“Thus says Yahweh of hosts.
‘Once again,
In a little while,
I will shake the heavens.
I will shake the earth.
I will shake the sea.
I will shake the dry land.
I will shake all the nations.”
Yahweh said that he was going to shake things up in a little while. He was going to shake up the heavens, the earth, the sea, the dry land, and all the countries in the world.
“The wilderness shall be glad.
The dry land shall be glad.
The desert shall rejoice.
The desert shall blossom.
Like the crocus,
It shall blossom abundantly.
It shall rejoice with joy.
It shall rejoice with singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it.
The majesty of Carmel
Shall see the glory of Yahweh.
The majesty of Sharon
Shall see the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands!
Make firm the feeble knees!
Say to those who are of a fearful heart.
‘Be strong!
Do not fear!
Here is your God!
He will come with vengeance!
He will come with terrible recompense!
He will come!
He will save you!’”
Isaiah seems to indicate here that God will make the deserts bloom abundantly. The wilderness and the dry land will rejoice and be glad with singing. The glory of the cedar trees of Lebanon will be given to the areas of Carmel and Sharon in Israel, where the glory and majesty of Yahweh God will be seen. God will strengthen their weak hands and their feeble knees. Thus the cry of Isaiah to those who are fearful is that they should be strong and not afraid. Your God is coming with a vengeance to make up for past problems. He will come to save you.
“O come!
Let us sing to Yahweh!
Let us make a joyful noise
To the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving!
Let us make a joyful noise
To him with songs of praise!
Yahweh is a great God!
Yahweh is a great king above all gods!
In his hand are the depths of the earth.
The heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his.
He made it.
His hands have formed the dry land.”
Psalm 95 does not have any title. This psalm is a Temple worship psalm that speaks about Yahweh as king. We are all asked to come to sing about Yahweh with a joyful noise. Yahweh is the rock of our salvation. We come into his presence with thanksgiving and songs of praise. He is the great God, the king of all gods. He has formed the earth, the mountains, the seas, and the dry land. All things are his as he is king of all things.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 