Psalm 104 (103):6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The prophet seems to be alluding to the clouds that linger atop the mountains. In these elevated regions, the clouds are particularly tenacious, enveloping the desolate peaks in perpetual darkness. He states that whenever You desire, they will all vacate their positions, disperse, and vanish.

Praise the Lord, my soul. Let all our souls, united in Christ, declare this. O Lord my God, You are greatly exalted! Psalm 102:1. Where have You been glorified? In confession and beauty, You have adorned Yourself. Offer your confession to be clothed by Him. Garbed in light like a robe, Psalm 103:2. Clothed in His Church, transformed from darkness into light in Him, as the apostle states, “You were once darkness, but now are light in the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8. You spread the heavens like a canopy: as easily as one might spread a covering, if you grasp the essence of Holy Scripture, which spans the entire globe by the authority that mortality represents, since all the power of the Divine Word has been delivered to us through mortal beings, whose glory persists beyond their deaths.

Who covers the heights with water? Psalm 102:3. What do we mean by “the heights”? Heavenly places. What is Heaven? We have described it symbolically: the Divine Scriptures. What are the elevated aspects of these Scriptures? The greatest commandment of love, with none above it. Mark 12:31. Why is love likened to water? Because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. Romans 5:5. Where does it say the Spirit manifests as water? For Jesus declared, “If anyone believes in Me, rivers of living water will flow from his heart.” John 7:37-38. How do we know the Spirit is referenced here? The evangelist clarifies, stating, “He spoke of the Spirit, which those who believe would receive.” The One who ascends above the wings of the wind signifies the triumph over the soul’s virtues. What is the virtue of the soul? Self-love. But how will He prevail over it? Because God’s love for us surpasses our love for Him.

Who transforms spirits into His angels, and makes a fiery flame His ministers, Psalm 102:4. These are those who have become spiritual, and thus He sends them to proclaim His gospel. The fiery flame serves Him, for if the minister does not burn with zeal, he will not inspire those to whom he preaches.

He established the earth on its firm foundation, Psalm 103:5. He established the Church upon Christ’s steadfastness. What is this foundation? The Apostle teaches that “no one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11. Given such a foundation, what further assurance do we have? It will not be moved for eternity. He has established the Church upon the foundation of Christ. Should the foundation tremble, the Church may shake; but when will Christ, through whom all things were created, and without whom nothing came into being, John 1:3, who upholds all things by His greatness, Hebrews 1:3, experience any shake? Since Christ cannot fail, neither will His Church be shaken or brought low eternally. Where are those who assert the Church has vanished from the earth when she is still here to be worshipped...

The abyss, like a covering, is her garment, Psalm 102:6. Whose garment is this? Could it belong to God? Yet He has declared, “Clothed in light as a garment.” I hear of God wrapped in light, and that light, if we seek it, can be ours. What follows if we desire it? We will not remain in darkness. If God is wrapped in light, then whose covering is the abyss? The great mass of waters is termed the abyss. All water, moist by nature and ever flowing through seas, rivers, and hidden caverns, is collectively called the Abyss. Hence we understand the earth of which He said, “He founded the earth.” I believe He also said, “The Abyss, like a covering, is its garment.” For water is, in essence, the earth’s robe, enveloping and surrounding it...

The waters shall rise above the mountains, denoting that the earth’s garment, the abyss, has become so mighty that even the mountains stand submerged. We recall this occurring at the time of the flood... The prophet sought to prophesy, not recount past events, indicating that the Church must endure an onslaught of persecution. There was a time when waves of oppressors overwhelmed God’s earth, enfolding even the mightiest mountains. When they dispersed, did they cease to be mountains? Perhaps these very waters are those which proclaim, “Save me, O God, for the waters have reached even to my soul.” Especially the waters that render the sea tumultuous and barren. Where the sea spills its waters on land, it inevitably turns fertile into wasteland. For there were indeed mountains beneath the waves, because the waters surged above them...

Why did the apostles flee? Because the waters towered over the mountains. The might of the waters was great, but for how long? Hear what follows. From Your rebuke, they shall disperse. Psalm 102:7. It occurred, brethren; through God’s command, the waters receded, returning from their advance upon the mountains. Now look at the mountains, Peter and Paul: how they have been uplifted! Those once marginalized by persecutors are now esteemed like emperors. The waters have receded from the rebuke of God; for the hearts of kings lie in His hand, guided wherever He wills; Proverbs 21:1. He has ordained peace for Christians; the authority of the Apostles has grown and elevated... The waters fled from the rebuke of God. At the sound of Your thunder, they tremble. Who would not quail at the voice of God through the apostles, the Word of God through Scriptures, through His manifestations? The seas went calm, the waters became afraid, the mountains were revealed, and the emperor issued the decree. But who would have dared command if God had not thundered? It was by God's will that they mandated, and it became so. Thus, let no man claim anything as his own.

The mountains ascend, and the plains descend to the place You have established for them. Psalm 102:8. He continues to speak of the waters. Let us not interpret mountains merely as physical land; not the plains, as earthly land, but rather as waves towering like mountains. The sea swelled once, with billows reminiscent of mountains that might have overwhelmed the apostolic peaks. But how long can mountains rise and plains fall? They rage, but they are calmed. In their fury, they are mountains; now pacified, they become plains since He has determined a resting place for them. There exists a certain channel, resembling a deep basin where these tumultuous hearts of men withdraw... They were once mountains; now they are plains: yet, brethren, even a still sea is still a sea. Why are they not fierce now? Why are they not enraged? Why do they not try in vain to cover our land? Why not?

Look. You have set a boundary they shall not surpass, nor return to cover the earth. Psalm 103:9. What then? Now that the harshest waves have been restricted, we are free to preach such truths openly; they have their defined limits and cannot traverse beyond them, nor return to engulf the earth. What transpiring in the earth itself? What work is taking place now that the sea has left it bare? Though the gentle waves whisper on its shore and the Gentiles murmur around, I hear the sound of the shores, yet I do not fear the flood. So what is happening on the land? Who brings forth springs in the valleys? Psalm 102:10. You send, he says, springs in the valleys. Know that these valleys are lowly places among the land. Hills and mountains stand opposed to valleys and small hollows. Hills and mountains signify the high places, while valleys and small valleys represent the lows. Do not dismiss the lowly places; springs flow from them. You send springs to the small valleys. Hear the mountains. The apostle declares, “I labored more than all.” A semblance of greatness seems apparent, but for the waters to flow, he made a valley for himself: "Not I, but the grace of God with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10. There is no contradiction that mountains can also be valleys: for as they are called mountains by their spiritual stature, so are they valleys by their humility. “Not I,” he says, “but the grace of God with me.”

What does it signify, “In the midst of the mountains the waters shall pass through”? We recognize the mountains as the eminent preachers of the Word, exalted angels of God, though still in mortal flesh; elevated, not by their strength, but by His grace; yet in their humility, they become valleys, pouring forth springs. “In the midst,” he states, “between the mountains the waters shall flow.” Consider it this way: “In the midst of the Apostles shall flow the preaching of the Word of Truth.” What is found in their midst? That which is referred to as the common property. The common ownership, from which all derive sustenance equally, exists among them and does not belong to either individual; nor to me, nor to you... If they are not mutual, they resemble private ownership, flowing solely for personal benefit, with me having mine and you having yours; but this is not the preaching of peace...

Therefore, brethren, let this message serve your hearts concerning the springs: let them flow from you as valleys in communion with all You have of God. Let the waters cascade freely, devoid of envy, drink deeply and overflow when you are filled. The living water of God should be glorified everywhere, rather than the private musings of men...

Thus, all the beasts of the forest drink, Psalm 103:11. We indeed observe this in visible creation; the forest creatures quench their thirst from the streams flowing between the mountains. Yet God chose to conceal His wisdom within such images, not denying it to the diligent seekers, but shielding it from the indifferent, while opening it to those who actively seek. The Lord God Himself urges you through us that in all these matters, which appear to relate to the corporeal and visible creation, we should seek the spiritually hidden, that upon discovery, we may rejoice. By the beasts of the forest, we understand the Gentiles, as testified to in numerous Scriptures...

These creatures drink of these waters, but transitorily; they do not abide permanently, for all the teachings dispensed in this period are fleeting. Unless your love envisions that city, to which it is proclaimed, “Praise the Lord, Jerusalem, praise your God, Zion,” because He has fortified the gates of your walls; when now fortified, shut off from foes and friends alike, will we hold a book to read, or a discourse to interpret as is currently done? That is why it is being treated with care, so that it may be maintained; hence it is now divided into syllables, that it may be fully contemplated. There will be no lack of the Word of God there, nor of letters, sounds, books, nor interpreters. How then? "In the beginning was the Word..." John 1:1. For He did not come to us in order to depart from there; instead, He was in the world, and the world was created through Him. This is the Word upon which we should meditate. For the God of gods shall appear in Zion. But when? After our journey is done: unless, once our journey concludes, we come before the Judge, to be dispatched to prison. But if, at journey’s end, as we hope and strive, we reach our homeland, we shall behold that which we will eternally praise; and he who possesses, and we who partake, will never be satiated, nor shall the partaker grow weary with what he partakes. Great and wondrous shall be this rapture...

The depths resemble a cloak, referring to the earthly realm itself. It is stated that He enveloped the earth with the depths as a garment and encircled it with waters. Upon the mountains, these waters, which signify the depths, rise up high and appear to threaten to submerge the earth. However, at Your command and due to Your might, symbolized by the word thunder, they will withdraw. Alternatively, it could be understood that thunders serve to instill a sense of fear in the waters of the depths through the events occurring in the world. If this is true for them, how much more should we recognize this reality in our own lives.

As noted in another passage, "And He hath laid darkness as His hiding place" (Psalm 17:12), and it is further stated, "The judgments of God are the abyss of many" (cf. Ps. 35:7). The profound Providence of God is conveyed by the psalmist along with His incomprehensible wisdom. For with our limited vision, we cannot fully perceive the depths of the abyss as we can the vastness and wisdom of God. According to the Hebrew scripture, the phrase "the covering thereof" refers to the earth’s covering, indicating that the abyss, identified as the ocean, encircles the entire land. The whole earth is enveloped by water, rendering it akin to an island.

The deep serves as His cloak, as the prophet notes by using ‘his’ rather than ‘her.’ This aligns with the translations of Aquila and Theodotion, who depicted the deep as a garment that envelops. Divine scripture refers to the watery essence as the deep. The blessed Moses also speaks about the creation's beginning, stating, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). Thus, since the earth is encircled by waters, with vast and treacherous seas marking its boundaries and other bodies of water separating its expanse, the prophet accurately claims that the deep, like a garment, surrounds the earth.

The deep holds the character of His garment. The deep may be likened to the covering of the original earthly elements, and this deep signifies the vast expanse of waters, namely the sea or ocean, which envelops the entire globe, rendering it akin to an island surrounded by water. Didymus interprets these words as a reference to God's limitless knowledge, unfathomable wisdom, might, and divine provision; thus, David, in his wonder, declares that the deep of incomprehensibility serves as His garment, implying that God has donned incomprehensibility as one would wear clothing, as He transcends understanding in all His actions.

In another context, the prophets are referred to as mountains due to their profound ability to contemplate divine truths. From these heights, spiritual waters flow, providing sustenance to the thirsty who seek knowledge and understanding. This draws from the prohibition imposed upon the Jewish people, as noted by another prophet who declares, "I will send a famine upon the earth—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a thirst to hear the words of the Lord" (Am. 8:11). When the Lord's wrath is present, the prophetic waters become limited, as they lack an intrinsic Source of abundance. The mighty voice of thunder represents the proclamation of the gospel, which causes the waters of the prophets to remain, not fleeing away, but rather being in awe, transcending their comprehension.

On the contrary, when considering incomprehensibility, it becomes evident that the abyss represents this notion—‘Thy judgments are a great abyss’ (Psalm 36:7). Because His decrees are beyond examination, they remain unfathomable, which is why they are likened not just to any abyss, but specifically to ‘the great abyss.’ Thus, God, whose judgments are indeed a profound abyss, is enveloped by the incomprehensibility that we refer to as the abyss.

In this passage, the Prophet artistically portrays the condition of the earth at the dawn of its creation, illustrating how it was enveloped, almost clothed, in vast depths of water like a shroud. This refers to the unfathomable depth of the seas, as mentioned in the opening chapter of Genesis: "and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Furthermore, the waters descended upon the mountains, concealing their tallest summits. The choice of the verb "become" rather than "stood" reflects the Hebrew grammar, where the future tense, which indicates the unbroken continuance of a state, is frequently used in place of the past tense.

A Psalm inspired by the Holy Spirit was composed by David to extol the glory and majesty of God, the Creator of everything, reflecting on His marvelous and incomprehensible creation of the entire universe, including the heavens and all that dwell within them: from the earth and its inhabitants to the depths of the sea and all its creatures. It celebrates their construction, righteousness, abundance, and beauty, as well as their wise and powerful sustenance by our Lord Jesus Christ, who embodies the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, through whom all things were made, both seen and unseen, and by Him, they exist (Rev. 10:6; Col. 1:16). Humanity, inspired by God from above, ought to render thanks unto Him. The greatness of God is eternal and without beginning.