Psalms 104:13

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] i.e. With the rain of thy clouds, dropping fatness.

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.

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.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. (Psa 104:13) Watering mountains from his upper rooms—from the fruit of thy works is the earth filled. He still returns to God as the author of these merciful provisions, and represents him by a beautiful figure, as pouring this abundant supply of water from his upper rooms, the same word that was rendered halls in ver. 3; but here the connection seems to require that its precise etymological import should be prominent. The fruit of thy works, the result or product of thy creative energy. Filled, not in the sense of being occupied, which would require a different Hebrew verb, but in that of being abundantly supplied or saturated. See above, on Psa 8:5. The sudden apostrophe to God himself enhances the poetical effect.

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

From the clouds.

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

Verse 13. From his chambers] The clouds, as in Ps 104:3.

The earth is satisfied] The inhabitants of it.

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

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.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(13) Chambers—i.e., of cloud, as in Psa_104:3.

Thy works.—If we go by the parallelism, this means the “rain,” here called God’s 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.

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

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.

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.

He watereth the hills from his chambers,.... The house of his superior treasures, as the Targum. The airy regions, Psa 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, Gen 2:5 and which favour is continued to all lands, excepting some part of the land of Egypt, and in all ages since; see Psa 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 Deu 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.

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

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 God’s 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.

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

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 God’s works, because he alone can and doth give them, as is noted, Jer 10:13; 14:22.

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

Ver. 13. He watereth the hills from his chambers. As the mountains are too high to be watered by rivers and brooks, the Lord himself refreshes them from those waters above the firmament which the poet had in a former verse described as the upper chambers of heaven. Clouds are detained among the mountain crags, and deluge the hill sides with fertilizing rain. Where man cannot reach the Lord can, whom none else can water with grace he can, and where all stores of refreshment fail he can supply all that is needed from his own halls.

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. The result of the divine working is fulness everywhere, the soil is saturated with rain, the seed germinates, the beasts drink, and the birds sing nothing is left without supplies. So, too, is it in the new creation, he giveth more grace, he fills his people with good, and makes them all confess, "of his fulness have all we received and grace for grace."

Ver. 13. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works; that is, with the rain, which is thy work, causing it to be showered down when you please upon the earth; or, with the rain, which proceeds from the clouds; or, with the fruits, which thou causeth the earth by this means to bring forth. Arthur Jackson.

Psalms 104:14*

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

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.

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

He (i.e. God) watereth the hills from his chambers (comp. ver. 3). The mountains themselves, even their highest tops, are not left dry. Where springs cannot reach, rain falls from God"s "chambers" in the sky, and spreads equal refreshment. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. The whole earth mountains, hills, plains, valleys is thus "satisfied," i.e. sufficiently supplied with water, by the means which God has elaborated.

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

The hills - Which most need moisture. From - From the clouds. Satisfied - By this means all the parts of the earth, are made fruitful. The fruit - With the effects of those sweet showers.

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

He waters the mountains from his water chambers in the sky

This means that God causes it to rain. The waters are described as residing in chambers in the sky. AT: "He waters the mountains by causing the rains to fall from the sky" (See: Metaphor)

the fruit of his labor

"the many good things that you create"

and plants for man to cultivate

The words "he makes" and "grow" are understood from the previous phrase, and can be repeated here. AT: "and he makes the plants grow for man to cultivate" (See: Ellipsis)

translationWords

heaven

fruit

labor

cow

wine

oil

life

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.