach of opposition, when at any time he will
act by uncommon providences in the government of this world. He descended in a cloud,
as in a chariot, to Mount Sinai, to give the law, and to Mount Tabor, to proclaim the
gospel (Mat_17:5), and he walks (a gentle pace indeed, yet stately) upon the wings of the
wind. See Psa_18:10, Psa_18:11. He commands the winds, directs them as he pleases,
and serves his own purposes by them. 4. In their retinue or train of attendants; and here
also God is very great, for (Psa_104:4) he makes his angels spirits. This is quoted by the
apostle (Heb_1:7) to prove the pre-eminence of Christ above the angels. The angels are
here said to be his angels and his ministers, for they are under his dominion and at his
disposal; they are winds, and a flame of fire, that is, they appeared in wind and fire (so
some), or they are as swift as winds, and pure as flames; or he makes them spirits, so the
apostle quotes it. They are spiritual beings; and, whatever vehicles they may have proper
to their nature, it is certain they have not bodies as we have. Being spirits, they are so
much the further removed from the encumbrances of the human nature and so much the
nearer allied to the glories of the divine nature. And they are bright, and quick, and
ascending, as fire, as a flame of fire. In Ezekiel's vision they ran and returned like a flash
of lightning, Eze_1:14. Thence they are called seraphim - burners. Whatever they are,
they are what God made them, what he still makes them; they derive their being from

him, having the being he gave them, are held in being by him, and he makes what use he
pleases of them.
JAMISO , "Psa_104:1-35. The Psalmist celebrates God’s glory in His works of
creation and providence, teaching the dependence of all living creatures; and contrasting
the happiness of those who praise Him with the awful end of the wicked.
God’s essential glory, and also that displayed by His mighty works, afford ground for
praise.
SBC, "Greatness, if you look at it as something separate from you, and away, still more if
you have a consciousness that it may be against you, is a matter of awe and terror. If you
mingle it with yourself, as a part of yourself, and yourself a part of it, greatness,
becoming a possession, is a grand thought and a pleasant one. So we unite the two
clauses of the text. David could not have said the second with gladness unless he could
have said the first with confidence: "O Lord my God, Thou art very great."
I. If it is great to be at one and the same time infinitely comprehensive and exquisitely
minute, to fill the widest and yet to be occupied by the narrowest, then what a God is
ours! The unspeakably large and the invisibly small are alike to Him; and we stand, and
we marvel not at the one or at the other, but at the combination of the telescopic glance
and the microscopic care; and we confess, "O Lord my God, Thou art very great."
II. It is a great thing to stoop. He inhabiteth equally, at this very moment, eternity and
that little heart of yours. The whole Gospel is only a tale of immense stooping—how the
purest demeaned Himself to the vilest, and how, "though He was rich, yet for our sakes
He became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich."
III. Some one has said that continuity is the secret of the sublime; the eye goes on and
on, and finds no break, and calls it sublimity. Then what a sublimity there is in Him who
century after century, year by year, without the shadow of a turning, has continued the
same, "yesterday, today, and for ever"!
IV. Look at the wonderful greatness of His plan of redemption. The length, and the
breadth, and the depth, and the height are all passing knowledge; and we have nothing
to do but to humble ourselves in the dust and say, "O Lord my God, Thou art very great."
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 9th series, p. 257.
Psalms 104:1-2
Nature has two great revelations: that of use and that of beauty; and the first thing we
observe about these two characteristics of hers is that they are bound together and tied
to each other. The beauty of nature is not, as it were, a fortunate accident, which can be
separated from her use; there is no difference in the tenure upon which these two
characteristics stand: the beauty is just as much a part of nature as the use; they are only
different aspects of the selfsame facts. (2) But if the first thing we observe respecting use
and beauty is that they are united in their source, the next thing we observe is that in
themselves they are totally separate. We have not the slightest conception of the
common root in which these enormous diversities unite, the unity to which they mount
up, the ultimate heading out of which both branch, the secret of their identity. It is worth

observing, in the history of the mind of this country, the formation of a kind of passion
for scenery and natural beauty. This fact cannot well be without some consequences
bearing on religion.
I. First, with respect to the place which the beauty of nature has in the argument of
design from nature. When the materialist has exhausted himself in efforts to explain
utility in nature, it would appear to be the peculiar office of beauty to rise up suddenly as
a confounding and baffling extra, which was not even formally provided for in his
scheme. There is this remarkable difference between useful contrivance and beauty as
evidence of an intelligent cause, that contrivance has a complete end and account of
itself, without any reference to the understanding of man; but it is essential to the very
sense and meaning of beauty that it should be seen: and inasmuch as it is visible to
reason alone, we have thus in the very structure of nature a recognition of reason and a
distinct address to reason, wholly unaccountable unless there is a higher reason or mind
to which to make it.
II. The beauty of nature is necessary for the perfection of praise; the praise of the Creator
must be essentially weakened without it: it must be roused and excited by sight. (1)
Beauty stands upon the threshold of the mystical world, and excites a curiosity about
God. This curiosity is a strong part of worship and of praise. So long as a man is probing
nature, and in the thick of its causes and operations, he is too busy about his own
inquiries to receive this impress from her; but place the picture before him, and he
becomes conscious of a veil and curtain which has the secrets of a moral existence
behind it: interest is inspired, curiosity is awakened, and worship is raised. (2) Nature is
partly a curtain and partly a disclosure, partly a veil and partly a revelation; and here we
come to her faculty of symbolism, which is so strong an aid to, and has so immensely
affected, the principles of worship. The Great Spirit, speaking by dumb representation to
other spirits, intimates and signifies to them something about Himself, for if nature is
symbolical, what it is symbolical about must be its Author. The Deity over and above our
inward conscience wants His external world to tell us He is moral; He therefore creates
in nature a universal language about Himself: its features convey signals from a distant
country, and man is placed in communication with a great correspondent whose tablet
He interprets. And thus is formed that which is akin to worship in the poetical view of
nature. While we do not worship the material created sign—for that would be idolatry—
we still repose on it as the true language of the Deity.
III. In this peculiar view of nature, the mind fastening upon it as a spectacle or a picture,
it is to be observed that there are two points in striking concurrence with the vision
language of Scripture. (1) Scripture has specially consecrated the faculty of sight, and has
partly put forth, and has promised in a still more complete form, a manifestation of the
Deity to mankind, through the medium of a great sight. (2) It must be remarked, as
another principle in the Scriptural representation, that the act of seeing a perfectly
glorious sight or object is what constitutes the spectator’s and beholder’s own glory.
IV. But though the outward face of nature is a religious communication to those who
come to it with the religious element already in them, no man can get a religion out of
the beauty of nature. There must be for the base of a religion the internal view, the inner
sense, the look into ourselves, and recognition of an inward state: sin, helplessness,
misery. If there is not this, outward nature cannot of itself enlighten man’s conscience
and give him a knowledge of God. It will be a picture to him, and nothing more.
J. B. Mozley, University Sermons, p. 122.

K&D 1-4, "The first decastich begins the celebration with work of the first and second
days. ‫ר‬ ָ‫ד‬ ָ‫ה‬ְ‫ו‬ ‫ּוד‬‫ה‬ here is not the doxa belonging to God πρᆵ παντᆵς τοሞ αᅶራνος (Jud_1:25), but
the doxa which He has put on (Job_40:10) since He created the world, over against
which He stands in kingly glory, or rather in which He is immanent, and which reflects
this kingly glory in various gradations, yea, to a certain extent is this glory itself. For
inasmuch as God began the work of creation with the creation of light, He has covered
Himself with this created light itself as with a garment. That which once happened in
connection with the creation may, as in Amo_4:13; Isa_44:24; Isa_45:7; Jer_10:12, and
frequently, be expressed by participles of the present, because the original setting is
continued in the preservation of the world; and determinate participles alternate with
participles without the article, as in Isa_44:24-28, with no other difference than that the
former are more predicative and the latter more attributive. With Psa_104:2 the poet
comes upon the work of the second day: the creation of the expanse (‫)רקיע‬ which divides
between the waters. God has spread this out (cf. Isa_40:22) like a tent-cloth (Isa_54:2),
of such light and of such fine transparent work; ‫ה‬ ֶ‫ּוט‬‫נ‬ here rhymes with ‫ה‬ ֶ‫ּט‬‫ע‬. In those
waters which the “expanse” holds aloft over the earth God lays the beams of His upper
chambers (‫תו‬ ָ‫ּות‬ ִ‫ל‬ ֲ‫,ע‬ instead of which we find ‫יו‬ ָ‫ּות‬‫ל‬ ֲ‫ֽע‬ ַ‫מ‬ in Amo_9:6, from ‫ה‬ָ ִ‫ל‬ ֲ‫,ע‬ ascent,
elevation, then an upper story, an upper chamber, which would be more accurately ‫ה‬ָ ִ ִ‫ע‬
after the Aramaic and Arabic); but not as though the waters were the material for them,
they are only the place for them, that is exalted above the earth, and are able to be this
because to the Immaterial One even that which is fluid is solid, and that which is dense
is transparent. The reservoirs of the upper waters, the clouds, God makes, as the
lightning, thunder, and rain indicate, into His chariot (‫כוּב‬ ְ‫,)ר‬ upon which he rides along
in order to make His power felt below upon the earth judicially (Isa_19:1), or in rescuing
and blessing men. ‫כוּב‬ ְ‫ר‬ (only here) accords in sound with ‫רוּב‬ ְⅴ, Psa_18:11. For Psa_104:3
also recalls this primary passage, where the wings of the wind take the place of the
cloud-chariot. In Psa_104:4 the lxx (Heb_1:7) makes the first substantive into an
accusative of the object, and the second into an accusative of the predicate: ᆍ ποιራν τοᆷς
ᅊγγέλους αᆒτοሞ πνεሞµατα καᆳ τοᆷς λειτουργοᆷς αᆒτοሞ πυρᆵς φλόγα. It is usually translated
the reverse say: making the winds into His angels, etc. This rendering is possible so far
as the language is concerned (cf. Psa_100:3 Chethîb, and on the position of the worlds,
Amo_4:13 with Psa_5:8), and the plural ‫יו‬ ָ‫ת‬ ֲ‫ֽר‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫מ‬ is explicable in connection with this
rendering from the force of the parallelism, and the singular ‫שׁ‬ ֵ‫א‬ from the fact that this
word has no plural. Since, however, ‫ה‬ ָ‫שׂ‬ ָ‫ע‬ with two accusatives usually signifies to produce
something out of something, so that the second accusative (viz., the accusative of the
predicate, which is logically the second, but according to the position of the words may
just as well be the first, Exo_25:39; Exo_30:25, as the second, Exo_37:23; Exo_38:3;
Gen_2:7; 2Ch_4:18-22) denotes the materia ex qua, it may with equal right at least be
interpreted: Who makes His messengers out of the winds, His servants out of the
flaming or consuming (vid., on Psa_57:5) fire (‫שׁ‬ ֵ‫,א‬ as in Jer_48:45, masc.). And this may
affirm either that God makes use of wind and fire for special missions (cf. Psa_148:8), or
(cf. Hofmann, Schriftbeweis, i. 325f.) that He gives wind and fire to His angels for the
purpose of His operations in the world which are effected through their agency, as the

materials of their outward manifestation, and as it were of their self-embodiment,
(Note: It is a Talmudic view that God really makes the angels out of fire, B.
Chagiga, 14a (cf. Koran, xxxviii. 77): Day by day are the angels of the service created
out of the stream of fire (‫דינור‬ ‫,)נהר‬ and sing their song of praise and perish.)
as then in Psa_18:11 wind and cherub are both to be associated together in thought as
the vehicle of the divine activity in the world, and in Psa_35:5 the angel of Jahve
represents the energy of the wind.
CALVI , "1Bless Jehovah, O my soul! After having exhorted himself to praise God,
the Psalmist adds, that there is abundant matter for such an exercise; thus indirectly
condemning himself and others of ingratitude, if the praises of God, than which
nothing ought to be better known, or MORE celebrated, are buried by silence. In
comparing the light with which he represents God as arrayed to a garment, he
intimates, that although God is invisible, yet his glory is conspicuous enough. In
respect of his essence, God undoubtedly dwells in light that is inaccessible; but as he
irradiates the whole world by his splendor, this is the garment in which He, who is
hidden in himself, appears in a manner visible to us. The knowledge of this truth is
of the greatest importance. If men attempt to reach the infinite height to which God
is exalted, although they fly above the clouds, they must fail in the midst of their
COURSE. Those who seek to see him in his naked majesty are certainly very foolish.
That we may enjoy the light of him, he must come forth to view with his clothing;
that is to say, we must cast our eyes upon the very beautiful fabric of the world in
which he wishes to be seen by us, and not be too curious and rash in searching into
his secret essence. ow, since God presents himself to us clothed with light, those
who are seeking pretexts for their living without the knowledge of him, cannot
allege in excuse of their slothfulness, that he is hidden in profound darkness. When
it is said that the heavens are a curtain, it is not meant that under them God hides
himself, but that by them his majesty and glory are displayed; being, as it were, his
royal pavilion.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 1. Bless the LORD, O my soul. This psalm begins and ends like
the Hundred and Third, and it could not do better: when the model is perfect it
deserves to exist in duplicate. True praise begins at home. It is idle to stir up others
to praise if we are ungratefully silent ourselves. We should call upon our inmost
hearts to awake and bestir themselves, for we are apt to be sluggish, and if we are so
when called upon to bless God, we shall have great cause to be ashamed. When we
magnify the Lord, let us do it heartily: our best is far beneath his worthiness, let us
not dishonour him by rendering to him half hearted worship.
O LORD my God, thou art very great. This ascription has in it a remarkable
blending of the boldness of faith, and the awe of holy fear: for the psalmist calls the
infinite Jehovah "my God, "and at the same time, prostrate in amazement at the
divine greatness, he cries out in utter astonishment, "Thou art very great." God was
great on Sinai, yet the opening words of his law were, "I am the Lord thy God; " his
greatness is no reason why faith should not put in her claim, and call him all her
own. The declaration of Jehovah's greatness here given would have been very much

in place at the end of the psalm, for it is a natural inference and deduction from a
survey of the universe: its position at the very commencement of the poem is an
indication that the whole psalm was well considered and digested in the mind before
it was actually put into words; only on this supposition can we account for the
emotion preceding the contemplation. Observe also, that the wonder expressed does
not refer to the creation and its greatness, but to Jehovah himself. It is not "the
universe is very great!" but "THOU art very great." Many stay at the creature, and
so become idolatrous in spirit; to pass onward to the Creator himself is true wisdom.
Thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Thou thyself art not to be seen, but thy
works, which may be called thy garments, are full of beauties and marvels which
redound to thine honour. Garments both conceal and reveal a man, and so do the
creatures of God. The Lord is seen in his works as worthy of honour for his skill, his
goodness, and his power, and as claiming majesty, for he has fashioned all things in
sovereignty, doing as he wills, and asking no man's permit. He must be blind indeed
who does not see that nature is the work of a king. These are solemn strokes of
God's severer mind, terrible touches of his sterner attributes, broad lines of
inscrutable mystery, and deep shadings of overwhelming power, and these make
creation's picture a problem never to be solved, except by admitting that he who
drew it giveth no account of his matters, but ruleth all things according to the good
pleasure of his will. His majesty is, however, always so displayed as to reflect honour
upon his whole character; he does as lie wills, but he wills only that which is thrice
holy, like himself. The very robes of the unseen Spirit teach us this, and it is ours to
recognize it with humble adoration.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS.
Whole Psalm. â€”This psalm is an inspired "Oratorio of Creation." â€”Christopher
Wordsworth.
Whole Psalm. â€”The Psalm is delightful, sweet, and instructive as teaching us the
soundest views of nature (la mas sans fisica), and the best method of pursuing the
study of it, viz., by admiring with one eye the works of God, and with the other God
himself, their Creator and Preserver. â€”Sanchez, quoted by Perowne.
Whole Psalm. â€”It might almost be said that this one psalm represents the image of
the whole Cosmos. We are astonished to find in a lyrical poem of such a limited
compass, the whole universeâ€”the heavens and the earthâ€”sketched with a few
bold touches. The calm and toilsome labour of man, from the rising of the sun to the
setting of the same, when his daily work is done, is here contrasted with the moving
life of the elements of nature. This contrast and generalisation in the conception of
the mutual action of natural phenomena, and this retrospection of an omnipresent
invisible power, which can renew the earth or crumble it to dust, constitute a solemn
rather than a glowing and gentle form of poetic creation. â€”A. Vonl Hurnboldt's
Cosmos.
Whole Psalm. â€”Its touches are indeed few, rapidâ€”but how comprehensive and
sublime! Is it God? â€”"He is clothed with light as with a garment, "and when he
walks abroad, it is on the "wings of the wind." The winds or lightnings? â€”They
are his messengers or angels: "Stop us not, "they seem to say; "the King's business
requireth haste." The waters? â€”The poet shows them in flood, covering the face of
the earth, and then as they now lie, enclosed within their embankments, to break
forth no more for ever. The springs? He traces them, by one inspired glance, as they

run among the hills, as they give drink to the wild and lonely creatures of the
wilderness, as they nourish the boughs, on which sing the birds, the grass, on which
feed the cattle, the herb, the corn, the olive tree, the vine, which fill man's mouth,
cheer his heart, and make his face to shine. Then he skims with bold wing all lofty
objectsâ€”the trees of the Lord on Lebanon, "full of sap, "â€”the fir trees, and the
storks which are upon themâ€”the high hills, with their wild goatsâ€”and the rocks
with their conics. Then he soars up to the heavenly bodiesâ€”the sun and the moon.
Then he spreads abroad his wings in the darkness of the night, which "hideth not
from Him, "and hears the beasts of the forest creeping abroad to seek their prey,
and the roar of the lions to God for meat, coming up upon the wings of midnight.
Then as he sees the shades and the wild beasts fleeing together, in emulous haste,
from the presence of the morning sun, and man, strong and calm in its light as in the
smile of God, hieing to his labour, he exclaims, "O Lord, how manifold are thy
works! in wisdom hast thou made them all!" He casts, next, one look at the oceanâ
€”a look glancing at the ships which go there, at the leviathan which plays there;
and then piercing down to the innumerable creatures, small and great, which are
found below its unlifted veil of waters. He sees, then, all the beings, peopling alike
earth and sea, waiting for life and food around the table of their Divine Masterâ€”
nor waiting in vainâ€”till, lo! he hides his face, and they are troubled, die, and
disappear in chaos and night. A gleam, next, of the great resurrection of nature and
of man comes across his eye. "Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created, and
thou renewest the face of the earth." But a greater truth still succeeds, and forms
the climax of the psalmâ€”(a truth Humboldt, with all his admiration of it, notices
not, and which gives a Christian tone to the whole) â€”"The Lord shall rejoice in his
works." He contemplates a yet more perfect Cosmos. He is "to consume Sinners"
and sin "out of" this fair universe: and then, when man is wholly worthy of his
dwelling, shall God say of both it and him, with a yet deeper emphasis than when he
said it at first, and smiling at the same time a yet warmer and softer smile, "It is
very good." And with an ascription of blessing to the Lord does the poet close this
almost angelic descant upon the works of nature, the glory of God, and the
prospects of man. It is not merely the unity of the Cosmos that he had displayed in
it, but its progression, as connected with the parallel progress of manâ€”its
thorough dependence on one Infinite Mindâ€”the "increasing purpose" which runs
along itâ€”and its final purification, when it shall blossom into "the bright
consummate flower" of the new heavens and the new earth, "wherein dwelleth
righteousness; "â€”this is the real burden and the peculiar glory of the 104th Psalm.
â€”George Gilfillan, in "The Bards of the Bible".
Whole Psalm. â€”It is a singular circumstance in the composition of this psalm, that
each of the parts of the First Semichorus, after the first, begins with a participle.
And these participles are accusatives, agreeing with hwhy, the object of the verb
ygdb, at the beginning of the whole psalm. Bless the Jehovahâ€”putting on â€”
extendingâ€”layingâ€”constitutingâ€”travellingâ€”makingâ€” settingâ€”sendingâ
€”wateringâ€”makingâ€”making. Thus, this transitive verb, in the opening of the
psalm, extending its government through the successive parts of the same
semichorus, except the last, unites them all in one long period. â€”Samuel Horsley.
Whole Psalm. â€”As to the details, â€”the sections intervening between verses 2 and
31, â€”they may be read as a meditation upon creation and the first "ordering of the

world, "as itself the counterpart and foreshadowing of the new and restored order
in the great Sabbath or Millenary period, or, it may be, they are actually descriptive
of thisâ€”beginning with the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven (verse 3
with Psalms 18:9-11), attended with "the angels of his power" (verse 4 with 2
Thessalonians 1:7 Gr.): followed by the "establishing" of the earth, no more to be
"moved" or "agitated" by the convulsions and disturbances which sin has caused:
after which ature is exhibited in the perfection of her beautyâ€”all things
answering the end of their creation: all the orders of the animal world in harmony
with each other, and all at peace with man; all provided for by the varied produce of
the earth, no longer cursed, bug blessed, and again made fruitful by God, "on whom
all wait...who openeth his hand and fills them with good"; and all his goodness
meeting with its due acknowledgment from his creatures, who join in chorus to
praise him, and sayâ€”"O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou
made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. Hallelujah." â€”William De Burgh.
Ver. 1. â€”"Bless the Lord, O my soul." A good man's work lieth most within doors,
he is more taken up with his own soul, than with all the world besides; neither can
he ever be alone so long as he hath God and his own heart to converse with. â€”John
Trapp.
Ver. 1. â€”With what reverence and holy awe doth the psalmist begin his meditation
with that acknowledgment! "O Lord, my God, thou art very great; "and it is the joy
of the saints that he who is their God is a great God: the grandeur of the prince is
the pride and pleasure of all his good subjects. â€”Matthew Henry.
Ver. 1. â€”Thou art clothed with honour and majesty. That is, as Jerome says, Thou
art arrayed and adorned with magnificence and splendour; Thou art acknowledged
to be glorious and illustrious by thy works, as a man by his garment. Whence it is
clear that the greatness celebrated here is not the intrinsic but the exterior or
revealed greatness of God. â€”Lorinus.
Ver. 1. â€”Each created, redeemed, regenerated soul is bound to praise the Lord,
the Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier; for that God the Son, who in the beginning made
the worlds, and whose grace is ever carrying on his work to its perfect end by the
operation of the Holy Ghost, has been revealed before us in his exceeding glory. He,
as the eternal High priest, hath put on the Urim and Thummim of majesty and
honour, and hath clothed himself with light, as a priest clothes himself with his holy
vestments: his brightness on the mount of transfiguration was but a passing glimpse
of what he is now, ever hath been, and ever shall be. He is the true Light, therefore
his angels are the angels of light, his children the children of light, this doctrine the
doctrine of light. The universe is his tabernacle; the heavens visible and invisible are
the curtains which shroud his holy place. He hath laid the beams and foundations of
his holy of holies very high, even above the waters which are above the firmament.
The clouds and the winds of the lower heaven are his chariot, upon which he stood
when he ascended from Olivet, upon which he will sit when he cometh again. â
€”"Plain Commentary".
COKE, "Verse 1
Psalms 104.
A meditation upon the mighty power and wonderful providence of God. God's glory

is eternal. The prophet voweth perpetually to praise God.
THOUGH this psalm has no title in the original, it is said to be David's by all the old
versions, except the Chaldee; and certainly the thoughts and expressions of it
throughout, and especially in the first part of it, are so lofty and grand, that they
may well be supposed the composition of the Royal Prophet. However, be the author
who he will, it is universally allowed to be one of the finest poems that we have upon
the works of creation and the providence of God: and as it is upon so general a
subject, it is proper to be used at all times. Bishop Lowth observes, that there is
nothing extant which can be conceived more perfect than this psalm. See his 29th
Prelection. Dr. Delaney imagines it, with great probability, to have been composed
by David while he was in the forest of Hareth, where he was surrounded by those
pastoral scenes which he so beautifully describes; for, after some general
observations upon the works and wisdom of God in the creation, he descends to the
following particulars: the rise of springs, the course of rivers, the retreats of fowls
and wild beasts of the forests and mountains; the vicissitudes of night and day, and
their various uses to the animal world; the dependance of the whole creation upon
the Almighty for being and subsistence. He withdraws their breath, and they die; he
breaths, and they revive; he but opens his hand, and he feeds; he satisfies them all at
once. These are ideas familiar to him, and his manner of introducing them plainly
shews them to be the effect of his most retired meditations in his solitary
wanderings. Life of David, book 1: chap. 8.
BE SO , "Verse 1-2
Psalms 104:1-2. O Lord my God, thou art very great — As in thine own nature and
perfections, so also in the glory of thy works; thou art clothed — Surrounded and
adorned, with honour and majesty — With honourable majesty: who coverest, or
clothest, thyself with light — Either, 1st, With that light which no man can
approach unto, as it is described 1 Timothy 1:10 : wherewith, therefore, he may well
be said to be covered, or hid, from the eyes of mortal men. Or, 2d, He speaks of that
first created light, mentioned Genesis 1:3, which the psalmist properly treats of first,
as being the first of all God’s visible works. Of all visible beings light comes nearest
to the nature of a spirit, and therefore with that, God, who is a spirit, is pleased to
clothe himself, and also to reveal himself under that similitude, as men are seen in
the clothes with which they cover themselves. Who stretchest out the heavens like a
curtain — Forming “a magnificent canopy or pavilion, comprehending within it the
earth, and all the inhabitants thereof; enlightened by the celestial orbs suspended in
it, as the holy tabernacle was by the lamps of the golden candlestick.” ow God is
said to stretch this out like a curtain, to intimate that it was “originally framed,
erected, and furnished by its maker, with more ease than man can construct and
pitch a tent for his own temporary abode. Yet must this noble pavilion also be taken
down; these resplendent and beautiful heavens must pass away and come to an end.
How glorious, then, shall be those new heavens which are to succeed them and
endure for ever!” — Horne.

COFFMA , "Verse 1
PSALM 104
GOD'S GREAT ESS AS SEE I THE CREATIO
Taking his information from the book of Genesis, the psalmist HEREelaborates the
greatness of God's works in the first five days of creation, this is the portion of the
creation that concerns nature only, as distinguished from mankind.
Who authored the psalm is unknown, as is also the occasion of its being written.
Barnes tells us that, "The LXX, the Latin, the Syriac and Arabic versions ascribe it
to David, but do not cite any grounds for their doing so."[1] Dummelow concluded
that, "It was written by the same author as Psalms 103."[2] However, he did not
believe David was the author of either one. We believe that his remark supports the
possibility that David was indeed the author of both.
Regarding the occasion, Rosenmuller and Hengstenberg suppose it was written in
the times of the exile;[3] and Briggs thought the tone of it REFLECTED the times of
the Maccabees.[4] This writer can find nothing whatever in the psalm that definitely
indicates either of those occasions; and we find full agreement with Barnes that, "It
has nothing that would make it inappropriate at any time, or in any public
service."[5]
This writer never sees this psalm without remembering the unlearned man who got
up to read it at church one Sunday, and being unable to decipher the Roman
numerals in the big church Bible, gazed at the title, "Psalm CIV," for a moment,
and then said, "We are now going to READ`PESSELLAM SIV'"!
The paragraphing we shall follow is that of the five days of creation as spoken of in
this psalm.
Psalms 104:1-5
THE FIRST DAY OF CREATIO
"Bless Jehovah, O my soul.
O Jehovah my God, thou art very great;
Thou art clothed with honor and majesty.
Who covereth thyself with light, as with a garment;
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters;

Who maketh the clouds his chariot;
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind;
Who maketh winds his messengers;
Flames of fire his ministers;
Who laid the foundations of the earth,
That it should not be moved forever."
The FOCUS of these lines is upon Genesis 1:1-5. The creation of light and the
heavens and the earth are mentioned in that passage.
"The heavens like a curtain" (Psalms 104:2). This is an appropriate line indeed,
because the atmospheric heavens are indeed a protective tent or curtain shielding
the earth from the destructive debris from outer space. A glance at the moon, which
has no atmosphere, shows what the earth would have looked like without that
protective mantle of the atmosphere.
"The beams of his chambers in the waters" (Psalms 104:3). The `waters' HERE are
those "above the firmament," that is, the vaporous waters of the clouds mentioned
in the same breath.
"His chambers ... his chariot ... walketh upon the wings of the wind" (Psalms 104:3).
These poetic expressions of God's ubiquitousness and mobility are highly
imaginative, but there is no ground whatever for criticizing them.
"Who maketh winds his messengers and flames of fire his ministers" (Psalms
104:4). A marginal READI G for "winds" is angels; Hebrews 1:7 sheds light on
what is meant HERE. "And of the angels he saith, "Who maketh his angels winds,
and his ministers a flame of fire."
"Who laid the foundations of the earth" (Psalms 104:5). It is not merely the creation
of the earth but its stability and permanence which are stressed.
WATTS
1 THE Lord Jehovah reigns,
His throne is built on high;
The garments he assumes
Are light and majesty:
His glories shine with beams so bright,
No mortal eye can bear the sight.
2 The thunders of his hand

Keep the wide world in awe:
His wrath and justice stand
To guard his holy law;
And where his love resolves to bless,
His truth confirms and seals the grace.
3 Through all his mighty works
Amazing wisdom shines,
Confounds the powers of hell,
And breaks their dark designs;
Strong is his arm, and shall fulfil
His great decrees and sovereign will.
4 And will this sovereign King
Of glory condescend?
And will he write his name,
My Father and my Friend?
I love his name, I love his word,
Join all my powers to praise the Lord!
2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a
garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
BAR ES, "Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment - Referring to
the first work of creation Gen_1:3, “And God said, Let there be light, and there was
light.” He seemed to put on light as a garment; he himself appeared as if invested with
light. It was the first “manifestation” of God. He seemed at once to have put on light as
his robe.
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain - As an expanse spread over us.
The word used here means a curtain or hanging, so called from its tremulous motion,
from a word meaning to tremble. Thus it is applied to a curtain before a door; to a tent,
etc. It is applied here to the heavens, as they seem to be “spread out” like the curtains of
a tent, as if God had spread them out for a tent for himself to dwell in. See the notes at
Isa_40:22.

CLARKE, "Who coverest thyself with light - Light, insufferable splendor, is the
robe of the Divine Majesty. Light and fire are generally the accompaniments of the
Supreme Being, when he manifests his presence to his creatures. He appeared thus to
Abraham when he made a covenant with him, Gen_15:17; and to Moses when he
appointed him to bring the people out of Egypt, Exo_3:2; and when he gave him his law
on Sinai, Exo_19:18. Moses calls God a consuming fire, Deu_4:24. When Christ was
transfigured on the mount, his face shone like the sun, and his garment was white as the
light, Mat_17:2. And when the Lord manifests himself to the prophets, he is always
surrounded with fire, and the most brilliant light.
Bishop Lowth has some fine remarks on the imagery and metaphors of this Psalm.
The exordium, says he, is peculiarly magnificent, wherein the majesty of God is
described, so far as we can investigate and comprehend it, from the admirable
construction of nature; in which passage, as it was for the most part necessary to use
translatitious images, the sacred poet has principally applied those which would be
esteemed by the Hebrews the most elevated, and worthy such an argument; for they all,
as it seems to me, are taken from the tabernacle. We will give these passages verbally,
with a short illustration: -
‫לבשת‬ ‫והדר‬ ‫הוד‬ hod vehadar labashta.
“Thou hast put on honor and majesty.”
The original, ‫,לבשת‬ is frequently used when speaking of the clothing or dress of the
priests.
Psa_104:2
‫כשלמה‬ ‫אור‬ ‫עטה‬ oteh or cassalmah.
“Covering thyself with light as with a garment.”
A manifest symbol of the Divine Presence; the light conspicuous in the holiest is
pointed out under the same idea; and from this single example a simile is educed to
express the ineffable glory of God generally and universally.
‫כיריעה‬ ‫שמים‬ ‫נוטה‬ noteh shamayim kayeriah.
“Stretching out the heavens like a curtain.”
The word ‫,יריעה‬ rendered here curtain, is that which denotes the curtains or
uncovering of the whole tabernacle. This may also be an allusion to those curtains or
awnings, stretched over an area, under which companies sit at weddings, feasts,
religious festivals, curiously painted under, to give them the appearance of the visible
heavens in the night-season.
GILL, "Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment,.... Referring, as Aben
Ezra and Kimchi think, to the light, which was first created; and indeed this was
commanded out of darkness by God the Word, or by the essential Word of God. Light is
expressive of the nature of God himself, who is light, and in him is no darkness at all,
and who dwells in light (h) inaccessible, and so may be said to be clothed with it; which

is applicable to Christ as a divine Person, 1Jo_1:5. and to whom this term "light" well
agrees; Light being one of the names of the Messiah in the Old Testament, Psa_43:3,
and is often given him in the New Testament, as the author of the light of nature, grace,
and glory, Joh_1:9. He is now possessed of the light and glory of the heavenly state, of
which his transfiguration on the mount was an emblem, when his face shone like the
sun, and his raiment was as the light, Mat_17:2.
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain; alluding to the firmament or
expanse, which, being spread out like a curtain, divided between the waters and the
waters, Gen_1:6. Heaven is represented as a tent stretched out, with curtains drawn
around it, to hide the dazzling and unapproachable light in which the Lord dwells, Isa_
40:22 and it is as a curtain or canopy stretched out and encompassing this earth; the
stretching of it out belongs to God alone, and is a proof of the deity of Christ, to whom it
is here and elsewhere ascribed, Job_9:8. Here Christ dwells invisible to us at present; he
is received up into heaven, retained there, and from thence will descend at the last day;
and in the mean while is within the curtains of heaven, unseen by us.
JAMISO , "light — is a figurative representation of the glory of the invisible God
(Mat_17:2; 1Ti_6:16). Its use in this connection may refer to the first work of creation
(Gen_1:3).
stretchest out the heavens — the visible heavens or sky which cover the earth as a
curtain (Isa_40:12).
SBC, "I. There are two kinds of mystery: a mystery of darkness and a mystery of light.
With the mystery of darkness we are familiar. Of the mystery of light we have not
thought, perhaps, so much. With all deep things the deeper light brings new
mysteriousness. The mystery of light is the privilege and prerogative of the profoundest
things. The shallow things are capable only of the mystery of darkness. Of that all things
are capable. Nothing is so thin, so light, so small, that if you cover it with clouds or hide
it in half-lights, it will not seem mysterious. But the most genuine and profound things
you may bring forth into the fullest light and let the sunshine bathe them through and
through, and in them there will open ever-new wonders of mysteriousness. Surely of
God it must be supremely true that the more we know of Him, the more He shows
Himself to us, the more mysterious He must for ever be. The mystery of light must be
complete in Him. Revelation is not the unveiling of God, but a changing of the veil that
covers Him, not the dissipation of mystery, but the transformation of the mystery of
darkness into the mystery of light. To the pagan God is mysterious because He is hidden
in clouds, mysterious like the storm. To the Christian God is mysterious because He is
radiant with infinite truth, mysterious like the sun.
II. The doctrine of the Trinity is not an easy, ready-made, satisfactory explanation of
God, in which the inmost chambers of His life are unlocked and thrown wide open, that
whoso will may walk there and understand Him through and through. There is a
mystery concerning God to him who sees the richness of the Divine life in the threefold
unity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost which no man feels to whom God does not seem to
stand forth from the pages of his Testament in that completeness. Not as the answer to a
riddle which leaves all things clear, but as the deeper sight of God, prolific with a
thousand novel questions which were never known before, clothed in a wonder which
only in that larger light displayed itself, offering new worlds for faith and reverence to

wander in, so must the New Testament revelation, the truth of Father, Son, and Spirit,
one perfect God, offer itself to man.
Phillips Brooks, The Candle of the Lord, p. 305.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 2. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: wrapping
the light about him as a monarch puts on his robe. The conception is sublime: but it
makes us feel how altogether inconceivable the personal glory of the Lord must be;
if light itself is but his garment and veil, what must be the blazing splendour of his
own essential being! We are lost in astonishment, and dare not pry into the mystery
lest we be blinded by its insufferable glory.
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain â€”within which he might dwell. Light
was created on the first day and the firmament upon the second, so that they fitly
follow each other in this verse. Oriental princes put on their glorious apparel and
then sit in state within curtains, and the Lord is spoken of under that image: but
how far above all comprehension the figure must be lifted, since the robe is essential
light, to which suns and moons owe their brightness, and the curtain is the azure sky
studded with stars for gems. This is a substantial argument for the truth with which
the psalmist commenced his song, "O Lord my God, thou art very great."
Ver. 2. â€”Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment. In comparing the light
with which he represents God as arrayed to a garment, he intimates, that although
God is invisible, yet his glory is conspicuous enough. In respect of his essence, God
undoubtedly dwells in light that is inaccessible; but as he irradiates the whole world
by his splendour, this is the garment in which he, who is hidden in himself, appears
in a manner visible to us. The knowledge of this truth is of the greatest importance.
If men attempt to reach the infinite height to which God is exalted, although they fly
above the clouds, they must fail in the midst of their course. Those who seek to see
him in his naked majesty are certainly very foolish. That we may enjoy the sight of
him, he must come forth to view with his clothing; that is to say, we must cast our
eyes upon the very beautiful fabric of the world in which he wishes to be seen by us,
and not be too curious and rash in searching into his secret essence. ow, since God
presents himself to us clothed with light, those who are seeking pretexts for their
living without the knowledge of him, cannot allege in excuse of their slothfulness,
that he is hidden in profound darkness. When it is said that the heavens are a
curtain, it is not meant that under them God hides himself, but that by them his
majesty and glory are displayed, being, as it were, his royal pavilion. â€”John
Calvin.
Ver. 2. â€”With light. The first creation of God in the works of the days was the
light of sense; the last was the light of reason; and his Sabbath work ever since is the
illumination of the spirit. â€”Francis Bacon.
Ver. 2. â€”Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain. It is usual in the East, in
the summer season, and upon all occasions when a large company is to be received,
to have the court of the house sheltered from the heat of the weather by all umbrella
or veil, which being expanded upon ropes from one side of the parapet wall to
another may be folded or unfolded at pleasure. The Psalmist seems to allude to some
covering of this kind in that beautiful expression of stretching out the heavens like a

curtain. â€”Kitto's Pictorial Bible.
Ver. 2. â€”Like a curtain. With the same case, by his mere word, with which a man
spreads out a tent curtain, Psalms 104:2, Isaiah 40:22 is parallel, "that stretcheth
out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in." Ver. 3
continues the description of the work of the second day. There lie at bottom, in the
first clause, the words of Genesis 1:7 "God made the vaulted sky and divided
between the waters which are under the vault and the waters which are above the
vault." The waters above are the materials with which, or out of which, the
structure is reared. To construct out of the movable waters a firm palace, the cloudy
heaven, "firm as a molten glass" (Job 37:18), is a magnificent work of divine
omnipotence. â€”E.V. Hengstenberg.
Ver. 2. â€”Like a curtain. Because the Hebrews conceived of heaven as a temple and
palace of God, that sacred azure was at once the floor of his, the roof of our, abode.
Yet I think the dwellers in tents ever loved best the figure of the heavenly tent. They
represent God as daily spreading it out, and fastening it at the extremity of the
horizon to the pillars of heaven, the mountains: it is to them a tent of safety, of rest,
of a fatherly hospitality in which God lives with his creatures. â€”Herder, quoted by
Perowne.
An Embrace of Light
There's a wonderful story about the obel laureate Isidore M. Rabi, who said
that his mother never asked him what he learned in school. Instead she'd ask him
each day, "Izzy, did you ask a good question?" We are a people who revere the
question as the mark of one who is awake and free. Last week Elaine Goodman
asked me, "When is it appropriate to wear a tallit?" And then after I answered, she
said, "You know, it would be interesting on a Friday night to answer questions we
may have about Judaism." So tonight I'd like to talk about not only the when, but
the what, why, where, and how of the tallit.
Actually, let's begin with who wears a tallit. First, God wears a tallit, and since we
are in God's image, we pay close attention to what God wears. Before putting on the
tallit, we say, "Bless Adonai, my soul! Adonai my God, how great You are, clothed
in majesty and glory, wrapped in light like a robe. You spread out the heavens like a
tent." The light of the world is God's tallit, God's robe, God's tent. Energy or force
are other words for the same idea. And when we clothe and wrap ourselves in the
prayer shawl, we connect ourselves to the light of creation and to the light within
ourselves.
ow, the what of tallit. The tallit, along with tefilin, is our most important ritual
clothing. Tallit means robe, and it's not the shawl but the fringes, the tzitziot, that
count. What is the big deal about the fringe? In the ancient world, one's status was
revealed by the hem of the garment: the more fringes, the more important the
person. God tells the Jews that they are a nation of priests, and since the priests
were of highest status, now every Jew will wear the same fringes.
That's one meaning of the tzitziot, the pshat or simplest meaning. I wear fringes

because I am part of a royal people. The deeper meaning comes from umbers 15,
which is part of the shema. Adonai said to Moses, 'Speak to the children of Israel
and tell them that each generation shall put tassels on the corner of their clothes,
and put a blue thread on the corner tassel. Then when this tasel catches your eye,
you will remember all God's commands and do them. Then you will no longer
wander after the desires of your heart and your eyes which led you to lust."
Here we learn that the tallit is a reminder not only of our descent but of our
responsibility to live surrounded by God's light. By that light do we come to see our
own, and our own light shines when we live by God's guidelines, the mitzvot. Tzitzit,
like all Hebrew words, has a numerical eqivalent, and its number is 600. The fringe
contains eight strings and five knots. Put it together and it equals 613, the legendary
number of commandments we own. When we say the shema, we gather the four
corners of the tallit together to bring heaven and earth, and all beings together.
umbers 15 also tells us when we wear the tallit --by day, not night, because the
only way the tzittzit catches the eye is when we can see it, and we need light to see.
Every morning during prayers we wear a tallit and that's why we don't wear it
tonight. The great exception to this is Kol idre, when we all wear prayer shawls.
We do this because it is the holiest night of the year, and the service begins before
sundown, so we stay within the guidelines set forth in umbers.
Let's get back to who wears the tallit. In most non-Orthodox congregations,
Bar/Bat Mitzvah is the event that marks the beginning of wearing this garment. For
our children, the tallit represents what long pants represented in my father's
generation, clothing that tells the wearer that he or she has reached a stage beyond
childhood. At 13, children in our tradition are understood to be ready to make
moral choices, to move from their parents emotionally and intellectually, and to take
responsibility for their decisions. The tallit, usually given by the parents, now
becomes woven with the the shelter provided by the parents. We cannot hold them
forever, and we are comforted knowing that the tallit will embrace them. . The
weight of the shawl will remind the wearer of his or her parent's embrace.
For the legalists, however, a Bar Mitzvah tallit is a custom. In Talmudic times
children wore tzitziot as soon as they understood their meaning. And in the
Orthodox world, unmarried men do not wear tallitot; it's easy to spot eligible
bachelors. And what about women? Do they wear them? Traditionally, no, yet we
know that the writer of the Mishnah sewed them on his wife's clothes. So, some
argue women aren't allowed and others argue they are.
Besides tzitziot, a tallit always has a band or atarah, so that we always wear the
tallit in the same direction, and it usually has stripes, and they're often blue. You
remember that umbers 15 refers to a blue thread. The dye for the thread came
from a precious mediterranean sea snail, and because of its great value, it was the
royal color. All Jews wore this color on the fringe to further stress the nobility of the
nation. When the Temple was destroyed, the snail disappeared, and we no longer
wear the blue thread on the fringe but weave the color into the shawl.

The Torah portion this week is Lech Lecha, God's words to Abraham. Go from
the land of your ancestors...." God says. Yet the grammar is odd. It really says, go
yourself, or go to yourself. Enter your deepest self, Abraham, to birth a new people
with a new idea. The tallit is a ticket to this inward journey. By cloaking ourselves in
light, we may see where we are going, who we have come from, and who we want to
be.
Rabbi Malka Drucker is the spiritual leader of HaMakom: The Place for
Passionate and Progressive Judaism, Santa Fe, ew Mexico. She is a, teacher,
lecturer and author of Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust,
Grandma's Latkes, and The Family Treasury of Jewish Holidays. Rabbi Drucker
maintains a website.
COKE, "Psalms 104:2. The heavens like a curtain— Like a tilt—a tent. Or, Like a
canopy. Mudge. A tent seems the most proper translation, as comprehending, not
the uppermost part of the tent or the canopy only, but the whole tent, both canopy
and curtains: for by that the air which encompasseth the earth is most fitly
resembled, in respect of us here below, for whose use it is that God has thus
extended or stretched it out; as doing that by his secret and invisible virtue, which in
tents used to be done by cords.
ELLICOTT, "Verse 2
(2) Who coverest.—Perhaps better with the participles of the original retained:
Putting on light as a robe;
Spreading the heavens as a curtain.
The psalmist does not think of the formation of light as of a single past act, but as a
continued glorious operation of Divine power and splendour. ot only is light as to
the modern poet,
“ ature’s resplendent robe,
Without whose vesting beauty all were wrapt
In unessential gloom,”
but it is the dress of Divinity, the “ethereal woof” that God Himself is for ever
weaving for His own wear.
Curtain.—Especially of a tent (see Song of Solomon 1:5, &c.), the tremulous
movement of its folds being expressed in the Hebrew word. Different explanations
have been given of the figure. Some see an allusion to the curtains of the Tabernacle
(Exodus 26, 27). The associations of this ritual were dear to a religious Hebrew, and
he may well have had in his mind the rich folds of the curtain of the Holy of Holies.

So a modern poet speaks of
“The arras-folds, that variegate
The earth, God’s ante-chamber.
Herder, again, refers the image to the survival of the nomadic instinct. But there is
no need to put a limit to a figure so natural and suggestive. Possibly images of
palace, temple, and tent, all combined, rose to the poet’s thought, as in Shelley’s
“Ode to Heaven”:—
“Palace roof of cloudless nights!
Paradise of golden lights!
Deep immeasurable vast,
Which art now, and which wert then;
Of the present and the past,
Of the Eternal where and when,
Presence-chamber, temple, home,
Ever-canopying dome
Of acts and ages yet to come!”
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.

BAR ES, "Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters - The word
here rendered “layeth” - from ‫קרה‬ qârâh - means properly to meet; then, in Hiphil, to
cause to meet, or to fit into each other, as beams or joists do in a dwelling. It is a word
which would be properly applied to the construction of a house, and to the right
adjustment of the different materials employed in building it. The word rendered
“beams” - ‫עליה‬ ‛ălıyâh - means “an upper chamber, a loft,” such as rises, in Oriental
houses, above the flat roof; in the New Testament, the ᆓπερሬον huperōon, rendered
“upper room,” Act_1:13; Act_9:37, Act_9:39; Act_20:8. It refers here to the chamber -
the exalted abode of God - as if raised above all other edifices, or above the world. The
word “waters” here refers to the description of the creation in Gen_1:6-7 - the waters
“above the firmament,” and the waters “below the firmament.” The allusion here is to
the waters above the firmament; and the meaning is, that God had constructed the place
of his own abode - the room where he dwelt - in those waters; that is, in the most exalted
place in the universe. It does not mean that he made it of the waters, but that his home -
his dwelling-place - was in or above those waters, as if he had built his dwelling not on
solid earth or rock, but in the waters, giving stability to that which seems to have no
stability, and making the very waters a foundation for the structure of his abode.
Who maketh the clouds his chariot - Who rides on the clouds as in a chariot. See
the notes at Isa_19:1. Compare the notes at Psa_18:11.
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind - See the notes at Psa_18:10.
CLARKE, "‫עליותיו‬ ‫במים‬ ‫המקרה‬ hamekareh bammayim aliyothaiv.
“Laying the beams of his chambers in the waters.”
The sacred writer expresses the wonderful nature of the air aptly, and regularly
constructed, from various and flux elements, into one continued and stable series, by a
metaphor drawn from the singular formation of the tabernacle, which, consisting of
many and different parts, and easily reparable when there was need, was kept together
by a perpetual juncture and contignation of them all together. The poet goes on: -
‫רכובו‬ ‫עבים‬ ‫השם‬ hassem abim rechubo,
‫רוה‬ ‫כנפי‬ ‫על‬ ‫המהלך‬ hamehallech al canphey ruach.
“Making the clouds his chariot,
Walking upon the wings of the wind.”
He had first expressed an image of the Divine Majesty, such as it resided in the holy of
holies, discernible by a certain investiture of the most splendid light; he now denotes the
same from that light of itself which the Divine Majesty exhibited, when it moved
together with the ark, sitting on a circumambient cloud, and carried on high through the
air. That seat of the Divine Presence is even called by the sacred historians, as its proper
name, ‫המרכבה‬ hammercabah, The Chariot.

GILL, "Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters,.... Or "his upper
rooms" (i); one story over another being built by him in the heavens, Amo_9:6, the
chambers where he resides; his courts, as the Targum; his palace and apartments, his
presence chamber particularly, the floor and beams of them are the waters bound up in
the thick clouds; or the region of the air, from whence the rain descends to water the
hills, as in Psa_104:13.
Who maketh the clouds his chariot; to ride in; in these sometimes Jehovah rides to
execute judgment on his enemies, Isa_19:1 and in these sometimes he appears in a way
of grace and mercy to his people, Exo_13:21, in these, as in chariots, Christ went up to
heaven; and in these will he come a second time; and into these will the saints be caught
up to meet the Lord in the air at his coming, Act_1:9.
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind; see Psa_18:10 which is expressive of his
swiftness in coming to help and assist his people in time of need; who helps, and that
right early; and may very well be applied both to the first and second coming of Christ,
who came leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the hills, when he first came;
and, when he comes a second time, will be as a roe or a young hart upon the mountains
of spices, Son_2:8. The Targum is,
"upon the swift clouds, like the wings of an eagle;''
hence, perhaps, it is, the Heathens have a notion of Jupiter's being carried in a chariot
through the air, when it thunders and lightens (k).
JAMISO , "in the waters — or, it may be “with”; using this fluid for the beams, or
frames, of His residence accords with the figure of clouds for chariots, and wind as a
means of conveyance.
walketh — or, “moveth” (compare Psa_18:10, Psa_18:11; Amo_9:6).
CALVI , "3.Laying the beams of his chambers in the WATERS David now
proceeds to explain at greater length what he had briefly stated under the figure of
God’s raiment. The scope of the passage is shortly this, that we need not pierce our
way above the clouds for the purpose of finding God, since he meets us in the fabric
of the world, and is everywhere exhibiting to our view scenes of the most vivid
description. That we may not imagine that there is any thing in Him derived, as if,
by the creation of the world, he received any addition to his essential perfection and
glory, we must remember that he clothes himself with this robe for our sake. The
metaphorical representation of God, as laying the beams of his chambers in the
waters, seems somewhat difficult to understand; but it was the design of the
prophet, from a thing incomprehensible to us, to ravish us with the greater
admiration. Unless beams be substantial and strong, they will not be able to sustain
even the weight of an ordinary house. When, therefore, God makes the waters the
foundation of his heavenly palace, who can fail to be astonished at a miracle so
wonderful? When we take into ACCOU T our slowness of apprehension, such
hyperbolical expressions are by no means superfluous; for it is with difficulty that

they awaken and enable us to attain even a slight knowledge of God.
What is meant by his walking upon the wings of the wind, is rendered more obvious
from the following verse, where it is said, that the winds are his messengers God
rides on the clouds, and is carried upon the wings of the wind, inasmuch as he drives
about the winds and clouds at his pleasure, and by sending them hither and thither
as swiftly as he pleases, shows thereby the signs of his presence. By these words we
are taught that the winds do not blow by chance, nor the lightnings flash by a
fortuitous impulse, but that God, in the exercise of his sovereign power, rules and
controls all the agitations and disturbances of the atmosphere. From this doctrine a
twofold advantage may be reaped. In the first place, if at any time noxious winds
arise, if the south wind corrupt the air, or if the north wind scorch the corn, and not
only tear up trees by the root, but overthrow houses, and if other winds destroy the
fruits of the earth, we ought to tremble under these scourges of Providence. In the
second place, if, on the other hand, God moderate the excessive heat by a gentle
cooling breeze, if he purify the polluted atmosphere by the north wind, or if he
moisten the parched ground by south winds; in this we ought to contemplate his
goodness.
As the apostle, who writes to the Hebrews, (Hebrews 1:7) quotes this passage, and
applies it to the angels, BOTH the Greek and Latin expositors have almost
unanimously considered David as here speaking allegorically. In like manner,
because Paul, in quoting Psalms 19:4, in his Epistle to the Romans, (Romans 10:18)
seems to apply to the apostles what is there STATED concerning the heavens, the
whole psalm has been injudiciously expounded as if it were an allegory. (179) The
design of the apostle, in that part of the Epistle to the Hebrews referred to, was not
simply to explain the mind of the prophet in this place; but since God is exhibited to
us, as it were, visibly in a mirror, the apostle very properly lays down the analogy
between the obedience which the winds manifestly and perceptibly yield to God, and
that obedience which he receives from the angels. In short, the meaning is, that as
God makes use of the winds as his messengers, turns them hither and thither, calms
and raises them whenever he pleases, that by their ministry he may declare his
power, so the angels were created to execute his commands. And certainly we profit
little in the contemplation of universal nature, if we do not behold with the eyes of
faith that spiritual glory of which an image is presented to us in the world.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the water's. His
lofty halls are framed with the waters which are above the firmament. The upper
rooms of God's great house, the secret stories far above our ken, the palatial
chambers wherein he resides, are based upon the floods which form the upper
ocean. To the unsubstantial he lends stability; he needs no joists and rafters, for his
palace is sustained by his own power. We are not to interpret literally where the
language is poetical, it would be simple absurdity to do so.
Who maketh the clouds his chariot. When he comes forth from his secret pavilion it
is thus he makes his royal progress. "It is chariot of wrath deep thunder clouds
form, "and his chariot of mercy drops plenty as it traverses the celestial road.
Who walketh or rather goes upon the wings of the wind. With the clouds for a car,

and the winds for winged steeds, the Great King hastens on his movements whether
for mercy or for judgment. Thus we have the idea of a king still further elaboratedâ
€”his lofty palace, his chariot, and his coursers are before us; but what a palace
must we imagine, whose beams are of crystal, and whose base is consolidated
vapour! What a stately car is that which is fashioned out of the flying clouds, whose
gorgeous colours Solomon in all his glory could not rival; and what a Godlike
progress is that in which spirit wings and breath of winds bear up the moving
throne. "O Lord, my God, thou art very great!"
Ver. 3. â€”The metaphorical representation of God, as laying the beams of his
chambers in the waters, seems somewhat difficult to understand; but it was the
design of the prophet, from a thing incomprehensible to us, to ravish us with the
greater admiration. Unless beams be substantial and strong, they will not be able to
sustain even the weight of an ordinary house. When, therefore, God makes the
waters the foundation of his heavenly palace, who can fail to be astonished at a
miracle so wonderful? When we take into account our slowness of apprehension,
such hyperbolical expressions are by no means superfluous; for it is with difficulty
that they awaken and enable us to attain even a slight knowledge of God. â€”John
Calvin.
Ver. 3. â€”Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; or, "who layeth his
upper chambers above the waters." His upper chamber (people in the East used to
retire to the upper chamber when they wished for solitude) is reared up in bright
other on the slender foundation of rainy clouds. â€”A.F. Tholuck.
Ver. 3. â€”Who layeth the beams, etc. "He floodeth his chambers with waters, "i.e.,
the clouds make the flooring of his heavens. â€”Zachary Mudge.
Ver. 3. â€”Who walketh upon the wings of the wind; see Psalms 18:10; which is
expressive of his swiftness in coming to helped assist his people in time of need; who
helps, and that right early; and may very well be applied both to the first and
second coming of Christ, who came leaping Upon the mountains, and skipping upon
the hills, when he first came; and, when he comes a second time will be as a roe or a
young hart upon the mountains of spices, So 2:8 8:14 The Targum is, "upon the
swift clouds, like the wings of an eagle"; hence, perhaps, it is the heathens have a
notion that Jupiter is being carried in a chariot through the air when it thunders
and lightens. â€”John Gill.
Ver. 3. â€”Who walketh upon the wings of the wind. In these words there is an
unequalled elegance; not, he fleeth â€”he runneth, butâ€”he walketh;and that on
the very wings of the wind;on the most impetuous element raised into the utmost
rage, and sweeping along with incredible rapidity. We cannot have a more sublime
idea of the deity; serenely walking on an element of inconceivable swiftness, and, as
it seems to us, uncontrollable impetuosity! â€”James Hervey, 1713-14â€”1758.
BE SO , "Verse 3
Psalms 104:3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers — His upper rooms, (so the
word ‫עליותיו‬ signifies,) in the waters — The waters that are above the firmament,
(Psalms 104:3,) as he has founded the earth upon the seas and floods, the waters
beneath the firmament. The Almighty is elsewhere said to make those dark waters,

compacted in the thick clouds of the skies, the secret place, or chamber, of his
residence, and a kind of footstool to his throne: see Psalms 18:9; Psalms 18:11.
Though air and water are fluid bodies, yet, by the divine power, they are kept as
tight and as firm in the place assigned them, as a chamber is with beams and rafters.
How great a God is he whose presence-chamber is thus reared, thus fixed! Who
maketh the clouds his chariot — In which he rides strongly, swiftly, and far above,
out of the reach of opposition, when at any time it is his will to make use of
uncommon providences in his government of the world. He descended in a cloud, as
in a chariot, to mount Sinai, to give the law, and to mount Tabor, to proclaim the
gospel; and he still frequently rides upon the clouds, or heavens, to the help of his
people, Deuteronomy 33:26. Who walketh upon the wings of the wind — “There is
an unequalled elegance,” says Mr. Hervey, “in these words. It is not said he flieth,
he runneth, but he walketh; and that, on the very wings of the wind; on the most
impetuous element, raised into the utmost rage, and sweeping along with incredible
rapidity. We cannot have a more sublime idea of the Deity; serenely walking on an
element of inconceivable swiftness, and, as it seems to us, uncontrollable
impetuosity.” “How astonishingly magnificent and tremendous is the idea which
these words convey to us of the great King, riding upon the heavens, encompassed
with clouds and darkness, attended by the lightnings, those ready executioners of his
vengeance, and causing the world to resound and tremble at the thunder of his
power and the noise of his chariot-wheels. By these ensigns of royalty, these
emblems of omnipotence, and instruments of his displeasure, doth Jehovah manifest
his presence, when he visiteth rebellious man, to make him own and adore his
neglected and insulted Lord.” — Horne,
COKE, "Psalms 104:3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers— He flooreth his
chambers with waters: i.e. "The clouds make the flooring of his heavens." Mudge.
By these chambers are meant, though not the supreme, yet the superior or middle
regions of the air. It is here described as an upper story in a house, laid firm with
beams; (accounting the earth, and the region of air around it, as the lowest story:)
and this floor is here poetically said to be laid in the waters; i.e. in watery clouds.
ow, whereas in the building of an upper story there must be some walls or pillars
to support the weight of it, and on which the beams must be laid; God here, by his
own miraculous power, laid, and hath ever since supported, these upper rooms;
there being nothing but waters to support them; a fluid unstable body, incapable of
supporting itself. This therefore is another work of his divine power; that the
waters, which are so fluid, and unable to contain themselves within their own
bounds, should yet hang in the middle of the air, and be as walls or pillars to
support that region of air, which is itself another fluid body. Mr. Hervey observes
very well, that in the words, Who walketh upon the wings of the wind, there is an
unequalled elegance; not he flieth—he runneth, but—he walketh; and that on the
very wings of the wind; on the most impetuous element, raised into the utmost rage,
and sweeping along with incredible rapidity. We cannot have a more sublime idea of
the Deity; serenely walking on an element of inconceivable swiftness, and, as it
seems to us, uncontrollable impetuosity!
ELLICOTT, "(3) Layeth the beams.—Literally, maketh to meet The meaning of the

Hebrew word, which is an exact equivalent of the Latin contignare, is clear from
ehemiah 2:8; ehemiah 3:3; ehemiah 3:6, and from the meaning of the derived
noun (2 Kings 6:2; 2 Kings 6:5; Song of Solomon 1:17).
Chambers.—Literally, lofts or upper stories. (See 2 Kings 4:10; Jeremiah 22:13-14.)
In the waters.—The manner of this ethereal architecture is necessarily somewhat
difficult to picture. The pavilion which God rears for His own abode appears to rest
on a floor of rain-clouds, like a tent spread on a flat eastern roof. (See Psalms 18:11;
Amos 9:6-7.) Southey’s description of the Palace of Indra may perhaps help the
imagination:—
“Built on the lake, the waters were its floor;
And here its walls were water arched with fire,
And here were fire with water vaulted o’er;
And spires and pinnacles of fire
Round watery cupolas aspire,
And domes of rainbow rest on fiery towers.”
Curse of Kehama.
Who maketh the clouds His chariot.—See Psalms 18:10, probably the original of
this verse; chariot (rekhûb) here taking the place of cherub.
Walketh upon the wings of the wind.—Doubtless the metaphor is taken from the
clouds, which, in a wind-swept sky, float along like “the drifted wings of many
companies of angels.” The clause is thus in direct parallelism with the description of
the cloud chariot. The figure has passed into modern song:
“Every gust of rugged wings
That blows from off each beaked promontory.”
MILTO : Lycidas.
“ o wing of wind the region swept.”
TE YSO : In Memoriam

4444 He makes winds his messengers,[a]He makes winds his messengers,[a]He makes winds his messengers,[a]He makes winds his messengers,[a]
flames of fire his servants.flames of fire his servants.flames of fire his servants.flames of fire his servants.
BARNES, "BARNES, "BARNES, "BARNES, "Who maketh his angels spiritsWho maketh his angels spiritsWho maketh his angels spiritsWho maketh his angels spirits ---- The meaning here literally would be, “Who
makes the winds his messengers,” or “his angels;” that is, who employs them to execute his
purpose; who sends them out as messengers or angels to do his will.
His ministers a flaming fireHis ministers a flaming fireHis ministers a flaming fireHis ministers a flaming fire ---- That is, Fire is employed by him - in lightnings - to accomplish
his purpose as his ministers or his servants. They are entirely under his command. They are sent
by him to do his will; to carry out his designs. This is intended to describe the majesty and the
power of God - that he can employ wind and lightning - tempest and storm - to go on errands
such as he commands; to fulfill his plans; to do his bidding. For the application of this to the
angels, and as employed by the apostle Paul to prove the inferiority of the angels to the Messiah,
see the notes at Heb_1:7.
CLARKE, "CLARKE, "CLARKE, "CLARKE, "‫רחות‬ ‫מלאכיו‬ ‫עשה‬ oseh rnalachaiv ruchoth,
‫להט‬ ‫אש‬ ‫משרתיו‬ mesharethaiv esh lohet.
The elements are described as prompt and expedite to perform the Divine commands,
like angels or ministers serving in the tabernacle; the Hebrew word ‫משרתיו‬ mesharethaiv
being a word most common in the sacred ministrations.
GILL, "Who maketh his angels spirits,.... The angels are spirits, or spiritual
substances, yet created ones; and so differ from God, who is a spirit, and from the Holy
Spirit of God, who are Creators and not creatures; angels are spirits without bodies, and
so differ from the souls or spirits of men, and are immaterial, and so die not; these are

made by Christ, by whom all things are made, Col_1:16 and so he must be greater and
more excellent than they; for which purpose the passage is quoted in Heb_1:7. Some
render it, "who maketh his angels as the winds"; to which they may be compared for
their invisibility, they being not to be seen, no more than the wind, unless when they
assume an external form; and for their penetration through bodies in a very surprising
manner; see Act_12:6, and for their great force and power, being mighty angels, and said
to excel in strength, Psa_103:20, and for their swiftness in obeying the divine
commands; so the Targum,
"he maketh his messengers, or angels, swift as the wind.''
His ministers a flaming fire; angels are ministers to God, stand before him, behold
his face, wait for and listen to his orders, and execute them; they are ministers to Christ,
they were so at his incarnation, in his infancy, when in the wilderness and in the garden,
at his resurrection and ascension, and will attend him at his second coming; and these
are ministers to his people, take the care of them, encamp about them, do many good
offices to them in life, and at death carry their souls to Abraham's bosom: these are
made a flaming fire, or "as" flaming fire, for their force and power; so the Targum,
"his ministers strong as flaming fire;''
and for their swiftness as before; and because of their burning love to God, Christ, and
his people, and their flaming zeal for his cause and interest; hence thought by some to be
called "seraphim": and because they are sometimes the executioners of God's wrath; and
have sometimes appeared in fiery forms, as in forms of horses of fire and chariots of fire,
and will descend with Christ in flaming fire at the last day; see 2Ki_2:11. Some invert the
words, both reading and sense, thus, "who maketh the winds his angels, or messengers,
and flaming fire his ministers"; so Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi; we read of stormy
wind fulfilling his word, Psa_148:8, he sends out his winds at his pleasure to do his
errands; as to dry up the waters of the flood, to drive back the waters of the Red sea, and
make dry land, to bring quails from thence, and scatter them about the camp of Israel,
and in many other instances. So flaming fire was used as his ministers in burning Sodom
and Gomorrah; and multitudes of the murmuring Israelites, and the captains with their
fifties; but this sense is contrary to the order of the words, and the design of them, and to
the apostle's sense of them, Heb_1:7 which is confirmed by the Targum, Septuagint, and
all the Oriental versions.
JAMISO , "This is quoted by Paul (Heb_1:7) to denote the subordinate position of
angels; that is, they are only messengers as other and material agencies.
spirits — literally, “winds.”
flaming fire — (Psa_105:32) being here so called.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 4. Who maketh his angels spirits; or wields, for the word means
either. Angels are pure spirits, though they are permitted to assume a visible form
when God desires us to see them. God is a spirit, and he is waited upon by spirits in
his royal courts. Angels are like winds for mystery, force, and invisibility, and no
doubt the winds themselves are often the angels or messengers of God. God who
makes his angels to be as winds, can also make winds to be his angels, and they are
constantly so in the economy of nature.

His ministers a flaming fire. Here, too, we may choose which we will of two
meanings: God's ministers or servants he makes to be as swift, potent, and terrible
as fire, and on the other hand he makes fire, that devouring element, to be his
minister flaming forth upon his errands. That the passage refers to angels is clear
from Hebrews 1:7; and it was most proper to mention them here in connection with
light and the heavens, and immediately after the robes and paltree of the Great
King. Should not the retinue of the Lord of Hosts be mentioned as well as his
chariot? It would have been a flaw in the description of the universe had the angels
not been alluded to, and this is the most appropriate place for their introduction.
When we think of the extraordinary powers entrusted to angelic beings, and the
mysterious glory of the seraphim and the four living creatures, we are led to reflect
upon the glory of the Master whom they serve, and again we cry out with the
psalmist, "O Lord, my God, thou art very great."
Ver. 4. ‫”€ג‬Who maketh his angels spirits. Some render it, Who maketh his angels as
the winds, to which they may be compared for their invisibility, they being not to be
seen, no more than the wind, unless when they assume an external form; and for
their penetration through bodies in a very surprising manner; see Acts 7:6-10; and
for their great force and power, being mighty angels, and said to excel in strength,
Psalms 103:20; and for their swiftness in obeying the divine commands; so the
Targum, "He maketh his messengers, or angels, swift as the wind." ‫”€ג‬John Gill.
Ver. 4. ‫”€ג‬Who maketh his angels spirits. The words, "creating his angels spirits,
"may either mean "creating them spiritual beings, not material beings, "or
"creating them winds" ‫”€ג‬i.e. like the winds, invisible, rapid in their movements,
and capable of producing great effects. The last mode of interpretation seems
pointed out by the parallelism‫"”€ג‬and his ministers" ‫”€ג‬or, "servants" ‫”€ג‬who are
plainly the same as his angels, ‫"”€ג‬a flame of fire, "i.e., like the lightning. The
statement here made about the angels seems to be this: "They are created beings,
who in their qualities bear a resemblance to the winds and the lightning."
The argument deduced by Paul, in Hebrews 2:7, from this statement for the
inferiority of the angels is direct and powerful: ‫”€ג‬He is the Son; they are the
creatures of God. "Only begotten" is the description of his mode of existence; made
is the description of theirs. All their powers are communicated power; and however
high they may stand in the scale of creation, it is in that scale they stand, which
places them infinitely below him, who is so the Son of God as to be "God over all,
blessed for ever." ‫”€ג‬John Brown, in "An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews."
Ver. 4. ‫”€ג‬A flaming fire. Fire is expressive of irresistible power, immaculate
holiness, and ardent emotion. It is remarkable that the seraphim, one class at least
of these ministers, have their name from a root signifying to burn; and the altar,
from which one of them took the live coal, Isaiah 6:6, is the symbol of the highest
form of holy love. ‫”€ג‬James G. Murphy, in "A Commentary on the Book of Psalms,
"1875.
SBC, "Consider what is implied in the text.
I. What a number of beautiful and wonderful objects does nature present on every side
of us, and how little we know concerning them! Why do rivers flow? Why does rain fall?
Why does the sun warm us? And the wind—why does it blow? Here our natural reason is

at fault; we know that it is the spirit in man and in beast that makes man and beast
move, but reason tells us of no spirit abiding in what is called the natural world, to make
it perform its ordinary duties. Now here Scripture interposes, and seems to tell us that
all this wonderful harmony is the work of angels. Those events which we ascribe to
chance, as the weather, or to nature, as the seasons, are duties done to that God who
maketh His angels to be winds, and His ministers a flame of fire. Nature is not
inanimate; its daily toil is intelligent; its works are duties. Every breath of air and ray of
light and heat, every beautiful prospect, is, as it were, the skirts of their garments, the
waving of the robes of those whose faces see God in heaven.
II. While this doctrine raises the mind and gives it a matter of thought, it is also
profitable as a humbling doctrine. Theories of science are useful, as classifying, and so
assisting us to recollect, the works and ways of God and of His ministering angels. And
again, they are ever most useful in enabling us to apply the course of His providence and
the ordinances of His will to the benefit of man. Thus we are enabled to enjoy God’s
gifts; and let us thank Him for the knowledge which enables us to do so, and honour
those who are His instruments in communicating it. But if such a one proceeds to
imagine that, because he knows something of this world’s wonderful order, he therefore
knows how things really go on; if he treats the miracles of nature as mere mechanical
processes, continuing their course by themselves; if in consequence he is what may be
called irreverent in his conduct towards nature, thinking (if I may so speak) that it does
not hear him, and see how he is bearing himself towards it; and if, moreover, he
conceives that the order of nature, which he partially discerns, will stand in the place of
the God who made it, and that all things continue and move on not by His will and
power and the agency of the thousands and ten thousands of His unseen servants, but by
fixed laws, self-caused and self-sustained, what a poor weak worm and miserable sinner
he becomes! When we converse on subjects of nature scientifically, repeating the names
of plants and earths and describing their properties, we should do so religiously, as in
the hearing of the great servants of God, with the sort of diffidence which we always feel
when speaking before the learned and wise of our own mortal race, as poor beginners in
intellectual knowledge as well as in moral attainments.
J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. ii., p. 358.
Psalms 104:4
In the present day a large number of scientific men maintain that the appearance of
design in nature is an appearance only, not a reality. This view is supposed to be
established in two ways: first, by the general doctrine of the universal reign of law; and
secondly, by the particular theory of evolution.
I. Look, first, at the argument drawn from the universality of law. Law is a very
misleading word. Law only means invariable sequence. You will sometimes hear it said,
the universe is governed by laws. The universe is not governed by laws. It is governed
according to laws, but no one can suppose that the laws make themselves; no one can
imagine, for example, that water determines of its own accord always to freeze at one
temperature and to boil at another, that snowflakes make up their minds to assume
certain definite and regular shapes, or that fire burns of malice aforethought. The
sequences of nature do not explain themselves. The regularity of nature, then, needs to
be explained. It cannot explain itself, nor can it disprove the existence of a controlling

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