1Give praise to the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great; you are robed with honour and power. 2You are clothed with light as with a robe; stretching out the heavens like a curtain: 3The arch of your house is based on the waters; you make the clouds your carriage; you go on the wings of the wind: 4He makes winds his angels, and flames of fire his servants. 5He has made the earth strong on its bases, so that it may not be moved for ever and ever; 6Covering it with the sea as with a robe: the waters were high over the mountains; 7At the voice of your word they went in flight; at the sound of your thunder they went away in fear; 8The mountains came up and the valleys went down into the place which you had made ready for them. 9You made a limit over which they might not go, so that the earth would never again be covered by them. 10You sent the springs into the valleys; they are flowing between the hills. 11They give drink to every beast of the field; the mountain asses come to them for water. 12The birds of the air have their resting-places by them, and make their song among the branches. 13He sends down rain from his store-houses on the hills: the earth is full of the fruit of his works. 14He makes the grass come up for the cattle, and plants for the use of man; so that bread may come out of the earth; 15And wine to make glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face shining, and bread giving strength to his heart. 16The trees of the Lord are full of growth, the cedars of Lebanon of his planting; 17Where the birds have their resting-places; as for the stork, the tall trees are her house. 18The high hills are a safe place for the mountain goats, and the rocks for the small beasts. 19He made the moon for a sign of the divisions of the year; teaching the sun the time of its going down. 20When you make it dark, it is night, when all the beasts of the woods come quietly out of their secret places. 21The young lions go thundering after their food; searching for their meat from God. 22The sun comes up, and they come together, and go back to their secret places to take their rest. 23Man goes out to his work, and to his business, till the evening. 24O Lord, how great is the number of your works! in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of the things you have made. 25There is the great, wide sea, where there are living things, great and small, more than may be numbered. 26There go the ships; there is that great beast, which you have made as a plaything. 27All of them are waiting for you, to give them their food in its time. 28They take what you give them; they are full of the good things which come from your open hand. 29If your face is veiled, they are troubled; when you take away their breath, they come to an end, and go back to the dust. 30If you send out your spirit, they are given life; you make new the face of the earth. 31Let the glory of the Lord be for ever; let the Lord have joy in his works: 32At whose look the earth is shaking; at whose touch the mountains send out smoke. 33I will make songs to the Lord all my life; I will make melody to my God while I have my being. 34Let my thoughts be sweet to him: I will be glad in the Lord. 35Let sinners be cut off from the earth, and let all evil-doers come to an end. Give praise to the Lord, O my soul. Give praise to the Lord.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
God's majesty in the heavens, The creation of the sea, and the dry land. (1-9) His provision for all creatures. (10-18) The regular course of day and night, and God's sovereign power over all the creatures. (19-30) A resolution to continue praising God. (31-35) 1-9 Every object we behold calls on us to bless and praise the Lord, who is great. His eternal power and Godhead are clearly shown by the things which he hath made. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. The Lord Jesus, the Son of his love, is the Light of the world. 10-18 When we reflect upon the provision made for all creatures, we should also notice the natural worship they render to God. Yet man, forgetful ungrateful man, enjoys the largest measure of his Creator's kindness. the earth, varying in different lands. Nor let us forget spiritual blessings; the fruitfulness of the church through grace, the bread of everlasting life, the cup of salvation, and the oil of gladness. Does God provide for the inferior creatures, and will he not be a refuge to his people? 19-30 We are to praise and magnify God for the constant succession of day and night. And see how those are like to the wild beasts, who wait for the twilight, and have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Does God listen to the language of mere nature, even in ravenous creatures, and shall he not much more interpret favourably the language of grace in his own people, though weak and broken groanings which cannot be uttered? There is the work of every day, which is to be done in its day, which man must apply to every morning, and which he must continue in till evening; it will be time enough to rest when the night comes, in which no man can work. The psalmist wonders at the works of God. The works of art, the more closely they are looked upon, the more rough they appear; the works of nature appear more fine and exact. They are all made in wisdom, for they all answer the end they were designed to serve. Every spring is an emblem of the resurrection, when a new world rises, as it were, out of the ruins of the old one. But man alone lives beyond death. When the Lord takes away his breath, his soul enters on another state, and his body will be raised, either to glory or to misery. May the Lord send forth his Spirit, and new-create our souls to holiness. 31-35 Man's glory is fading; God's glory is everlasting: creatures change, but with the Creator there is no variableness. And if mediation on the glories of creation be so sweet to the soul, what greater glory appears to the enlightened mind, when contemplating the great work of redemption! There alone can a sinner perceive ground of confidence and joy in God. While he with pleasure upholds all, governs all, and rejoices in all his works, let our souls, touched by his grace, meditate on and praise him.