John Gill

He waters the mountains from His chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His works.

“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…”

where the birds build their nests; the stork makes her home in the cypresses.

“Where the birds make their nests,.... As they do in large, tall, spreading trees: not any particular "birds", as the sparrow, to which the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, and Apollinarius, restrain it: but birds in general are intended; and especially such as build in…”

The high mountains are for the wild goats, the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.

“The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats,.... Who have their name in Hebrew (d) from their climbing and ascending them.”

He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.

“He appointeth the moon for seasons,.... Or, "he made" (e); for the moon is the work of his hands, Psa 8:3 as is likewise the sun.”

Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both great and small.

“So is this great and wide sea,.... One of the great and manifold works of God, made in his wisdom, and full of his riches and possessions, as the earth is; this is that collection of waters which God called seas, Gen 1:10 and is…”

When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.

“Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created,.... Thy Holy Spirit, as the Targum, who was at first concerned in the creation of all things, the heavens and the earth, and man upon it, Gen 1:2, Job 26:13 which may be alluded to here; though…”

May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Hallelujah!

“Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth,.... Not in common, for all men are sinners, even good men are not without sin; but notorious sinners, whose lives are one continued series and course of sinning; such as will not have Christ to reign…”

Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the nations.

“O give thanks unto the Lord,.... These are the words of David, either to the singers, or rather to the whole congregation of Israel, the seed of Abraham, and children of Jacob, Psa 105:6 stirring them up to praise and thankfulness for their mercies, temporal…”

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonders.

“Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him,.... Both vocally and instrumentally, with the voice and upon instruments of music, as were used in David's time. Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, are to be sung now, even the song of Moses, and of the Lamb.”

Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

“Glory ye in his holy name,.... In the knowledge of it, as proclaimed in Christ; in being called by his name, and in having the honour to call upon his name; in the holiness of it; and in Christ being made sanctification as well as…”

Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.

“Seek the Lord and his strength,.... The ark, which is called his strength, and the ark of his strength, Psa 78:61, because he had shown his great strength by it, in dividing the waters at Jordan, throwing down the walls of Jericho, and plaguing the…”

Remember the wonders He has done, His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,

“Remember his marvellous works which he hath done,.... Which Aben Ezra interprets of the works of creation; rather they seem to design the works of Providence in favour of the children of Israel: best of all, works of grace done for his saints, none of…”

the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac.

“Which covenant he made with Abraham,.... Or made it known unto him, and showed him his particular interest in it; promised that he would be his God, that he would bless him; and that in his seed, the Messiah, that should spring from him, all…”

“Do not touch My anointed ones! Do no harm to My prophets!”

“Saying, Touch not mine anointed,.... Or, "mine anointed ones"; my Christs, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were, who, though not anointed with material oil, yet were all that, that such were, who in later times were anointed with it.”

He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron, whom He had chosen.

“He sent Moses his servant,.... Into Egypt, to deliver his people Israel out of the hands of the Egyptians; in which, as in other things, he approved himself to be a faithful servant to the Lord; of this mission of his, see Exo 3:10.”

He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.

“He turned their waters into blood,.... With which Egypt abounded; their streams, rivers, ponds, and pools, so that they had no water to drink; a just judgment upon them for shedding the innocent blood of infants, by drowning them in their rivers; this was the…”

Their land teemed with frogs, even in their royal chambers.

“Their land brought forth frogs in abundance,.... The land of Egypt, the moist, marshy, and watery places of it, the banks of the river Nile, out of the slime and mud of which these sprung; or, as Kimchi observes, wherever there were waters in the…”

He spoke, and insects swarmed— gnats throughout their country.

“He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies,.... Or a "mixture" (z) of various insects, and, as some interpret it, of wild beasts; and so Kimchi says evil beasts are meant, which were raised up to go into all their borders; the Arabic version…”

He gave them hail for rain, with lightning throughout their land.

“He gave them hail for rain,.... Egypt, at least part of it, was not used to rain, but was watered by the overflowings of the Nile; but now it had hail for rain, and a grievous hail storm it was, such as was never seen…”

He struck their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country.

“He smote their vines also, and their fig trees,.... So that they died; for in Psa 78:47, it is said, he "killed" them; and it is not only used in common speech with us, but with classical writers (b) to speak of killing inanimate things…”

He spoke, and the locusts came— young locusts without number.

“He spake, and the locusts came,.... A great army of them, and covered the land, that it was even darkened by them; and were such as had never been seen before, or ever were since; this is the eighth plague, Exo 10:12, with these compare…”

Then He struck all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their vigor.

“He smote also all the firstborn in their land,.... Both of men and beasts; the firstborn of the king on the throne, and of the maidservant behind the mill, and of the captive in the dungeon; this was the last plague, and which prevailed upon…”

Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.

“Praise ye the Lord,.... Or "hallelujah"; which, according to the Arabic version, is the title of the psalm; and so it stands in the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions.”

So He said He would destroy them— had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach to divert His wrath from destroying them.

“Therefore he said that he would destroy them,.... He said in his word, the Targum adds; he thought within himself he would; he seemed determined in his own mind to destroy them, being provoked at their wretched forgetfulness of him, and their idolatry; he said…”

So He raised His hand and swore to cast them down in the wilderness,

“Therefore he lifted up his hand against them,.... A gesture used in swearing, Gen 14:22. So the Targum understands it here, "and he lifted up his hand with an oath, because of them:'' and so it is interpreted by Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben…”