Psalms 104:11

Psa 104:11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.

Ver. 11. They give drink to every beast] A great mercy, as we have lately found in these late dry years, 1653, 1654, wherein God hath given us to know the worth of water by the want of it, Bona sunt a tergo formosissima.

The wild asses] Those hottest creatures, Job 39:8-11.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. (Psa 104:11) They water every beast of the field; (at them) wild asses quench their thirst. The subject of the first verb is still the waters. The verb itself means to water, in the sense of giving drink to animals, though sometimes metaphorically applied to irrigation. See Gen 2:10. The form of the parallelism in this verse is peculiar, although not uncommon in Hebrew poetry, the last clause containing a specification of the general statement in the first. What is first said of animals, or wild ones in the general, is then said of the wild ass in particular. Quench, literally break, i.e. subdue, assuage. A derivative noun is applied in Hebrew to corn or grain, as that which breaks or assuages hunger, although most interpreters and lexicographers suppose a reference to the literal breaking or grinding of the corn itself.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

104:11-18 The psalmist celebrates animal, plant, and human life, as well as the Lord’s abundant provision for all of it (Gen 1:9-30).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

If God provide for the very beasts, much more will he extend his provident care to man.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 11. The wild asses quench their thirst.] The פרא pere, onager or wild ass, differs in nothing from the tame ass, only it has not a broken spirit, and is consequently more lively and active. It is so very swift that no horse except the Arab barb can overtake it. It is a gregarious animal, and they go in troops to feed and to drink. It is very timid, or rather jealous of its liberty, and therefore retires deep into the desert; yet even there the providence of God regards it; springs are provided, and it has the instinct to find them out.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) Wild asses.—See Job_39:5-8.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. every beast of the field] Wild animals, as distinguished from domesticated animals, the ‘cattle’ of Psa_104:14.

the wild asses] Mentioned particularly as one of the most striking and beautiful of wild animals. See Davidson’s note on Job_39:7, a passage which may have been in the Psalmist’s mind, for he was evidently familiar with Job. Jeremiah (Jer_14:6) draws a graphic picture of the sufferings of the wild ass in a drought.

quench] Lit. break. Cp. frangere sitim.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They give drink to every beast of the field,.... These fountains, springs, and rivers, afford water for all the beasts of the field; who are therefore said to honour and praise the Lord on account of it, Isa 43:19.

The wild asses quench their thirst; or "break" (n) it. Those creatures that live in dry and desert places, and are themselves dry and thirsty; and though so stupid as they be, yet provision of water is made for them, and they are directed where to seek for it, and find it; see Job 39:5. And if God takes care of the beasts of the field, even the most wild and stupid, will he not take care of his own people? He will, and does. He opens rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; he gives waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to his people, his chosen, Isa 41:18.

(n) "frangent", Pagninus, Montanus; "frangunt", Vatablus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They give drink to every beast of the field - All are thus kept alive. The wild beasts that roam at large, find water thus provided for them.

The wild donkeys quench their thirst - Margin, as in Hebrew, “break.” The meaning is, that the most wild and ungovernable of beasts - those which are farthest from the habits of domesticated animals, and the most independent of any aid derived from man, find abundance everywhere. On the word rendered “wild asses,” and on the habits of the animals here referred to, see the notes at Job 11:12.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Which he mentions, partly because they are dry and thirsty creatures; and partly because they live in dry and desolate wildernesses, and are neither ruled nor regarded by men, and are most stupid creatures, and yet are plentifully provided for by the care and bounty of Divine Providence.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 11. They give drink to every beast of the field. Who else would water them if the Lord did not? They are his cattle, and therefore he leads them forth to watering. Not one of them is forgotten of him.

The wild asses quench their thirst. The good Lord gives them enough and to spare. They know their Master's crib. Though bit or bridle of man they will not brook, and man denounces them as unteachable, they learn of the Lord, and know better far than man where flows the cooling crystal of which they must drink or die. They are only asses, and wild, yet our heavenly Father careth for them. Will he not also care for us? We see here, also, that nothing is made in vain; though no human lip is moistened by the brooklet in the lone valley, yet are there other creatures which need refreshment, and these slake their thirst at the stream. Is this nothing? Must everything exist for man, or else be wasted? What but our pride and selfishness could have suggested such a notion? It is not true that flowers which blush unseen by human eye are wasting their sweetness, for the bee finds them out, and other winged wanderers live on their luscious juices. Man is but one creature of the many whom the heavenly Father feedeth and watereth.

Ver. 11. The wild asses quench their thirst. It is particularly remarked of the asses, that though they are dull and stupid creatures, yet by Providence they are taught the way to the waters, in the dry and sandy deserts, and that there is no better guide for the thirsty travellers to follow, than to observe the herds of them descending to the streams. Thomas Fenton.

Ver. 11. The wild asses quench their thirst. As evening approached we saw congregated, near a small stream, what appeared to be a large company of dismounted Arabs, their horses standing by them. As we were already near them, and could not have escaped the watchful eye of the Bedouins, we prepared for an encounter. We approached cautiously, and were surprised to see that the horses still remained without their riders; we drew still nearer, when they galloped off towards the desert. They were wild asses. Henry Austin Layard.

Psalms 104:12*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. Beast of the field—A term for land animals in general.

Wild asses— Here mentioned, perhaps, as specimens of animals inhabiting parched deserts, familiar with suffering from thirst, and hence extreme examples of divine care. For their habits, see Job_39:5-8; Isa_32:14

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They give drink to every beast of the field. God"s mercy is "over all his works". (Psa_145:9) He careth for the whole animal creation. (see Exo_20:10 Exo_23:19 Deu_25:4 Psa_104:27 Psa_145:15, 16 Jon_4:11, etc.) The wild asses quench their thirst. Herodotus (4:192) says that wild asses are apotoii.e. "do not drink" but modern travellers declare the contrary. They drink infrequently, and are so shy, that at such times they rarely fall under human observation.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wild asses - Stupid creatures, and yet plentifully provided for by the Divine providence.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.