Psalms

This is the biggest book in the Bible, made up of a series of 149 separate, free-standing chapters of various types of prayers, songs, and what-not. Most people will note that there are 150 chapters in the book of psalms. I counted 149 chapters because at least one chapter is repeated word for word later in the book. If there are others, please drop me an e-mail and let me know.

Chapter 50-100

Chapter 101-150

Ps 2:11,12 - Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.
In the KJV, it says you should kiss "the Son" with trembling, and that translation appears accurate. Why the NRSV has shifted to "feet," I don't know yet, but I will research it. Still, I wonder at why we should feel happy trying to take refuge with a God who threatens you with destruction if you make him the least bit angry, and who gets angry if you're not kissing (whatever) with trembling?

Ps 5:4,5 - For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil will not sojourn with you. The boastful will not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.
OK - time for a logic check here. We're talking about the God who sent bears to rip apart 42 children for calling Elisha "baldy," who sent a plague to kill 70,000 people when David followed God's orders, and who made it a law that young girls who were raped would be required to marry their attackers without possibility of divorce? THAT God? Oh, the irony!

Ps 10:4 - In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, "God will not seek it out"; all their thoughts are, "There is no God."
A quick check of America's prisons would seem to indicate that this is far from being true. Only 1% of the people entering prison claim to be atheist, the only group of people who could honestly be said to think "there is no God."

Ps 11:5 - The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates the lover of violence.
Now this is an astonishing statement. Remember, this is the same God who rained down total destruction on Sodom, sent a flood to kill an entire world, and ordered the deaths of multiple nations so his "Chosen People" could have a clean, wholesome place to live!

Ps 14:1 - Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.
This is a favorite quote in conversations between believers and atheists. It is also the easiest to show as false. All you need is one atheist who has done something everyone would agree is good. In spite of this, atheists hear it quoted about as often as Pascal's Wager. Interestingly, this psalm is repeated word by word in chapter 53.

Ps 17:3 - If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress.
My Bible says Psalm 17 is a psalm of David; an awful lot of people believe David wrote all of this book, but we'll get into that later. Still, I think it's a hoot to think that David, the murderer of Bathsheba's husband, the hamstringer of thousands of horses, the man who was glorified for killing "his ten thousands," should say something like this!

Ps 18:19,20 - He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
More self-congratulations by a psalmist. Since this is in the Bible, I expect that this sort of passage helps lead most believers to the state of mind that God thinks they're special, despite of the other verses where they are told the God thinks they're something insignificant, dirty and disgusting.

Ps 18:29 - By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
Is this a biblical version of Superman? (my apologies - I couldn't resist!)

Ps 19:4(b),5 - In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Hebrew astronomy was mighty strange, even by ancient standards! I never (personally) got the impression that the sun moves across the sky joyfully! I have read in many places that Psalm 19 is actually a copy of an Egyptian hymn to their sun god - Ra!

Ps 20:1-5 - The LORD answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion. May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices.

Selah

May he grant your heart's desire, and fulfill all your plans. May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
What are we to make of this? The psalmist is asking God basically for a blank check. Since no one has had such an event happen (that is, all their plans "fulfilled"), I think we can agree that this psalm was a waste of breath. On the other hand, if someone claims to have had all their requests from God come true, I'd like to see evidence of this.

Ps 21:8,9 - Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you. You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath and fire will consume them.
Finally - a verse about a punishment for God's enemies involving fire! Of course, this furnace thingy here talks about consuming, not about eternal torment. A fine but interesting point.

Ps 22:1 - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
Where have we heard this, before? Of course! Matt 27:46 - the last words of Jesus at his crucifixion (according to a couple of gospels, at least). Or could it be that the writers of the Gospels wanted the readers to think of this psalm (apparently considered to be a "messianic" psalm) when they read their story? In my bible, this psalm is shot through with translation footnotes, more than most other passages. Could it be the translators were trying to fit the Hebrew words into Christian theology?

Ps 24:8 - Who is the King of Glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.
A quote from one of my favorite choruses in "The Messiah." It's still disturbing, that God would be described as "the King of Glory" because he's good in battle. Still, what would we expect from a bunch of savages who spent most of their lives at war?

Ps 26:4,5 - I do not sit with the worthless, nor do I consort with hypocrites; I hate the company of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.
Here's another "noble" sentiment! I wonder how many believers feel as high and worthwhile as this psalmist apparently did?

Ps 29:1 - Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
The interesting thing here is that the term "heavenly beings" (according to my Bible) is more literally translated from Hebrew as "sons of gods." It makes me wonder if possibly at some point long ago the Hebrews were not monotheists as they became later on?

Ps 29:9 - The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, "Glory!"
Another puzzling translation note here. The phrase "oaks to whirl" is more accurately translated as "deer to calve." I wonder why the translation was changed? Maybe because it was some sort of weird Hebrew euphemism? Or maybe no one would be impressed if there was a claim that a deer reproduced because of a supernatural command?

Ps 34:9,10 - O fear the LORD, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want. The young lion suffers want and hunger, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
This sounds very Calvinist to me. Those who are "true believers" will have God's favor, so that those who are poor must not be "true" believers.

Ps 34:19,20 - Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all. He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken.
Another ridiculous Calvinist passage from the same psalm. The interesting thing I've heard about this, though, is that many folks believe it pertains to Jesus (and is therefore a sort of messiah prophecy, though I saw no reason to think this when looking at the text). The main problem I have with this concept is that the verses clearly refer to many people, not just one "righteous" person.

Ps 36:1-4 - Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts; there is no fear of God before their eyes. For they flatter themselves in their own eyes that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit; they have ceased to act wisely and do good. They plot mischief while on their beds; they are set on a way that is not good; they do not reject evil.
Yet more fodder for atheist-bashing. The practice of demonization has been well-developed and widely spread throughout the world using authoritative texts of this sort to fuel the fires of suspicion and fear. I have seen this in action personally, having former friends ask me if I worship the devil, and watch me like a hawk even when I assure them I'm as decent as I ever was as a Christian.

Ps 36:6 - Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O LORD.
This is a little strange. God's salvation is for animals as well as humans? I wonder what animal religions are like?

Ps 37:9-11 - For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; Though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
Sounds like a beatitude. Makes you wonder just how original Jesus' teachings actually were, doesn't it. For more on this, read here.

Ps 40:6 - Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
This raises a couple of questions. First, where did the psalmist get the idea that God does not require offerings? The Levitical laws are pretty explicit on this issue. Next, if God truly doesn't want sacrifices, what was the point of the human sacrifice of Jesus?

Ps 41:1-3 - Happy are those who consider the poor; the LORD delivers them in the day of trouble. The LORD protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies. The LORD sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities.
Here's a little linguistics problem. Is this talking about those who "consider" the poor? Or is it talking about the poor themselves? Also, does anyone think that those living in poverty show any signs of being protected, sustained, or delivered by God? Once again, I don't think there are enough instances to show any special favors from supernatural agencies.

Ps 41:10 - But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.
This is (based on the context) not a request for help in repaying a debt. No, the psalmist wants God's help in getting revenge for being treated badly. This is truly a morally advanced attitude!

Ps 44:23-26 - Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O LORD? Awake, do not cast us off forever! Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For we sink down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
Here are the words of someone who has noticed that God isn't making life easy for those who believe. How often have prayers like this gone unanswered, I wonder?

Psalms 50-100Top

Ps 50:8-13 - Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds. For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
This is supposed to be God talking here. It appears to be reinforcing the concept that animal sacrifice is a stupid, primitive idea. What could an infinite god possibly need with the carcasses of a few dead animals? For some reason, the message appears not to have been heard for such a long time, though.

Ps 50:16-20 - But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. You make friends with a thief when you see one, and you keep company with adulterers. You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother's child..."
It goes on for a few more verses like this, but you get the picture. The concept is that those who are not virtuous are to be considered the worst possible sort of people. They are to be seen as completely alien and evil. They are here accused of the worst sorts of behavior, and the reader is supposed to believe these statements without question, without any evidence. This is also known as "prejudice."

Ps 51:4 - Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
This psalm is one of the all-time favorites to Christians, the psalm supposedly written by David after his affair with Bathsheba was exposed. We all know the story - David got the hots for Bathsheba, at that time married to Uriah. He had Uriah killed, and then married Bathsheba. It wasn't the first time David had done this, but he was called on the carpet this time, and he wrote this psalm. But notice, he says he sinned against God only! Uriah, Bathsheba, the baby she had that was killed by God - none of these apparently counted! All he was worried about here was whether God took offense!

Ps 51:5 - Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
This is another of the extremely sick concepts in the Bible. I have real problems with condemning a baby who is born knowing nothing, let alone considering a single fertilized cell to be worthy of eternal damnation. Yet, we hear of people all the time who believe just that! How can this be a good moral attitude to hold?

Ps 51:8 - Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
This one psalm will keep us here for quite a while, it seems. Why should any person express happiness or gratitude because they have been harmed? Why must love and violence be so connected in such a sick, twisted manner?

Ps 51:16,17 - For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Please recall the story of David and Bathsheba, from 2 Samuel. Recall what it really was that we saw God do in response to this affair. David says God doesn't want a burnt animal, but rather a contrite, broken spirit. What the original story tells us, however, is that God took a human infant's life as a response, in spite of the fact that David had a "contrite heart" while the baby wasted away, suffering for a full week.

Ps 51:18 - Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem...
Uh - wait a moment. This psalm was supposed to have been written by David? Just after his affair with Bathsheba was exposed by Nathan?? Why would David, only the second King of Israel, ask for God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem? Those walls weren't destroyed until a couple of centuries later! I think someone had a timeline problem.

Ps 54:4,5 - But surely, God is my helper; the LORD is the upholder of my life. He will repay my enemies for their evil. In your faithfulness, put an end to them.
This clearly shows that the psalmist thinks of God as some sort of cosmic hit man.

Ps 55:23 - But you, O God, will cast them down into the lowest pit; the bloodthirsty and treacherous shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
Now this has the look of a prediction: that evil people will be killed by God before they can grow old, before they even reach half a typical lifespan. How accurate is this?

Ps 58:8 - Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime; like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
Well, first off, this gives us a good insight into those willing to pass judgment on those who don't follow religious laws. This is part of a psalm spewing nothing but invective toward "the wicked." But on a slightly amusing note, we see the scientific astuteness of the writer, saying that snails dissolve into slime.

Ps 58:10,11 - The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked. People will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."
Wow! This is a powerful vision! The good guys are looking forward to the simple, godly pleasure of washing their feet in the blood of the bad guys! Oh yeah! This is a religion of love and goodness!

Ps 65:8 - Those who live at the earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
This is yet another verse clearly showing the ancient belief in a flat Earth, with places for the sun to enter the sky in the morning and leave in the evening. The psalmist thinks there are people living near these gateways, at the boundaries marking the edge of the world.

Ps 66:18 - If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Does this mean that if your prayers aren't answered, it's because God knows you're evil at heart and won't listen to you?

Ps 68:22,23 - The Lord said, "I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, so that you may bathe your feet in blood, so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe."
For some reason, I just have trouble thinking that this sort of thought would be good for teaching one's children to be civilized.

Ps 74:1 - O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
So people are like sheep? Like the sheep that were kept for purposes of providing food for their owners? Like sheep to be shorn by their owners? How encouraging an image is this?

Ps 75:3 - When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady.
So if God weren't around, the earth would tip over and fall off its pillars? Sounds like a flat earth to me.

Ps 78:2-8 - I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children; that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Here is a vital clue to the longevity of this religion. We see the attitude of passing the heart of the religion on to succeeding generations, teaching the children from birth what the religion is all about, and scaring them into unquestioning acceptance with the negative examples found in the stories of the books of histories. In other settings, this would be called "brainwashing." I see no reason why it shouldn't be called this here, too.

Ps 82:1 - God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods, he holds judgment.
Excuse me, but I thought there was only supposed to be just one god? Where did these others come from?

Ps 82:6,7 - I say, "You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince."
So it looks like God treats the other gods like he treats humans - with threats and death. Sounds quite Greek, to me!

Ps 84:11 - For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly.
This sounds nice, until you read in other places that NO ONE walks uprightly. So why bother saying this? Maybe to fool poor people into thinking that they're poor because they aren't close enough to God?

Ps 85:1,2 - LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people, you pardoned all their sin. Selah.
Now this is interesting news. This appears to be part of the Old Testament, written centuries before the birth of Jesus. And it says that God pardoned all his people's sin! Did someone forget to tell this to Jesus? What is Christianity all about, then?

Ps 91:9,10 - Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
Show of hands, please! How many people have had nothing go wrong in their lives after becoming a Christian?

Ps 93:1 - The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved.
Yet another verse used by the geocentric crowd.

Ps 96:10 - Say among the nations, "The LORD is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity."
Ibid.

Psalms 101-150Top

Ps 101:5-8 - One who secretly slanders a neighbor I will destroy. A haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not tolerate. I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, so that they may live with me; whoever walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me. No one who practices deceit shall remain in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue in my presence. Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of the LORD.
When I first read this, I thought this was supposed to be God talking, but it isn't so! This is the psalmist talking about his attitude toward the people around him. Supposedly a psalm of David, it looks like he's in for a lonely time, if he kicks out everyone who ever lied. By the way, this seems to me to be the sort of thing an ethnic cleanser might say - what do you think?

Ps 103:11,12 - For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.
It looks here like God feels love only for people who fear him. Is this a healthy, mature way to be? Also, what's this about God removing transgressions from people? Looks like it's written in the present tense, which appears odd, considering this was written centuries before Christians say this could be done.

Ps 104:3-5 - You set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, you make the winds you messengers, fire and flame your ministers. You set the earth on its foundations, so that it will never be shaken.
It goes on from there in much the same way. The general gist is that this psalm is one based on some primitive form of "Natural Theology," the idea that God is the sum total of the natural universe. Except that here, we see all of nature talked of as though natural things like clouds are parts of God's everyday furniture or something. And we also see some small-universe, flat world stuff. Not a good science lesson.

Ps 105:8 - He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.
Odd, isn't it, how this covenant was replaced (according to Christians) after only 50 or so generations, and not 1000 as stated here?

Ps 105:40 - They asked, and he brought quails, and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
Erm, this looks like a re-write of history here! In Numbers, it says God killed people with diseased quails because they complained about the constant diet of "manna." This makes it sound like the people politely asked for food, and God was happy to give them quail, because he wanted nothing but the best for his nation. Talk about your propaganda!

Ps 106:23 - Therefore he said he would destroy them - had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
Seems here that the psalmist thinks God changed his mind because of what Moses said. I thought the Bible said God doesn't change his mind!

Ps 106:30,31 - Then Phinehas stood up and interceded, and the plague was stopped. And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.
There seems to have been an awful lot of folks getting counted as righteous for the oddest things, here in the Old Testament. Phinehas, according to Numbers, stood up and murdered an interracial couple with his spear - that was what he's being praised for here.

Ps 106:34-37 - They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons...
So we finally see some recrimination over the failure of the folks in Joshua and Judges to exterminate the original peoples of Palestine. BTW, if I recall those books correctly, neither book talked about human sacrifice, except where Jephthah sacrificed his daughter - to YHWH!

Ps 110:6 - He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter heads over the wide earth.
Does it seem odd to anyone that the concept of judgment in the Bible appears to be nearly always equated with deadly violence?

Ps 115:17 - The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any that go down into silence.
An interesting verse, this. Does this state that those who die refuse to praise God, or that dying makes them incapable of praising God? It looks to me like a verse supporting the concept of death being the end of existence.

Ps 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.
Now here's a verse useful to mad bombers! I wonder how many preachers build their sermons around this?

Ps 121:5-8 - The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time and forevermore.
Here's another one of those passages I like to call "blank checks from God." Imagine someone telling you that you'll never have to worry about getting sun burn again, or that you'll never have anything go wrong in your life. This is what the Bible tells believers - so how reliable can it be?

Ps 127:1 - Unless the LORD builds a house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
I suppose this would be true, depending on your point of reference. If by building in vain, you mean the humans can't build something that lasts forever, well and good. But how many people need to build anything that's literally permanent, when the most use any one person can get is 70 to 100 years? The same with security systems. You can guard and protect against nearly everything, until a comet lands on your town, but just how often does that happen?

Ps 137:8,9 - O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!
First of all, I can't imagine how King David could have written this psalm, seeing as how it talks of Israel's captivity in Babylon. Second of all, this is hardly a civilized attitude, wanting to bash little kids apart on rocks as revenge, and feeling happy about it.

Ps 139:7,8 - Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
This is, of course just a theory of the psalmist. I seriously doubt he tried to check this out. But one other thought on this: If you go around, feeling like you're always being watched, is it religion or paranoia?

Ps 139:16 - Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them yet existed.
This is a very clear statement supporting predestination. The writer was only concerned with telling God how great he was, and completely oblivious, it appears, of the logical and moral implications of this concept. I may have to write an article about it some day!

Ps 139:19-22 - O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me - those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil! Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.
Question: Exactly WHO is the bloodthirsty one here? Is this an example of the goodness of the "Good Book"? How can hatred be "perfect" or even helpful to someone?

Ps 144:1 - Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.
We must remember, I suppose, that YHWH was a war god to the Hebrew folks, before they promoted him to the head honcho. This is far from being a religion of peace, as we are often told.

Ps 144:7,8 - Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.
Well, at least this psalmist is open in his xenophobia (fear of aliens), not to mention being quite adept at demonizing strangers.

Ps 148:3,4 - Praise him, sun and moon; praise him all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
Of course, we can chuckle indulgently at the ignorance of these verses. Imagine inanimate objects like the Moon shouting praise to God! But we also see an interesting bit of ancient Hebrew cosmology - it says that waters exist above heaven! Quite an interesting concept, one that could not have come from an omniscient deity.