Commentary - Psalm 104:5-9

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 104 is a magnificent hymn celebrating God as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. It functions as an extended meditation on the Genesis 1 creation account, but rendered in high poetry. The psalmist is not giving us a scientific textbook; he is leading us in doxology. He walks through the created order, from the heavens to the earth to the sea, and at every point, he marvels at the wisdom, power, and providential care of Jehovah. This is theology that sings. The central theme is God's absolute sovereignty over every molecule and every moment. He did not just wind up the world and let it go; He is intimately and actively involved in upholding it by the word of His power. This particular section, verses 5 through 9, focuses on the foundational work of God in establishing the earth and setting the boundaries for the chaotic waters, showcasing His power to bring order out of watery chaos.

This passage is a direct assault on any form of deism or Darwinian purposelessness. The world is not a cosmic accident. It was founded, established, and is actively governed. The language here is that of a king issuing decrees to His creation. The waters are rebuked, they flee at the sound of His thunder, and they are given a boundary they are forbidden to cross. This is personal, active, and absolute authority. The stability of the very ground beneath our feet and the restraint of the mighty oceans are ongoing testimonies to the faithfulness and power of God's covenant word. This is a picture of God's initial work in creation week, not, as some have thought, the flood of Noah. This is about the fundamental structure of the world as God first made it.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 104 is paired beautifully with Psalm 103. Psalm 103 is a celebration of God's work of redemption, His covenant love, His forgiveness of sins, and His tender mercies. It is intensely personal and relational: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 104 then broadens the perspective from redemption to creation. It is as though the psalmist, having praised God for saving his soul, now looks out at the entire cosmos and praises the same God for making and sustaining it all. The two psalms together give us a robust, biblical worldview: the God of grace is the God of nature. The one who forgives our iniquities is the one who set the earth on its foundations. This prevents our faith from becoming a detached, gnostic spirituality. Our salvation is accomplished by the same Lord who commands the oceans and feeds the lions. Both psalms begin and end with the same refrain, "Bless the Lord, O my soul," bookending this immense theology of grace and creation with personal worship.

Key Issues

Creation by Decree

When we read a passage like this, we must understand the kind of language being used. This is the language of command, of royal decree. God speaks, and it is done. He rebukes, and the waters flee. He sets a boundary, and it is not passed. This is a world governed by the word of the King. This is fundamental to a Christian understanding of reality. The laws of nature are not impersonal forces; they are the consistent and faithful decrees of God. The reason water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level is that God continues to tell it to do so. The reason the oceans stay in their beds is that God has commanded them to stay put.

This section of the psalm describes the events of the third day of creation, when God separated the dry land from the seas (Gen. 1:9-10). The earth was initially covered with "the deep," a watery chaos. But God did not negotiate with the chaos. He did not wrestle with it. He spoke. He rebuked it. His thunderous voice sent it scurrying to its appointed place. This is a portrait of effortless, absolute power. The pagan creation myths often depict the gods battling some kind of sea monster or chaos dragon to establish order. The Bible's account is entirely different. The "deep" is not a rival deity; it is mere creature, and it obeys the voice of its Master instantly and without question. This is the foundation of our confidence. The God who saved us is the God who holds the oceans in the palm of His hand.

Verse by Verse Commentary

5 He founded the earth upon its place, So that it will not shake forever and ever.

The psalmist begins with the stability of the earth. God is depicted as a master builder who lays a foundation. The Hebrew word for "founded" is the same one used for laying the foundation of a building. This is not a technical, scientific description of planetary physics, but rather a theological and phenomenological one. From our perspective, the earth is stable, solid, and dependable. It is our "place." And the reason for this stability is not found in the earth itself, but in the One who founded it. He established it with a purpose, and that purpose guarantees its stability. The phrase "forever and ever" does not mean the material earth will never be renewed or transformed, as Scripture elsewhere teaches it will be. Rather, it means that as long as God's purpose for this current age stands, the earth will not be moved. It cannot be shaken from its ordained course by any created thing. Its stability is a function of God's covenant faithfulness.

6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains.

Here the psalmist rewinds to a point in the creation narrative before the dry land appeared. He is poetically describing the state of the earth on the first and second days of creation. The "deep," the primordial ocean, covered everything like a piece of clothing. It was a world of water. So complete was this covering that the waters stood even above the yet-unrevealed mountains. This is a picture of watery chaos, of unformed reality. But even here, God is in control. He is the one who "covered" the earth with this deep. The chaos was not an accident or a rival power; it was a stage in His creative plan, a raw material that He would shortly put in its proper place.

7 At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away in alarm.

This is where the action happens. How does God deal with the watery chaos? Not with a struggle, but with a word. A "rebuke." This is the language a king uses to a disobedient subject, or a master to a dog. It is a sharp, authoritative command that expects and receives immediate obedience. The "sound of Your thunder" is a poetic description of the power of God's voice. His word is not a mere suggestion; it carries the power to enforce itself. The response of the waters is personified. They "fled," they "hurried away in alarm." They are depicted as a routed army, terrified of the commander's voice. This is a glorious picture of God's effortless sovereignty. He does not fight creation; He commands it.

8 The mountains went up; the valleys went down To the place which You founded for them.

As the waters retreat, the land appears. The psalmist describes this with dramatic, tectonic language. Mountains rise, and valleys sink. This is a poetic rendering of the formation of the earth's topography. And this geological upheaval is not random. It is all directed toward an end: creating the "place" that God had founded for the waters to inhabit. God is not just getting rid of the water; He is creating a home for it. He is assigning everything its proper sphere. This verse shows us that the very shape of our world, the existence of mountains and valleys, is a result of God's wise and powerful design. He sculpted our world for His own glory and for the habitation of His creatures.

9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth.

Once the waters are in their place, God gives them a permanent command. He sets a "boundary." We call this boundary the coastline, the beach. This boundary is not a mere suggestion; it is a divine law. The waters "may not pass over" it. The purpose of this boundary is explicit: "so that they will not return to cover the earth." This is a covenant promise embedded in the very fabric of creation. God has promised that the world will not revert to the watery chaos of the beginning. Of course, God did once judge the world by flood in the days of Noah, but that was a singular, miraculous act of de-creation and re-creation. The promise here in Psalm 104, and reaffirmed to Noah in Genesis 9, is that this is not the normal state of affairs. The regular, ongoing, day-to-day business of the world is that the sea stays in its place. Every time we stand on a beach and watch the waves break, we are witnessing the ongoing faithfulness of God to His creative word.

Application

The first and most obvious application is worship. This psalm was written to be sung, to be declared. It is designed to produce awe and wonder at the majesty of our God. We live in an age that has been systematically taught to explain the world without reference to God. This psalm is a direct antidote to that poison. We must learn to look at the mountains, the oceans, and the stability of the earth not as brute facts, but as ongoing sermons about the power and wisdom of our Creator. We should cultivate a doxological view of nature.

Secondly, this passage is a profound source of comfort. The same God whose thunderous voice sent the chaotic waters fleeing is the God who has spoken a word of peace to us in the gospel of His Son. The forces of chaos in our own lives, whether they be sin, suffering, or the opposition of the world, are no match for His rebuking word. He who set a boundary for the sea can certainly set a boundary for our troubles. He who founded the earth so it cannot be shaken can certainly hold our lives steady in the midst of storms. Our security does not rest in our own strength, but in the sovereign power of the one who made and upholds all things. He brought order from chaos in the beginning, and He is still in the business of bringing order from the chaos of our fallen world through the work of His Spirit.