translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: PSA

label: NET study note

text: . The psalmist praises God as the sovereign creator of the world. He recalls God’s covenant with David, but then laments that the promises of the covenant remain unrealized. The covenant promised the Davidic king military victories, but the king has now been subjected to humiliating defeat.


text: You set up your faithfulness . This may allude to the Lord’s heavenly throne, which symbolizes his just rule and from which the Lord decrees his unconditional promises (see vv. 8, 14 ).


text: Tabor and Hermon were two of the most prominent mountains in Palestine.


text: The Lord’s arm , hand , and right hand all symbolize his activities, especially his exploits in war.


text: The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.


text: The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.


text: You are my father . The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14 ; Ps 2:7 ). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.


text: The firstborn son typically had special status and received special privileges.


text: The Lord’s faithful deeds are also mentioned in Pss 17:7 and 25:6 .


text: The final verse of , v. 52 , is a conclusion to this third “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the first, second and fourth “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 41:13; 72:18-19; 106:48 , respectively).