Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

104:19-24 The Lord Governs the Rhythm of Day and Night. These verses take up the fourth creation day, when God appointed the celestial lights to mark off time for mankind; the lights still do what God appointed them to do. The moon will mark the seasons (i.e., the "appointed times" of the liturgical calendar, see note on Gen. 1:14-19) with its phases, but it also joins the sun in marking off day and night. During the night, many wild animals are active: all the beasts of the forest creep about, and the young lions roar for their prey. At daybreak, they steal away for shelter, while man goes out to his work. These verses help the Israelites to see the rhythm of their life, by which they work during the day and rest at night, as inherent in the creation order (cf. note on Gen. 1:3-5) and also in the larger context of the other animals' activities. Hard work is not an evil distortion of the original creation; man was given work to do in the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15). The curse did not introduce work; it infected work with pain (Gen. 3:17-18). Verse 24 of Psalm 104 brings to a close this section (about the creatures that live on the earth, i.e., on land), with its exclamation of wonder and delight: how manifold are your works!