Psalms 89:11

Psa 89:11 The heavens [are] thine, the earth also [is] thine: [as for] the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

Ver. 11. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine] Thou madest them by thy power, and thou maintainest them by thy providence; thou doest whatsoever thou wilt in both, Psa 115:3.

As for the world, &c.] See Psa 24:1; Psa 50:12.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_89:11

The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine.

The affluence of God

God owns the whole universe.

I. He holds His vast property by absolute right. He produced all.

II. He holds His vast property in perpetuity. All that men fictitiously call their property must pass from their hands. But God holds on His property untransferred and untransferable.

III. He holds His vast properly for benevolent ends. Men hold what they call their property generally for selfish ends, for their own aggrandizement and gratification. But God for the good of all His creatures

1. A lesson to human legislators. Their grand object should be to secure to the people, to the utmost of their power, the full use of the blessings of nature.

2. A lesson to all. Whatever we have is not ours but His. We hold it but in trust. (Homilist.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 89:11-12. The earth also is thine, and the fulness thereof — All the creatures wherewith it is replenished, as Psa 24:1; Psa 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.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. (Psa 89:11) To thee (belongs) heaven, also to thee earth, the world and its fulness, thou didst found them. The power of God is now described as universal and creative. Heaven and earth is the usual comprehensive phrase for the whole frame of nature or material universe. The last clause is evidently borrowed from Ps. xxiv. 1. Its fulness, that which occupies and fills it, its contents and its inhabitants. The verb to found suggests the two ideas of creation and sustentation. He not only called them into being, but made them permanent or lasting. See below, on Psa 104:5. The world, the cultivated and productive earth, as opposed to the desolate and barren sea. The English Bible, following the masoretic accents, construes the world and its fulness as absolute nominatives. A simpler construction is to put them in apposition with heaven and earth, and refer the pronoun at the end to all these antecedents.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 11. The heavens are thine] Thou art the Governor of all things, and the Disposer of all events.

The world] The terraqueous globe.

And the fullness] All the generations of men. Thou hast founded them-thou hast made them, and dost sustain them.

After this verse, the Editio Princeps of the Hebrew Bible, printed at Soncini, 1488, adds: -

לילה לך אף יום לך lailah lecha aph yom lecha

ושמש מאור הכינות אתה vashamesh maor hachinotha attah

To thee is the day; also to thee is the night:

Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.

But these same words are found in Ps 74:16.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine. He again repeats, the third time, that the same God who had been the deliverer of the chosen people exercises supreme dominion over the whole world. From the fact that God created all things, he concludes, that it is He who actually presides over, and controls whatever takes place in heaven and in earth. It would be absurd to suppose, that the heavens, having been once created by God, should now revolve by chance, and that things should be thrown into confusion upon the earth either at the will of men, or at random, when it is considered that it belongs to God to maintain and govern whatever he has created; unless, like the heathen, we would imagine that he enjoys himself in beholding all the works of his hand, in this beautiful theater of the heaven and the earth, without giving himself any farther trouble about them. In speaking of the south and the north, and also of the mountains, Tabor and Hermon, the prophet accommodates his language to the unrefined apprehension of the common people: as if he had said, there is no part of the fabric of the world which does not reverence and honor its Creator. I also connect with this the next verse, which affirms, that the arm of God is furnished with power, his hand with strength, and that his right hand is exalted Some resolve the two last clauses of the verse into the form of a prayer, Strengthen thy hand, lift up thy right hand; but this seems too much removed from the mind of the prophet, who, with the simple view of encouraging all the godly, celebrates the inconceivable power of God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

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

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

Cp. Psa_24:1-2; Psa_50:12; Psa_78:69; Job_38:4; Pro_3:19.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The two extreme parts of the world, the northern and southern poles, whether inhabited or uninhabited, are created by the Lord, to answer some purpose or another; see Job 26:7.

Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name; Tabor was a mountain in the western part of Galilee, in the tribe of Zebulun, Jos 19:12. This mountain, according to Mr. Maundrell (a), stands by itself in the plain of Esdraelon, about 1200 to 1800 yards within the plain; it has a plain area at top, most fertile and delicious, of an oval figure, extended about six hundred yards in breadth, and twice that in length; this area is enclosed with trees on all parts, except towards the south, in which there are in several places cisterns of good water. It is generally thought to be the mountain Christ was transfigured upon before his disciples; and if so, it might then be said to rejoice in his name, when he appeared in so glorious a form upon it; Moses and Elias talking with him, and a voice from the excellent Glory declaring him his beloved Son; and especially the disciples rejoiced in his name there and then, who could say, It is good for us to be here, Mat 17:1. Hermon was a mountain called by the Sidonians Sirion, and by the Amorites Shenir, Deu 3:8 and was in the east; and so Mr. Maundrell (b), speaking of Tabor, says, not many miles eastward you see Mount Hermon, at the foot of which is seated Nain, famous for our Lord's raising the widow's son there, Luk 7:11, there was an Hermon near Mount Tabor, thought likely to be here meant; but, be these mountains where and what they may, they were no doubt very high and fruitful ones, clothed with fruitful trees and grass, and covered with flocks; which made the proprietors and all the beholders rejoice in the goodness, wisdom, and power of God: the Targum in the king's Bible gives the four quarters very truly,

"the desert of the north, and the inhabitants of the south, thou hast created; Tabor on the west, and Hermon on the east, praise in thy name.''

(a) Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 113, 114, Ed. 7. (b) Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 115, Ed. 7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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 Psa 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.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The fulness thereof; all the creatures wherewith it is replenished, as Psa 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.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 11. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine. All things are alike God'srebellious earth as well as adoring heaven. Let us not despair of the kingdom of truth; the Lord has not abdicated the throne of earth or handed it over to the sway of Satan.

As for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. The habitable and cultivated earth, with all its produce, owns the Lord to be both its Creator and Sustainer, builder and upholder.

Ver. 11. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine. Therefore we praise thee, therefore we trust in thee, therefore we will not fear what man can do against us. Matthew Henry.

Ver. 11.

1. God's possession of heaven, the model of his possession of earth.

2. God's possession of earth most certain, and its manifestation in the future most sure.

3. The course of action suggested to his people by the two facts.

Psalms 89:12*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. The heavens are thine—The universe is again, as in Psa_89:5, brought in to illustrate the power of God over all things.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The heavens are thine. (comp. Psa_8:3 Psa_33:6 Psa_115:16) The earth also is thine. (see Psa_24:1) As for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. (see Psa_50:12)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

the north and the south

The writer uses the words "north" and "south" together to mean that God created everything everywhere. (See: Merism)

Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name

Tabor is a mountain southwest of the sea of Galilee and Hermon is a mountain northeast of the sea of Galilee. The writer describes these mountains as if they were persons who could rejoice. AT: "It is as if Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon were rejoicing in your name" (See: Personification and How to Translate Names)

in your name

Here "name" represents the whole person. AT: "in you" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

heaven

create

Mount Hermon

joy

name

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Rahab Egypt.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.