Psalm 95:4

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) Deep places.—From a root meaning “to search,” perhaps by digging. Hence either “mines” or “mineral wealth.”

Strength of the hills.—The Hebrew word rendered “strength” is rare, found only here and Numbers 23:22; Numbers 24:8 (“strength of an unicorn”), and Job 22:25 (“plenty of silver;” margin, “silver of strength”). The root to which the word is usually assigned means “to be weary,” from which the idea of strength can only be derived on the lucus a non lucendo principle. Keeping the usual derivation, we may, with many critics, give the word the sense of “mines” or “treasures,” because of the labours of extracting metal from the earth. This suits Job 22:25, and makes a good parallelism. But the LXX. and Vulg. have “heights,” and by another derivation the Hebrew may mean shining, and so “sunny summit.” With this agrees the rendering of the LXX. in Numbers 23:22; Numbers 24:8, and the rhythm is preserved by an antithetic parallelism, as in next verse.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 95:4-5. In his hand — Under his government, and in his possession; are the deep places of the earth — With all the treasures they contain; even those parts which are far out of men’s sight and reach. The strength of the hills — Which, with majestic pride, tower above, and lift up their heads to heaven; is his also — Even the highest and strongest mountains are under his feet, and at his disposal. The sea is his — With its unnumbered waves, which roll in perpetual motion round the world; and all the millions of living creatures, of all forms and sizes, that inhabit its fathomless depths and immeasurable waters. And his hands formed the dry land — With all its rich and variegated produce, when, by his word, he commanded it to appear, and it was so; and he crowned it with verdure and beauty. And though he hath given it to the children of men, it is, nevertheless, still his, for he reserved the property to himself. His being the Creator of all, makes him, without dispute, the Owner and Lord of all.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

95:1-7 Whenever we come into God's presence, we must come with thanksgiving. The Lord is to be praised; we do not want matter, it were well if we did not want a heart. How great is that God, whose the whole earth is, and the fulness thereof; who directs and disposes of all!, The Lord Jesus, whom we are here taught to praise, is a great God; the mighty God is one of his titles, and God over all, blessed for evermore. To him all power is given, both in heaven and earth. He is our God, and we should praise him. He is our Saviour, and the Author of our blessedness. The gospel church is his flock, Christ is the great and good Shepherd of believers; he sought them when lost, and brought them to his fold.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In his hand - In his power, or under his control as his own. That is, he so possesses all things that they can be claimed by no other. His right over them is absolute and entire.

Are the deep places of the earth - The word used here - מחקר mechqâr - means the interior, the inmost depth; that which is "searched out," from - חקר châqar - to search, search out, explore. The primary idea is that of searching by boring or digging; and the allusion here is to the parts of the earth which could be explored only by digging - as in mining, or sinking shafts in the earth. The meaning is, that all those places which lie beyond the ordinary power of observation in man are in the hand of God. He knows them as clearly as those which are most plain to human view; he possesses or owns them as his own as really as he does those which are on the surface of the ground.

The strength of the hills is his also - Margin, "The heights of the hills are his." The word rendered "strength" - תועפות tô‛âphôth - means properly swiftness or speed in running; then, weariness, wearisome labor; and hence, wealth obtained by labor; "treasures." Here the expression means "treasures of the mountains;" that is, treasures obtained out of the mountains, the precious metals, etc. Compare the notes at Job 22:25, where the same word occurs. All this belongs to God. As he is the Maker of these hills, and of all that they contain, the absolute proprietorship is in him.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4, 5. The terms used describe the world in its whole extent, subject to God.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

In his hand; under his government.

The deep places; those parts which are far out of men’s sight and reach, and much more those that are at men’s disposal.

The strength of the hills; the strongest or highest mountains are under his feet, and at his disposal. The sense of the verse is, All the parts of the earth, whether high or low, are subject to his power and providence, and therefore it is not strange if all the nations of the earth be brought to the acknowledgment of him, and if the Gentiles receive his gospel.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

In his hand are the deep places of the earth,.... The "penetrals" (c) of it; not only what are penetrated by men, the minerals that are in it; but what are of such deep recess as to be penetrated only by the Lord himself; these are in the hands and power of Christ, which he can search into, discover, and dispose of; these are the foundations of the earth, which cannot be searched out beneath by men, Jeremiah 31:37,

the strength of the hills is his also; or, "the wearinesses" (d) of them, the tops (e) of them, which make a man weary to go up unto, they are so high; the Targum is,

"the strengths of the height of the hills;''

which takes in both ideas, both the height and strength of them. The hills, that are both high and strong, are set fast by his power, and are at his command; and bow and tremble before him, whom men ought to worship.

(c) "penetralia terrae", Musculus, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis. (d) "lassitudines", Gejerus. (e) "Cacumina", Montanus, Tigurine version, Musculus.

Geneva Study Bible

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the {c} strength of the hills is his also.

(c) All things are governed by his providence.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. In whose hand are the secret depths of earth,

And to whom the peaks of the mountains belong.

The depths of the earth which cannot be explored by man (Job 38:16; Jeremiah 31:37), the soaring mountain peaks upon which man cannot set his foot, are all under His control.

The meaning of the word for peaks is doubtful; but it probably means eminences (LXX, Jer.) rather than strength.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - In his hand are the deep places of the earth; the strength of the hills is his also; rather, the summits of the mountains are his also. The meaning is that all the earth is his, from the highest heights to the lowest depths. Psalm 95:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The adorableness of God receives a threefold confirmation: He is exalted above all gods as King, above all things as Creator, and above His people as Shepherd and Leader. אלהים (gods) here, as in Psalm 96:4., Psalm 97:7, Psalm 97:9, and frequently, are the powers of the natural world and of the world of men, which the Gentiles deify and call kings (as Moloch Molech, the deified fire), which, however, all stand under the lordship of Jahve, who is infinitely exalted above everything that is otherwise called god (Psalm 96:4; Psalm 97:9). The supposition that תּועפות הרים denotes the pit-works (μέταλλα) of the mountains (Bφttcher), is at once improbable, because to all appearance it is intended to be the antithesis to מחקרי־ארץ, the shafts of the earth. The derivation from ועף (יעף), κάμνειν, κοπιᾶν, also does not suit תועפות in Numbers 23:22; Numbers 24:8, for "fatigues" and "indefatigableness" are notions that lie very wide apart. The כּסף תּועפות of Job 22:25 might more readily be explained according to this "silver of fatigues," i.e., silver that the fatiguing labour of mining brings to light, and תועפות הרים in the passage before us, with Gussetius, Geier, and Hengstenberg: cacumina montium quia defatigantur qui eo ascendunt, prop. ascendings equals summits of the mountains, after which כסף תועפות, Job 22:25, might also signify "silver of the mountain-heights." But the lxx, which renders δόξα in the passages in Numbers and τὰ ὕψη τῶν ὀρέων in the passage before us, leads one to a more correct track. The verb יעף (ועף), transposed from יפע (ופע), goes back to the root יף, וף, to stand forth, tower above, to be high, according to which תועפות equals תופעות signifies eminentiae, i.e., towerings equals summits, or prominences equals high (the highest) perfection (vid., on Job 22:25). In the passage before us it is a synonym of the Arabic mı̂fan, mı̂fâtun, pars terrae eminens (from Arab. wfâ equals יפע, prop. instrumentally: a means of rising above, viz., by climbing), and of the names of eminences derived from Arab. yf' (after which Hitzig renders: the teeth of the mountains). By reason of the fact that Jahve is the Owner (cf. 1 Samuel 2:8), because the Creator of all things, the call to worship, which concerns no one so nearly as it does Israel, the people, which before other peoples is Jahve's creation, viz., the creation of His miraculously mighty grace, is repeated. In the call or invitation, השׁתּחוה signifies to stretch one's self out full length upon the ground, the proper attitude of adoration; כּרע, to curtsey, to totter; and בּרך, Arabic baraka, starting from the radical signification flectere, to kneel down, in genua (πρόχνυ, pronum equals procnum) procumbere, 2 Chronicles 6:13 (cf. Hlemann, Bibelstudien, i. 135f.). Beside עם מרעיתו, people of His pasture, צאן ידו is not the flock formed by His creating hand (Augustine: ipse gratiâ suâ nos oves fecit), but, after Genesis 30:35, the flock under His protection, the flock led and defended by His skilful, powerful hand. Bttcher renders: flock of His charge; but יד in this sense (Jeremiah 6:3) signifies only a place, and "flock of His place" would be poetry and prose in one figure.