What does it mean that "the earth is the Lord's" (Exodus 9:29)?

"In His hand are the deep places of the earth," places too deep for us to understand; and "the height of the hills are His also" (v. 4). Then certainly nothing in between is excluded as His possession. Since He made it, and the sea also, He made it for Himself. If He has allowed man to be in possession of it at present (Ps. 115:16), yet we must remember this is allowed us only as a sacred trust. Indeed, how much control does man actually have over the boisterous sea? — or even over the land? (v. 5). Since God's hands have formed the dry land, He continues to control it as He will.

In the opening of this Psalm, the Lord's title to the earth is acknowledged: it is His by creation. So in the jubilee, the type of this same coming kingdom, the Lord asserted His title to the land. (Lev. 25:23) And after His title to the earth is announced the enquiry arises, who shall retake Adam's forfeited dominion over it? In other terms, "who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?" for "hill" is the symbol of dominion (Isa. 2): and the Lord's future or millennial dominion will be from Zion, that holy hill where God's King is to hold His sceptre of universal rule. (See Ps. 2)

(vv. 1-2) The kingdom of Christ will extend over the whole world and all that dwell therein. His first claim to all is that He is the Creator of all — “He has founded it” (cp. Rev. 4:11).

In this breadth, and under these conditions, God appears in Israel as the Creator-Father; and in the first verse claims as Jehovah the whole world as His. The time is come of that "regeneration" of which the Lord has spoken; and now "the earth is Jehovah's, and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein." And He has the best of titles to it: "for He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it over the floods."

It is an ode full of beauty and power; its leading strain being the assertion of Jehovah's lordship over all terrestrial things. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof," etc. Then follows a declaration of the title on which this dominion is claimed, which here, and universally in the Old Testament, is affirmed to be creation: "For He has founded it upon the seas," etc. The believer enters on the full enjoyment of this Psalm through the knowledge of Him who, to His ancient title of creation (Col. 4:16), has super-added that of redemption. It is from the risen and ascended Christ that the true light shines, in which the beauties of this song of triumph may be seen and worthily enjoyed. For it was through the suffering of death that it behoved the King of glory to enter openly. upon His rights (Luke 24:26). Jesus, having descended in self-emptied lowliness of perfect grace, has now ascended far above all heavens. The holy hill was His, by right and virtue of His own perfection as the Holy One of God; but for our sakes He would have His entrance into the heavenly courts through the blood-shedding of eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12). By faith, therefore, God's chosen have already passed, in their Forerunner, within the everlasting gates (Eph. 2:6). The doors of heaven are thrown freely open to the entering worshipper, whose access into the holiest is with confidence by the faith of Him (Heb. 10:19-22; Eph. 3:12). By Him he may in spirit continually draw nigh, while in Him he abides unceasingly in the cloudless presence of the Father of lights. Henceforth his home is there. He is, therefore, a stranger and a pilgrim here below. Christ's sheep go in and out, and find their pasture in His name (John 10:9).

Nabal had claimed full and absolute right and control over all that God had given him in His fruitful garden ("Carmel"), speaking of them as "my bread," "my water," "my flesh," etc. God gave him an opportunity (which would not have been unrewarded) of owning, and of ministering to, His anointed, the future king; but he had no faith, was here proved wanting, and failed to seize the occasion, and so lost everything, even his own life. Both folly and wickedness are manifested here. God alone has absolute right over all things. He says, "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine," yea, "the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof." Man is but a steward, and must give account of all to God. David asks for but a small part of what would all be at his disposal by and by. Nabal might perhaps have acceded to David's request if the latter had given him guarantee that it would turn out a profitable investment. All hangs on the personality of David. "And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master." All depended upon his estimate of the one who asked the favour. Blinded as to this, Nabal exposed himself to God's righteous judgment; but the Spirit of God reveals the truth to Abigail, and causes her to take immediate action that should avert the threatened judgment on the entire household, excepting its guilty head upon whom destruction so shortly descended.

Verses 25, 26. "Whatsoever is sold in the shambles eat," etc. Though it is incumbent on all who love God to love their brethren also, and to seek therefore to remove all occasion of stumbling from their path, the liberty of Christ is to be freely exercised in the ordinary walk of life. The Christian is not to go out of his way to find difficulties. No questions should be asked for conscience' sake. Let him take the world as he finds it, and use its things in thankfulness to Him whose they really are, remembering and maintaining that the earth and its fulness are the Lord's. Nor can the evil ends to which His bounties may be turned by men invalidate the title of His saints to the free enjoyment of whatever He has made.

The claims of the Lord upon us, founded on His rights and titles, extend from the table, as a new centre, known by us in redemption, to "the whole earth and the fulness thereof." All this is the Lord's, not asserted in creative title (though that be true too) but like Boaz who not merely had his Ruth but purchased the inheritance besides. We, believers, own the Lord's title to it all by resurrection, a title to be made good in divine power, when He comes a second time. Man in a state of nature, since Adam was driven out from Eden, is a trespasser, or at least an intruder in this creation, and is only in it by sufferance of God; but we are redeemed creatures, and owning the right and title of our risen Lord to the inheritance by redemption purchase, ask leave of no one to walk through the length and breadth of it, though we have not in fact so much as to set our foot upon. Whatsoever therefore "is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." Our privileges as redeemed are new, so are our responsibilities; for this same Lord does not suffer us to do any longer the commonest things in an ordinary way, but says, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." What an elevation, and what a motive is this! So also as to the style of our behaviour in the Lord's inheritance, "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." God had put aside man in the flesh, judicially in Christ on the cross; but now we see the redeemed putting self aside in the power of resurrection life, and in the Holy Ghost, so that we anticipate the day of our perfect blessing, and begin while on earth to sacrifice self for the profit of others, and for the glory of God.

Verse 9 therefore shows that we are to act upon the principle so wisely adopted by the steward; verse 10 shows that we are to wholly differ from him in this, that what he did in unfaithfulness we are to do in all good fidelity. The "unrighteous mammon," which men struggle to obtain so earnestly, and often so dishonestly, is after all "that which is least." It is not properly ours at all but "another man's," inasmuch as "the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof." But there is "the true" mammon, which the Lord speaks of as, "that which is your own." If we truly realize that our own things are those which we have in Christ, we shall use all that we have in this life — money, time, opportunities, mental powers — with a view to our Master's interests. At all events, we cannot serve two masters. Either God or mammon will dominate us. Let us see to it that God dominates us.

However, this strikingly picture the coming rule of the Lord Jesus in His kingdom. As all the money of the Egyptians was gathered up by Joseph, so the Lord tells us in Haggai 2:8, "The silver and the gold are mine. Just as the livestock also became the property of Joseph, so the Lord says, "Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Ps.50:10). Also, as Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, so the Lord Jesus has by His sacrifice of Calvary bought "the field" (Mt. 13:44), that is, the world (Mt.13:38), so that in the millennial age it will be declared, "the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof" (Ps.24:1). More than this Joseph bought the people themselves, and God tells us in Ezekiel 14:8, "All souls are mine".

Our natural selfishness in considering that what we have is strictly our own has been through the years a terrible detriment to our own happiness. For nothing really belongs to us, as Israel will learn in a very practical way in the millennium. Let believers now remember that we are only stewards, put in charge of what belongs to our Lord, and responsible to give Him some return for all the goodness He shows to us. Only this attitude will give true happiness.