“He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 135:7 Mean?
God controls the entire water cycle: vapors rise from the earth, lightning accompanies rain, and wind emerges from God's treasuries. Every element of weather — evaporation, precipitation, atmospheric pressure — is attributed to God's direct action.
The word "treasuries" (otsaroth) is remarkable when applied to wind. God stores wind the way a king stores gold — in vaults, under control, available for deployment when needed. The wind isn't random or chaotic; it's a resource God keeps in reserve and releases with intention.
The progression from ground (vapors) to sky (lightning and rain) to atmosphere (wind) covers the full range of weather phenomena. Nothing in the meteorological system operates independently of God. The psalmist sees divine intention in every cloud, every raindrop, every breeze.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does viewing weather as God's deliberate activity change your experience of the natural world?
- 2.What does the image of wind stored in 'treasuries' tell you about how God values what he controls?
- 3.Can you hold scientific understanding of weather alongside the psalmist's theology — and how?
- 4.When has a weather event felt like it carried personal significance from God?
Devotional
God keeps the wind in treasuries. Like gold. Like something valuable, stored deliberately, released with purpose. The next gust you feel was taken from a vault.
This verse transforms weather from background noise into evidence of divine activity. The rain on your window isn't a natural process running on autopilot — it's a lightning-accompanied release that God initiated when he caused vapors to rise from the earth he made. The entire cycle, from evaporation to precipitation to wind, is described as God's personal operation.
We live in an age that can explain the water cycle mechanically. Evaporation, condensation, precipitation — the physics are clear. But the psalmist isn't denying physics. He's describing who stands behind the physics. The mechanism is real; the mechanist is God. Understanding how it works doesn't diminish who makes it work.
The wind from treasuries is the image to carry. God doesn't just allow wind — he deploys it. From storage. With intention. The gentle breeze cooling your face on a hot day? Released from God's treasury. The storm that cleared the sky? Same vault. Nothing about the atmosphere is accidental when you understand who manages the storehouse.
The next time the weather does something — anything — you're watching God work in real time.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth,.... Up to the heavens. Aben Ezra interprets this of the…
He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth - The word rendered vapors means literally risings; things…
The psalmist had suggested to us the goodness of God, as the proper matter of our cheerful praises; here he suggests to…
Taken almost verbatim from Jer 10:13 (Psa 51:16), where the words occur in a similar context, contrasting Jehovah with…
Cross References
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