Psalm 104 is the 104th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in Hebrew "ברכי נפשי" (barachi nafshi: "bless my soul"); in English in the King James Version: "Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 103. In Latin, it is known as "Benedic anima mea Domino".
Psalm 104 is used as a regular part of Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has often been set to music, including works by John Dowland, Heinrich Schütz, Philip Glass and William Lovelady.
The inaugural occurrence of the term "Hallelujah" within the Old Testament can be identified in Psalm 104, with subsequent instances found in Psalms 105 and 106. Notably, O. Palmer Robertson perceives these Psalms as a cohesive triad, serving as the concluding compositions of Book 4. Hallelujah will also appear in Psalms 113, 117, 135 and 146 through 150.
The psalm bears a notable resemblance to Akhenaten's Great Hymn to the Aten, written some 400 years earlier in Egypt.
Structure
vanGemeren notes a chiastic structure in Psalm 104, and Grogan notes that the structure follows the creation narrative in Genesis 1:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Chiastic structure and Genesis creation narrative Parallel in Psalm 104
|-
! Chiastic structure !! Genesis 1 Creation Narrative Day
|-
| A: In Praise of God's royal splendor (1–4)|| 1–2
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| B: The material formation of the earth (5–9) || 3
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| C: The glory of animal creation (10–18) || 5 (chiasm)
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| D: The regularity of the created world (19–23) || 4 and 5
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| C': The glory of animal creation (24–26) || 4 and 5
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| B': The spiritual sustenance of the earth (27–30) ||
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|A': In Praise of God's royal splendor (31–35) ||
|}
Contents
One of the longer psalms, Psalm 104 is traditionally divided into 35 verses.
The titles below are those of vanGemeren.
- Verse 5 asserts that God has "laid the foundations [] of the Earth".
- Verse 7: "Rebuke" does not imply judgment, but absolute control of the elements.
- Verse 9 not only refers to Genesis 1:9-10, but also the covenant with Noah in Genesis 8:21-22 and 9:8-17.
Verses 10–18: The Glory of Animal Creation
A minor chiasm is evident: in particular:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Parallel Between the Aten Hymn and Psalm 104
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! Aten Hymn !! Content !! Psalm 104
|-
| ii 7 – iii 10 || A lion leaves its den after dark, and people rise at dawn to take up their work. || 104:20–23
|-
| iv 8–11 || "Ships go downstream or upstream as well... The fish in the river dart about in your sight and your beams are deep in the Great Green Sea." || 104:25–26
|-
| vii 1–8 || Creation of cattle, humans, and every sort of small beast. Proclaims: "How various are the things you have created, and they are all mysterious in your sight." || 104:24
|}
Grogan, Craigie, and Zimmerli note that as with parallels to other Ancient Near Eastern creation narratives in Genesis 1, the difference between the Biblical and other Ancient Near Eastern accounts is that in the Biblical narratives, the sun and other parts of creation are not gods, but creations themselves. The psalm is polemical and therefore "implicitly antipagan" (Grogan). Rather than copying from the Aten hymn, Psalm 104 is understood to be commenting or criticizing. This is further reinforced by the structure, in which the focal point of the chiasm is the orderliness of nature in which the celestial bodies are time keepers rather than deities. vanGemeren concludes that "though this matter has received extensive treatment (See Allen pp.28–30) any discussion on the literary association is complicated by the insufficient evidence of the cosmological framework of the surrounding nations and, hence, by the tentativeness of any theory explaining the relations and possible polemical use of these materials".
Judaism
- Many Observant Jews recite Psalm 104 during morning services on the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh), though customs vary.
- It is recited in many communities following the Shabbat Mincha between Sukkot and Shabbat Hagadol.
- Some recite verses 1–2 upon donning the tallit during morning services.
- Verse 24 is part of Hameir La'aretz in the Blessings before the Shema during Shacharit and is found in Pirkei Avot Chapter 6, no. 10.
- Verse 31 is the first verse of Yehi Kivod in Pesukei Dezimra, is part of Baruch Hashem L'Olam during Maariv, and is recited when opening the Hakafot on Simchat Torah.
Eastern Orthodox Church
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Psalm 103 (Psalm 104 in the Masoretic Text) is read daily at the beginning of Vespers, marking the start of a new liturgical day. It is part of the fourteenth Kathisma division of the Psalter, read at Matins on Thursday mornings, as well as on Tuesdays and Fridays during Lent, at the Third Hour and Matins, respectively.
At Vespers, Psalm 103/104 is traditionally appointed to be read by the senior reader (that is, the bishop if he is present, the elder or abbot of a monastery, or the senior reader at the kliros). On festal days when the All-Night Vigil is served, this Psalm is sung by a choir, traditionally with various refrains between verses.
In the context of Vespers, this Psalm is understood to be a hymn of creation, in all the fulness wherein God has created it – it speaks of animals, plants, waters, skies, etc. In the scope of the liturgical act, it is often taken to be Adam's song, sung outside the closed gates of Eden from which he has been expelled (cf. Genesis 3). While the reader chants the psalm, the priest stands outside the closed Royal Doors wearing only his epitrachilion, making this symbolism more evident.
Catholic Church
This psalm is used during the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night (the Vigil being the inauguration of the fifty-day Easter season, the end of Holy Week – and by extension Lent – and the ending of the three-day Easter Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter). In the Liturgy of the Word, the first reading is the Creation story of the Book of Genesis, and Psalm 104, which deals with the same material, is the responsorial psalm. It is used again on Pentecost Sunday, at the end of the Easter season, as a responsorial psalm during the Vigil Mass, and again at the Sunday's "Mass during the Day", with the response modeled on verse 30.
Book of Common Prayer
In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the twentieth day of the month, as well as at Evensong on Whitsunday.
Literal interpretations
Verse 9 was interpreted by theologian Jaime Pérez de Valencia (1408-1490) as a corroboration of classical geographer Claudius Ptolemy's hypothesis that the planet's oceans were entirely surrounded by land.
Popular culture
German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder remarked, "It is worth studying the Hebrew language for ten years in order to read Psalm 104 in the original".
Musician Bob Marley believed that cannabis use was prevalent in the Bible, reading passages such as the 14th verse of Psalm 104 as showing approval of its usage.
Musical settings
In The Whole Booke of Psalmes, published by Thomas Est in 1592, Psalm 104 is set by John Dowland in English, "My soul praise the Lord". Heinrich Schütz composed a four-part setting to a metric German text, "Herr, dich lob die Seele mein", SVW 202, for the 1628 Becker Psalter. In his 1726 cantata Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187, Bach set verses 27 and 28 in the first movement.
The hymn "O Worship the King" by Sir Robert Grant, first published in 1833, is based on the psalm.
Psalm 104, verse 4, was arranged for mixed chorus by Miriam Shatal in 1960.
Psalm 104, in Hebrew, is set as part of Akhnaten, an opera by Philip Glass.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, commissioned a setting of Psalm 104 by William Lovelady to mark his 75th birthday. An abridged version of the cantata for four-part choir and organ was performed for his funeral service on 17 April 2021 in St George's Chapel, Windsor.
Text
The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions. In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 103.
{| class=wikitable
|-
!#
!Hebrew
!English
!Greek
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 1
| style="text-align:right" |
| Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 2
| style="text-align:right" |
| Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 3
| style="text-align:right" |
| Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 4
| style="text-align:right" |
| Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 5
| style="text-align:right" |
| Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 6
| style="text-align:right" |
| Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 7
| style="text-align:right" |
| At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 8
| style="text-align:right" |
| They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 9
| style="text-align:right" |
| Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 10
| style="text-align:right" |
| He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 11
| style="text-align:right" |
| They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 12
| style="text-align:right" |
| By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 13
| style="text-align:right" |
| He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 14
| style="text-align:right" |
| He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 15
| style="text-align:right" |
| And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 16
| style="text-align:right" |
| The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 17
| style="text-align:right" |
| Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 18
| style="text-align:right" |
| The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 19
| style="text-align:right" |
| He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 20
| style="text-align:right" |
| Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 21
| style="text-align:right" |
| The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 22
| style="text-align:right" |
| The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 23
| style="text-align:right" |
| Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 24
| style="text-align:right" |
| O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 25
| style="text-align:right" |
| So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 26
| style="text-align:right" |
| There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 27
| style="text-align:right" |
| These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 28
| style="text-align:right" |
| That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
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|-
| style="text-align:right" | 29
| style="text-align:right" |
| Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 30
| style="text-align:right" |
| Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 31
| style="text-align:right" |
| The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 32
| style="text-align:right" |
| He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 33
| style="text-align:right" |
| I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 34
| style="text-align:right" |
| My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.
|
|-
| style="text-align:right" | 35
| style="text-align:right" |
| 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.
|
|-
|}
See also
- Rigans montes (Aquinas)
Notes
References
Sources
- Nosson Scherman, The Complete Artscroll Siddur, Artscroll Mesorah Series (1985).
- Hermann Gunkel, Die Psalmen (1925, 6th ed. 1986), pp. 447ff.; English translation T. M. Horner, The Psalms: a form-critical introduction (1926, reprint 1967).
External links
- Text of Psalm 104 according to the 1928 Psalter
- Psalms Chapter 104 text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org
- Bless the LORD, my soul! / LORD, my God, you are great indeed! United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
- Psalm 104:1 introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
- Psalm 104 – LORD of All Creation enduringword.com
- Psalm 104 / Refrain: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. Church of England
- Psalm 104 at biblegateway.com
- Charles H. Spurgeon: Psalm 104 detailed commentary, archive.spurgeon.org
- Tehillim – Psalm 104 (Judaica Press) translation with Rashi's commentary at Chabad.org