“So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.”
The statement 'Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great' expands the vision to encompass the ocean and its teeming life. The phrase 'the sea, great and wide' (hayam ha-gadol ve-rechav paim) celebrates the majesty and vastness of the ocean. The phrase 'creeping things innumerable' (sheretz ein mispar) acknowledges the ocean's capacity to sustain countless creatures, most unseen by humans. The enumeration 'both small and great' emphasizes the ocean's diversity; creatures of every size find sustenance in its waters. By dedicating an entire verse to the ocean and its creatures, the psalm acknowledges this realm as fully part of creation, worthy of contemplation even though it is less accessible to human observation than the land. The ocean, presented earlier as chaos requiring divine restraint, is now celebrated as a productive realm sustaining countless lives. This suggests a complementary view: the ocean is dangerous and chaotic but also abundantly fertile, dangerous and wonderful at once.
Church Fathers on Psalms 104:25
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
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