Wesley's Explanatory Notes - Psalms 104:29
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.Hidest — Withdrawest the care of thy providence. read more
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.Hidest — Withdrawest the care of thy providence. read more
Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.Spirit — That quickening power of God, by which he produces life in the creatures from time to time. For he speaks not here of the first creation, but of the continued production of living creatures.Created — Other living creatures are produced; the word created being taken in its largest sense for the production of things by second causes.Renewest — And thus by thy wise and wonderful providence thou... read more
The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.Rejoice — Thus God advances the glory of his wisdom and power and goodness, in upholding the works of his hands from generation to generation, and he takes pleasure in the preservation of his works, as also in his reflection upon these works of his providence. read more
He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.He looketh — This is a farther illustration of God's powerful providence: as when he affords his favour to creatures, they live and thrive, so on the contrary, one angry look or touch of his upon the hills or earth, makes them tremble and smoke, as Sinai did when God appeared in it. read more
Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.Praise ye the Lord — Heb. Hallelujah. This is the first time that this word occurs. And it comes in here on occasion of the destruction of the wicked. And the last time it occurs, Revelation 19:1; 3,4,6, it is on a like occasion, the destruction of Babylon. read more
10. He sendeth the springs into the valleys The poet here suspends his direct notice of the “six days’ work,” to speak of the works of providence. After the ocean, it is fit that he should speak of springs in the mountains and hills, for these proceed from the ocean through evaporation and the containing and carrying power of the atmosphere. Of this hydraulic system of nature the Hebrews had knowledge. Ecclesiastes 1:7; Genesis 2:6; Amos 9:6. נהלים , ( nehaleem,) generally means rivers, ... read more
11. Beast of the field A term for land animals in general. Wild asses Here mentioned, perhaps, as specimens of animals inhabiting parched deserts, familiar with suffering from thirst, and hence extreme examples of divine care. For their habits, see Job 39:5-8; Isaiah 32:14 read more
12. By them Literally, Above, or over, “them;” that is, over the banks of these streams, by which trees are nourished, the birds have their habitation, and give forth their voices. Fowls of the heaven The phrase is opposed to “beasts of the earth.” Genesis 1:24; Genesis 1:26 read more
13. Watereth the hills from his chambers See on Psalms 104:3; Psalms 104:10. The earth is satisfied The earth being, literally, watered from his “chambers,” “is satisfied,” being stimulated to its highest power of productivity, (Psalms 65:8-13; Jeremiah 14:22,) and thus, also, the earth, metonymically, that is, its inhabitants, as animals and plants, all things of the earth which have life are supplied to satiety. So Psalms 104:14, and Psalms 145:16. Fruit of thy works The context... read more
Wesley's Explanatory Notes - Psalms 104:26
There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.Leviathan — The whale.Therein — Who being of such a vast strength and absolute dominion in the sea, tumbles in it with great security, and sports himself with other creatures. read more