Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 69:34
Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.
34. All creation is summoned to join in a chorus of praise to God for the redemption of Zion, for it is an event of universal significance. Cp. Isa 44:23.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let the heaven and earth praise him – All things; all above and all below.
The seas – The waters – the oceans. This is in accordance with what often occurs in the Scriptures, when all things, animate and inanimate, are called on to praise God. Compare Psa 148:1-14.
And everything that moveth therein – Margin, as in Hebrew, creepeth. Compare the notes at Psa 8:8. See also the notes at Isa 55:12.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 69:34
Let the heaven and earth praise Him, the seas, and everything that moveth therein.
The creation praising God
I. On account of what He is in Himself. God is good; intrinsically excellent. His nature is composed of all possible perfections. God is love, wisdom, intelligence, goodness, truth, righteousness, mercy.
II. On account of what He is in His relations.
1. To all, He stands in the relation of Creator, Sustainer, and Benefactor.
2. To us, whom He has redeemed, by the sacrificial death of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, He stands in the relation of a Father and Saviour.
III. On account of what He has accomplished. The works of God excel the works of all others. They are, Creation–He made all things; Providence–He cares for and governs all things; Redemption–it was God that raised apostate humanity from the ruins of the fall. No works can compete with these. And on their account God will be praised throughout eternity, by an intelligent and redeemed universe.
IV. On account of His wonderful gifts. Life, reason, mind, subjects for thought, Jesus Christ, the Holy Bible, the ministry of reconciliation, the Holy Spirit, the comforts and consolations of religion, and a hope–resting firmly and securely upon the atonement of Calvary–of heaven, when this temporary introductory life shall have passed away.
V. On account of His grand discoveries. Man builds a rightful claim to the admiration, praise, and gratitude of mankind, by the discoveries he makes, and the facts he brings to light. What has God made known? That there is an eternal world; that men are immortal; that noble and abundant provisions have been made for our happiness during the ever-revolving cycles of an eternity to come; the way in which we, and all mankind, may be prepared for the full and unending fruition of the bliss He has prepared for us. (Isaac Evans.)
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Psa 70:1-5
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 34. Let the heaven and earth praise him] The psalmist has the fullest confidence that God will turn their captivity, and therefore calls upon all creatures to magnify him for his mercy.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The heaven and earth; either,
1. Angels and men. Or rather,
2. The heaven and earth themselves, as in the next branch,
the seas, and every thing that moveth therein: all which by a usual figure he invites to praise God, as he doth elsewhere, because they all give men occasion to praise God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
34-36. The call on the universefor praise is well sustained by the prediction of the perpetual andextended blessings which shall come upon the covenant-people of God.Though, as usual, the imagery is taken from terms used of Palestine,the whole tenor of the context indicates that the spiritualprivileges and blessings of the Church are meant.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Let the heaven and earth praise him,…. As those, by a prosopopoeia, are often called upon to do, to express the greatness of the favour enjoyed, and to excite those that are possessed of it to greater joy and thankfulness; see Ps 96:11; or the inhabitants of the heavens and earth may be meant, as the angels of heaven; and so the Targum interprets it; who, as they praised the Lord at the incarnation of Christ, Lu 2:14; so doubtless they did at his ascension, when he was seen and accompanied by them, 1Ti 3:16
Ps 68:17; and also the spirits of just men made perfect in heaven, who were there when Christ was received into it; and the inhabitants of the earth, as the Targum also paraphrases it; of the continent, particularly the Roman empire, when the Gospel was sent thither, which brought the good news of an incarnate, suffering, risen, ascended, and exalted Saviour;
the seas, and everything that moveth therein; the inhabitants of the isles in the seas, such as ours of Great Britain and Ireland, who waited for the doctrine of the Messiah, and to whom he calls to listen to what he says; and which is a sufficient reason for praise and thanksgiving in them; even in as many as have spiritual life and motion, who are quickened, influenced, and moved by the Spirit of God; see Isa 42:4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
34. Let the heavens and the earth praise him. From this we may conclude with the greater certainty, that, as I have touched upon above, David in the whole of this psalm spake in the name of the whole Church; for he now transfers to the Church what he had spoken in particular concerning himself. In calling upon the elements, which are destitute of thought or understanding, to praise God, he speaks hyperbolically, and by this manner of expression, he would teach us that we are not animated with sufficient earnestness of heart in celebrating the praises of God, the infinitude of which overpasses the whole world, unless we rise above our own understandings. But what above all kindled this ardor in the heart of David was his concern for the preservation of the Church. Moreover, there is no doubt that by the Spirit of prophecy he comprehended the whole of that period during which God would have the kingdom and priesthood continued among the ancient people of Israel. Yet he begins at the restoration of a new state of things, which by his means was suddenly brought about upon the death of Saul, when a melancholy devastation threatened at once the utter destruction of the worship of God, and the desolation of the whole country. He says, in the first place, that Zion shall be saved, because God would defend the place where he had chosen to be called upon, and would not suffer the worship which he himself had appointed to be abolished. In the next place, from the ark of the covenant and the sanctuary, he represents the divine blessing as extending to the whole land; for religion was the foundation upon which the happiness of the people rested. He farther teaches, that this change to the better would not be of short continuance; but that the people would be always preserved safe through the constant and enduring protection of God: And they shall dwell there, and possess it by inheritance. He therefore intimates, that the promise which God had so often made in the law, That they should inherit that land forever, was truly confirmed by the commencement of his reign. He contrasts tranquil and settled abode with a mere temporary residence; as if he had said, Now that the sacred throne is erected, the time is come in which the children of Abraham will enjoy the rest which has been promised to them, without fear of being removed from it.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Psa 69:34 Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.
Ver. 34. Let the heaven and earth praise him ] As they do in their kind; and have good cause so to do for their restoration by Christ, Rom 8:21 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 69:34-36
34Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
35For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
36The descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name will dwell in it.
Psa 69:34-36 As so often in the Psalm, there is a final small strophe which is used in corporate worship (i.e., Psa 103:19-22). The God of creation is also the God of Israel, who dwells in Zion/Judah with His people. They are characterized as
1. the seed of His servants
2. those who love His name
If this Psalm were of David’s time, it would have Israel, not Judah, so either
1. David did not write it (i.e., cannot trust titles of the Psalms; they are absent in the Dead Sea Scrolls and often do not fit the textual information in the Psalm)
2. someone added the last strophe later, possibly after an exile.
Psa 69:34 heaven and earth. . .seas These three nouns are used to denote all of creation (cf. Exo 20:4; Exo 20:11; Deu 5:8; Psa 96:11; Psa 135:6; Psa 146:6; Hag 2:6).
1. earth’s atmosphere
2. earth’s land
3. earth’s oceans and lakes
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. List the places this Psalm is quoted in the NT.
2. Why is it quoted so often?
3. How are the feelings expressed in this Psalm different from Jesus’ attitudes?
4. List the verses that seem to point toward Isaiah 53.
5. Explain the symbolism of water used in this Psalm.
6. Is the corporate conclusion a later addition? If so, is it inspired?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
heaven and earth. See note on Gen 14:19.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 69:34-36
Psa 69:34-36
A HOPEFUL OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE
“Let heaven and earth praise him,
The seas and everything that moveth therein.
For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah;
And they shall abide there, and have it in possession.
The seed also of his servants shall inherit it;
And they that love his name shall dwell therein.”
“Let heaven and earth … the sea and everything … praise God (Psa 69:34).
EVERYWHERE
“Where myriad waterfowl with thunderous wings
Ascending climb dawn’s flaming stair,
The oratorio of all created things
Is heard upon the morning air.
Where velvet footsteps march beneath the shade
Of giant trees, and move along
The resinous forest’s colonnade,
God hears this thrilling glory song.
Where countless life-forms teem the ocean floor,
Is sung God’s glory in the sea.
A mighty chores shore to shore,
They justify their right to be.
Where Pleiades and Morning Star adorn
The arch of heaven, even there,
From Creation’s birthday more,
God’s glory sings, and EVERYWHERE.”
– James Burton Coffman, 1962.
“For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah” (Psa 69:35). This, of course is the verse, which according to Dummelow, “Points to a date long after the age of David.” Of course, Dummelow was thinking of the times of Zedekiah; but others find that this verse allegedly points to the times of “Nehemiah and Ezra,” or “The times of the Maccabees.
We reject such opinions in full confidence of their error. It seems never to have occurred to such scholars that they are misinterpreting the word “build,” reading it instead as “rebuild,” which is simply not in the Hebrew at all. Even though the RSV, apparently for the purpose of supporting such false views, has without authority changed the word to rebuild, the Douay Version and the Septuagint (LXX) both support the American Standard Version (our version) in rendering the word “build,” not “rebuild.”
Rawlinson gave the proper meaning of the term as follows: “`Build the cities of Judah’ means to maintain them, and to keep them from decay and ruin.
At the time David wrote this, many of the “cities of Judah had never been built.” It was only after David became king that Jerusalem itself was secured as a bastion of Israel’s power; and what David prophesied here was not that the cities of Judah would be rebuilt after having been destroyed, but that they would be constructed for the first time.
“The seed of his servants shall inherit it” (Psa 69:36). This is a reference to God’s children, the seed of the kingdom.
“And they that love his name shall dwell therein” (Psa 69:36). This line, according to the genius of Hebrew poetry has the same meaning as the preceding line, enabling us more certainly to determine the meaning of both.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 69:34. Inanimate things like the earth and sea cannot actually praise God. The thought is that God should be praised because of these works of creation.
Psa 69:35. Zion was the capital of Judah and God’s interest in them was such that he would defend them against all enemies.
Psa 69:36. This verse is a prediction that the land of Judah would be possessed by future generations. But that was on condition that they love his name.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Let: Psa 96:11, Psa 98:7, Psa 98:8, Psa 148:1-14, Psa 150:6, Isa 44:22, Isa 44:23, Isa 49:13, Isa 55:12, Rev 7:11-13
moveth: Heb. creepeth, Gen 1:20, *marg.
Reciprocal: Gen 1:28 – moveth Psa 28:6 – General Psa 118:21 – General Isa 12:1 – O Lord Luk 2:14 – Glory
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 69:34-36. Let the heaven and earth praise him Let angels and men, the visible and invisible world, and all creatures contained therein, join together to celebrate him with their highest praises; for the mercies of God in Christ are such, that they cannot worthily be praised by any thing less than a universal chorus of the whole old and new creation; and what should such a chorus celebrate but those mercies by which all things have been made, preserved, and redeemed. Horne. For God will save Zion The city of Zion, or Jerusalem; and his church and people, which are frequently expressed by that title, and the salvation and edification of which were the consequence of the sufferings and resurrection of Christ. He will save Zion, the holy mountain, where his ordinances are administered, and his service performed. He will save all that are sanctified and set apart for him, all that employ themselves in his worship, and all those over whom the once suffering, but now exalted, Saviour reigns, for he is the king set upon the holy hill of Zion. He will do great things for the gospel-church; in which let all, who wish well to it, rejoice. For, 1st, It shall be peopled and inhabited. There shall be added to it such as shall be saved. The cities of Judah shall be built Which is to be understood figuratively, as well as literally; particular churches shall be formed, and incorporated according to the gospel model, that there may be a remnant to dwell there, and have it in possession To enjoy the privileges conferred upon it, and to pay the tributes and services required from it. 2d, It shall be perpetuated and inherited. Christianity was not to be res unius tatis, an affair of one age; no, the seed of his servants shall inherit it God will secure and raise up for himself a seed to serve him, and they shall inherit the privileges of their fathers. The land of promise shall never be lost for want of heirs; for God can out of stones raise up children to Abraham, and will do it rather than the entail shall be cut off. David shall never want a man to stand before him. The Redeemer shall see his seed, and prolong his days in them, till the mystery of God shall be finished and Christs mystical body be completed.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Anticipation of personal deliverance encouraged David to expect God to fulfill His promises to Israel as well. He called on the whole creation to praise God who would establish Israel as He had promised.
When the godly purpose to glorify God, many people will oppose their efforts and persecute them. This opposition should not drive us away from God, but to Him, in order to obtain the grace we need to remain faithful. God will reward this type of faithfulness greatly (e.g., Jas 1:12). We can see the truth of this in David’s life and in the life of His greatest son, Jesus Christ.