Psalm 89:11

The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Psalm 89:11-12. The earth also is thine, and the fulness thereof — All the creatures wherewith it is replenished, as Psalm 24:1; Psalm 50:12. Thou hast founded them — They are all thy creatures, and of consequence are wholly subject to thy power and pleasure; and therefore all the monarchs and kingdoms of the earth cannot hinder thee from making good thy promise to the house and kingdom of David. The north and the south thou hast created them — That is, the northern and southern parts of the world, yea, even the remotest ends thereof, though not yet known to us, were made and are ruled by thee. Tabor and Hermon — Two eminent mountains in the land of Canaan; Tabor in the west, and within Jordan, Hermon on the east, and without Jordan. By which he may intend either, 1st, The western and eastern parts of the world, and so all the four parts of it are contained in this verse. Or, 2d, Only the several parts of the land of Canaan, both within Jordan and without it. And the mountains may be named rather than the valleys, because, when their fertility is expressed, the fertility of the valleys is more strongly supposed. Shall rejoice — Shall be fruitful and prosperous, and so give their inhabitants cause to rejoice; in thy name — In or by thy favour, and the fruits thereof.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

89:5-14 The more God's works are known, the more they are admired. And to praise the Lord, is to acknowledge him to be such a one that there is none like him. Surely then we should feel and express reverence when we worship God. But how little of this appears in our congregations, and how much cause have we to humble ourselves on this account! That almighty power which smote Egypt, will scatter the enemies of the church, while all who trust in God's mercy will rejoice in his name; for mercy and truth direct all he does. His counsels from eternity, and their consequences to eternity, are all justice and judgment.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The heavens are thine - Are thy work; and, therefore, thy property - the highest conception of property being that which is derived from creation. It is also implied here that as all things belong to God, he has a right to dispose of them as he pleases.

The earth also is thine - The earth itself, as made by thee; all that the earth produces, as having sprung out of that which thou hast made. The entire proprietorship is in thee.

As for the world - In the use of this word, the earth is spoken of as inhabitable, meaning that the earth and all that dwell upon it belong to God.

And the fulness thereof - All that it produces; what constitutes its enireness. That is, the earth itself considered as earth, or as a mass of matter; and all that springs from it; all that constitutes the earth, with all its mountains, seas, rivers, people, animals, minerals, harvests, cities, towns, monuments - the productions of nature, the works of power, and the achievements of art. Compare the notes at Psalm 24:1.

Thou hast founded them - They all have their foundation in thee; that is, thou hast caused them all to exist. They have no independent and separate basis on which to rest.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

8-14. To illustrate His power and faithfulness examples are cited from history. His control of the sea (the most mighty and unstable object in nature), and of Egypt (Ps 87:4), the first great foe of Israel (subjected to utter helplessness from pride and insolence), are specimens. At the same time, the whole frame of nature founded and sustained by Him, Tabor and Hermon for "east and west," and "north and south," together representing the whole world, declare the same truth as to His attributes.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The fulness thereof; all the creatures wherewith it is replenished, as Psalm 24:1 50:12.

Thou hast founded them; they are all thy creatures, and therefore wholly subject to thy power and pleasure; and therefore all the monarchs and kingdoms of the earth cannot hinder thee from making good thy promise to the house and kingdom of David.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The heavens are thine,.... They are made and inhabited by him, they are the work of his hands, and the seat of his majesty, and the throne of his glory; the angels of heaven are his, his creatures and servants; the several heavens are his, the airy, starry, and third heavens; the place and state of the blessed and glorified saints is of his preparing and giving:

the earth also is thine; the whole terraqueous globe, and all that is in it, being made, preserved, and continued by him, and by him given to the sons of men, Psalm 116:15,

as for the world, and the fulness thereof: the habitable world, and all that dwell therein, all the children of men, the beasts of the field, and cattle on a thousand hills, and the provisions for them all; which is the goodness of the Lord, the earth is full of; these are all the Lord's; see Psalm 24:1,

thou hast founded them; the world, and the inhabitants of it; the earth is founded upon the seas, and the world upon nothing; and the inhabitants are wonderfully preserved and continued by the power and providence of God; see Psalm 24:2.

Geneva Study Bible

The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

11. THINE are the heavens, THINE also the earth:

The world and the fulness thereof, THOU hast founded them.

Cp. Psalm 24:1-2; Psalm 50:12; Psalm 78:69; Job 38:4; Proverbs 3:19.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 11. - The heavens are thine (comp. Psalm 8:3; Psalm 33:6; Psalm 115:16). The earth also is thine (see Psalm 24:1). As for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them (see Psalm 50:12). Psalm 89:11

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

At the time of the poet the nation of the house of David was threatened with assault from violent foes; and this fact gives occasion for this picture of God's power in the kingdom of nature. He who rules the raging of the sea, also rules the raging of the sea of the peoples, Psalm 65:8. גּאוּת, a proud rising, here of the sea, like גּאוה in Psalm 46:4. Instead of בּשׂוע, Hitzig pleasantly enough reads בּשׁוא equals בּשׁאו from שׁאה; but שׂוא is also possible so far as language is concerned, either as an infinitive equals נשׂוא, Psalm 28:2; Isaiah 1:14 (instead of שׂאת), or as an infinitival noun, like שׂיא, loftiness, Job 20:6, with a likewise rejected Nun. The formation of the clause favours our taking it as a verb: when its waves rise, Thou stillest them. From the natural sea the poet comes to the sea of the peoples; and in the doings of God at the Red Sea a miraculous subjugation of both seas took place at one and the same time. It is clear from Psalm 74:13-17; Isaiah 51:9, that Egypt is to be understood by Rahab in this passage as in Psalm 87:4. The word signifies first of all impetuosity, violence, then a monster, like "the wild beast of the reed," Psalm 68:31, i.e., the leviathan or the dragon. דּכּאת is conjugated after the manner of the Lamed He verbs, as in Psalm 44:20. כּחלל is to be understood as describing the event or issue (vid., Psalm 18:43): so that in its fall the proudly defiant kingdom is like one fatally smitten. Thereupon in Psalm 89:12-15 again follows in the same co-ordination first the praise of God drawn from nature, then from history. Jahve's are the heavens and the earth. He is the Creator, and for that very reason the absolute owner, of both. The north and the right hand, i.e., the south, represent the earth in its entire compass from one region of the heavens to the other. Tabor on this side of the Jordan represents the west (cf. Hosea 5:1), and Hermon opposite the east of the Holy Land. Both exult by reason of the name of God; by their fresh, cheerful look they give the impression of joy at the glorious revelation of the divine creative might manifest in themselves. In Psalm 89:14 the praise again enters upon the province of history. "An arm with (עם) heroic strength," says the poet, inasmuch as he distinguishes between the attribute inherent in God and the medium of its manifestation in history. His throne has as its מכון, i.e., its immovable foundation (Proverbs 16:12; Proverbs 25:5), righteousness of action and right, by which all action is regulated, and which is unceasingly realized by means of the action. And mercy and truth wait upon Him. קדּם פּני is not; to go before any one (הלּך לפני, Psalm 85:14), but anticipatingly to present one's self to any one, Psalm 88:14; Psalm 95:2; Micah 6:6. Mercy and truth, these two genii of sacred history (Psalm 43:3), stand before His face like waiting servants watching upon His nod.