Yahweh’s greatness is acclaimed in verse 3; he is a great God, superior to all gods, whether real or imaginary (see 96.4-5). He is the Creator God who rules over all that he has made. The expression King above all gods or Good News Translation‘s “over all the gods,” if translated literally, in many languages will refer to space only. Therefore it will often be necessary to recast this expression to say, for example, “He is a great king who rules over all other gods,” or in some languages to make a comparison; for example, “He is a powerful king, but all other gods are weak.”

In verse 4a In his hand indicates not only possession but sovereignty. The depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are picturesque phrases used to indicate the whole earth.

Instead of the Masoretic text “depths” in verse 4a (a word which occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament), one Hebrew manuscript and the Septuagint have “the far places,” which New English Bible prefers; but depths better parallels heights in the next line. Dahood takes the depths of the earth to mean Sheol. The “mountain heights” were thought of by many as the places where the gods dwelt (see 68.15-16), and the idea may be in the background of the language here.

In verse 5 Yahweh’s power over both The sea and the dry land (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “the continents”) is asserted, for he created both (see 24.1-2). The verb in verse 5b, formed, represents God as fashioning, molding, the dry land with his own hands (see the verb also in 94.9b).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .