Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 104:19
He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
19. The changes of the moon mark periods of time and the proper times for festivals. Cp. Sir 43:7 , “From the moon is the sign for the festival.” The sun knows and fulfils its daily duty. The sunset is mentioned, to introduce the picture of night in Psa 104:20 ff.; and night precedes day, as commonly in oriental reckoning.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
19 23. Moon and sun mark the seasons and the alternations of day and night. The work of the fourth day, Gen 1:14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He appointed the moon for seasons – Gen 1:14-18. That is, The moon, as well as the sun, is appointed to divide time; to determine its progress; to indicate the return of festival occasions, or appointed times to be observed in any manner. It is, in fact, the foundation of the division of the year into months, and consequently the indication of all that is to be observed in the months of the year. But for this, there would be no natural divisions of time except those of day and night, and of the year. How great an advantage it is for the purpose of life, to have time broken up into brief intervals or periods which can be marked and remembered, both in our private life and in history, it is not necessary to say. God has been pleased to add to the natural divisions of time into days, and years, and months, an artificial division – the fourth part of the moons course – a week, indicated by the Sabbath, thus greatly facilitating the plans of life in regard to stated times or seasons, and especially in regard to religious observances. The idea in the passage before us is, that the whole arrangement is one of benevolence, promoting the comfort of man, and bringing the ideas of succession, variety, and beauty into the system.
The sun knoweth his going down – As if conscious of what he is doing, he knows the exact time of setting, and never varies, but always obeys the divine command; never sets before his time – unexpectedly shortening the day, and leaving man in sudden darkness in the midst of his toil; and never lingers above the horizon after the moment has come for his setting, but withdraws at the exact time, enabling man to close his toil, and seek repose, and giving an opportunity for another class of creatures to come forth on the animated scene. Their good is regarded as well as that of man; and the operations of nature are so arranged as to promote the welfare of all.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. He appointed the moon for seasons] The heathens thought that the sun and moon were gods, and worshipped them as such. The psalmist shows,
1. That they are creatures dependent on God for their being and continuance; and,
2. That they were made for the use of man. See what has been said on these luminaries in the notes on Ge 1:14-16.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For seasons; to measure and distinguish the times, both months, and, amongst many nations, years also; as also the seasons of divers natural events, as of the ebbing and flowing of the waters, and of the humours in mans body; and other seasons for sacred and civil affairs, which were commonly regulated by the moon, not only amongst the Jews, but among heathens also. See Poole “Gen 1:14“.
His going down, to wit, the time and place in which he is to set every day of the year, which, though varied from day to day, yet he so regularly and exactly observes, as if he had the understanding of a man or angel to guide him in obeying the laws of his Creator. See Job 38:12. What is here expressed concerning his setting is necessarily supposed concerning his rising also; but he mentions only his setting, as most agreeable to the context, because that did usher in the rising of the moon, of which he now spake, and the entrance of the night, of which he speaks in the next words.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
He appointeth the moon for seasons,…. Or, “he made” e; for the moon is the work of his hands, Ps 8:3 as is likewise the sun. From the rain the psalmist passes to the luminaries; for this reason, as Aben Ezra thinks, because they are the cause of rain: the moon is taken notice of in the first place, because, as Kimchi observes, the night was before the day; and in the night of the fourth day were the sun, moon, and stars; but the sun rose in the morning. The moon was made for seasons as well as the sun, Ge 1:16 or that times might be numbered by it, as the Targum, both months and years; one of its courses and revolutions making a month, and twelve of these a year; which lunar years were in use among some nations: as also it is supposed to have an influence on the ebbing and flowing of the tides; and served to regulate the festivals of the Jews, their set appointed times, as the word signifies, and is used of them, and which were governed by it. And this Jarchi takes to be the sense of the passage; though Aben Ezra more truly remarks, that it purely belongs to the work of creation, and the original design and use of this luminary. It was an emblem of the ceremonial law; which consisted, among other things, in the observation of new moons; which gave some light in the time of Jewish darkness, though but a dim one, in comparison of the Gospel; had its imperfections, was changeable, waxed old, and vanished away; and which the church is said to have under her feet, being abolished,
Re 12:1. Though some think the world is meant, which is changeable and fading. It was also an emblem of the church, So 6:10 which receives her light from Christ, the sun of righteousness; has its different phases and appearances; sometimes being in prosperity, and sometimes in adversity; has its spots and imperfections, and yet beautiful, through the grace of God and righteousness of Christ.
The sun knoweth his going down; not the going down of the moon, which is the sense of some, according to Kimchi; but his own going down; and so he knows his rising, to which this is opposed, Ps 50:1 and every revolution, diurnal or annual, he makes; and which he constantly and punctually observes, as if he was a creature endued with reason and understanding; see Ps 19:5. He knows the time of his setting, as the Targum, Syriac, and Arabic versions; and also the place where he is to set, at the different seasons of the year, and indeed every day. This luminary is an emblem of Christ, the sun of righteousness, Ps 84:11 the fountain of all light; the light of nature, grace, and glory; and of all spiritual life and heat, as well as fruitfulness. He arose at his incarnation, and set at his death, the time of both which he full well knew; and he has his risings and settings, with respect to the manifestation of himself to his people, or hiding himself from them, which depend on his pleasure.
e “fecit”, Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The fifth decastich, in which the poet passes over from the third to the fourth day, shows that he has the order of the days of creation before his mind. The moon is mentioned first of all, because the poet wishes to make the picture of the day follow that of the night. He describes it in Psa 104:19 as the calendarial principal star. are points and divisions of time (epochs), and the principal measurer of these for civil and ecclesiastical life is the moon (cf. Sir. 43:7, ), just as the sun, knowing when he is to set, is the infallible measurer of the day. In Psa 104:20 the description, which throughout is drawn in the presence of God in His honour, passes over into direct address: jussives ( , ) stand in the hypothetical protasis and in its apodosis (EW. 357, b). It depends upon God’s willing only, and it is night, and the wakeful life of the wild beasts begins to be astir. The young lions then roar after their prey, and flagitaturi sunt a Deo cibum suum . The infinitive with Lamed is an elliptical expression of a conjugatio periphrastica (vid., on Hab 1:17), and becomes a varying expression of the future in general in the later language in approximation to the Aramaic. The roar of the lions and their going forth in quest of prey is an asking of God which He Himself has implanted in their nature. With the rising of the sun the aspect of things becomes very different. is feminine here, where the poet drops the personification (cf. Psa 19:1-14). The day which dawns with sunrise is the time for man. Both as to matter and style, Psa 104:21 call to mind Job 24:5; Job 37:8; Job 38:40.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Divine Bounty. | |
19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. 20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. 21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. 22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. 23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening. 24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. 25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. 26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein. 27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. 28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. 29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. 30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
We are here taught to praise and magnify God,
I. For the constant revolutions and succession of day and night, and the dominion of sun and moon over them. The heathen were so affected with the light and influence of the sun and moon, and their serviceableness to the earth, that they worshipped them as deities; and therefore the scripture takes all occasions to show that the gods they worshipped are the creatures and servants of the true God (v. 19): He appointed the moon for seasons, for the measuring of the months, the directing of the seasons for the business of the husbandman, and the governing of the tides. The full and change, the increase and decrease, of the moon, exactly observe the appointment of the Creator; so does the sun, for he keeps as punctually to the time and place of his going down as if he were an intellectual being and knew what he did. God herein consults the comfort of man. 1. The shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the night (v. 20): Thou makes darkness and it is night, which, though black, contributes to the beauty of nature, and is as a foil to the light of the day; and under the protection of the night all the beasts of the forest creep forth to feed, which they are afraid to do in the day, God having put the fear and dread of man upon every beast of the earth (Gen. ix. 2), which contributes as much to man’s safety as to his honour. See how nearly allied those are to the disposition of the wild beasts who wait for the twilight (Job xxiv. 15) and have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; and compare to this the danger of ignorance and melancholy, which are both as darkness to the soul; when, in either of those ways, it is night, then all the beasts of the forest creep forth. Satan’s temptations then assault us and have advantage against us. Then the young lions roar after their prey; and, as naturalists tell us, their roaring terrifies the timorous beasts so that they have not strength nor spirit to escape from them, which otherwise they might do, and so they become an easy prey to them. They are said to seek their meat from God, because it is not prepared for them by the care and forecast of man, but more immediately by the providence of God. The roaring of the young lions, like the crying of the young ravens, is interpreted asking their meat of God. Does God put this construction upon the language of mere nature, even in venomous creatures? and shall he not much more interpret favourably the language of grace in his own people, though it be weak and broken, groanings which cannot be uttered? 2. The light of the morning befriends the business of the day (Psa 104:22; Psa 104:23): The sun arises (for, as he knows his going down, so, thanks be to God, he knows his rising again), and then the wild beasts betake themselves to their rest; even they have some society among them, for they gather themselves together and lay down in their dens, which is a great mercy to the children of men, that while they are abroad, as becomes honest travellers, between sun and sun, care is taken that they shall not be set upon by wild beasts, for they are then drawn out of the field, and the sluggard shall have no ground to excuse himself from the business of the day with this, That there is a lion in the way. Therefore then man goes forth to his work and to his labour. The beasts of prey creep forth with fear; man goes forth with boldness, as one that has dominion. The beasts creep forth to spoil and do mischief; man goes forth to work and do good. There is the work of every day, which is to be done in its day, which man must apply to every morning (for the lights are set up for us to work by, not to play by) and which he must stick to till evening; it will be time enough to rest when the night comes, in which no man can work.
II. For the replenishing of the ocean (Psa 104:25; Psa 104:26): As the earth is full of God’s riches, well stocked with animals, and those well provided for, so that it is seldom that any creature dies merely for want of food, so is this great and wide sea which seems a useless part of the globe, at least not to answer the room it takes up; yet God has appointed it its place and made it serviceable to man both for navigation (there go the ships, in which goods are conveyed, to countries vastly distant, speedily and much more cheaply than by land-carriage) and also to be his storehouse for fish. God made not the sea in vain, any more than the earth; he made it to be inherited, for there are things swimming innumerable, both small and great animals, which serve for man’s dainty food. The whale is particularly mentioned in the history of the creation (Gen. i. 21) and is here called the leviathan, as Job xli. 1. He is made to play in the sea; he has nothing to do, as man has, who goes forth to his work; he has nothing to fear, as the beasts have, that lie down in their dens; and therefore he plays with the waters. It is a pity that any of the children of men, who have nobler powers and were made for nobler purposes, should live as if they were sent into the world, like leviathan into the waters, to play therein, spending all their time in pastime. The leviathan is said to play in the waters, because he is so well armed against all assaults that he sets them at defiance and laughs at the shaking of a spear, Job xli. 29.
III. For the seasonable and plentiful provision which is made for all the creatures, Psa 104:27; Psa 104:28. 1. God is a bountiful benefactor to them: He gives them their meat; he opens his hand and they are filled with good. He supports the armies both of heaven and earth. Even the meanest creatures are not below his cognizance. He is open-handed in the gifts of his bounty, and is a great and good housekeeper that provides for so large a family. 2. They are patient expectants from him: They all wait upon him. They seek their food, according to the natural instinct God has put into them and in the proper season for it, and affect not any other food, or at any other time, than nature has ordained. They do their part for the obtaining of it: what God gives them they gather, and expect not that Providence should put it into their mouths; and what they gather they are satisfied with–they are filled with good. They desire no more than what God sees fit for them, which may shame our murmurings, and discontent, and dissatisfaction with our lot.
IV. For the absolute power and sovereign dominion which he has over all the creatures, by which every species is still continued, though the individuals of each are daily dying and dropping off. See here, 1. All the creatures perishing (v. 29): Thou hidest thy face, withdrawest thy supporting power, thy supplying bounty, and they are troubled immediately. Every creature has as necessary a dependence upon God’s favours as every saint is sensible he has and therefore says with David (Ps. xxx. 7), Thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled. God’s displeasure against this lower world for the sin of man is the cause of all the vanity and burden which the whole creation groans under. Thou takest away their breath, which is in thy hand, and then, and not till then, they die and return to their dust, to their first principles. The spirit of the beast, which goes downward, is at God’s command, as well as the spirit of a man, which goes upward. The death of cattle was one of the plagues of Egypt, and is particularly taken notice of in the drowning of the world. 2. All preserved notwithstanding, in a succession (v. 30): Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created. The same spirit (that is, the same divine will and power) by which they were all created at first still preserves the several sorts of creatures in their being, and place, and usefulness; so that, though one generation of them passes away, another comes, and from time to time they are created; new ones rise up instead of the old ones, and this is a continual creation. Thus the face of the earth is renewed from day to day by the light of the sun (which beautifies it anew every morning), from year to year by the products of it, which enrich it anew every spring and put quite another face upon it from what it had all winter. The world is as full of creatures as if none died, for the place of those that die is filled up. This (the Jews say) is to be applied to the resurrection, which every spring is an emblem of, when a new world rises out of the ashes of the old one.
In the midst of this discourse the psalmist breaks out into wonder at the works of God (v. 24): O Lord! how manifold are thy works! They are numerous, they are various, of many kinds, and many of every kind; and yet in wisdom hast thou made them all. When men undertake many works, and of different kinds, commonly some of them are neglected and not done with due care; but God’s works, though many and of very different kinds, are all made in wisdom and with the greatest exactness; there is not the least flaw nor defect in them. The works of art, the more closely they are looked upon with the help of microscopes, the more rough they appear; the works of nature through these glasses appear more fine and exact. They are all made in wisdom, for they are all made to answer the end they were designed to serve, the good of the universe, in order to the glory of the universal Monarch.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
19. He hath appointed the moon to distinguish seasons The Psalmist now comes to another commendation of God’s providence as manifested in the beautiful arrangement by which the course of the sun and moon alternately succeeds each other; for the diversity in their mutual changes is so far from producing confusion, that all must easily perceive the impossibility of finding any better method of distinguishing time. When it is said, that the moon was appointed to distinguish seasons, interpreters agree that this is to be understood of the ordinary and appointed feasts. The Hebrews having been accustomed to compute their months by the moon, this served for regulating their festival days and assemblies, both sacred and political. (194) The prophet, I have no doubt, by the figure synecdoche, puts a part for the whole, intimating, that the moon not only distinguishes the days from the nights, but likewise marks out the festival days, measures years and months, and, in fine, answers many useful purposes, inasmuch as the distinction of times is taken from her course. As to the sentence, The sun knoweth his going down, I understand it not only of his daily circuit, but as also denoting that by gradually approaching nearer us at one time, and receding farther from us at another, he knows how to regulate his movements by which to make summer, winter, spring, and autumn. It is farther stated, that the beasts of the forest creep forth during the night, because they go out of their dens with fear. Some translate the verb רמש , ramas, to walk; but its proper signification which I have given is not unsuitable; for although hunger often drives wild beasts into fury, yet they watch for the darkness of the night, that they may move abroad from their hiding-places, and on account of this fearfulness they are said to creep forth.
(194) “The greatest part of the Jewish feasts, as the New Moon, the Passover, the Pentecost, etc., were governed by the moon.” — Dimoch.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) The moon for seasons.See Psa. 89:37, Note. The mention of the inferior luminary first is no doubt partly due to its importance in fixing the calendar, but partly also to the diurnal reckoning, the evening and the morning as making the day.
The sun knoweth.So Job. 38:12 of the dawn. The sun is no mere mechanical timepiece to the Israelite poet, but a conscious servant of God. How beautifully this mention of sunset prepares the way for the exquisite picture of the nocturnal landscape, as the sunrise in Psa. 104:22 does for the landscape of the day.
In Genesis the creation of the heavenly bodiesthe fourth days workis related in, so to speak, a scientific manner. But the poet, as in the former part of his treatment of the subject, at once goes to the influence of these phenomena on animated being. In Genesis the lamps of heaven are, as it were, hung out at Gods command; in the poem they seem to move to their office of guiding the seasons and illuminating the earth like living things who are conscious of the glorious function they have to perform.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. The psalmist passes to the fourth day’s work. Gen 1:14.
The moon for seasons The day was determined by the apparent revolutions of the sun, the week, by the return of the sabbath, (Gen 2:2; Exo 20:11,) but the year, which was a division of time first suggested by summer and winter, and the regular returning fruits of the earth, was early reckoned by lunar months. The word “signs,” (Gen 1:14,) is not to be understood of portents, but of division marks of time.
Sun knoweth his going down The time and place, as if he were endowed with knowledge. See Job 38:12. The allusion is to the exactness of the apparent motion of the sun, or the diurnal revolution of the earth. But this is only as a drop to the ocean compared with all the motions of the heavenly bodies and systems of worlds. So perfect are the works of God!
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 104:19. He appointed the moon for seasons See Gen 1:14.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
As in the natural; set in the spiritual world, there are seasons of light and darkness; and when Jesus, the Sun of righteousness, for a moment withdraws his shining from the soul, and makes darkness there, Satan, the great enemy of souls, comes forth, as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Oh! how sweet, after a dark night of temptation, doubt, and fear, is it to the soul, to behold Jesus arise with healing in his wings! Mal 4:2 ; Psa 130:6 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 104:19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
Ver. 19. He appointed the moon for seasons ] Most nations reckoned the year by the moon, rather than by the sun.
The sun knoweth his going down
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
knoweth. Figure of speech Prosopopoeia. .
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 104:19-23
Psa 104:19-23
THE FOURTH DAY OF CREATION
“He appointed the moon for seasons:
The sun knoweth his going down.
Thou makest darkness, and it is night,
Wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their food from God.
The sun ariseth, they get them away,
And lay them down in their dens.
Man goeth forth unto his work
And to his labor until the evening.”
In Gen 1:14-19, is found the basis of what is written here. We shall mention one feature of the fourth day which is often overlooked. The sacred text states that, “God set them (the sun, moon and stars) in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth” (Gen 1:17). Also they were thus set in order to produce the seasons. Significantly, it is not here stated that God created the sun, moon, stars and the earth; because that had already been accomplished in the very first day of creation. Then what was it that occurred on the fourth day? We believe that God Almighty moved the earth from some other location and established it in its present orbit around the sun with its axis inclined 23 degrees upon the plane of its orbit. Would such a maneuver indeed have “set the sun, moon and stars” in the earth’s firmament? See my comments in Vol. I of my Pentateuchal series of commentaries (Genesis) regarding this “fourth day.” Is there a better explanation of what is meant by this? If so, we have not encountered it.
In this discussion of the fourth day, as in the others, it is not the mere fact of creation that is stressed, but the results of what was created.
The day and the night provide dual opportunities. The young lions search for their prey at night and retire to their dens in the daytime. Man, on the other hand works in the daytime and retires to his place at night. God’s creation provides the correct environment for all of the creatures God made to live upon earth.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 104:19. One shade of meaning of the original for appointed is “to use.” The thought is that the moon was depended upon to set the dates for certain seasons. For an example, the months of the Jewish calendar were started by the moon as it came “new.” (1Sa 20:24-27.) The argument of David is that God has such control of the moon that he could rely on it to signal the season of period called the month. The feasts and other rituals of the Jewish worship were to be at regular intervals, and if they were to be regulated as to date by the moon, then the changes of that body would have to be reliable. The appearances of the sun also would need to be according to God’s wish.
Psa 104:20. In strictness of speech, darkness does not have to be “made.” It is a negative condition and is merely the absence of light. In the passage we are considering the Psalmist is discussing God’s power to manage the things of the universe, including the “going down” of the sun. That condition was necessary in order to bring the rest in sleep for the comfort and welfare of living creatures.
Psa 104:21. The darkness is seen to be an advantage to some of the beasts which God created. The lions find the night time the best for their necessity and they unconsciously roar the praises of the Maker of all things.
Psa 104:22. After the lions have captured their prey under cover of darkness, they may confidently use the light of the sun to deposit it in their dens.
Psa 104:23. This verse was written before the days of “24-hour” programs in the industrial world. The Lord designed the day as the time for work, and the darkness of night as best adapted for sleep and rest. That is why we have such expressions as are in Joh 9:4; Joh 11:9; Joh 12:35. I realize that Jesus was using the words figuratively, but all figures of speech are based on some literal fact.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Psa 8:3, Psa 136:7-9, Gen 1:14-18, Deu 4:19, Job 31:26-28, Job 38:12, Jer 31:35
Reciprocal: Deu 33:14 – moon Psa 89:37 – ever Ecc 1:5 – sun Jer 33:20 – General Jer 33:25 – and if
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 104:19. He appointeth the moon, &c. From a survey of the works of God upon the earth, the psalmist proceeds to extol that divine wisdom which is manifested in the motions and revolutions of the heavenly bodies, and in the grateful vicissitude of day and night occasioned thereby. For seasons For measuring the weeks and months, and, among many nations, years also, distinguishing the seasons of the year, and directing the business of the husbandman; for governing the tides, the state of the weather, and divers other natural events; as also the times for sacred and civil affairs, which were commonly regulated by the moon, not only among the Jews, but among heathen also: see on Gen 1:14. The full and change, the increase and decrease of the moon, exactly observe the appointment of the Creator. The sun, also, knoweth his going down Namely, the time and place in which he is to set every day of the year, which, though varied from day to day, yet he as regularly and exactly observes as if he were an intelligent being, and had the understanding of a man or angel to guide him, in obeying the laws of his Creator.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
104:19 He appointed {i} the moon for seasons: {k} the sun knoweth his going down.
(i) As to separate the night from the day, and to note days, months and years.
(k) That is, by his course, either far or near, it notes summer, winter and other seasons.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God’s creation of daytime and nighttime were also provisions for God’s creatures, especially humankind (cf. Gen 1:14-17).