He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
He is the Lord as the God of Israel, and his authority and decisions reach through the whole earth. His people are called to remember his covenant through all generations, the word he commanded to last for a thousand generations. That covenant was made with Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob as Israel as a law and an everlasting covenant, including the commandments, statutes, and laws that Abraham kept, even the Ten Commandments, and keeping that commanded word secures the promised everlasting inheritance. The Ten Commandments therefore existed as law before Sinai, and his judgments and moral law hold everywhere and stay in force on condition of obedience. His law binds all people and not Israel alone, for his authority as Jehovah reaches the Gentiles also, and the truth given to Israel was given for the world.
Setting and Parallel Text
He is the Lord as Israel's God, whose judgments reach through all the earth, in the psalm given to be sung at the bringing of the ark of God to Jerusalem. The declaration stands within an address to the chosen seed of Abraham and of Jacob, identifying him as the God of Israel and of Abraham's faithful descendants. There his universal judgments are joined to his covenant people, and his covenant set among Israel in a lasting and worldwide frame.
The section holding the declaration appears almost word for word in Psalm 105:1-15. Those who held one reckoning identified 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 as the same as Psalm 105:1-6. Those who held another reckoning identified verses 8-22 as the first fifteen verses of Psalm 105 and verses 23-33 as Psalm 96 with slight variations, with 1 Chronicles 16 parallel to Psalm 105:8-11.
The passage is Hebrew poetry and not prose. Its figurative and poetic diction is therefore not to be construed literally as prose, nor are prose statements to be swelled to the fervor of poetic diction.
Covenant and Commandments
He is to be remembered for his covenant through all generations, the word which he commanded for a thousand generations. That covenant was made with Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and to Jacob as Israel as a law and an everlasting covenant, and keeping this commanded word secures the promised everlasting inheritance. It included the commandment or law that Abraham kept, as shown with Genesis 26:3-5 and Deuteronomy 4:12-13, and it stands connected with God's commandments, statutes, and laws, including the Ten Commandments. The commanded covenant is distinguished from the promise of Canaan, with the promise and the command treated as different parts of the Abrahamic covenant. At the same time the covenant includes both the commandments and the promise, with the promise based on the commanded word, and the commandments are connected with a thousand generations as in the promise of mercy to those who love God and keep his commandments.
The Ten Commandments therefore existed as law before they were given at Mount Sinai, and the Lord's judgments and moral law apply throughout the earth and remain in force on condition of obedience. The covenant with Abraham is God's holy, everlasting covenant, the same covenant as the gospel promise. The promise extending through a thousand generations does not show that the end of the world is far off, because the promised land is for those who belong to Christ, not for the Jews as a people to possess literal Canaan.
Law for All Nations
He is the Lord God, and his judgments are in all the earth, which means his law binds all people everywhere. The same declaration stands joined to the calling of his covenant with Abraham and Jacob an everlasting covenant, bound up with his commandments and statutes and laws. His judgments and moral law therefore extend through the whole earth and remain in force.
His authority as Jehovah reaches the Gentiles as well as Israel. The truth entrusted to Israel was not for Israel alone but for the world, so it belongs to Israel to declare his glory among the nations in order that Gentiles may be converted. When those of the nations give themselves to God, one same law is for both.
He is the Lord as the God of Israel, and his authority and decisions reach through the whole earth. His people are called to remember his covenant through all generations, the word he commanded to last for a thousand generations. That covenant was made with Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob as Israel as a law and an everlasting covenant, including the commandments, statutes, and laws that Abraham kept, even the Ten Commandments, and keeping that commanded word secures the promised everlasting inheritance. The Ten Commandments therefore existed as law before Sinai, and his judgments and moral law hold everywhere and stay in force on condition of obedience. His law binds all people and not Israel alone, for his authority as Jehovah reaches the Gentiles also, and the truth given to Israel was given for the world.
Setting and Parallel Text
He is the Lord as Israel's God, whose judgments reach through all the earth, in the psalm given to be sung at the bringing of the ark of God to Jerusalem. The declaration stands within an address to the chosen seed of Abraham and of Jacob, identifying him as the God of Israel and of Abraham's faithful descendants. There his universal judgments are joined to his covenant people, and his covenant set among Israel in a lasting and worldwide frame.
The section holding the declaration appears almost word for word in Psalm 105:1-15. Those who held one reckoning identified 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 as the same as Psalm 105:1-6. Those who held another reckoning identified verses 8-22 as the first fifteen verses of Psalm 105 and verses 23-33 as Psalm 96 with slight variations, with 1 Chronicles 16 parallel to Psalm 105:8-11.
The passage is Hebrew poetry and not prose. Its figurative and poetic diction is therefore not to be construed literally as prose, nor are prose statements to be swelled to the fervor of poetic diction.
Covenant and Commandments
He is to be remembered for his covenant through all generations, the word which he commanded for a thousand generations. That covenant was made with Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and to Jacob as Israel as a law and an everlasting covenant, and keeping this commanded word secures the promised everlasting inheritance. It included the commandment or law that Abraham kept, as shown with Genesis 26:3-5 and Deuteronomy 4:12-13, and it stands connected with God's commandments, statutes, and laws, including the Ten Commandments. The commanded covenant is distinguished from the promise of Canaan, with the promise and the command treated as different parts of the Abrahamic covenant. At the same time the covenant includes both the commandments and the promise, with the promise based on the commanded word, and the commandments are connected with a thousand generations as in the promise of mercy to those who love God and keep his commandments.
The Ten Commandments therefore existed as law before they were given at Mount Sinai, and the Lord's judgments and moral law apply throughout the earth and remain in force on condition of obedience. The covenant with Abraham is God's holy, everlasting covenant, the same covenant as the gospel promise. The promise extending through a thousand generations does not show that the end of the world is far off, because the promised land is for those who belong to Christ, not for the Jews as a people to possess literal Canaan.
Law for All Nations
He is the Lord God, and his judgments are in all the earth, which means his law binds all people everywhere. The same declaration stands joined to the calling of his covenant with Abraham and Jacob an everlasting covenant, bound up with his commandments and statutes and laws. His judgments and moral law therefore extend through the whole earth and remain in force.
His authority as Jehovah reaches the Gentiles as well as Israel. The truth entrusted to Israel was not for Israel alone but for the world, so it belongs to Israel to declare his glory among the nations in order that Gentiles may be converted. When those of the nations give themselves to God, one same law is for both.