(1) “Bless Jehovah, O my soul. O Jehovah my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honor and majesty;
(2) Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment; Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;
(3) Who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters; Who maketh the clouds His chariot; Who walketh upon the wings of the wind;
(4) Who maketh winds His messengers; Flames of fire His ministers;
(5) Who laid the foundations of the earth, That it should not be moved forever;
(6) Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a vesture; The waters stood above the mountains.
(7) At Thy rebuke they fled; At the voice of Thy thunder they hasted away
(8) (The mountains rose, the valleys sank down) Unto the place which Thou hast founded for them.
(9) Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; That they turn not again to cover the earth.
(10) He sendeth forth springs into the valleys; They run among the mountains;
(11) They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild asses quench their thirst.
(12) By them the birds of the heavens have their habitation; They sing among the branches.”
QUESTIONS.
With what exhortation does this psalm open?
What general statement is then made concerning the being of Jehovah?
With what is Jehovah arrayed?
What serves as a robe for Him?
What has He done to the heavens?
Where has He built His chambers?
To what use does He put the clouds?
Upon what does He walk?
What does He use as His messengers?
What does He use as His ministers?
How permanently has He founded the earth?
With what was the earth at one time covered?
How high did the waters stand?
What caused the waters to recede?
For what reason did they speedily retire?
What changes took place in the surface of the earth?
What disposition was made of the waters?
How are they held in their appointed place?
What are they thus prevented from doing?
Where does Jehovah cause the waters to flow forth?
Where do they wend their way?
What need of the animal kingdom is thus supplied?
What animals are thus able to quench their thirst?
NOTES.
1. This psalm sets forth the greatness of Jehovah the Creator, the Provider, and the Ruler of the world. Its purpose is “to make man bow in lowly faith before God’s boundless wisdom, believing that He, whose power created, and whose providence rules, the whole order of nature, is no less wonderful in His governance of the moral world. He never mistakes.”
2. “The whole natural world is designed to be an interpreter of the things of God. . . . As the works of God are studied, the Holy Spirit flashes conviction into the mind. It is not the conviction which logical reasoning produces; but unless the mind has become too dark to know God, the eye too dim to see Him, the ear too dull to hear His voice, a deeper meaning is grasped, and the sublime, spiritual truths of the written Word are impressed on the heart. . . . God has, in the natural world, placed in the hands of the children of men the key to unlock the treasure-house of His Word. The unseen is illustrated by the seen; divine wisdom, eternal truth, infinite grace, are understood by the things that God has made.”
5. There is undoubted reference to the Flood in verses 6-9. Although the record states that “the fountains of the great deep [were] broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened,” and that the waters were assuaged by a wind which passed over the earth, yet it was none the less directly the personal act of God which brought the Flood, and it was at His rebuke that the waters fled. The so-called operations of nature are in truth the operations of God, and the so-called laws of nature are but the habitual methods of God’s working yet oftentimes perverted by sin. By studying the things which God has made, and observing the working of His power in upholding and caring for them, we may become acquainted with that power which is the essential feature of the Gospel. Rom. 1:16-20.
