“Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.”
The statement 'You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest prowl' presents night as a time when creatures active in darkness emerge and hunt. The verb 'make' (ta'aseh) attributes darkness itself to divine creation; night is not the mere absence of light but a positive creation with its own character and creatures. The phrase 'when all the beasts of the forest prowl' (kol-chayyat-ya'ar teromem) personifies the creatures as actively engaged in nocturnal hunting and life. The verb 'prowl' or 'stir' (yaromem) suggests restless searching for prey. By acknowledging the nighttime world, the psalm expands the vision of creation beyond the daylight realm familiar to humans. Night is presented not as absence or chaos but as part of the divinely ordered cosmos wherein nocturnal creatures fulfill their functions. The verse suggests that divine providence encompasses all times and seasons, not merely the daylight hours when humans dominate.
Church Fathers on Psalms 104:20
1. ...“Bless the Lord, O my soul.” Let the soul of us all, made one in Christ, say this. “O Lord my God, You are magnified exceedingly!” Psalm 103:1. Where are You magnified? “Confession and beauty You have put on.” Confess ye, that you may be beautified, that He may put you on. “Clothed with light as a garment” Psalm 103:2. Clothed with His Church, because she is made “light” in Him, who before was darkness in herself, as the apostle says: “You were sometime darkness, but…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!