How Great Is Our God
Psalm 104:1-9
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,
4 Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.
5 You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever,
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
8 They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them.
9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth.
Psalm 104 does not have a title to tell us who the author is, or what was the occasion or circumstance that was behind the writing of this magnificent hymn celebrating the glory of the Creator and the incredible greatness of His creation. The fact that it follows Psalm 103 and begins with the same words, “Bless the LORD, O my soul”, leads many to believe that David also wrote Psalm 104. Also, like Psalm 103 it could be called an “envelope” psalm because it ends with the same words that it begins with.
This psalm is a true neighbor to Psalm 103. The two go together: Psalm 103 celebrates God as the God of circumstance; Psalm 104 celebrates Him as the God of creation. Psalm 103 magnifies God's grace; Psalm 104 magnifies God's glory. Psalm 103 deals with God's mercy; Psalm 104 deals with God's might. The author of Psalm 104 has been called "the Wordsworth of the ancients." He is evidently a man in love with nature and in love with nature's Author and Creator.
The writer of the psalm certainly had Genesis 1 in mind when he wrote, even though he did not follow all six days of creation in detail, nor did he include the creation of man and woman (see vv. 14, 23). He began with light (v. 2; Gen. 1:1-5) and continued with the separation of the upper and lower waters (vv. 2-4; Gen. 1:6-8) and the separation of land and water (vv. 5-9; Gen. 1:9-10). The provision of vegetation is mentioned (vv. 14-17; Gen. 1:11-13), as well as the placing of the sun and moon (vv. 19-23; Gen. 1:14-19), and the creation of land and sea creatures (vv. 24-25; Gen. 1:20-28).
Paul may have had this psalm in mind when he spoke to the Athenian philosophers in Acts 17:22-34, for it presents a God who created and now sustains a beautiful and bountiful world that reflects His glory (v. 31). As I read Psalm 104, I can’t help but think of Colossians 1:15-17, where Paul declares this about Jesus; “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
Psalm 104 declares that our God is very great (v. 1), that He is very wise (v. 24), and that He is very generous (v. 27). In spite of the fact that creation is in bondage to sin since the fall of man (Rom. 8:18-23), we still live in an amazing universe run by divinely ordained laws that are so remarkable we can send people to the moon and bring them back! Whether the scientist uses the telescope, the microscope, or the x-ray, he beholds the wonders of God's creation.
In closing today, I want to highly recommend that you take the time to listen to an incredible message by Louie Giglio entitled, “How Great Is Our God”. It can be found at this link on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zocnmbd07a4 You will be reminded that you have an awesome God who is able to meet every need that you have!
God bless!