Psalm 119:91 NKJV
91
They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
For all are Your servants.
The Enduring Power of God’s Ordinances
My Notes
The heavens and the earth continue just as they were from the dawn of creation. The sun, moon, and stars remain constant in their motion, size, distance, and influence. The sun rises and sets as it always has; the moon faithfully follows her appointed rhythms of waxing and waning. The stars hold their places, and the planets complete their revolutions. On earth, the cycles endure—seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night—as they have since the beginning, sustained by the wise design and decree of God.
It is the enduring power of God that upholds all things. The same word that spoke creation into existence continues to sustain it—not only in its being, but in its flourishing. The ongoing existence of the universe is rooted in God’s ordinance.
Nature stands firm because You, O Lord, have made it so. It fulfills the purpose You gave it. As Isaiah 48:13 declares: “Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand up together.”
What’s remarkable in these verses is the union of God’s creative word—which upholds the universe—and His moral law for humanity. Both flow from the same divine wisdom. Not only mankind, but all creation is His servant.
All things continue to this day and will endure until the end of time, operating under the original ordinances given by God. They serve His will, reflect His glory, and testify to His sovereignty. Therefore, the sun, moon, and stars—though majestic—are not to be worshipped. Worship belongs to the Lord alone, the Maker of all.
May we be grounded by the Word that is forever settled. May we be established by the voice that founded the earth. And may we, like all creation, respond to His command and become faithful servants of the Lord God Almighty.
SUMMARY:
Psalm 119:91 emphasizes the unwavering obedience of creation to God’s ordinances, highlighting His role in sustaining the universe. The commentaries below explain that all elements of creation, from heavenly bodies to earthly phenomena, are under God’s command and serve His purpose. The steadfastness of these ordinances reflects God’s faithfulness and permits the continuance of existence. Creation operates according to the Lord’s laws, illustrating the harmony and order established by Him. The verse points out that we need to align ourselves with this obedience, acknowledging that while everything else upholds God’s will, we must actively choose to serve our Lord and fulfill our intended purpose.
NOTE: Psalm 119 is an acrostic pattern. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet; each of the 22 sections is given a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each line in that section begins with that letter. Today, we’re looking at verse 91, which is in the 12th section, which is called “Lamed ל”. The website https://www.abarim-publications.com/Hebrew_Alphabet_Meaning.html defines the meaning of the letter Lamed ל as: “The verb למד (lamad) means learn or teach. Derivative תלמיד (talmid) means scholar (hence Talmud), and derivative מלמד means ox goad. The letter lamed is said to look like such a device, and when Jesus says to Saul, “it is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14), He may hint at Saul’s learning rather than coercion.
……..Bill
Commentaries
Charles Spurgeon
“They continue this day according to thine ordinances.” Because the Lord has bid the universe abide, therefore it stands, and all its laws continue to operate with precision and power. Because the might of God is ever present to maintain them, therefore do all things continue. The word which spake all things into existence has supported them till now, and still supports them both in being and in well-being. God’s ordinance is the reason for the continued existence of creation. What important forces these ordinances are!
“For all are thy servants.” Created by thy word, they obey that word, thus answering the purpose of their existence, and working out the design of their Creator. Both great things and small pay homage to the Lord. No atom escapes his rule, no world avoids his government. Shall we wish to be free of the Lord’s sway and become lords unto ourselves? If we were so, we should be dreadful exceptions to a law which secures the well-being of the universe. Rather, while we read concerning all things else, they continue and they serve, let us continue to serve, and to serve more perfectly as our lives are continued. By that word which is settled may we be settled; by that voice which establishes the earth may we be established; and by that command which all created things obey may we be made the servants of the Lord God Almighty.
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Enduring Word
For all are Your servants: The psalmist looked at the created order and understood that all creation ultimately serves God and His purpose. The earth, which He established and which abides, obeys His word. (Guzik)
i. “There is constancy and order in all of creation, reflecting the ‘faithfulness’ of the Lord.” (VanGemeren)
ii. “A striking feature of these verses is the coupling of God’s creative, world-sustaining word with His law for man. Both are the product of the same ordering mind; and not only men but ‘all things’ are His ‘servants’.” (Kidner)
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Albert Barnes
They continue this day according to thine ordinances – According to thy judgments (Hebrew); that is, thy commands. They “stand” (Hebrew) as thou hast appointed; they are what thou didst design them to be. The original purpose in their creation is carried out, and they thus furnish an illustration of the stability of thy government and the permanency of thy law.
For all are thy servants – All worlds obey thy commands; all are under thy control. They show that they are thy servants by the conformity of their movements to the laws which thou hast impressed on them.
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John Gill
They continue this day according to thine ordinances,…. That is, the heavens and the earth do, before mentioned, just as they were from the beginning of the creation. The heavenly bodies have the same motion, magnitude, distance, and influence; the sun rises and sets as it did; the moon keeps her appointed seasons of full and change, of increase and decrease; the fixed stars retain their place, and the planets have their exact revolutions: and on earth things are as they were; seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night; thus they are at this day, and will continue, according to the wise order and appointment of God. Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret it, “they stand or continue unto this day to do the will of God; to execute his judgments and decrees, or observe his order and ordinances.”
for all [are] thy servants; or “they,” or “these all”; the heavens and earth, and all that is in them, all the works of God; he called them into being, and they rose up at his command; he calls them to service, and they stand up as obedient ones to do his will; he “commandeth the sun, and it riseth not” before its time; and “he sealeth up the stars,” that they shine not when he pleases; once he commanded the sun to stand still on Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, and they obeyed him; see Isaiah 48:13. Hence it appears that the hosts of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars, ought not to be served and worshipped; but the Lord, the Maker of them, only, since they are his servants; and that men ought surely to serve the Lord, if these do, and especially such who are his chosen, redeemed, and called ones.
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Matthew Henry
“They“ (the heavens and the earth and all the hosts of both) “continue to this day according to thy ordinances; they remain in the posts wherein thou hast set them; they fill up the place assigned them, and answer the purposes for which they were intended.” The stability of the ordinances of the day and night, of heaven and earth, is produced to prove the perpetuity of God’s covenant, Jer. 31:35, 36; 33:20, 21. It is by virtue of God’s promise to Noah (Gen. 8:22) that day and night, summer and winter, observe a steady course. “They have continued to this day, and shall still continue to the end of time, acting according to the ordinances which were at first given them; for all are thy servants; they do thy will, and set forth thy glory, and in both are thy servants.“ All the creatures are, in their places, and according to their capacities, serviceable to their Creator, and answer the ends of their creation; and shall man be the only rebel, the only revolter from his allegiance, and the only unprofitable burden of the earth?
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Adam Clarke
They continue this day — This verse should be thus read: All are thy servants; therefore, they continue this day according to thy ordinances. “All the celestial bodies are governed by thy power. Thou hast given an ordinance or appointment to each, and each fulfils thy will in the place thou hast assigned it.”
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The Pulpit Commentaries
They continue this day according to thine ordinances. Heaven and earth continue to observe the ordinances given them by God at the first (comp. Jeremiah 31:35, Jeremiah 31:36; Jeremiah 33:25). For all are thy servants; rather, all things, or all creatures.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“They continue this day according to thine ordinances,” etc. Which of the works of God are not pervaded by a beautiful order? Think of the succession of day and night. Think of the revolution of the seasons. Think of the stars as they walk in their majestic courses,—one great law of harmony “binding the sweet influence of the Pleiades, …and guiding Arcturus with his sons:” Job 38:31-32. Look upwards, amid the magnificence of might, to that crowded concave,—worlds piled on worlds,—and yet see the calm grandeur of that stately march;—not a discordant note there to mar the harmony, though wheeling at an Inconceivable velocity in their intricate and devious orbits! These heavenly sentinels all keep their appointed watch towers. These Levites in the upper firmament light their altar fires “at the time of the evening incense,” and quench them again, when the sun, who is appointed to rule the day, walks forth from his chamber. “These wait all upon thee:” Psa 104:27. “They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.“
—J.R. Macduff, in “Sunsets on the Hebrew Mountains, “1862.
Cross-References
Jeremiah 31:35–37 (KJV)
35 Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day,
And the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night,
Which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar;
The Lord of hosts is his name:
36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord,
Then the seed of Israel also shall cease
From being a nation before me for ever.
37 Thus saith the Lord;
If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, saith the Lord.
Psalm 148:6 (KJV)
6 He hath also stablished them for ever and ever:
He hath made a decree which shall not pass.
Genesis 8:22 (KJV)
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
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Proverb for Today:
Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety. Proverbs 24:3-6 NKJV
Lamed ל: Saved by the word settled in heaven.
89
Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven.
90
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
You established the earth, and it abides.
91
They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
For all are Your servants.
92
Unless Your law had been my delight,
I would then have perished in my affliction.
93
I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have given me life.
94
I am Yours, save me;
For I have sought Your precepts.
95
The wicked wait for me to destroy me,
But I will consider Your testimonies.
96
I have seen the consummation of all perfection,
But Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
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