Commentary on Psalms Volume 3 John Calvin
Psalm 104
PSALM 104
This psalm differs from the preceding, inasmuch as it neither treats of the special benefits which God bestows upon his Church, nor lifts us up to the hope of the heavenly life, but by presenting to us a lively image of his wisdom, power, and goodness in the creation of the world, and in the order of nature, encourages us to praise him for the manifestation he has made of himself as a father to us in this frail and perishable life. 176
Psalm 104:1-4
1. Bless Jehovah, O my soul! O Jehovah my God! thou art exceeding great; thou hast clothed thyself with praise and glory. 2. Being arrayed 177 with light as with a garment; and spreading out the
"For regularity of composition, richness of imagery, sublimity of sentiment, and elegance and perspicuity of diction, this hymn is perhaps the principal poem in the whole collection of these inspired songs. As there is no allusion in it to the Mosaic ritual, nor any mention of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, it should seem that it was of an earlier age than the Exodus. It consists of parts sung alternately by two companies. The parts are easily distinguished, inasmuch as one Semichorus always speaks of God in the third person, the other addresses him in the second." — Horsley.
JOHN CALVIN
heavens as a curtain: 3. Laying the beams of his upper rooms 178 in the waters; making the clouds his chariot; and walking upon the wings of the wind; 4. Making the winds his messengers; and his ministers a flaming fire.
1 Bless 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,
"It is a singular circumstance," says Horsley, "in the composition of this psalm, that each of the parts of the First Semichorus after the first, [that is, verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 13, 14, 19,] begins with a participle. And these participles are accusatives, agreeing with,יהוה the object of the verb,ברכיat the beginning of the whole psalm. Bless Jehovah — putting on — extending — laying — constituting — travelling — making — setting — sending — watering — making — 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. As this singular artifice of composition seems to be the characteristic of a particular species of ode, in this psalm, I have scrupulously conformed to it in my translation, at the expense of the elegance of my English style." Calvin, for the most part, translates these words as participles, but in the nominative case.
"The original word, which comes from,עלהascendit, signifies any upper room to which persons ascend. So 2 Samuel 18:32, 'he went up to,השער עליתthe chamber over the gate.' Accordingly, the LXX. Here render it, ὑπερῶον, 'an upper room', and the Latin, 'superiora ejus', 'his upper stories.' By,עליותיוtherefore, must be meant, though not the supreme, yet the superior or middle region of the air, which is here described as an upper story in a house laid firm with beams, (accounting the earth and the region of air about that as the lower room,) and this floor is here said poetically to be 'laid in the waters,' those waters which (Genesis 1) are above the expansion or lower region of the air, which divides the waters from the waters. This is most evident by verse 13, where God is said to 'water the mountains,מעליותיוfrom these his upper rooms, these clouds whence the rain descends.' In them, saith the Psalmist, 'the beams of these upper rooms were laid,' i.e., whereas in the building of an upper story, there must be some walls or pillars to support the weight of it, and in that the beams are laid, God here by his own miraculous immediate power laid, and ever since supported these upper rooms, there being nothing there but waters to support them, and those we know the most fluid tottering body, not able to support itself; and therefore that 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 " — Hammond. Fry, after quoting Dr Geddes' version, — "Flooring his chambers with waters," and Bishop Horsley's "Laying the floors of his chambers upon the waters," goes on to say: — "After referring, however, to the different places where the word occurs, and considering the structure of ancient buildings, I conceive the allusion to be to the roof, or contignated frame of the house. Genesis 19:8, seems decisive. We seem to lose somewhat of the beauty of the original by translating עליותtoo literally. It signifies certainly, upper rooms, or stories; but the allusion is not to these on account of their situation, but as the part of the house principally inhabited by its owner, the lower parts of eastern houses being used for offices. — See Parkhurst and authors there quoted: compare Psalm 18, 'He set darkness his veil around him, — his canopy the waters and thick mists of the clouds.'" Fry's translation is, "And framing his habitation with waters."