Psalms 104:17
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where the birds build their nests; the stork makes her home in the cypresses.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
It is very probable that this psalm was penned by the same hand, and at the same time, as the former; for as that ended this begins, with "Bless the Lord, O my soul!" and concludes with it too. The style indeed is somewhat different, because the matter is so: the scope of the foregoing psalm was to celebrate the goodness of God and his tender mercy and compassion, to which a soft and sweet style was most agreeable; the scope of this is to celebrate his greatness, and majesty, and sovereign dominion, which ought to be done in the most stately lofty strains of poetry. David, in the former psalm, gave God the glory of his covenant-mercy and love to his own people; in this he gives him the glory of his works of creation and providence, his dominion over, and his bounty to, all the creatures. God is there praised as the God of grace, here as the God of nature. And this psalm is wholly bestowed on that subject; not as Psa 19:1-14, which begins with it, but passes from it to the consideration of the divine law; nor as Psa 8:1-9, which speaks of this but prophetically, and with an eye to Christ. This noble poem is thought by very competent judges greatly to excel, not only for piety and devotion (that is past dispute), but for flight of fancy, brightness of ideas, surprising turns, and all the beauties and ornaments of expression, the Greek and Latin poets upon any subject of this nature. Many great things the psalmist here gives God the glory of I. The splendour of his majesty in the upper world (Psa 104:1-4). II. The creation of the sea and the dry land (Psa 104:5-9). III. The provision he makes for the maintenance of all the creatures according to their nature (Psa 104:10-18, Psa 104:27, Psa 104:28). IV. The regular course of the sun and moon (Psa 104:19-24). V. The furnitur…
Open source ↗104:17-18 The storks migrated from northern Europe and resided in Palestine during the winter. • hyraxes: These animals are about the size of a rabbit and live in rocky places.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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The birds of the air nest beside the springs; they sing among the branches.
the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.
Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”
Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD.
All the birds of the air nested in its branches, and all the beasts of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade.
Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.
whose foliage was beautiful and whose fruit was abundant, providing food for all, under which the beasts of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air nested—