Psalms 104:35

My Notes

What Does Psalms 104:35 Mean?

"Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD." The FINAL verse of Psalm 104 — the great creation-psalm that celebrates every element of the natural world — ends with a JARRING request: let sinners be CONSUMED and the wicked be NO MORE. The creation-praise culminates in a prayer for the REMOVAL of what doesn't belong in the creation. The beautiful world deserves the removal of the ugly sin.

The phrase "let the sinners be consumed out of the earth" (yittammu chatta'im min ha'aretz — let sinners be finished/completed from the earth) uses TAMAM — to be complete, to be finished, to be consumed. The sinners are to be COMPLETED — ended, finished, removed. The word carries the sense of something reaching its END. The sinners' presence on earth should reach its CONCLUSION. The consumption is the completion.

The phrase "let the wicked be no more" (uresha'im od einam — and the wicked, more/still, they are not) is the SIMPLEST possible prayer: let them NOT EXIST anymore. The request isn't for punishment or correction but for REMOVAL — the absence of the wicked from reality. 'They are not' — the wicked simply AREN'T anymore. The existence ceases. The presence ends.

The TRANSITION from creation-praise to imprecation is theologically COHERENT: the creation that is SO beautiful (all of Psalm 104) is marred by sin. The request for sinners' removal isn't vindictive. It's AESTHETIC — the creation that God made 'very good' (Genesis 1:31) deserves the removal of what contradicts its goodness. The imprecation is a CREATION-CARE prayer.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What mars the beauty God created in your world — and what would its removal look like?
• 2.What does the creation-psalm ending with an IMPRECATION teach about loving creation and hating what corrupts it?
• 3.How does 'be no more' (cessation of existence) describe the most radical form of the prayer for cosmic cleanup?
• 4.What praise of God and prayer against sin share the same breath in your worship?

Devotional

The great creation-psalm — celebrating sea creatures, wine, bread, oil, lions, storks, cedars — ends with THIS: let sinners be consumed. Let the wicked be NO MORE. The beauty of creation demands the removal of what mars it. The praise of the natural world leads directly to the prayer against what corrupts it.

The TRANSITION isn't jarring — it's LOGICAL: if creation is THIS beautiful (and Psalm 104 says it is), then what RUINS it (sin, wickedness) should be removed. The imprecation is a CREATION-CARE prayer. The request for sinners' removal is the request for creation's RESTORATION. The world that God made good deserves to BE good again.

The 'BE NO MORE' (einam — they are not) is the most RADICAL prayer: not 'let them repent.' Not 'let them be corrected.' Let them NOT EXIST. The prayer asks for the CESSATION of wickedness by the cessation of the wicked. The existence that produced the sin should simply END. The prayer is for cosmic cleanup.

Then — immediately after the imprecation — 'BLESS THE LORD, O my soul. PRAISE YE THE LORD.' The prayer against the wicked and the praise of God share the same BREATH. The removal of sin and the worship of God are the same IMPULSE. The heart that loves what God made also hates what ruins what God made. The blessing and the consuming belong together.

What in your world mars the beauty God created — and what would the creation look like if it were removed?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture