Commentary on Psalms Volume 3 John Calvin (continued)
JOHN CALVIN
by his word, a counteracting law, and as his truth is eternal, this law must remain steadfast.
Psalm 104:10-15
10. Sending out springs by the valleys, which shall run between 182 the hills. 11. All the beasts of the field shall drink thereof: the wild asses 183 shall quench 184 their thirst. 12. Nigh them the fowls of the air shall dwell, from the midst of the branches they shall send out their voice. 185 13. Watering the mountains from his chambers: the earth shall be satisfied from the fruit of thy 186 works. 14. Making grass to grow for cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may produce bread out of the earth. 15. And wine cheereth the heart of man, to make his face to shine with oil, and bread sustaineth man's heart. 187
In our English version it is among; but between is the more proper rendering. "",בין says Hammond, "must be rendered, not among but between, ἀναμέσον, say the LXX., to denote the hollow receptacles for waters betwixt the hills, or risings of the ground on both sides."
The wild ass differs from the tame only by being stronger and nimbler, more courageous and lively. Wild asses are still found in considerable numbers in the deserts of Great Tartary, in Persia, Syria, the islands of the Archipelago, and throughout Mauritania. They are gregarious, and have been known to assemble by hundreds and thousands. It has been observed of these animals that, though dull and stupid, they are remarkable for their instinct in discovering in the arid desert the way to rivers, brooks, or fountains of water, so that the thirsty traveler has only to observe and follow their steps, in order to his being led to the cooling stream.
The literal rendering of the Hebrew word,ישברוyeshberu, is shall break, being derived from,שברshabar, to break. As applied to hunger, it must signify to allay, or, as here, to thirst, it must mean to quench. The phrase is communicated to other languages, and is usual among us, who, by breaking of fasting, understand eating.
"'From between these boughs or leaves the fowls of the air send out their voice'; not by singing only, (for that is peculiar to few,) but by making any noise that is proper to them " — Hammond. On the 10th, 11th, and 12th verses, Dimock observes, — "The murmuring brooks, the great number of beasts and cattle, with the melodious birds, afford a most picturesque scene of rural delight."
In the preceding clause God is spoken of in the third person, and here in the second. The change of persons from the second to the third, and from the third to the second, is very observable throughout this psalm. — See page 143, note.
In the French version it is, "Et le vin qui resjouit le coeur de l'homme, et l'huile pour faire reluire sa face, et le pain qui soustient le coeur de l'homme." — "And wine that cheereth the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread that sustains the heart of man "