Embrace the Word for Monday, August 17, 2026
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Psalm 104 is a celebration of the LORD’s faithfulness as seen through His work of creation as well as His sustaining care for creation. Psalm 104 is part of a subunit of Book 4 of the Psalter, comprised of Psalms 103-106, which exalt the LORD with praise. These last four Psalms of Book 4 anticipate the last four Psalms of praise that will close out the fifth and final book of the Psalter. Psalm 104 is linked with Psalm 103 in that both Psalms open and close with “Bless the LORD, O my soul” (103:1,2,22; 104:1,35). However, the reasons offered in the two Psalms for the call to praise, differ, as Psalm 103 praises the LORD for His merciful forgiveness of sin, while Psalm 104 praises the LORD for His power and wisdom over creation. Psalm 104 sets to lyrical poetry the creation account in Genesis 1-2, as it highlights that reality of the LORD being Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. Additionally Psalm 104 also seems to anticipate what is recorded about the new creation in Revelation 20-22. Psalm 104 opens and closes with a call for the LORD to be praised (104:1-2; 31-35), and in between there is an explanation of the stability of creation (104:2-9) followed by the supply to creation (104:10-30).
Psalm 104 opens with praise: “Bless the LORD, O my soul!” (104:1a). While Psalm 104 does not offer a superscription, it is interesting to note that since it opens in the same way that the expressly Davidic Psalm 103 does, it is possible that this Psalm is also Davidic. However, it is best not to press the matter of human authorship too far when the Psalm itself does not specify. Whoever wrote it, the Spirit of God moved the author to call himself and by implication, all who join in to read and recite the Psalm, to bless the LORD from the depths of their soul. The Psalmist asserts not only the exceeding greatness of God, but also the covenantal relationship that he has with the LORD: “O LORD my God, you are very great!” (104:1b). The portrait that begins this Psalm fits nicely with the emphasis of the LORD’s Kingship that has been highlighted throughout much of Book 4. The Psalmist portrays the LORD as arrayed in Kingly glory: “You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment” (104:1c-2a). The Psalmist is not describing literal clothing and residency, He is attributing to God—the best that language can—what the LORD is like. While God is invisible to mankind in one sense (See 1 Timothy 1:17), He is revealed through His work of and through creation to be a gloriously wise and powerful God (See Romans 1:20).
As the Psalmist continues his description of the greatness of God, he unfolds the greatness of God’s creative work: “Stretching out the heavens like a tent. He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.” (104:2b-4). Drawing from the historical account of creation, Psalm 104 begins a poetical rendering of creation on day two as recorded in Genesis 1:6-8 describing the “heavens” and the “waters.” While creation itself is great, such a work points to an even greater God as He stretches out the heavens, lays beams, rides on the clouds and wind as a chariot, and dispatches his agents (probably angelic beings) as He wishes. While all of the poetical language may not be fully discernible, it should at least provoke the exclamation: “Who is like the LORD our God?” (See Exodus 15:11).
Continuing his interaction with Genesis, the Psalmist draws from day three of creation as recorded in Genesis 1:9-10, which pertains to the boundaries of the waters and the appearance of dry land: “He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they took to flight. The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth” (104:5-9). The LORD established the earth on such a sure foundation that it cannot be destroyed. The LORD brought the world into existence by the power of His Word (See Genesis 1:1-3), and He upholds the world by the same (See Hebrew 1:3). As the LORD was implementing His work of creation, He arranged and ordered all that He made for the exact purposes for which they were created. The result was a stable and proper functioning world—under the control of the LORD—fit to carry out the LORD’s orders.
Creation not only reveals the unparalleled power of the the LORD, it also reveals His attentive care in the way that He provides for all that He made: “You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches. From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work” (104:10-13). The waters that the LORD set boundaries around in creation, now serve as the source of abundant goodness and life-giving satisfaction. Not only did the LORD supply ample water, He has also set into place an ample source of food: “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart” (104:14-15). While the LORD has put a world in place that supplies food, He has also arranged for such supply to come through the duty of man to cultivate. Food will come forth, certainly from the LORD, but through the obligation of man to work the ground (See Genesis 2:5,15). Through this faithful cultivation, man would be afforded not merely basic necessities for nourishment, but also luxuriant provisions for enjoyment. For the plants and animals who were not ordered to cultivate, the LORD pledged a well-supplied life: “The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers” (104:16-18). Concerning the arrangements of the times and the seasons, the Psalmist draws from day four from Genesis 1:14-19 to speak of the sun and the moon: “He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens. Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening” (104:19-23). The LORD planned out everything carefully. The moon marks the months, and the sun marks the days. Night is the time ordained for the wild animals to prowl for food, while the daylight hours have been set aside for human labor. These patterns in the creation are testimonies to the LORD’s ruling care of His creation.
In light of what he has expressed thus far, the Psalmist pauses, of sorts, to erupt: “O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures” (104:24). As the Psalmist resumes, he draws from day five in Genesis 1:21 as he highlights the creatures of the sea: “Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it” (104:25-26). While the Psalmist references a range of creatures, he highlights their common perseveration as rooted in the very hand of the LORD: “These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things” (104:27-28). In fact, the supply afforded to all creatures, as well as their existence, is completely dependent on the LORD: “When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground” (104:29-30). The mention of death recalls its entrance because of sin as a warning in Genesis 2 and as recorded in Genesis 3 when man rebelled against God. As the Psalmist refers to the Spirit’s agency in creation, this certainly coincides with the presence of the Spirit at creation itself (See Genesis 1:1-3), but the language of “you renew the face of the ground,” suggests what is more fully developed as the Scriptures unfold: that the LORD will overcome death by life, remove the defilement of sin by atonement, and remove the ruination of creation through a new creation. The power and wisdom displayed through the LORD’s creating and sustaining work establishes the confidence of an anticipated renewed work. The God who was capable of doing what He did at creation will not fail to do all that He sets out to do in regards to a new creation.
The Psalmist closes by expressing three desires: “May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD. Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!” (104:31-35). The Psalmist desires (or we might even say prays) that all that the LORD has made would not only endure forever, but bring joy to the LORD. The Psalmist desires that the LORD who can cause the world to tremble and smoke, would continually delight in what He created. Along with the LORD finding joy in creation, the Psalmist desires that he too would express joy for creation, not only through the praises that he sings but also in the happy meditations of his heart. Finally, the Psalmist desires to see the day when the LORD would exclude the wicked from the world. While such a desire may sound a bit harsh, it should actually be seen as a kind warning for sinners to repent. While their is still time, the LORD has made provision for sinners to not be consumed. But we should not interpret the LORD’s patience as a lack of resolve to recreate the world in righteousness (See 2 Peter 3:13). The Psalmist’s desires finally culminate in the call to “Bless the LORD” and “Praise the LORD.” While we have already seen the call to bless, the call of “Hallelujah” is the first in the Psalter. How fitting it is for all of creation to decidedly praise its Creator. After all, that what is was created to do in the first place.
As we reflect on Psalm 104, we can consider the sober reality that the wicked will one day be removed from the world. The new or renewed heaven and earth will be a dwelling place reserved for the righteous: “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (See 2 Peter 3:13). There is no ambiguity in the Scriptures concerning the destiny of the wicked: “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (See Revelation 21:8). Of course, it is essential to clarify that this removal will actually only be the unrepentant wicked who have refused to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. For sinners who repent, there is pardon, new life, and righteousness through Jesus. It is also essential to clarify that the acquisition of righteousness is not based on human merit, but the extravagant grace of God, accomplished through the substitutionary nature of Jesus’ life and death: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (See 2 Corinthians 5:21). An eternal home in the presence of the LORD through a righteousness that is gifted to us in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah!
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Monday, August 17, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Wednesday, August 19, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 105.