Lord Vs. LORD In The Book Of Psalms

By LaVrai, 24 April, 2008, No Comment

In Psalms 2:4-7Psalms 2:4-7
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. ⁵ Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. vex: or, trouble ⁶ Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. set: Heb. anointed upon...: Heb. upon Zion, the hill of my holiness ⁷ I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. the decree: or, for a decree

WP-Bible plugin, King David writes: He who is enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord mocks at them. Then He speaks to them in anger, terrifying them in His rage, “But I have installed My king on Zion, My holy mountain!” Let me tell of the decree: the LORD said to me, “You are My son, I have fathered you this day.”

I am curious to know why the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) refers to GOD as both ‘the Lord’ and ‘the LORD’ in the Book of Psalms. It appears that David is speaking of GOD when he writes ‘He who is enthroned in heaven.’ Yet the almost common, uncapped ‘Lord’ is used as opposed to the the very proper capped ‘LORD.’ I know in various parts of the Bible that ‘Lord’ is used if someone says ‘my Lord,’ for example, as is found in Genesis 18:22-33Genesis 18:22-33
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. ²³ And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? ²⁵ That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? ²⁶ And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. ²⁷ And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: ²⁸ Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. ²⁹ And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. ³⁰ And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. ³¹ And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. ³² And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. ³³ And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

WP-Bible plugin where Abraham speaks with GOD. If King David is speaking of the same GOD (as he must be since the LORD our GOD is one), why would he use ‘Lord’ and not ‘LORD’ in every instance that he speaks of HIM?

Also, is the LORD talking to David and calling the king His son? Is the LORD saying He has ‘fathered [David] this day’? Is the LORD talking about David when He says, “..I have installed My king on Zion, My holy mountain”? In Psalms 3:5Psalms 3:5
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.

WP-Bible plugin David writes, “I cry aloud to the LORD, and He answers me from His holy mountain.” If David was the ‘king installed on Zion,’ the ‘holy mountain,’ he wouldn’t need to cry aloud as he would already be on Zion.

Is the reader to infer that there are three persons involved in Psalms 2:4-9Psalms 2:4-9
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. ⁵ Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. vex: or, trouble ⁶ Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. set: Heb. anointed upon...: Heb. upon Zion, the hill of my holiness ⁷ I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. the decree: or, for a decree ⁸ Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. ⁹ Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

WP-Bible plugin? Could the LORD be telling this other ‘Lord’ “You are My son, I have fathered you this day’? Is this Lord the king installed on Zion, GOD’s holy mountain? Is King David prophesying in the place of this third person, this Lord? Is David quoting this Lord?

There are two other places in Psalms where David uses ‘the Lord’ when apparently speaking of GOD. In verses 40:18es 40:18
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

WP-Bible plugin and 44:24, which read, respectively:

But I am poor and needy; may the Lord devise [deliverance] for me. You are my help and my rescuer; my God, do not delay.

Rouse Yourself; why do You sleep, O Lord? [compare to Psalms 3:2, 3:4, 3:8, 4:2, 5;2Psalms 3:2, 3:4, 3:8, 4:2, 5;2
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. ³ But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. for: or, about ² ¹ Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? rage: or, tumultuously assemble imagine: Heb. meditate ² The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, ³ Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. ⁴ He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. ⁵ Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. vex: or, trouble ⁶ Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. set: Heb. anointed upon...: Heb. upon Zion, the hill of my holiness ⁷ I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. the decree: or, for a decree ⁸ Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. ⁹ Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. ¹⁰ Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. ¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. ¹² Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

WP-Bible plugin, etc.]

Why would David refer to GOD as ‘Lord’ in some verses and then ‘LORD’ in others? If King David was not speaking of one person, who is this other powerful person he speaks to and of as if this person was GOD? Why the distinction if he is not saying ‘my Lord’ but ‘the LORD?’

In Psalms 22:17Psalms 22:17
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

WP-Bible plugin it reads: Dogs surround me; a pack of evil ones closes in on me, like lions [they maul] my hands and feet.

I find it curious that “dogs” are compared to “lions” when both can maul. And why are the hands and feet supposedly mauled, as opposed to arms and legs, which are usually the targets when a dog mauls someone. I only ask this because ‘maul’ was inserted into the text as a suggestion by the editors. It seems like an odd choice (considering that ‘hands and feet’ follow) I would like to know why they chose to suggest ‘maul’ instead of another verb [like 'pierce' as other translations use].

In Psalms 96:11-13Psalms 96:11-13
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. the fulness...: or, all it containeth ¹² Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice ¹³ Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

WP-Bible plugin it reads, Let the heavens rejoice and the earth exult; let the sea and all within it thunder, the fields and everything in them exult; then shall the trees of the forest shout for joy at the presence of the LORD, for He is coming, for He is coming to rule the earth; He will rule the world justly and its peoples in faithfulness.

David is speaking of the LORD here, so why does he write “He is coming to rule the earth”? According to other Messianic passages, it is the Anointed man of GOD, from the tribe of Judah (and thus a descendant of King David) who will rule the earth and restore Israel and give all the peoples of the earth true peace [see Isaiah 11, for example].

David goes on to say in Psalms 97: The LORD is king! Let the earth exult, and the many islands rejoice! …mountains melt like wax at the LORD’s presence, at the presence of the Lord of all the earth. …all divine beings bow down to Him. …For You, LORD, are supreme over all the earth; You are exalted high above all divine beings.

Again there are two versions of ‘lord’ here: ‘Mountains melt like wax at the LORD’s presence, at the presence of the Lord…” Why would King David switch suddenly from one term to the next when he is presumably still talking about GOD Almighty? Do the editors/translators of the Tanakh want us to think that there is a third person in the mix — David, GOD (the LORD) and another person (the Lord)?

There is also Psalms 110:1Psalms 110:1
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
110 A Psalm of David. ¹ The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

WP-Bible plugin, which reads in the Tanakh: The LORD said to my lord, “Sit at My right hand while I make your enemies your footstool.”

Now we have a third ‘lord.’ This ‘lord’ is not the LORD (GOD) nor the Lord enthroned in heaven (Psalms 24:4Psalms 24:4
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He...: Heb. The clean of hands

WP-Bible plugin), as previously noted in King David’s writings. This is a common, ‘regular’ lord, if you will, that the editors/ translators of the Tanakh are giving readers. This common, mortal person (lord) is being spoken to by the LORD (GOD). GOD tells this person to sit at His right hand while He makes his enemies his footstool. This is an interesting verse… for who is worthy to sit at the right hand of GOD Almighty? Which mortal, common man do the editors/translators of the Tanakh want us to believe is worthy to be seated at the right hand of GOD?

Suddenly, King David says, in Psalms 110:5Psalms 110:5
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

WP-Bible plugin, The Lord is at your right hand. He crushes kings in the day of His anger.

This is a very confusing passage. GOD tells someone to sit at His right hand while He makes his enemies his footstool. Then David says, ‘The Lord is at your right hand.’ …To whom is David speaking…and about whom is he speaking? He couldn’t possibly be speaking to the same person whom the LORD GOD is addressing because David uses the term ‘Lord,’ who is supposedly enthroned in heaven.

If GOD says to ‘my lord’ “Sit at My right hand…” how can David then go on to say ‘the Lord’ is at your right hand? On one hand, you would think David is saying this back to GOD, as in, “LORD (GOD Almighty), the Lord (enthroned in heaven) is sitting at Your right hand.” But David can’t be talking to GOD, based on the Tanakh translation, because King David uses ‘your’ common instead of ‘Your’ proper as one would when speaking of the LORD (GOD Almighty).

So who on earth do the editors/translators of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) want readers to believe King David is addressing as ‘lord’ and ‘Lord?’ King David would never have referred to the LORD with a common ‘your.’ Is it possible King David had written this song about himself? Is he the ‘lord’ and is it his ‘your’ being spoken of?

If King David was not found worthy to build the LORD’s Temple, then how on earth would he be found worthy to sit at the right hand of GOD? In 1 Chronicles 28:31 Chronicles 28:3
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
3 But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood. blood: Heb. bloods

WP-Bible plugin, King David tells what the LORD spoke to him: “You will not build a house for My name, for you are a man of battles and have shed blood…”

King David would never have been so presumptuous as to write a song for the Levite priests to sing about him, knowing full well that, although he loved the LORD with all his being, if he was rejected by GOD to build the temple, then he most certainly would not have been invited to sit at GOD’s right hand on His throne.

Are we to infer then that it is his son, King Solomon, who did build the Temple, that is being invited by the LORD (GOD Almighty) to sit with Him on His throne? 1 Kings 1 reveals that King Solomon loved many foreign women…from the nations of which the LORD had said to the Israelites, “None of you shall join them and none of them shall join you…” Such Solomon clung to and loved…and his wives turned his heart away… his wives turned Solomon’s heart after other gods, and he was not as wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God as his father David had been. …The LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel… And the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you are guilty of this…I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants…”

Does that sound like King Solomon would have been invited to sit at GOD’s right hand to share His throne…when he wasn’t even found worthy to remain on his own earthly throne?

It is quite likely that Psalm 110:1Psalm 110:1
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
110 A Psalm of David. ¹ The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

WP-Bible plugin should actually read: The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand while I make your enemies your footstool.”

But for some reason, the editors/translators of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) want readers to believe King David was writing of himself (presumably for others to sing).

Based on Messianic prophecies, there is only one person worthy to sit at the right hand of GOD, and he is the shoot from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11), a man called the Branch (Zechariah 6:9-15Zechariah 6:9-15
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
9 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, ¹⁰ Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; ¹¹ Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; ¹² And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: grow...: or, branch up from under him ¹³ Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. ¹⁴ And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. ¹⁵ And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.

WP-Bible plugin, which those who seek understanding should read carefully), one of David’s own issue (Psalms 132:11-18Psalms 132:11-18
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
11 The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. body: Heb. belly ¹² If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. ¹³ For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. ¹⁴ This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. ¹⁵ I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. abundantly: or, surely ¹⁶ I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. ¹⁷ There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. lamp: or, candle ¹⁸ His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.

WP-Bible plugin)…the redeemer of Israel, the one who will bring peace to the entire world — he is the only one found worthy to sit on the right hand of the LORD on His throne. He is the Lord, the one to whom “all divine beings bow down,” the one whom GOD calls “My son.”

Psalm 110 Is not about King David and it is not about King Solomon. People, stop believing a lie. Psalm 110 speaks of GOD’s Anointed One, the Messiah.