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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 104

1 Praise the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are magnificent. You are robed in splendor and majesty. 2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment. He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain⁠ 3 and lays the beams on water in his upper rooms3. He makes the clouds his chariot and travels on the wings of the wind.⁠ 4 He makes the winds his messengers⁠ and the flaming fire his attendant.⁠ 5 He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be moved. 6 The watery deep covered it like a garment; the waters reached above the mountains. 7 Your shout made the waters retreat; at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off— 8 as the mountains rose up and the valleys went down—to the place you appointed for them. 9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross, so that they would not cover the earth again.⁠ 10 He turns springs into streams; they flow between the mountains. 11 They provide water for all the animals in the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 The birds of the sky live beside them; they chirp among the bushes. 13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace; the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow. 14 He provides grass for the cattle and crops for people to cultivate, so they can produce food from the ground 15 as well as wine that makes people glad, and olive oil to make their faces shine as well as bread that sustains them. 16 The trees of the Lord receive all the rain they need, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted, 17 where the birds make nests near the evergreens in which the herons live. 18 The wild goats live in the high mountains; the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs. 19 He made the moon to mark the months, and the sun sets according to a regular schedule.⁠ 20 You make it dark and night comes, during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.⁠ 21 The lions roar for prey, seeking their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they withdraw and sleep in their dens. 23 People then go out to do their work, and they labor until evening. 24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;⁠ the earth is full of the living things you have made. 25 Over here is the deep, wide sea, which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, living things both small and large. 26 The ships travel there, and over here swims Leviathan35 you made to play in it.⁠ 27 All your creatures wait for you to provide them with food on a regular basis. 28 You give food to them and they receive it; you open your hand and they are filled with food. 29 When you ignore them, they panic. When you take away their life’s breath, they die and return to dust.⁠ 30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created, and you replenish the surface of the ground. 31 May the splendor of the Lord endure. May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made. 32 He looks down on the earth and it shakes; he touches the mountains and they start to smolder. 33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist. 34 May my thoughts be pleasing to him. I will rejoice in the Lord. 35 May sinners disappear from the earth, and the wicked vanish. Praise the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 104:24 and Proverbs 3:19

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Proverbs 3 describes creation as the work of divine wisdom, with the earth’s foundations and the heavens established through understanding. Psalm 104 uses similar language to praise everything made with wisdom and the earth filled with life.

Passages

Psalm 104:24

Hebrew Bible
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw and sleep in their dens. 23 People then go out to do their work, and they labor until evening. 24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; the earth is full of the living things you have made. 25 Over here is the deep, wide sea, which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, living things both small and large.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Proverbs 3:19

Hebrew Bible
17 Her ways are very pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful. 18 She is like a tree of life to those who grasp onto her, and everyone who takes hold of her will be blessed. 19 By wisdom the Lord laid the foundation of the earth; he established the heavens by understanding. 20 By his knowledge the primordial sea was broken open, so that the clouds drip down dew. 21 My child, do not let them escape from your sight; safeguard sound wisdom and discretion.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

References

"... In Isaiah 66:1–2 YHWH declares, “The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What sort of house might you build for me? Where might be my resting place?” The individual metaphors “throne” and “footstool” do not stand alone but imply the entire “house,” that is, the cosmos itself. This is clearly implied by the merismus “heavens” and “earth,” and is made explicit in verse 2. Ironically, “throne” and “footstool” suggest that the cosmos itself is not a big enough house for God (compare 1 Kings 8:27). Similarly, the homology of temple and cosmos is implicit in Isaiah 6:1–8, as shown in the triple parallelism of “filling” the “house” with robe and smoke and the earth with glory (compare Exodus 40:34–35; 1 Kings 8:11). Psalm 104:24 summarizes the wise acts of making and filling well: “How many are the things You have made, O Lord; You made them all with wisdom, / The earth is full of your creatures” (compare Proverbs 1:13; 3:20; 9:2, 5; 24:3; 31:15) ..."
Raymond C. Van Leeuwen, “Cosmos, Temple, House: Building and Wisdom in Ancient Mesopotamia and Israel,” in From the Foundations to the Crenellations: Essays on Temple Building in the Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible, ed. Richard S. Ellis et al. (Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2010), 399–421.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalm 104:24 and Proverbs 3:19

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