Psalms · Psalm 93

"The Lord has reigned" — They will say in the future. "The world also is established" — When He reigns, the earth will rejoice.

"Hashem reigns; He is clothed in majesty" — because it is the custom of kings to wear royal garments, he spoke this by way of a parable: "Hashem is clothed in majesty" — "clothed" is a past-tense verb, like "loved"; and when Hashem "clothed" Himself with strength, He girded Himself as one girds himself, to display His power; and the word "strength" serves together with both "clothed" and the word "girded." "Indeed, the world is established" — meaning that through Hashem's majesty and His power [the earth] stands in the middle of the great sphere, like a point in the middle of a circle, and it shall not be moved.

"Hashem" — All these psalms, up to [the one beginning] "A psalm of David," concern the future, the days of the Messiah. And when he concluded [the proclamation of Hashem's kingship] with this psalm, then the whole world will recognize that He is King over all, and mankind will not act haughtily before Him, as Nebuchadnezzar said, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High," and as the other kings [likewise boasted]. And then all will recognize that none may wear the garb of prideful sovereignty except God alone, and to Him alone belongs the kingship — and then, "He has girded Himself with strength." "Indeed, the world is established, that it cannot be moved" — for there will no longer be any who trouble the earth, since there will be no more war.

"Hashem reigns" — In the days of the Messiah it will be said, behold, Hashem reigns, and He has clothed Himself in grandeur to exalt Himself above all. "Hashem is clothed with strength" — He has clothed Himself with power and girded Himself with it, meaning: now He has shown His power. "Indeed, it is established" — Then all will recognize that indeed You have established the world, so that it should not be prone to fall.

"He has girded Himself" — from the language of a belt and girdle.

"Hashem reigns" — this psalm too continues from what preceded, speaking of Hashem's governance of His world, which operates through two kinds of governance: the fixed, natural governance, and the miraculous, providential governance, which operates according to the time and the need. Now, the natural governance is called in the Holy Scriptures by the name "oz" (strength), for the term oz denotes a strong, constant, unshakeable force — for the governance of nature stands by the strength of Hashem all the days of the world, without change. And the miraculous governance is called by the name "na'avah" (comely, majestic), for through it He exalts Himself above the laws of nature and rises above them (as it says, "Your hand is strong, Your right hand is exalted," above, [Psalm] 89, as explained there). And he says: even at the time when "Hashem reigns" and is clothed in majesty — that is, that He rises up to perform wonders and to overturn the laws of nature, to say to the sun, "be still," to the sea, "be split," to the rock, "bring forth water," and the like — he depicts this as a garment, that He appears to His creatures as if clothed in majesty, saying, "I will reign, I will demolish, I will overturn the laws of nature" — and nevertheless, at that very same time, "Hashem also clothed Himself in" "strength," with which "He girded Himself" — He also directs the fixed, natural governance that is called strength, and "indeed the world is established, that it cannot be moved" — the fixed laws by which He founded the earth and its fullness do not budge. And it is clear from reason that the fixed governance of nature has greater excellence than a miracle, which is only for the moment — for the fixed governance of nature makes known His great strength, in that the world stands firm upon the pillars of these laws forever; but a miracle has no [lasting] strength, since it is only for the moment. And you cannot say that there is greater might in [Hashem's] telling the sea to stand up like a heap at the time of the Exodus from Egypt, than in His telling the sea, at the time of creation, that its waters should go down to their downward slope — since both were done by the power of Hashem. And, indeed, nature itself is a permanent miracle, and a miracle is a temporary nature. I mean: if we call something a "miracle" because the thing occurs not by its own power but by the word and power of Hashem, then nature is a permanent miracle — for the power of nature does not come from itself, but is the word of Hashem, standing within it and sustaining it in this manner. And there is no difference between it and a miracle, except that in nature He sustains this power forever, while in a miracle He sustains it only for the moment. And if we call something "nature" because Hashem placed within the thing itself the power that moves it to its own action, then a miracle, too, is a temporary nature — for even in a miracle, Hashem places this "nature" [in the object] for the moment; for at the time of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, Hashem placed in the water the nature that it should rise upward. And so, the act of a miracle is very much easier than the act of nature, just as it is easier to carry a heavy burden for one hour than to carry it for many years. Nevertheless, there is found in the act of a miracle an extra measure of majesty and tremendous might, in that at the time of the miracle, the overall workings of nature are not nullified either — for it is known that all parts of existence are attached and bound together, such that every motion arising in one part of existence causes, or is caused by, all the motions occurring in existence as a whole — so much so that existence as a whole may be pictured as a machine, built with wisdom, in such a manner that the cylinders turn the wheels, the wheels turn the gears, and the gears turn the mechanisms — and the first mover is the power of steam, which drives the whole machine. And if a man should come and forcibly seize hold of one of the wheels or cylinders and halt its motion, he thereby brings about, by his force, a counter-motion. Then either the power of the steam that drives the machine as a whole overcomes the man's power, and he does not succeed in stopping the machine; or, if his power overcomes the driving power, the machine as a whole necessarily ceases from its overall function. Accordingly, if a miracle consisted of stopping the motion of the whole of existence and nullifying nature entirely, this would be a small matter relative to Hashem, since He is the First Mover, who moves everything, and it is in His power to move it as He wishes. But since a miracle is always a partial matter — for example, that He nullifies the motions of water and its nature, or the power of fire and its nature, while the rest of existence remains in its natural state and proceeds in its usual way — such that He must, with one "hand," so to speak, cause the general motion of the whole system to continue proceeding as always, while with the other "hand" He must simultaneously halt the partial motion of one particular element of existence and direct it in another direction — and that nonetheless the machine as a whole is not nullified, and nature and the world continue in their usual course — this is a great wonder, a miracle to be exalted. This is what he means: that at the time when "Hashem reigns and is clothed in majesty" — which is the nullification of the motion of a part of existence — nevertheless "Hashem" also "clothed" Himself in "strength," with which "He girded Himself," and showed His power and might in that "indeed, the world is established, that it cannot be moved" — that the halting of the part does not impede the course and progress of the whole.

"Established" — and because he mentioned the earth, that it stands by the power of Hashem and upon its foundation, which is the central point, and that same point is also the point of the Throne of Glory, which is the encompassing circle — therefore [it says]: "Your throne is established of old"; and because he mentioned that His throne stands [firm], he said: "and You are from everlasting" — meaning pre-existent, with no beginning to You, as if he said: "From eternity You sit upon the throne."

"Established" — then they will recognize that the throne of Your kingdom is established. "Of old, and from everlasting, You are" — meaning, [You existed] before the world, and it is You who created the world.

"Of old" — From when You created the world. "From everlasting" — Before You created the world, You already existed.

"Established" — the heavens are called by the name "the throne of Hashem," as it is written, "Hashem has established His throne in the heavens" (Psalms 103:19); and this refers to the governance of the celestial system, by which He directs the world according to the fixed laws of nature. "And this throne is established of old" — for from the six days of Creation He established the throne by means of which He would govern according to the laws of nature; but even so, He does not govern by the throne alone, which is the [natural] system, but rather, "You are from everlasting" — You Yourself, too, exist from everlasting to govern not by means of the throne, but by another, miraculous, providential governance that is attributed to You Yourself.

"The rivers have raised, O Lord" — This is an expression of a cry and a plaint: Woe, O Lord, behold! Your enemies, who flood like rivers, have raised their voice and roar, and the lowness of the depths of their locks they will raise and lift on high constantly to be haughty against You. Every expression of דכא is an expression of depth and lowness.

"Have lifted up" — after he mentioned the earth and the heavens, he mentioned the seas and the rivers, which are always flowing — this is: "the floods have lifted up their voice." "Their pounding [waves]" — they are the breakers, and the meaning is equivalent [to what precedes], for after they are crushed, they rise up again by the will of the Creator, when He sends His messengers, which are the winds.

"The floods" — this is a parable for Gog and Magog and the [other] kings, when they gather together to make war against Jerusalem: like mighty rivers that raise their voice in their usual way, so they will raise their voice, a vast multitude. And the meaning of "crushed" is breakage, as in "the bones that You have crushed will rejoice."

"The floods have lifted up, etc." — And it goes on to explain that they lifted up their voice against those who fear Him, to frighten and terrify them. "Their roaring" — The surging of their waves.

"Their roaring" [dokhyam] — from the language of crushing and breaking; these are the waves called 'breakers,' as it is written, 'and all Your breakers' (above, Psalms 88), because they break the waters of the sea.

"The floods have lifted up, O Hashem" — that is, "the floods have lifted up their voice" to say, "Your throne is established of old; You are from everlasting." The floods speak this, and they testify that Hashem directs nature — which is His throne — from of old, and also that He directs it with providential governance, as it is written, "The earth is Hashem's, and the fullness thereof; for He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods" (Psalms 24:1-2). For from the seas and the floods this fact becomes known, that the earth belongs to Hashem: the nature of water was to cover the earth, and Hashem placed in it a different nature, that the waters gather to one place, so that the dry land would appear — and from this it is clear that the earth belongs to Hashem. And from the rivers, whose placement, according to the locations they serve, makes the earth inhabited, so that water is found everywhere to irrigate the fields of grain and to quench thirst (please Hashem), it is clear that the world and all its inhabitants belong to Hashem. Thus the floods lift up their voice to say that Your throne is established of old, and that You Yourself exercise providence as well — this is, "the floods lift up their voice," and also, "the floods lift up their roaring" — meaning, both in the place where the rivers flow and their waters surge, and in the place where the rivers are held back at the border of the land and their current is stopped so that there may be settlement there. In all these they testify that the providence of Hashem fills the earth.

"More than the voices of great waters, etc." — I know that more than the voices of great waters, which roar over us, and more than the mightiest breakers of this sea, You are mighty, O Lord, and Your hand is powerful over them.

"Above the voices of many waters" — more than the voices of many waters that are mighty, which are the breakers of the sea — [even] mightier is Hashem on high; and this is a sign that the celestial spheres have voices, and so it is written in Ezekiel (1:24): "like the sound of many waters." And these sounds the deaf cannot hear, just as the blind cannot see the awesome works of Hashem.

"Above the voices" — for they will raise their voice louder than the voices of many mighty waters. "The breakers of the sea" — and mightier still than the breakers of the sea. "Hashem on high is mighty" — and even though they are mighty, Hashem on high is more mighty than they, and He will cast them down and humble them.

"Above the voices" — But more than the voices of many waters, and more than the breakers of the sea, Hashem who dwells on high is mighty, and they cannot overpower Him.

"Mighty" — strong. "Breakers of the sea" — these are the waves of the sea.

"Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea" — the sea, its waters, and its breakers (that is, the place where the waves of the sea break, so that they do not cross their bound and do not flood the dry land, as it is written, "Where I have placed the sand as a bound for the sea, an everlasting decree, that it cannot pass it" [Jeremiah 5:22]) — they give forth their voice to say, "mighty on high is Hashem" — for Hashem is mighty on high, and directs the celestial system and the general order of nature according to His will, and all submit before Him.

"Your testimonies" — which Your prophets prophesied and promised concerning Your house, which is the dwelling of holiness. "are very faithful to Your house" — and to the length of days He looks forward to them, and although it has been a long time, they are very faithful to God. "dwelling" — Heb. נאוה, like (83:13): “the dwellings נְאוֹת of God,” an expression of נָוֶה. You should know [that this is so] because no instance of נָאוָה has a pronounced “aleph,” for they are an expression of נוֹי beauty, but this one has an “aleph” which is pronounced.

"Your testimonies" — in the manner of (Psalms 19:2): "The heavens declare the glory of God" — for Your testimonies are more trustworthy, since they are testimony beyond the testimony of the heavens, the earth, and the sea; therefore he added "very" [i.e., "very sure"]. And the meaning is: the testimony of these awesome, trustworthy [phenomena is great], yet Your testimonies are even more [trustworthy]. The meaning of "to Your house" is that it corresponds to the Throne of Glory on high, of old, the place of our sanctuary. "For length of days" — because the Throne of Glory stands forever; or [it is] the prayer of the poet that the house of Hashem should endure many days.

"Your testimonies" — these are the words written by Your prophets, which testify concerning Your kingship; they will then be fulfilled utterly. And it says "very" — meaning that at that time no person will have any doubt in his heart about it. "Holiness becomes Your house" — the aleph [in נאוה] is mobile, [vocalized] with a chataf-patach, while in the other forms [of this root] the aleph is quiescent. It says "Your house" — it will be fair and comely, holy for length of days, that it will never again be destroyed. "Hashem" — this is a term of address. And "becomes" [נאוה] may also be explained [as related to] desire and longing — meaning that every person will desire and long for Your house, which is holy for length of days.

"Your testimonies" — The words of the prophets who testify concerning the salvation are very trustworthy, and holiness will be an adornment and beauty for Your house, and it will endure for length of days and never again be destroyed.

"Becomes" [na'vah] — from the language of comeliness and beauty, as in 'comely as Jerusalem' (Song of Songs 6).

"Your testimonies" — its sense is, "Above the voices of many waters, Your testimonies are very sure." The testimony that You have testified is more reliable than the voices of many mighty waters; for these voices of the waters testify that You rule over the celestial system and nature and direct them according to Your will, and they say that He is mighty on high. But You have testified that You are not [merely] mighty on high alone, governing from afar; rather, "Holiness becomes Your house" — the testimony we have received from You is that You are not distant from us, dwelling on high, but that You dwell in the Temple and there direct a wondrous providence that is above nature — which is called holiness, for holiness is separation from nature. And this governance is in Your house, in that You dwell in the Temple — not that You perform a sign or a wonder from time to time, but rather Hashem [dwells] in His house "for evermore," so that this providential governance is fixed and continuous for evermore.