The Treasury of David
by C.H. Spurgeon

EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS
(Psalms 104 Verse 31)

EXPOSITION

Verse 31. The glory of the LORD shall endure forever. His works may pass away, but not his glory. Were it only for what he has already done, the Lord deserves to be praised without ceasing. His personal being and character ensure that he would be glorious even were all the creatures dead.

The LORD shall rejoice in his works. He did so at the first, when he rested on the seventh day, and saw that everything was very good; he does so still in a measure where beauty and purity in nature still survive the Fall, and he will do so yet more fully when the earth is renovated, and the trail of the serpent is cleansed from the globe. This verse is written in the most glowing manner. The poet finds his heart gladdened by beholding the works of the Lord, and he feels that the Creator himself must have felt unspeakable delight in exercising so much wisdom, goodness, and power.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 31. -- The Lord shall rejoice in his works. Man alone amongst the creatures grieves God, and brought tears from the eyes of Christ, who rejoiced in Spirit, because the Father had deigned to reveal the mysteries to the little ones. It repented God that he had made men, because as a wise son maketh a glad father, so a foolish one is a vexation to him. -- Lorinus.

Verse 31 (last clause). -- What the Psalmist adds, Let Jehovah rejoice in his works, is not superfluous, for he desires that the order which God has established from the beginning may be continued in the lawful use of his gifts. As we read in Genesis 6:6, that "it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth;" so when he sees that the good things which he bestows are polluted by our corruptions, he ceases to take delight in bestowing them. And certainly the confusion and disorder which take place, when the elements cease to perform their office, testify that God, displeased and wearied out, is provoked to discontinue, and put a stop to the regular course of his beneficence; although anger and impatience have strictly speaking no place in his mind. What is here taught is, that he bears the character of the best of fathers, who takes pleasure in tenderly cherishing his children, and in bountifully nourishing them. --John Calvin.