◄ Psalm 95:5 ►
The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
Study Bible
The sea is His
This phrase emphasizes God's sovereignty and ownership over all creation. The Hebrew word for "sea" is "yam," which often symbolizes chaos and the unknown in ancient Near Eastern cultures. By stating "The sea is His," the psalmist affirms that even the most tumultuous and unpredictable parts of creation are under God's control. This reflects the biblical theme of God bringing order out of chaos, as seen in Genesis 1. Historically, the sea was a source of both sustenance and fear for ancient Israelites, making this declaration of divine ownership both comforting and awe-inspiring.

for He made it
The phrase underscores God's role as the Creator. The Hebrew verb "asah" is used here, which means "to make" or "to do." This verb is often associated with God's creative acts, highlighting His intentional and purposeful design. The assertion that God "made it" serves as a reminder of His power and authority over all things. In the broader scriptural context, this echoes the creation narrative where God speaks the world into existence, reinforcing the belief in His omnipotence and the intentionality behind creation.

and His hands formed the dry land
This part of the verse highlights the personal and intimate involvement of God in creation. The Hebrew word for "formed" is "yatsar," which conveys the image of a potter shaping clay. This suggests a hands-on, careful crafting of the earth, indicating God's closeness and care in creation. The "dry land" or "yabashah" in Hebrew, represents stability and life, contrasting with the chaotic sea. This imagery would resonate with the Israelites, who saw the land as a gift from God, a place of promise and provision. The mention of God's "hands" further personalizes His creative work, suggesting not only power but also tenderness and precision.

Persons / Places / Events
1. God (Yahweh)
The Creator and Sovereign Lord, who is the central figure in this verse, emphasizing His ownership and creative power over the earth.

2. The Sea
Represents the vast and powerful bodies of water, symbolizing God's control over the chaotic and untamed aspects of creation.

3. Dry Land
Refers to the earth's solid ground, highlighting God's craftsmanship and provision for human habitation.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty Over Creation
Recognize that God is the ultimate authority over all creation, including the sea and dry land. This understanding should lead to a posture of humility and worship.

The Creator's Ownership
Acknowledge that everything in the world belongs to God because He made it. This truth should influence how we steward the earth and its resources.

Trust in God's Power
Trust in God's ability to control and sustain the natural world, which can bring peace in times of uncertainty and chaos.

Reflecting on God's Creative Work
Spend time in nature to reflect on God's handiwork, allowing it to inspire awe and deepen your relationship with Him.

Living in Harmony with Creation
As stewards of God's creation, seek to live in a way that honors and preserves the environment, reflecting God's care and intentionality in creation.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does recognizing God's ownership of the sea and dry land affect your view of the natural world?

2. In what ways can you demonstrate stewardship of the earth in your daily life, acknowledging that it is God's creation?

3. How does understanding God's sovereignty over creation provide comfort in times of personal or global turmoil?

4. What are some practical ways you can incorporate worship and gratitude for God's creation into your spiritual practices?

5. How can the themes of creation in Psalm 95:5 deepen your understanding of other biblical passages that speak of God's creative power and authority?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 1
The creation account where God separates the waters and forms the dry land, establishing His authority and creative power from the beginning.

Job 38
God's discourse with Job, where He questions Job about the creation of the earth and the sea, reinforcing His sovereignty and wisdom.

Psalm 24
Declares that the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord, echoing the theme of God's ownership and creative authority.

Isaiah 40
Speaks of God's incomparable power and understanding, further illustrating His role as Creator and Sustainer of all things.
Sermons
Considerations on the SeaBp. Horne.Psalm 95:5
God's Ownership of the SeaL. Swain, D.D.Psalm 95:5
The Wonders of the SeaAnon.Psalm 95:5
Christ the Rock of Our SalvationJ. W. Hardman, LL.D.Psalm 95:1-11
Inciting One Another to Praise GodPsalm 95:1-11
Praise the Outcome of Divine InfluencePsalm 95:1-11
PsalmodyJ. W. Reeve, M.A.Psalm 95:1-11
Public Worship - its Necessity and AdvantageC. Short Psalm 95:1-11
The Genesis of PraiseW. G. Horder.Psalm 95:1-11
The Grandest of Creature ServicesHomilistPsalm 95:1-11
The Invitatory PsalmS. Conway Psalm 95:1-11
The VeniteD. Laing, M.A.Psalm 95:1-11
The Beautiful and Sublime Calling to DevotionR. Tuck Psalm 95:4, 5
The Material Universe and its LessonsC. Short Psalm 95:4-6
People
Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Dry, Formed, Hands
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 95:5

     4266   sea

Psalm 95:3-6

     1090   God, majesty of

Psalm 95:3-7

     8608   prayer, and worship

Psalm 95:4-5

     1265   hand of God

Psalm 95:5-6

     4006   creation, origin
     5355   invitations

Library
Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

O Come, Loud Anthems Let us Sing
[1180]Park Street: Frederick M. A. Venua, c. 1810 Psalm 95 Tate and Brady, 1698; Alt. DOXOLOGY O come, loud anthems let us sing, Loud thanks to our almighty King, And high our grateful voices raise, As our Salvation's Rock we praise. Into his presence let us haste To thank him for his favors past; To him address, in joyful songs, The praise that to his Name belongs. For God the Lord, enthroned in state, Is with unrivaled glory great; The depths of earth are in his hand, Her secret wealth at his …
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA

Weighed, and Found Wanting
'And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 3. And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? 4. And they said one …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Covenanting a Duty.
The exercise of Covenanting with God is enjoined by Him as the Supreme Moral Governor of all. That his Covenant should be acceded to, by men in every age and condition, is ordained as a law, sanctioned by his high authority,--recorded in his law of perpetual moral obligation on men, as a statute decreed by him, and in virtue of his underived sovereignty, promulgated by his command. "He hath commanded his covenant for ever."[171] The exercise is inculcated according to the will of God, as King and …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Temporary Hardening.
"Lord, why hast Thou hardened our heart? "--Isa. lxiii. 17. That there is a hardening of heart which culminates in the sin against the Holy Spirit can not be denied. When dealing with spiritual things we must take account of it; for it is one of the most fearful instruments of the divine wrath. For, whether we say that Satan or David or the Lord tempted the king, it amounts to the same thing. The cause is always in man's sin; and in each of these three cases the destructive fatality whereby sin poisons …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Epistle xxxi. To Phocas, Emperor .
To Phocas, Emperor [218] . Gregory to Phocas Augustus. Glory to God in the highest who, according as it is written, changes times, and transfers kingdoms, seeing that He has made apparent to all what He vouchsafed to speak by His prophet, That the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will (Dan. iv. 17). For in the incomprehensible dispensation of Almighty God there are alternate controlments of mortal life; and sometimes, when the sins of many are to be smitten, …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Fundamental Oneness of the Dispensations.
Hebrews iii. i-iv. 13 (R.V.). "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High-priest of our confession, even Jesus; who was faithful to Him that appointed Him as also was Moses in all his house. For He hath been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by so much as he that built the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some one; but He that built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

Twentieth Sunday after Trinity the Careful Walk of the Christian.
Text: Ephesians 5, 15-21. 15 Look therefore carefully how ye walk [See then that ye walk circumspectly], not as unwise, but as wise; 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; 19 speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 giving thanks always for all things …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

The Shepherd and the Fold
... Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation.' EXODUS XV. 13. What a grand triumphal ode! The picture of Moses and the children of Israel singing, and Miriam and the women answering: a gush of national pride and of worship! We belong to a better time, but still we can feel its grandeur. The deliverance has made the singer look forward to the end, and his confidence in the issue is confirmed. I. The guiding God: or the picture of the leading. The original is 'lead gently.' Cf. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Arguments Usually Alleged in Support of Free Will Refuted.
1. Absurd fictions of opponents first refuted, and then certain passages of Scripture explained. Answer by a negative. Confirmation of the answer. 2. Another absurdity of Aristotle and Pelagius. Answer by a distinction. Answer fortified by passages from Augustine, and supported by the authority of an Apostle. 3. Third absurdity borrowed from the words of Chrysostom. Answer by a negative. 4. Fourth absurdity urged of old by the Pelagians. Answer from the works of Augustine. Illustrated by the testimony …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Covenanting a Privilege of Believers.
Whatever attainment is made by any as distinguished from the wicked, or whatever gracious benefit is enjoyed, is a spiritual privilege. Adoption into the family of God is of this character. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power (margin, or, the right; or, privilege) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."[617] And every co-ordinate benefit is essentially so likewise. The evidence besides, that Covenanting …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Psalm 95:5 NIV
Psalm 95:5 NLT
Psalm 95:5 ESV
Psalm 95:5 NASB
Psalm 95:5 KJV

Psalm 95:5 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Psalm 95:4
Top of Page
Top of Page