thy judgements- We now see that David is stringing together several of God’s attributes: mercy, faithfulness, righteousness, and now judgement. Judgement is a privilege allotted to someone based on their position. A father may make judgements or decisions for his family, a king for his country, an artist for his creation. A judgement is an ordinance, determination, or law which is binding upon all that fall under the ruling territory of the one adjudicating. Meaning, Almighty God, who is seated above the clouds, and reigns over all mountains is positioned in the place of all rule and authority, and all kingdoms, nations, family, spheres, and galaxies fall under His Sovereign control! Therefore, everything that is within His ruling territory must submit unto His holy ordinations! Truly, the judgement which belongs to the Lord is all encompassing, infinite, endless, and binding. If the LORD determines to do something, it will be done. His command and decree are sure, steadfast and must be obeyed by all.
are– a verb denoting a state of being
a great deep– two Hebrew words are combined here to descirbe what the Lord’s Sovereing judgements are. Not what they are like, but what they actually are. They are a great deep; great describes what kind of “deep†we are discussing. The word deep is the Hebrew term for the raging sea. Thus, the judgements of God aren’t just like an expansive and bottomless ocean, it is, in fact, a limitless, shoreless, ocean. The judgements of God, are all-wise, and it would be more advisable to attempt to change the motion of the sea’s movement than to try to turn back the hand of the LORD. And just like there are caverns and chasms in the deep parts of the earth’s oceans, which no human eye has ever conceived, understood or perceived, so too, there are reasons within the flawless judgements of God which are incomprehensible. And as the ocean can both soothe and swallow, so too, the judgements of God can bring sweet peace to the believing soul or fearful punishment to the unrepentant sinner.
O LORD– David once more makes it clear, by uttering that holy, holy, holy name, that he is crying out in adoration unto the Great YAHWEH.
thou– again a pronoun which designates that David is addressing his words to the Supreme Being of the universe.
preservest–it is the root word of the name of Israel’s great Savior: Joshua. (Yehovah and Yasha) It means to save, rescue, deliver, to liberate, and obviously preserve from destruction. So, the High King, is a Savior? Of what?
man and beast– Ok, we Christians were ready for it to say man, because when we think about salvation we think of Jesus saving mankind from hell. But, David says that the Almighty preserves, saves, and rescues man AND beast. Why? Is it not because He has every right to bring fiery doom upon this rebellious planet, scrap it and start over? What are we saved from? We are saved from God! His judgements are a great deep, and if we were to evaluate our lives, we have all rebelled from His breakers of His awesome law. His righteousness is like the great mountains, and we have all spurned those mountains of His perfections, and chosen our vile self-righteousness instead. His faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds, and though he justly claims our complete trust and confidence, we have instead confided in our own machinations, inventions and ability, and walked in most grievous doubt and unbelief. His mercy is in the heavens, and if we are to obtain the mercy of God, somehow we must climb unto the holy heights of His presence. All of these are unattainable and we have broken every law of Lord’s love. Certainly, we desperately need to saved from the just wrath of the Lord, and how are we saved? O men, be filled with worship and wonder, God Almighty Himself withholds the wrath another day, because He is merciful, faithful, righteous and just.
