Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 104:13
He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
13. Who giveth the mountains drink from his upper chambers. Palestine was “a land of mountains and valleys, drinking water of the rain of heaven” (Deu 11:11). It is not inaccessible mountain tops which the poet is thinking of, so much as the upland corn fields (Psa 72:16), watered by the rain which God sends down from His “upper chambers” ( Psa 104:3), as the valleys are watered by streams.
the fruit of thy works ] Generally explained to mean the rain, as a product of the clouds which God has made. But this is harsh: it is much more natural to take the phrase in the simple sense of “fruit produced by God’s manifold operations.” Earth is fertilised by the rain and springs, and rejoices in its abundant produce. The thought is further developed in Psa 104:14-18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He watereth the hills from his chambers – The waters, as stated before, run in the valleys – in the natural channels made for them among the hills, Psa 104:10. But still, it was a fact that the hills themselves were watered; that there were springs far up their heights; and that vegetation was sustained above the reach of the fountains and streams below; and it was a proof of the divine skill and beneficence that, in some way, water was furnished on the summits and sides of the hills themselves. This was caused, the psalmist says, by Gods pouring water on them, as it were, from his own chambers – his abode on high. The allusion is, doubtless, to rain, which seems to be poured down from the very abode of God. The word rendered chambers means upper rooms, (see the notes at Psa 104:3); and the reference is to the dwelling-place of God, as far above the earth.
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works – Thy doings; with what thou hast done. All the needs of the earth seem to be met and satisfied; all that it could desire to make it fertile and beautiful; and the proper abode of man, of beast, and of fowl, has been granted. It has no cause of complaint; nothing has been left undone, in the valleys or on the hills, on the dry land or in the waters, that was needful to be done to carry out the purpose for which it has been called into being.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. From his chambers] The clouds, as in Ps 104:3.
The earth is satisfied] The inhabitants of it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He watereth the hills; which most need moisture, and have least of it in them.
From his chambers; from the clouds, as above, Psa 104:3.
The earth is satisfied; by this means all the parts of the earth, the mountains as well as the valleys, are made fruitful.
With the fruit of thy works; with the effects of those sweet showers, which he calls Gods works, because he alone can and doth give them, as is noted, Jer 10:13; 14:22.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
He watereth the hills from his chambers,…. The house of his superior treasures, as the Targum. The airy regions, Ps 104:3 with the clouds of heaven, by the rain which they drop down upon them; the usefulness of which blessings of nature is largely described in this and some following verses. “The hills”, which are naturally dry and barren, and receive but little advantage from the springs, fountains, and rivers below, are supplied with water from above; and become fruitful, bear herbage, and are clothed with flocks. This seems to refer to the first rain that was upon the earth, Ge 2:5 and which favour is continued to all lands, excepting some part of the land of Egypt, and in all ages since; see Ps 65:9. So ministers of the word, who are set in the first place, and are eminent in the church of God, and who water others, are watered themselves with the gifts and graces of the Spirit descending from above, as the apostles were, in an extraordinary manner, at the day of Pentecost; and as others in a more ordinary manner daily are. So likewise the churches of Christ, comparable to hills and mountains for firmness and visibility, and the several members thereof, are watered with the dews of divine favour, with the rain of the divine word; which comes down from heaven as the rain does, and drops and distils like that; and with the grace of the divine Spirit, whereby their souls become as a watered garden, whose springs fail not.
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works; with the fruits which grow out of it by means of rain, as are after mentioned; herbs, grass, and trees, so Aben Ezra: or with the influences of the heavens, which are the work of God’s hands, and by which the earth is made fruitful; or more particularly with the virtue and efficacy of the rain, so Kimchi; which is the Lord’s peculiar work, Jer 14:22. This the earth drinking in, is as satisfied with as a thirsty man is with drinking a draught of water; see De 11:11. So the people of God, comparable to the good earth that drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, are satisfied with the love of God, with the blessings of his grace, with the doctrines of his Gospel, and with the ordinances of his house.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The same subject is prosecuted in the 13th verse, where it is said that God watereth the mountains from his chambers It is no ordinary miracle that the mountains, which seem to be condemned to perpetual drought, and which, in a manner, are suspended in the air, nevertheless abound in pastures. The prophet, therefore, justly concludes that this fruitfulness proceeds from nothing else but the agency of God, who is their secret cultivator. Labour cannot indeed, in the proper sense, be attributed to God, but still it is not without reason applied to him, for, by merely blessing the earth from the place of his repose, he works more efficaciously than if all the men in the world were to waste themselves by incessant labor.
14. Making grass to grow for cattle The Psalmist now comes to men, of whom God vouchsafes to take a special care as his children. After having spoken of the brute creation, he declares, that corn is produced, and bread made of it, for the nourishment of the human race; and he mentions in addition to this, wine and oil, two things which not only supply the need of mankind, but also contribute to their cheerful enjoyment of life. Some understand the Hebrew word לעבדת, laäbodath, which I have rendered for the service, to denote the labor which men bestow in husbandry; for while grass grows on the mountains of itself, and without human labor, corn and herbs, which are sown, can only be produced, as is well known, by the labor and sweat of men. According to them the meaning is, that God blesses the toil of men in the cultivation of the fields. But this being too strained an interpretation, it is better to understand the word service, in the ordinary sense of the term. With respect to the word bread, I do not object to the view of those who understand it in a restricted sense, although it probably includes all kinds of food; only I dislike the opinion of those who exclude bread. There is no force in the reason which they allege for taking this view, namely, that in the following verse another use of bread is added, when it is said, that it strengthens the heart of man; for there the same thing is expressed in different words. The prophet, in stating that God causeth the earth to bring forth herbs for the support of men, intends to say that the earth supplies them not only with food in corn, but also with other herbs and fruits; for the means of our sustenance is not limited exclusively to one kind of food.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) Chambersi.e., of cloud, as in Psa. 104:3.
Thy works.If we go by the parallelism, this means the rain, here called Gods works, as in Psa. 65:9 (see Note), his river. Others prefer to see a general reference to the operations of nature which produce fruit.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Watereth the hills from his chambers See on Psa 104:3; Psa 104:10.
The earth is satisfied The earth being, literally, watered from his “chambers,” “is satisfied,” being stimulated to its highest power of productivity, (Psa 65:8-13; Jer 14:22,) and thus, also, the earth, metonymically, that is, its inhabitants, as animals and plants, all things of the earth which have life are supplied to satiety. So Psa 104:14, and Psa 145:16.
Fruit of thy works The context would require us to understand, by this, the result of God’s wise arrangements and adaptations in universal nature.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 104:13. The earth is satisfied, &c. That the earth may be satiated with the fruit of thy works: Psa 104:14 to cause the grass to grow, &c. Mudge.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 104:13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
Ver. 13. He watereth the hills from his chambers ] That is from his clouds, he giveth water to hills and high places, where wells and rivers are not.
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
a Habitation for Beast and Man
Psa 104:13-23
Where there is true love for God, there will be a glad and rejoicing heart that takes pleasure in the study of His works. The loving child of a great artist lingers about his studio, watches with eager interest the development of picture or statue, and speaks with delight to others of her fathers work. It is in such a spirit that those who know God in daily fellowship and communion follow the psalmist to mountain streams, to the pastures and the meadows, the grain-fields and the orchards, the high mountains with their dark pines and firs.
There is no pen that has more eloquently portrayed these scenes than Ruskins. He had a natural love for beauty, and an unrivaled genius for vivid description; but it was as a boy at his mothers knee that he learned from these Scriptures to connect the glories of the natural world with the devout adoration of the Creator. His books reflect this early training.
This psalm may be called a divine commentary on Gods earliest book-the world which lies around us.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
watereth: Psa 147:8, Deu 11:11, Job 38:25-28, Job 38:37, Jer 10:13, Jer 14:22, Mat 5:45, Act 14:17
his chambers: Psa 104:3, Amo 9:6
the earth: Psa 65:9-13
Reciprocal: Lev 26:4 – Then I Job 9:9 – General Job 36:31 – he giveth Psa 119:64 – earth Isa 30:23 – shall he Zec 10:1 – and give
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 104:13-15. He watereth the hills Which most need moisture, and have least of it in themselves; from his chambers From those chambers spoken of Psa 104:3, the beams of which he lays in the waters, those store- chambers, the clouds that distil the fruitful showers. The earth, &c. By this means all the parts of the earth, the hills as well as the dales, the mountains as well as the valleys, are satisfied with the fruit of thy works With those sweet showers which they drink in, or rather with the effect of them, the fruitfulness caused thereby. Hence all the glory and beauty of the vegetable world; hence grass that nourishes the cattle, that they may nourish the human race; hence the green herb for food and for medicine; hence fields covered with corn, for the support of life; hence vines and olive-trees, laden with fruits, whose juices exhilarate the heart, and brighten the countenance. Horne.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
104:13 He watereth the hills from his {g} chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
(g) From the clouds.