Sign in
PSALMS 104:27 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Ps 104:26Ps 104:28
These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
The statement 'These all look to you to give them their food in due season' attributes all creatures' sustenance to divine provision, establishing dependence as the fundamental condition of creaturely existence. The verb 'look to you' (yeshwu elecha, they await you or look to you) personifies creatures as consciously oriented toward God for provision. The phrase 'in due season' (be-ito) invokes the temporal ordering of creation; provision comes not haphazardly but according to appointed times. The use of the pronoun 'all' (kulam) encompasses both the creatures explicitly mentioned and all others: birds, beasts, sea creatures, and humans—all depend on divine provision. This verse articulates a doctrine of radical creaturely dependence; no creature provides for itself autonomously but all receive from God's hand. Yet this dependence is not presented as humiliating or inadequate but as the proper and blessed condition of created existence. The image of creatures looking to God for food echoes the trust and receptivity that the opening verses invited in the human speaker.

Church Fathers on Psalms 104:27

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…

Augustine · 4th century · Exposition on Psalm 104 (excerpt)
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!
Psalms 104:27 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy