Poetic License

Psalm 104:13-23

13You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,

and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.

14You cause grass to grow for the cattle.

You cause plants to grow for people to use.

You allow them to produce food from the earth—

15wine to make them glad,

olive oil as lotion for their skin,

and bread to give them strength.

16The trees of the LORD are well cared for—

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17There the birds make their nests,

and the storks make their homes in the firs.

18High in the mountains are pastures for the wild goats,

and the rocks form a refuge for rock badgers.

19You made the moon to mark the seasons

and the sun that knows when to set.

20You send the darkness, and it becomes night,

when all the forest animals prowl about.

21Then the young lions roar for their food,

but they are dependent on God.

22At dawn they slink back

into their dens to rest.

23Then people go off to their work;

they labor until the evening shadows fall again.

In the sixteenth century two scholars were debating the merits of ancient poetry. One insisted that nothing could measure up to the work of the great classical poets like Ovid or Sophocles. His companion, Henry Stephanus, was working on a commentary on the Psalms. He suggested that his strongly opinionated friend might want to consider classical Hebrew poetry as well.

The classical scholar laughed. The Psalms, he felt, were primitive, coarse. He had heard of one poet who was translating the Psalms into Latin poetry, a project doomed to failure. He said it was like trying “to put seeds in dry sand.”

“But have you really heard the Psalms lately?” Stephanus asked, and he read him the 104th Psalm. Could anything be as poetic and inspiring as these old lyrics?

The other scholar listened with growing wonder. Yes, he admitted, he had underestimated this poetry. In a few broad strokes, the psalmist had painted the whole universe. The Lord’s majestic handiwork is mirrored in the poet’s deft wording. With specific images and crisp verbs, the earth is set in motion.

Any translation may fail, Stephanus acknowledged, but that’s the fault of the sower, not the soil. Psalm 104 is a brilliant testimony to a brilliant Creator. Be sure you don’t underestimate the psalm—or its subject.

He built the earth, He spread the sky,

And fixed the starry lights on high;

Wonders of grace to God belong,

Repeat His mercies in your song.

ISAAC WATTS

Bible Networking

References to the sun setting (verse 19) and people working (verse 23) call to mind some portions of Ecclesiastes (1:5; 2:20-23; 12:1-2)—but the psalmist has a much brighter attitude.

Notable Quotable

“The more we learn about the wonders of our universe, the more clearly we are going to perceive the hand of God.”

FRANK BORMAN