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25 O Lord, how manifold are your works! *
in wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
26 Yonder is the great and wide sea
with its living things too many to number, *
creatures both small and great.
27 There move the ships,
and there is that Leviathan, *
which you have made for the sport of it.
28 All of them look to you *
to give them their food in due season.
29 You give it to them; they gather it; *
you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.
30 You hide your face, and they are terrified; *
you take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.
31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; *
and so you renew the face of the earth.
32 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; *
may the Lord rejoice in all his works.
33 He looks at the earth and it trembles; *
he touches the mountains and they smoke.
34 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; *
I will praise my God while I have my being.
35 May these words of mine please him; *
I will rejoice in the Lord.
37 Bless the Lord, O my soul. *
Hallelujah!
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This is the Psalm that will be read aloud in unison or sung by a cantor on Pentecost Sunday, Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. This song of praise will follow the First Lesson, which will either be from the mandatory reading from the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 2 this Sunday), which states: “All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?”’ or, the First Lesson will come from Ezekiel’s prophecy that says, “Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”’ If the Acts reading is the First Lesson, then the New Testament reading will come from Paul’s letter to the Christians of Rome, where he wrote: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” All will precede the Gospel reading from John, where Jesus said: “Now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’”
I wrote about this selection in 2020. It is short and sweet, to the point. Everything I interpreted then still has value today, so I welcome those who are seekers of Yahweh to read that commentary here: Pentecost Sunday 2020 – Part III (Psalm 104).
The source that I use for the Hebrew and Greek written text is BibleHub Interlinear. It presents the punctuation marks where they actually appear in the divine text, the capitalization [Greek only, Hebrew has no capital letters] and other special marks that are written, but cannot be translated. In the Psalms, there often is a discrepancy in the numbering of the verses, between my source and that designated by the Episcopal Church. This can be seen in Psalm 104, as the verses listed as 25-35, with 37 added, is shown by BibleHub to actually be verses 24-34, with 35b being the addition. Whereas the Episcopal lectionary page cites their translations to be from the NRSV, the NRSV also only has 35 total verses in Psalm 104, matching the numbering of BibleHub. Still, the NRSV lists verse 25 as what BibleHub shows as verse 24. I will now list notes from each verse, according to the BibleHub presentation, with asides to what the NRSV claims.
First of all, I want to point out that this Psalm has twenty-three verses that lead up to this reading presentation. All sing praises to Yahweh, as the God of Israel, specifically named. In all thirty-five verses, “Yahweh” is written nine time, with nine being a mystical number that cannot be ignored or thought to be happenchance. Of those nine times, two appear in verse 1. Another appears in verse 16. The remaining six appear in the verses selected for reading on Pentecost Sunday.
All six have been translated by the NRSV as “Lord.” This is not what is written. When Moses asked, “Who shall I say sent me?” The answer was not, “O just tell them you come from the Lord.” To not call Yahweh by the name that says, “I Am Who I Am,” says “I Ain’t got no Lord” in oneself.
Verse 24 [NRSV 25] sings about how much Yahweh can do. When David sang, “how manifold are your works!” he was not looking out the window, while sipping on a toddy, leaning over from his recliner, watching Yahweh build pyramids, cities, defeat evil, and all kinds of things that make Christians sweat just thinking about them all. The “manifold” of “works” come from those like David, who serve Yahweh as those who ACT in His name.
Seeing that, when David then sang, “in wisdom you have made them all,” this then reflects on the presence of the Christ Mind [the Godhead allowed those Anointed ones of Yahweh]. The intelligence of commoners pales in comparison to the “wisdom Yahweh has made” come to His servants. It is this “wisdom” that causes ACTS that create miracles and does the works of Yahweh on earth.
The last word in verse 24 [25] is “qin·yā·ne·ḵā.” This form is rooted in the Hebrew word “qinyan,” which means “something gotten or acquired, acquisition.” BibleHub translates this word as saying “your possessions.” The NRSV translates it to say “your creatures.” The point of this says “wisdom” from Yahweh has made “creatures” [dumb animals called humans, no matter how smart they think they are] His “possessions,” as He has “acquired” their souls as His wives. In return, those “creatures” have become divinely “possessed” by the Spirit of Yahweh, bringing His “wisdom” upon them.
In verse 25 [NRSV 26], David spoke metaphorically about the expanse of Yahweh being like “a sea.” His words “gā·ḏō·wl ū·rə·ḥaḇ yā·ḏā·yim” have been translated as saying, “great and wide.” In reality, they state “great wide hand,” where “yā·ḏā·yim” is rooted in “yad,” meaning “hand.” This is David comparing his Israel as a “sea” of those who served Yahweh, all as His right “hands.” This is the same "sea" that became Christianity, so the metaphor still applies today.
When David then sang of those “there teeming innumerable” [NRSV = “too many to number”], he then added “ḥay·yō·wṯ” [from “chay”], meaning “alive” or “living.” This element of “alive” means the “hand” of Yahweh is a “sea” of “souls,” all eternally “alive” as redeemed. They include those from all ranks in life: “great and small.” Still, all are “both small” [“qə·ṭan·nō·wṯ”] “with great” [“‘im- gə·ḏō·lō·wṯ”], as souls who had been lost and alone [small], until they submitted themselves to Yahweh, uniting with the greatest possible.
Verse 26 [27] then continues the metaphor, placing “ships” that “sail about.” Here, one must see that a “ship” floats atop the waters of the “sea,” not united with it. Within the “sea” is known to be the “leviathan,” or “a sea monster-dragon.”
The motto of humanity is this: If it breathes, kill it!
This is said by David to be a creation of Yahweh, made “to play there” or “to laugh there” [from “lə·śa·ḥeq- bōw”]. The NRSV says “which you have made for the sport of it.” When one sees the “sea” as those souls saved through marriage with Yahweh, the “sea dragon made” by Yahweh is the Spirit that is Sacred, which knows which “ships” are seeking to marry Yahweh. Still, the “ships” fear the Spirit, because it means sinking all that makes them float above the “sea,” as something special [not “small”]. Therefore, the sport [“laugh”] is the game we love to call religion, where Christians and Jews alike try to play the role of Captain Ahab, all trying to spear the Great White whale, to make the Spirit their prize possession, so they can hold their superiority above all others. They risk losing everything, rather than admitting defeat to a greater power and becoming possessed by it.
When verse 27 [28] then sings [NRSV], “All of them look to you to give them their food in due season,” this says the “ships” are the synagogues of Israel, which correlate today to the churches [many denominations] of Christianity. They enter the “sea” that is the outstretched “hand” of Yahweh, seeking the fish of that “sea,” with expectations to be fed spiritual food. Still, the truth of what David wrote is this: “kul·lām ’ê·le·ḵā yə·śab·bê·rūn,” which literally says, “these all to you inspect.” That says the religious read what Yahweh has fed them [spiritual food in Scripture], at the same time Yahweh waits for that feeding to lead one to say, “Yes” to Yahweh’s marriage proposal [the Covenant]. When the “time” is right [“in due season”] the “leviathan” will rise out of the “sea” and the Spirit of Yahweh will consume their souls.
Verse 28 [29] then sings [NRSV], “You give it to them; they gather it; you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.” This says the religious will find what is needed to bring about a personal love of Yahweh. It is up to them to prove their worthiness to become a bridesmaid [not a human gender word]. Here, “your hand” [from “yā·ḏə·ḵā”] is a reflection back on the “hands” [from “yā·ḏā·yim”] in verse 25 [26]. This is the “sea” of souls that are in Yahweh’s “hands,” such that here it means Yahweh’s “hand” is “open” [from “tip̄·taḥ”] to welcome another soul to His “sea.” To enter that realm of Salvation, those souls “will be filled with good” [from “yiś·bə·‘ūn ṭō·wḇ”].
Verse 29 [30] then sings [NRSV], “You hide your face, and they are terrified; you take away their breath, and they die and return to their dust.” This begins with the statement, “you conceal your face,” which implies Yahweh turns away from seekers, which would only be those who reject Him as their Husband. In reality, a marriage of a soul to Yahweh means that human body [male or female] then secretly wears the face of Yahweh, as the meaning of the First Commandment. There, wearing the “face” of Yahweh is the only “face” allowed, where “pā·ne·ḵā” is written as “paneh.” ["Thou shall have the face of no other gods before my face."]
This then leads one to see death as the result, which is the greatest fear to which all human beings hold dearly. That fear is said by David to be “they are terrified” [from “yib·bā·hê·lūn”], but the only fear one is allowed is that of Yahweh. Therefore, that explains this “fear,” which is brought on by putting on the “face” of their Master. When that leads to David singing, “you take away their breath,” that “breath” [from “rū·ḥām”] is their “soul of life.” The only reason Yahweh would take away His “breath of life” [“ruach” or “spirit-soul”] is through marriage. Yahweh then takes possession of a soul upon marriage to Him.
The aspect of death, from “they die and return to their dust,” this relates to the sacrifice of self in marriage to Yahweh, so the “soul” is released from a prison that keeps a soul on the physical plane. Death does not come instantly, but when it comes the body of flesh remains in the material realm, while the “soul” has been taken away to remain forever with Yahweh.
Verse 30 [31] then begins by singing, “You send forth your Spirit, and they are created.” This is not some opposite way that Yahweh behaves, but a continuation of the freedom given to the soul of a wife to Yahweh. After taking away a “breath of life” [a “soul”], Yahweh then “sends forth” that “soul” combined with the “spirit” [both from “rū·ḥă·ḵā”]. This in not a new “creation,” as all souls are as eternal as Yahweh, with no beginning and no end. What is “created” [from “yib·bā·rê·’ūn”], however, is a Saint, Apostle, or one newly Anointed by Yahweh as His Son on earth [regardless of human gender].
This is confirmed in the words that have been translated to say, “so you renew the face of the earth.” In reality, the Hebrew text says, “and you renew” [from “ū·ṯə·ḥad·dêš”], where the root word “chadash” also means “repair.” To “renew” or “repair” a lost soul, that soul becomes “reborn” as a likeness of Yahweh’s Spirit. That likeness is then “the face” [“pə·nê”] of Yahweh that is hidden beneath the skin and bones of the “face” of a new wife. It is in this way that mortal human beings are continuously replenished with divine extensions of Yahweh, which enter into the flesh “of the earth” – the material realm.
Verse 31 [32] then confirms that intent, by repeating the name “Yahweh” twice. The NRSV translation suffices by saying, “May the glory of [Yahweh] endure forever; may [Yahweh] rejoice in all his works.” In this, “endurance” [assumed from “yə·hî … lə·‘ō·lām”] is relative to a human characteristic, which is the “patience” Paul wrote of in his letter to the Romans. (Romans 8:25) This means the wives of Yahweh will set aside their personal ego-driven desires, in order to do the many “works” [“bə·ma·‘ă·śāw”] that are His through His wives on earth.
Verse 32 [33] then returns to David’s use of metaphor, which sings out [NRSV], “He looks at the earth and it trembles; he touches the mountains and they smoke.” To presume that Yahweh has eyes like human beings, so “he looks” [from “ham·mab·bîṭ”] “at the earth,” is as if something might be missed if he stopped looking. That is a human perspective and therefore flawed reasoning.
David meant that Yahweh sees all; but His extended eyes on earth see all the evil that is there. This becomes reminiscent of Jesus coming upon the man who had many demons within, called Legion. The simple presence of Jesus had that demon cream out, “What do you want of me!?” Thus, the presence of Yahweh’s wives in ministry makes evil in the world “tremble” [“wat·tir·‘āḏ”].
The aspect of “touching” can be seen as a laying on of “hands,” but the “touch” [“yig·ga‘,” from “naga”] of Yahweh is His Spirit, not physical hands. Thus, Jesus could heal without having had any physical contact with those in need. This presence is felt by those who think they are most high – the “mountains” or “hills” [“be·hā·rîm”] – when they are nothing more than “small” [from verse 25 [26]]. Feeling how powerless those most high are, next to one possessing Yahweh within, they “smoke” with “anger” [“wə·ye·‘ĕ·šā·nū”], causing them to strike out against the flesh containing God Almighty. Still, the metaphor of a “mountain mist” says no matter how high in the material realm one reaches, it cannot escape the all-surrounding vapors of Yahweh [His "sea"], none of which can be grasped, controlled, or forced away.
Verse 33 [34] then sings praises, such that David promised [NRSV]: “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will praise my God while I have my being.” While David certainly did live up to his love of Yahweh, the repeated used of “I” must be seen as a confession sung by everyone whoever sings this song of praise. This says “I” (the first person singular) is forever those souls who are married to Yahweh and set free from the cycle of reincarnation.
Verse 34 [35] is then David wanting to please his Yahweh, where the Hebrew written first says, “ye·‘ĕ·raḇ,” which acts as a prayer that seeks to please Yahweh, as conditions set for “sweetness.” Following, David wrote, “‘ā·lāw śî·ḥî,” which says, “to him my complaints,” as well as “to him my musings.” This speaks of prayer that tells all to Yahweh, whether or not words are expressed.
This is followed by the word “’ā·nō·ḵî,” which stands as a one-word statement about “I.” It says the ego of self has become one with the Spirit of Yahweh, so prayer is as easy as an inkling of thought. That single thought then leads to David writing, “’eś·maḥ Yah-weh,” which says his soul “will be glad in Yahweh.” That “rejoices” His presence, which caused David to sing songs of praise to his God.
Verse 35b [numbered as 37 by the NRSV] then says [NRSV], “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” In reality, verse 35a has sang about the destruction of the sinful and wicked of the world, so 35b becomes a new sentence that sings, “be nothing knelt [before] my soul.” That must be seen as a promise made by David that sings of commitment, such that the soul of David will never profess to be anything, without Yahweh. There will be no lures of the world worthy of kneeling before in worship. No sacrifices of the soul will be made to Satan. Only to Yahweh will David’s soul be given, which led him to “praise Yah” [from “hal·lū- yāh”] which is the translation of “Hallelujah.”
As a song of praise lifted up to Yahweh on Pentecost Sunday, the element of graduation into ministry after forty days of maturing as Jesus reborn, that theme is sung loudly by these lyrics of David. Everything is based on one’s soul being married to Yahweh. Well before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth [born in Bethlehem], David was singing about the Spirit of Yahweh merging with one’s soul. This is the “Advocate” Jesus prophesied to come to his disciples. The element of patience and endurance matches what Paul wrote.
The distraction of this psalm is the leviathan, which is seen as a sea monster, mistaken as an evil creature. This is the fear that possesses all those calling themselves religious, as the vast majority are too afraid to sacrifice a job that pays all the bills, for service as a wife of Yahweh. A servant to Yahweh must put in the "works" that reflects the "hands" of God. All that "work" is too much, when added to 40-70 hour weeks at the old slat mine. Everyone sees Yahweh as a monster beneath the water that is waiting to pounce on one whose guard has been lowered. All who hear and sing along with these words do little to ponder the meaning these words contain.
In the last day of the Easter season, when a soul should have been practicing to be comfortable with Jesus reborn within one’s flesh, few will make the grade on this graduation day. Few will be praising Yah from their hearts [a soul’s center]. The sad truth is most people have given up on Jesus coming, just like the Jews long ago gave up on their promised Messiah and actually expecting Elijah to come back. Everyone is just going through motions, floating on the “sea” that is Yahweh’s outstretched “hand.” Few are willing to become the “hand” of Yahweh on earth, leaving all the “many works” required for a soul to be saved up to someone else.