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1You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord !
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
2Give thanks to the Lord with the harp!
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument!
3Sing to him a new song![#sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the lives of his people in fresh and exciting ways.]
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him!
4For the Lord ’s decrees are just,[#sn For the Lord’s decrees are just… After the call to praise (vv. 1-3), the psalmist now gives a series of reasons why the Lord is worthy of praise.; #tn Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the Lord as the sovereign creator and ruler of the world, the Lord’s “word” refers to the decrees whereby he governs his dominion.; #tn Or “upright.”]
and everything he does is fair.
5The Lord promotes equity and justice;[#tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of equity and justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world.]
the Lord ’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth.
6By the Lord ’s decree the heavens were made;[#tn Heb “word.”]
by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created.
7He piles up the water of the sea;[#tn Heb “[he] gathers like a pile the waters of the sea.” Some prefer to emend נֵד (ged, “heap, pile”; cf. NASB) to נֹד (nod, “bottle”; cf. NRSV; NIV “into jars”), but “pile” is used elsewhere to describe water that the Lord confines to one place (Exod 15:8; Josh 3:13, 16; Ps 78:13). This verse appears to refer to Gen 1:9, where God decrees that the watery deep be gathered to one place so that dry land might appear. If so, the participles in this and the following line depict this action with special vividness, as if the reader were present on the occasion. Another option is that the participles picture the confinement of the sea to one place as an ongoing divine activity.]
he puts the oceans in storehouses.
8Let the whole earth fear the Lord ![#tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the Lord’s power and authority by worshiping him and obeying his commandments.”]
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!
9For he spoke, and it came into existence,[#tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).]
he issued the decree, and it stood firm.
10The Lord frustrates the decisions of the nations;[#tn Heb “breaks” or “destroys.” The Hebrew perfect verbal forms here and in the next line generalize about the Lord’s activity.]
he nullifies the plans of the peoples.
11The Lord ’s decisions stand forever;
his plans abide throughout the ages.
12How blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord ,[#tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).]
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.
13The Lord watches from heaven;[#tn The Hebrew perfect verbal forms in v. 13 state general facts.]
he sees all people.
14From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
15He is the one who forms every human heart,[#tn Heb “the one who forms together their heart[s].” “Heart” here refers to human nature, composed of intellect, emotions and will. The precise force of יָחַד (yakhad, “together”) is unclear here. The point seems to be that the Lord is the creator of every human being.]
and takes note of all their actions.
16No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
17A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory;[#tn Heb “a lie [is] the horse for victory.”]
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
18Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers,[#tn Heb “look, the eye of the Lord [is] toward the ones who fear him.” The expression “the eye…[is] toward” here indicates recognition and the bestowing of favor. See Ps 34:15. The one who fears the Lord respects his sovereignty and obeys his commandments. See Ps 128:1; Prov 14:2.]
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness
19by saving their lives from death[#tn Heb “to save from death their live[s].”]
and sustaining them during times of famine.
20We wait for the Lord ;[#tn Or “our lives.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, life”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.]
he is our deliverer and shield.
21For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
22May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord ,[#tn Heb “let your faithfulness, O Lord, be on us.”]
for we wait for you.