The precise rendering of this verse is discussed in the Exposition. Now we treat it as a poetical suggestion, which fits into the general plan of the psalm. It is a hymn of admirations of the eternal King. The first part of the psalm sees the glory of the King through the splendour of his court or palace surroundings. The second part of the psalm sees the glory of the King in the provisions, the order, the arrangements, the happiness, of his kingdom. At the court, the psalmist is moved by the sublimity of the "light" as God's robe, the blue dome of the sky as God's tent curtain, and the wind-driven clouds as his chariot. And he further notices the grandeur of the royal attendants, the courtiers, who wait to do the royal bidding. All the forces of nature are at the Divine command, and the force that represents them all - the force that is most mysterious and sublime - is the force of lightning. Illustrate what a marvel of human power and skill it seems to be that man has, in some measure, chained the lightning, and compelled it to yield him light, and to carry his messages. What, then, must he be who has used the lightning force in his service through all the long generations? The figure is a sublime and suggestive one. All the august and awful nature forces are conceived as ministrants in the court of the eternal King. Illustrate by the vision of Isaiah; the six attendant seraphim.
I. THE ROYAL MINISTERS DECLARE THE GLORY OF THE GREAT KING. When an impression is to be made on us of the magnificence of Solomon, we are told the number and the dignity of his attendants and courtiers. Their nobility assures us that he must be yet more noble on whom they wait. Then show how grand are the forces of nature - physical, chemical; rain, sunshine, wind, fire, electricity, etc.; or take storms, famine, plague. What must he be who is daily served by such ministrants?
II. THE ROYAL MINISTERS ILLUSTRATE THE OPERATIONS OF THE KING. They execute his behests, carry out his plans; they execute his thoughts; and so we can read his mind in their doings.
1. The multitude of his ministers suggests that he is continuously working, ceaselessly active. Some of these nature forces are always at work for him.
2. The skill of his ministers suggests that he is ever efficiently working. These nature forces can do what he wills.
3. And the mystery of his ministers reminds us how we are made to feel the surprises of the Divine wisdom. - R.T.
O my soul
(to children): —
I. YOU HAVE A SOUL. A stone can be seen and felt, weighed and measured; but it has no life. A flower is superior to a stone, because it has a certain kind of life. A dog is more valuable than a flower, because he possesses a higher form of life. He has all the five senses which you have. He has also instinct and sagacity, by which he does a great many wonderful things. Now, your bodies are not so hard as the stone; they are not so beautiful as the flower; and there is no little boy here who could run as swiftly as the dog. Nevertheless, you are far more valuable than the stone, the flowers, and the dog; yea, you rise above everything that is material, vegetable, and animal, because you have souls within your bodies. It is your duty to care for both. Try to preserve your bodies from everything that would injure them. Be very anxious about the salvation of your soul.
II. Your soul is FULL OF LIFE. This life is not to be compared to that which is either in the flowers or in the animals; it does not depend for its continuance, as they do, upon such things as light and heat, wind and rain. The soul, under the blessing of God, moves itself, and the body too in which it dwells. It is your souls which cause your eyes to see, your ears to hear, your tongues to speak, your hands to work, and your feet to walk. Now, you all know that everything in which there is life requires food. Our bodies could not live unless they were nourished from day to day. As it is with all these things, so is it with the soul. Unless it is strengthened with food it must become exceedingly weak. You also know that the same kind of food will not suit everything in which there is life. What kind of food, then, does the soul require? The truth as it is in Jesus, and the truth about Jesus, is the food for the soul.
III. YOUR SOUL IS DISTINCT FROM AND INDEPENDENT OF YOUR BODY. When the Spaniards went first among the Indians they were on horses. And what do you suppose the poor, ignorant Indians thought? They thought that there was no difference between the horse and the rider, but that both were the same person. Even so, there are many men who have the conviction that there is not any distinction between the soul and the body. They believe that both are composed of the same material, and that both are buried in the same grave. This is a dangerous error. You have all heard of the telescope. The astronomer looks through it to the sun, the moon, and the stars. If the telescope were taken from the astronomer and destroyed he would no doubt be grieved, but that would not destroy him. Well, the body is the telescope through which the soul looks out upon men and things. It is, as Dr. Watts has said, "the harp of a thousand strings, which keeps in tune so long." It is, as Eliphaz said many years ago, the house in which the soul lives. When death comes, and takes away the beauty, the strength, and the life of the body, that does not interfere with the soul. During that hour the soul goes away, like the Arab from his tent, or the bird from the cage, to the place in eternity for which it has been prepared.
IV. YOUR SOUL HAS A NUMBER OF WONDERFUL POWERS.
1. There is the understanding. As it is with the eyes of the body that we see the things by which we are surrounded, so it is with the understanding that we perceive truth and error. The two disciples who were walking towards Emmaus with Jesus had their understandings opened by Him. This enabled them to comprehend the meaning of the Scriptures as they had never done before. If you pray to Jesus for the same blessing, He will grant it, for — "Ask and ye shall receive."
2. There is the judgment. As it is with the hand that the farmer sometimes separates the chaff from the wheat, so it is by the judgment that we distinguish right from wrong. A good judgment is most invaluable in a world such as this is. In order to secure it, be close observers of all you see and hear; think for yourselves upon every subject which comes before you, and keep the company of those who are older and wiser than yourselves.
3. There is the memory. We might compare it to a museum, for we have hung up around it the pictures of the places we have seen and admired, and the portraits of the persons we have known and loved. We might also compare it to a book, for we write upon it the figures and the names, the facts and the truths, which we wish to retain. Trust your memories as much as possible. By this means you will strengthen them, and in after years they will be to you faithful and useful servants.
4. There are the affections. You have seen the ivy. It is deeply rooted in the soil; it entwines itself around the old tree or the old cottage, and adds considerably to their beauty. Your affections resemble the ivy. With these you can grasp persons, places, and books. "Set your affections on things above." Love to be truthful, honest, benevolent, and pure, in thought, word, and deed.
5. There is the conscience. A judge in a court of law sits calmly upon the bench. He watches all that is done, he listens to all that is said, and then he pronounces the verdict either by setting the accused person free, or by sending him to prison for a certain time. Conscience is very much like the judge. It observes all your thoughts, words, and actions; and while it smiles upon the good, it frowns upon the bad. Listen to the voice of your conscience. It is a good guide; keep on good terms with your conscience by hating every wrong thing, and only doing that which is right. This will contribute largely to your peace of mind.
6. There is the will. The will is the commander-in-chief, both of the body and the soul. Learn to obey your parents cheerfully, promptly, and continuously. Tips will prepare you to obey others with pleasure who shall be over you when you go out into life.
V. YOUR SOUL WILL NEVER DIE. Abel's soul is still living, and so is Cain's. There was a time when your souls were not in existence, but the time will never come when they shall cease to be. Prepare, therefore, to meet God, by giving your hearts and lives to Christ, that you may be perfectly happy in eternity.
VI. WHEN YOUR SOUL LEAVES THE BODY AT DEATH, IT WILL GO TO SEE JESUS THE JUDGE. Time does not dim the eyes of the soul, affliction does not touch them, and over them death will have no power. How soon after death will you see Jesus? In a very short time. He said to the penitent thief upon the Cross, "To-day shalt thou be with Me in paradise."
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People
PsalmistPlaces
JerusalemTopics
Angels, Fire, Flame, Flames, Flaming, Makes, Makest, Maketh, Making, Messengers, Ministers, Servants, Spirits, WindsOutline
1. A meditation upon the mighty power7. And wonderful providence of God31. God's glory is eternal33. The prophet vows perpetually to praise GodDictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 104:4 4111 angels, servants
Psalm 104:1-4
1193 glory, revelation of
Psalm 104:1-9
8608 prayer, and worship
Psalm 104:1-35
4007 creation, and God
8662 meditation
Psalm 104:2-4
1325 God, the Creator
Psalm 104:2-24
5776 achievement
Library
The Glory of the Trinity
Eversley, 1868. St Mary's Chester, 1871. Trinity Sunday. Psalm civ. 31, 33. "The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: The Lord shall rejoice in his works. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being." This is Trinity Sunday, on which we think especially of the name of God. A day which, to a wise man, may well be one of the most solemn, and the most humiliating days of the whole year. For is it not humiliating to look stedfastly, …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other SermonsA Whitsun Sermon
PSALM civ. 24, 27-30. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. . . . These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. …
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons
Of Good Angels
"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14. 1. Many of the ancient Heathens had (probably from tradition) some notion of good and evil angels. They had some conception of a superior order of beings, between men and God, whom the Greeks generally termed demons, (knowing ones,) and the Romans, genii. Some of these they supposed to be kind and benevolent, delighting in doing good; others, to be malicious and cruel, delighting in …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions
Lessons from Nature
This prejudice against the beauties of the material universe reminds me of the lingering love to Judaism, which acted like a spell upon Peter of old. When the sheet knit at the four corners descended before him, and the voice said, "Rise, Peter; kill, and eat," he replied that he had not eaten anything that was common or unclean. He needed that the voice should speak to him from heaven again and again before he would fully learn the lesson, "What God hath cleansed that call not thou common." The …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871
Meditation on God
NOTE: This edition of this sermon is taken from an earlier published edition of Spurgeon's 1858 message. The sermon that appears in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 46, was edited and abbreviated somewhat. For edition we have restored the fuller text of the earlier published edition, while retaining a few of the editorial refinements of the Met Tab edition. "My meditation of him shall be sweet."--Psalm 104:34. DAVID, certainly, was not a melancholy man. Eminent as he was for his piety and …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 46: 1900
Seventh Sunday after Trinity. O Lord, How Manifold are Thy Works; in Wisdom Hast Thou Made them All; the Earth is Full of Thy Riches.
O Lord, how manifold are Thy works; in wisdom hast Thou made them all; the earth is full of Thy riches. Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud [104]Paul Gerhardt. 1659. trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1855 Go forth, my heart, and seek delight In all the gifts of God's great might, These pleasant summer hours: Look how the plains for thee and me Have decked themselves most fair to see, All bright and sweet with flowers. The trees stand thick and dark with leaves, And earth o'er all here dust now weaves …
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year
The Confessions of St. Augustin Index of Subjects
Abraham's bosom, 131 and note, [1]192 (note) Academics Augustin has a leaning towards the philosophy of the, [2]86 they doubted everything, [3]86, [4]88 Academies, the three, [5]86 (note) Actions of the patriarchs, [6]65 Adam averted death by partaking of the tree of life, [7]73 (note) the first and second, [8]162 (note) Adeodatus, Augustin's son helps his father in writing The Master, [9]134 and note he is baptized by Ambrose, [10]134 (note) Adversity the blessing of the New Testament, prosperity …
St. Augustine—The Confessions and Letters of St
O Worship the King, all Glorious Above
[978]Hanover: William Croft, 1708 Psalm 104 Robert Grant, 1833 O Worship the King, all glorious above! O gratefully sing his power and his love! Our shield and defender, the Ancient of days, Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise. O tell of his might! O sing of his grace! Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space. His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form, And dark is his path on the wings of the storm. The earth, with its store of wonders untold, Almighty, thy power hath founded …
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA
The Knowledge of God Conspicuous in the Creation, and Continual Government of the World.
1. The invisible and incomprehensible essence of God, to a certain extent, made visible in his works. 2. This declared by the first class of works--viz. the admirable motions of the heavens and the earth, the symmetry of the human body, and the connection of its parts; in short, the various objects which are presented to every eye. 3. This more especially manifested in the structure of the human body. 4. The shameful ingratitude of disregarding God, who, in such a variety of ways, is manifested within …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion
How to Use the Present Life, and the Comforts of It.
The divisions of this chapter are,--I. The necessity and usefulness of this doctrine. Extremes to be avoided, if we would rightly use the present life and its comforts, sec. 1, 2. II. One of these extremes, viz, the intemperance of the flesh, to be carefully avoided. Four methods of doing so described in order, sec. 3-6. 1. BY such rudiments we are at the same time well instructed by Scripture in the proper use of earthly blessings, a subject which, in forming a scheme of life, is by no mean to be …
Archpriest John Iliytch Sergieff—On the Christian Life
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit as Revealed in his Names.
At least twenty-five different names are used in the Old and New Testaments in speaking of the Holy Spirit. There is the deepest significance in these names. By the careful study of them, we find a wonderful revelation of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. I. The Spirit. The simplest name by which the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Bible is that which stands at the head of this paragraph--"The Spirit." This name is also used as the basis of other names, so we begin our study with this. …
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
The Creaturely Man.
"The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life."-- Job xxxiii. 4. The Eternal and Ever-blessed God comes into vital touch with the creature by an act proceeding not from the Father nor from the Son, but from the Holy Spirit. Translated by sovereign grace from death unto life, God's children are conscious of this divine fellowship; they know that it consists not in inward agreement of disposition or inclination, but in the mysterious touch of God upon their spiritual …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit
Of Confirmation.
It is surprising that it should have entered any one's mind to make a Sacrament of Confirmation out of that laying on of hands which Christ applied to little children, and by which the apostles bestowed the Holy Spirit, ordained presbyters, and healed the sick; as the Apostle writes to Timothy: "Lay hands suddenly on no man." (1 Tim. v. 22.) Why not also make a confirmation out of the sacrament of bread, because it is written: "And when he had received meat, he was strengthened" (Acts ix. 19); or …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation
The Christian's Peace and the Christian's Consistency
PHILIPPIANS i. 21-30 He will be spared to them--Spiritual wealth of the paragraph--Adolphe Monod's exposition--Charles Simeon's testimony--The equilibrium and its secret--The intermediate bliss--He longs for their full consistency--The "gift" of suffering Ver. 21. +For to me, to live is Christ+; the consciousness and experiences of living, in the body, are so full of Christ, my supreme Interest, that CHRIST sums them all up; +and to die+, the act of dying,[1] +is gain+, for it will usher me in …
Handley C. G. Moule—Philippian Studies
The Principle of Life in the Creature.
"By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His hand hath formed the crooked serpent."-- Job xxvi. 13. We have seen that the work of the Holy Spirit consists in leading all creation to its destiny, the final purpose of which is the glory of God. However, God's glory in creation appears in various degrees and ways. An insect and a star, the mildew on the wall and the cedar on Lebanon, a common laborer and a man like Augustine, are all the creatures of God; yet how dissimilar they are, and how varied …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit
Epistle xvii. To Felix, Bishop of Messana.
To Felix, Bishop of Messana. To our most reverend brother, the Bishop Felix, Gregory, servant of the servants of God [246] . Our Head, which is Christ, to this end has willed us to be His members, that through His large charity and faithfulness He might make us one body in Himself, to whom it befits us so to cling that, since without Him we can do nothing, through Him we may be enabled to be what we are called. From the citadel of the Head let nothing divide us, lest, if we refuse to be His members, …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great
The Host of Heaven and of Earth.
"The Spirit of God hath made me."--Job xxxiii. 4. Understanding somewhat the characteristic note of the work of the Holy Spirit, let us see what this work was and is and shall be. The Father brings forth, the Son disposes and arranges, the Holy Spirit perfects. There is one God and Father of whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things; but what does the Scripture say of the special work the Holy Spirit did in creation and is still doing? For the sake of order we examine …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
Having spoken of the general notion of blessedness, I come next to consider the subjects of this blessedness, and these our Saviour has deciphered to be the poor in spirit, the mourners, etc. But before I touch upon these, I shall attempt a little preface or paraphrase upon this sermon of the beatitudes. 1 Observe the divinity in this sermon, which goes beyond all philosophy. The philosophers use to say that one contrary expels another; but here one contrary begets another. Poverty is wont to expel …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12
The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Material Universe.
There are many who think of the work of the Holy Spirit as limited to man. But God reveals to us in His Word that the Holy Spirit's work has a far wider scope than this. We are taught in the Bible that the Holy Spirit has a threefold work in the material universe. I. The creation of the material universe and of man is effected through the agency of the Holy Spirit. We read in Ps. xxxiii. 6, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." We …
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
How those are to be Admonished with whom Everything Succeeds According to their Wish, and those with whom Nothing Does.
(Admonition 27.) Differently to be admonished are those who prosper in what they desire in temporal matters, and those who covet indeed the things that are of this world, but yet are wearied with the labour of adversity. For those who prosper in what they desire in temporal matters are to be admonished, when all things answer to their wishes, lest, through fixing their heart on what is given, they neglect to seek the giver; lest they love their pilgrimage instead of their country; lest they turn …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great
The Deity of the Holy Spirit.
In the preceding chapter we have seen clearly that the Holy Spirit is a Person. But what sort of a Person is He? Is He a finite person or an infinite person? Is He God? This question also is plainly answered in the Bible. There are in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments five distinct and decisive lines of proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit. I. Each of the four distinctively Divine attributes is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. What are the distinctively Divine attributes? Eternity, omnipresence, …
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
The Wisdom of God
The next attribute is God's wisdom, which is one of the brightest beams of the Godhead. He is wise in heart.' Job 9:9. The heart is the seat of wisdom. Cor in Hebraeo sumitur pro judicio. Pineda. Among the Hebrews, the heart is put for wisdom.' Let men of understanding tell me:' Job 34:44: in the Hebrew, Let men of heart tell me.' God is wise in heart, that is, he is most wise. God only is wise; he solely and wholly possesses all wisdom; therefore he is called, the only wise God.' I Tim 1:17. All …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity
On the Symbols of the Essence' and Coessential. '
We must look at the sense not the wording. The offence excited is at the sense; meaning of the Symbols; the question of their not being in Scripture. Those who hesitate only at coessential,' not to be considered Arians. Reasons why coessential' is better than like-in-essence,' yet the latter may be interpreted in a good sense. Explanation of the rejection of coessential' by the Council which condemned the Samosatene; use of the word by Dionysius of Alexandria; parallel variation in the use of Unoriginate; …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius
Covenanting Enforced by the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals.
To declare emphatically that the people of God are a covenant people, various signs were in sovereignty vouchsafed. The lights in the firmament of heaven were appointed to be for signs, affording direction to the mariner, the husbandman, and others. Miracles wrought on memorable occasions, were constituted signs or tokens of God's universal government. The gracious grant of covenant signs was made in order to proclaim the truth of the existence of God's covenant with his people, to urge the performance …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting
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