The closing line makes the poem concrete: Yahweh “preserve[s]” (saves/sustains) both humans and animals. God’s governance is presented as life-supporting across the created order, not limited to one group or one species.

Where interpretation differs (only where needed)

One main question is what “judgments” refers to. Some read it mainly as God’s moral rulings—what God decides is right, and how God assesses and answers human actions. Others read it more broadly as God’s governing decisions in the world (including providential direction), not only courtroom-like verdicts.

A smaller question is what “mountains of God” implies. Some take it as a way to say “very great mountains,” emphasizing size and strength. Others hear an added note of special grandeur (“God-like” in scale), but the result in either case is the same basic point: God’s righteousness is unshakably solid.

Why the disagreement exists The Hebrew wording behind “judgments” can refer both to verdicts and to God’s wider decision-making. The images chosen (mountains; deep waters) also carry more than one natural association (stability, danger, mystery, immensity), so interpreters differ on which association is most central.

What this passage clearly contributes Explicitly, the text claims that Yahweh’s steadfast love and faithfulness are immeasurably extensive, that God’s righteousness is mountain-solid, and that God’s judgments are ocean-deep. It also explicitly claims that Yahweh preserves both human and animal life. The theological inference that follows most naturally is that God’s moral reliability and God’s ongoing governance are not limited in reach; they extend through creation and are experienced as sustaining life within it (compare Psalm 104:27–30).

man (’ā·ḏām-)