Introduction: Two Types of Recognition of the Creator
In this section of the chapter, we focus on a central axis upon which the entire psalm is built according to the Malbim: the difference between the recognition of the Holy One, blessed be He, by the nations of the world - which stems only from nature and general creation - and the recognition of the Jewish people, which stems from individual Divine providence (hashgachah pratit) and our personal bond with Him, may He be blessed. The Radak adds and explains that the entire psalm is a song that will be sung at the time of the Redemption, when everything that is denied and hidden today will become clear to all.
"For Hashem is a Great God" - King Over All Powers
כִּי אֵל גָּדוֹל יְהֹוָה וּמֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל עַל־כׇּל־אֱלֹהִים׃ - For Hashem is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
The Radak explains that this is the very content of the joyful shout: What will we say when we shout joyfully to Him? That Hashem is a great God and a great King over all powers. In the Messianic era, no one will be found who denies the existence of the Creator, as there are heretics today, and those who claim that Hashem lacks capability or does not exercise providence. Then, it will be evident to all that Hashem is a great God and a great King over all gods.
And what does "elohim" mean here? It refers to the heavenly host, which are like "judges and rulers" on earth. The Divine directives descend and influence through celestial bodies, through the mazal that trickles down and influences; hence they are considered powers, "elohim." The word mazal is related to "water shall drip (yizal) from his buckets" - an abundance that descends and influences through the stars and celestial bodies, all of which are vessels for this flow. The gentiles also believed in the influences channeled through the constellations, and believed that Hashem is the God of gods, yet in their view He does not oversee what occurs here below. "Elohim" always connotes a judge, an arbitrator, or an entity of power, not solely referring to the Holy One, blessed be He - and lehavdil, scripture also speaks of "other gods" (elohim acheirim), meaning other powers.
The Malbim explains: "A great God" indicates strength and power, while "a great King" indicates sovereign governance. This is the recognition that the nations first attain - that there is a ruling power above all the natural forces they worship, like sun worshippers, and from this they recognize that He is a great King over all powers, possessing governance and channeling influence through those very forces.
"In Whose Hand Are the Depths of the Earth" - The Gentile's Recognition Through Nature
אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדוֹ מֶחְקְרֵי־אָרֶץ וְתוֹעֲפֹת הָרִים לוֹ׃ אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ הַיָּם וְהוּא עָשָׂהוּ וְיַבֶּשֶׁת יָדָיו יָצָרוּ׃ - In Whose hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks are His. To Whom belongs the sea, and He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
The Radak explains: Just as the heights of heaven and earth are in His hand and He reigns over them, so too the depths of the earth are in His hand - and this is the meaning of mechkerei aretz ("depths of the earth"). Something that requires deep probing and contemplation is called mechkar (research or exploration), as it is written: "and the foundations of the earth below shall be searched out (yeyacharu)." Even today, the study of the earth's foundations is not so advanced; the celestial bodies can be seen openly, but to reach the foundations of the earth one must drill exceedingly deep. On the other hand, to'afot harim ("mountain peaks") refers to the highest place, similar to the phrase "the towering strength (to'afot) of a wild ox is his," spoken regarding the horns of the re'em. Rashi explains it as an expression of height, like a soaring bird (of). From this comes the Hebrew idiom hon to'afot ("vast fortune"), although this specific pair of words does not appear together in Tanach (hon appears, to'afot appears, but not the phrase) - and its meaning is something lofty and immense. Thus, the verse encompasses both the lowest and the highest points.
The Malbim notes: This speaks of the perception of the nations. A gentile perceives the Divine through nature - from the fact that Hashem created the earth, the mountains, and the seas. He recognizes the Creator through His universal deeds, seeing that Hashem established the earth with great wisdom, and through this he also acknowledges that He sustains creation and that continuous existence derives from Him, blessed be He - but all according to the laws of nature, entirely detached from human deeds. No secular investigation has ever discovered a connection between our actions and the governance of nature; that an earthquake, or the falling or withholding of rain, depends on the deeds of human beings - for that, faith in Hashem, may He be blessed, is required, and this the gentile does not grasp.
Nevertheless, that the world was created with wisdom - this even a gentile can grasp. Today, there is not a single serious scientist who believes that the world created itself. When Einstein was told that certain things might happen randomly, he replied: God does not play dice. There is no rolling of dice and saying "let us see what turns up" - everything is designed. Whoever investigates a little and delves deeply, whoever examines DNA, the complexity of the brain, and countless other marvels, arrives at the conclusion that Someone created this with design and wondrous wisdom. This, even a gentile can comprehend. But to understand that the flow of worldly fortune for good or for bad depends on our actions - this, says the Malbim, a gentile certainly does not grasp.
And this is the precise wording: "In whose hand are the depths of the earth" - in His hand, in His power, and not in ours. Yet we, as the people of Israel, know that everything is in our hands, as it says, "You placed everything under his feet." Man can guide the entire creation through his good deeds, or ruin and destroy it through his evil deeds. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Take heed that you do not ruin My world - if you commit evil deeds, you destroy the world and bring forth harmful influence; but if you perform good deeds, you bring benevolent bounty into the world.
"And the heights of the mountains are His" - the mountains were formed by Him, with no connection to man. The Malbim explains that the earth changed after the initial creation in that mountains were formed upon it; that is, they came into being after the initial creation, and nevertheless, this did not occur through the earth's own power or will, but from Him, blessed be He, alone. The Holy One, blessed be He, established laws of nature, including that the earth would have mountains and specific influences. In the perspective of the nations, even an earthquake is simply part of natural law, completely divorced from human conduct. Likewise, "Whose is the sea, and He made it, and His hands formed the dry land" - all the workings of the sea stem from what Hashem made, not from our deeds. And if one should ask: What about a tsunami, or when the Holy One, blessed be He, flooded a third of the world with a massive wave in the generation of Enosh? A gentile will explain that, too, through nature: geological shifts, continental shelves, the Great Rift Valley. Everything is nature. That the earth should tremble and quake beneath our feet on account of our actions - this he cannot comprehend at all. From his point of view, whether we are righteous or wicked, nothing in nature changes.
The Radak explains that after detailing the matters of the earth, the verse distinguishes within the earth itself between sea and dry land: "Whose is the sea" - everything is in His hand and under His authority. And what is meant by "and He made it [vehu asahu]"? In the sense of arranging and preparing it, as in the phrase "and she shall pare [ve'asetah] her nails" - meaning she tended to her nails. For the sea was already created initially, as it is written, "and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters"; rather, at a certain point, the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded, "Let the waters gather into one place," and concentrated it together. This is "made it" - He arranged it, gathering the water into one place, thereby revealing the dry land upon which plants would grow and humans and animals would live. And since it is in the power of the Holy One, blessed be He, to do all this, the Radak connects this theme to the Redemption: it is in Hashem's hand to do whatever He wills; by His will He placed us among the nations, and by His kindness He will redeem us and bring us out from among them - for everything is His: "Whose is the sea, and He made it, and His hands formed the dry land."
Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah - The Cohesive Form and the Non-Cohesive Form
The Malbim notes a precise distinction: regarding the sea, it says "He made it [asahu]," while regarding the dry land, it says "He formed it [yatzaru]." There are three stages in bringing something into actual existence: Beriah (creation), Yetzirah (formation), and Asiyah (making/completion). Beriah always denotes creation yesh me'ayin, something from nothing - "In the beginning God created [bara]" - bringing the essence of a thing from nonexistence into being, originating an entity that never previously existed in the world, like the primordial matter (chomer hayuli) from which everything was formed. Yetzirah and Asiyah, by contrast, involve fashioning from pre-existing matter. The distinction between them is this: Yetzirah is imbuing matter with a cohesive form, whereas Asiyah is the final completion of the thing and imbuing it with a non-cohesive form.
And what is a cohesive form? The Malbim gives an example: metal. If you melt iron, it liquefies and separates, but the moment you remove the heat, it hardens and naturally bonds back together. In its nature, it forms a single mass - this is a cohesive form, and wood is similar. A non-cohesive form, on the other hand, is something that if separated will not naturally fuse back together: water. Separate water into drops, and they will not spontaneously unite on their own. The sea is composed of detached particles, and its aggregation in one place runs contrary to its intrinsic nature. Naturally, water disperses rather than gathers; what holds it together is solely the word of Hashem. Had the Holy One, blessed be He, not commanded the sea to stay concentrated in its place, water would cover the entire globe. He is the One Who set a boundary for the sea and decreed its limit; He Who said to His world "Enough!" said "Enough!" to the sea, arresting its spread. Therefore, the sea corresponds to the aspect of Asiyah - "and He made it" - whereas the dry land, which is a single cohesive mass that bonds on its own and does not separate unless the sea surges and floods it, corresponds to the aspect of Yetzirah - "and His hands formed the dry land."
"Come, Let Us Prostrate Ourselves and Bow Down" - Our Recognition
בֹּאוּ נִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנִכְרָעָה נִבְרְכָה לִפְנֵי־יְהֹוָה עֹשֵׂנוּ׃ - "Come, let us prostrate ourselves and bow down; let us bend the knee before Hashem our Maker."
The Radak explains that at the time of the Redemption, people will say to one another: Come, let us prostrate ourselves and bow down - we must give thanks to Hashem and bow before Him. Hishtachavayah (prostration) means spreading the entire body flat on the ground, stretching out one's hands and feet. Anyone who has visited Rabbenu and seen those prostrating at the resting place, lying completely flat on the ground with their faces downward, hands stretched forward and legs back - that is hishtachavayah. "Let us bow down [nichra'ah]," the Radak explains, refers to bowing the head along with part of the upper body, in the manner we bow during the blessings. And "let us bend the knee [nivrechah]," the Malbim explains, refers to dropping down onto one's actual knees, as is customary in many communities on Yom Kippur, when worshippers drop to their knees and bow their entire bodies. Nivrechah is related to birkayim (knees), as in "And he made the camels kneel [vayavrech]" - anyone who has seen a camel kneel down sees how it bends its knees, descends onto them, and settles. Any action performed upon the knees is called berechah.
And what is the meaning of "our Maker [osenu]"? The Radak explains: He Who elevates us and exalts us, in the sense of the verse, "[Hashem] Who made Moshe and Aharon" - for Hashem created all of us, but regarding Moshe and Aharon the meaning is that He exalted them and elevated their stature. So too here: before Hashem, Who elevates us and raises us up.
The Malbim emphasizes here the difference between the nations and ourselves: the nations recognize Hashem through "In whose hand are the depths of the earth," "the heights of the mountains are His," "Whose is the sea, and He made it" - that is, through the wonders of nature, and for this they offer praise. We, too, recognize Him through these universal acts just as the nations do, but we have a distinct advantage: "Come, let us prostrate ourselves and bow down before Hashem our Maker" - not merely because He created universal reality, but because He is our Maker, our Maker in an intimate, personal way. He formed us as a people unto Himself, and we perceive Him through the unique kindnesses He bestowed upon us, as "He has not dealt so with any nation." Therefore, we are obligated to give thanks far more than the other nations, for "you are children to Hashem your God." Our relationship with Hashem stems from His choosing us at the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, where we heard "I am Hashem your God" and "You shall have no other gods" directly from the Almighty; all of us became prophets at that revelation and received spiritual crowns. This is "our Maker" - He forged us uniquely into His people, and from that bond we know Him. And this is an awareness incomparably greater than an awareness drawn from the physical world alone.
"For He Is Our God" - A Relationship Dependent on Choice
כִּי־הוּא אֱלֹהֵינוּ וַאֲנַחְנוּ עַם מַרְעִיתוֹ וְצֹאן יָדוֹ הַיּוֹם אִם־בְּקֹלוֹ תִשְׁמָעוּ׃ - For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the flock of His hand; today, if you would only heed His voice.
Radak explains "our God" (Elokeinu) in the sense of Elohim as a judge: The Holy One, blessed be He, judges us and exacts justice from the nations that persecuted us. We have already noted that we are beginning to see with our own eyes the judgment Hashem is exacting from the nations - Russia is paying the price for seventy years of communism, the suppression of Judaism, and the persecution of any Jewish manifestation for decades. To this day, it refuses to release the largest collection of books belonging to the Chabad Rebbes, thousands of rare and unique volumes that were nationalized and seized. Even though a court ruled that they must return them, they remain unyielding. To them, this is a cultural treasure worth a fortune; just as a museum holding the Mona Lisa would not sell it because it is part of the nation's cultural heritage - that is how they view it.
"And we are the people of His pasture" - the nation that Hashem shepherds to this day. "And the flock of His hand" - that He guides us with the staff of faith, and we are His flock. "Today, if you would only heed His voice" - today He acquired us from the house of bondage, we became the flock of His hand and He became our God; therefore, do not act like your ancestors, the generation of the wilderness, who, immediately after He redeemed them, began to test the Holy One, blessed be He, at Rephidim. This is the warning in the next verse: do not be a stiff-necked people like your ancestors, but conduct yourselves with Hashem in the way of faith.
The Malbim explains: We perceive the Holy One, blessed be He, not merely from the aspect that He is "Hashem" - a Name indicating the Creator of the world - but from the aspect that He is "our God," who guides us, the Deity uniquely associated with us; not through general creation, but through individual providence (hashgachah pratit) and a personal bond. Similarly, we relate to Him from the perspective that we are the people of His pasture and the flock of His hand, for Hashem shepherds us like a shepherd over his flock, showering us with goodness.
The Malbim adds another distinction: The Creator's relationship to creations generally does not depend on free will. The mere fact that man was created by Him and possesses a portion of God from Above - "in Whose hand are the depths of the earth" - Hashem willed it and created man, and this does not depend on us. By contrast, Hashem's relationship and connection with His people depends on their choice and is renewed according to their actions. The more a person serves Hashem, the stronger his bond with Him becomes, to the point that he can even attain levels of prophecy. You were created through His will - but how connected you are to Him depends on you. Therefore it says, "Today, if you would only heed His voice": this changes from day to day; on any day that you listen to His voice, He becomes more "our God" and we become more "the people of His pasture." With the nations of the world this is not so - "in Whose hand are the depths of the earth," He willed and created them, and that was that; it does not depend on their connection to Him.
The Malbim makes another precise observation: Grammatically, it would have been more fitting to say "the people of His hand and the flock of His pasture," since a king rules over a people with his hand and a shepherd grazes his flock. Why then did the verse switch the pairings? To teach you that Hashem rules over us as one who shepherds us, not by force and not with a heavy hand - "He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture," meaning we are the people whom the Holy One, blessed be He, rules and shepherds without coercion. On the other hand, He shepherds us from the standpoint that He is all-powerful, which is to say, above nature. "Our God" represents the providence unique to us, supernatural guidance, rather than the natural order by which the nations are governed.
"Today" - Only Today Is Asked of You
The book Shirat Yonah cites in the name of Imrot Tehorot: The struggle against the evil inclination is usually difficult because a person places all the tests and difficulties before himself all at once, and then he despairs and breaks. He says: Look at how much work there is, how much effort is required, what I have to overcome - his knees buckle and he gives up entirely. But if he were sensible, he would understand the words of the Chafetz Chaim and Rav Yisrael Salanter: a person has only one day, and a person has only one page. What is asked of me is only right now, what has been placed before you at this moment. Do not look at the future - if you do, you will break.
It is like someone entering Yom Kippur who begins flipping through the machzor from the left - "the heart of a fool is to his left" - saying: Look how many prayers there still are until Neilah, this is going to be so long. Do not flip ahead. What is happening right now? Right now is Shemoneh Esrei - how long is that? Ten minutes. Right now is Selichot - how long is that? Half an hour. Look only at what is in front of you right now. Similarly, one who looks at the entire Shas and says, "What, should I start Daf Yomi? Do you know how many pages that is?" falls into despair. But the wise person, as the Midrash says, declares: Today I will learn a little, tomorrow I will learn a little, the next day I will learn a little, and "he that gathers little by little shall increase." Even a long journey begins with a single step, and you are only asked to take this step, and then only the next. This is "Today, if you would only heed His voice": Do you wish to listen to the voice of Hashem? Understand that you only need to accomplish today, and that way, each day will be easier for you.
Mashiach at the Gates of Rome
The Gemara relates that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi found Eliyahu HaNavi standing at the entrance to the cave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. He asked him: When will Mashiach come? This is the ultimate question - indeed, someone once asked Rav Chaim Kanievsky when Mashiach would arrive, and he replied: When he comes, they will let you know. In any event, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked Eliyahu, who is the herald of the Redemption, assuming that he had advance updates. Eliyahu replied: Go and ask him yourself. He asked: Where is he? He told him: At the entrance to the city of Rome. He asked: And how will I recognize him, for does he not look like an ordinary person? He told him: He sits among the poor who suffer from ailments and afflictions, the lepers; everyone unties all their bandages at once and then ties new ones, but he unties one and ties one - so that he will be immediately ready to redeem Israel, so that he would never have to say, God forbid: Master of the Universe, just give me fifteen minutes until I finish wrapping the bandages. In reality, it is understood that this is an allegorical description.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi went to him and said: Peace be upon you, my master and teacher. He replied: Peace be upon you, son of Levi. He asked him: When is the master coming? He said: Today. He returned to Eliyahu and recounted what he had said. Eliyahu told him: He has assured you and your father of a share in the World to Come - were you not complete tzaddikim, he would not have greeted you with peace nor mentioned your father's name; fortunate is the one who greeted him and received a greeting in return, and since he mentioned both of you, you are designated for the life of the World to Come. He said to him: But he lied to me! He told me he was coming today, and the day has passed and he has not come. Eliyahu said to him: You did not understand. "Today" means "Today, if you would only heed His voice." He did not mean he was definitely coming today; rather, he quoted a verse to you: I am already available, I have already tied my bandages, and if you are ready - I am coming. In other words, if Israel repents, they are redeemed immediately.
The Massacres of Tach v'Tat and "This Is the Day Hashem Has Made"
It is related that in the year 5408 (Tach), following the horrific massacres commanded by Chmielnicki and his cohorts in which thousands of Jews were murdered - and now his descendants and comrades are receiving retribution for what they did, for Chmielnicki is considered a national hero in Ukraine, with monuments and songs of praise honoring him as a great commander - the Torah leaders of that generation said that the redemption was near. They found an allusion to this in the verse, "With this (bezot) shall Aharon enter the Sanctuary" (Vayikra 16:3), where the numerical value of "zot" (זאת) is 408 (Tach). This was also hinted at by the two enlarged letters in Megillat Esther: an enlarged Tav in "vatichtov Esther" and an enlarged Chet in "chur karpas utchelet" - an allusion to the tragedy of the year Tach. And as is known, the tragedy of the Holocaust is alluded to there in the ten sons of Haman, and it has been explained at length how the execution of those ten defendants at the Nuremberg Trials is hinted at there.
When Mashiach did not arrive, the author of the Siftei Kohen, the Shach, penned a public proclamation to encourage the people, as a certain despair had set in: signs had been found indicating that it was supposed to happen, yet it did not. In truth, in every generation there are such signs, and in every generation the Torah leaders take care to cool expectations, lest people rely on them and subsequently fall into heartbreak and despair. For example: "The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my soul shall be sated upon them; I will draw my sword" (Shemot 15:9) - the initial letters of these words spell out Tashna (5751); people said at the time that Mashiach was destined to arrive in the year 5751. "The harvest has passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved" (Yirmeyahu 8:20), and here we are in 5782. From this we see that one must understand these calculations as representing auspicious times for redemption. As explained in the lessons on Sefer Daniel, in the final lesson detailing all the auspicious times for redemption and the interpretations of "a time, times, and half a time" offered by the sages of the generations and the Zohar, all those times passed and we have still not been redeemed. The striking reality is that during those very times fitting for redemption, great tribulations took place instead. Because we did not prepare ourselves and were not worthy, the potential inverted, and instead of the divine bounty designated from Heaven, troubles came. So it was in the year of "bezot."
And so wrote the Shach: "From Hashem this came to be; it is wondrous in our eyes" (Tehillim 118:23) - the year of "zot" was auspicious for redemption, so why ultimately did Mashiach not come? "It is wondrous [concealed] in our eyes." Rather, the impediment depends upon us, as alluded to in the subsequent verses: "This is the day Hashem has made; let us exult and rejoice in it." What is missing for the redemption? "This is the day" - that is, "Today, if you will listen to His voice." If today you listen to His voice, then "This is the day Hashem has made; let us exult and rejoice in it." Since that did not happen, it resulted in "From Hashem this came to be; it is wondrous in our eyes." Let us repent and become worthy of redemption.
"Do Not Harden Your Hearts" - What Is Hardness of Heart?
אַל־תַּקְשׁוּ לְבַבְכֶם כִּמְרִיבָה כְּיוֹם מַסָּה בַּמִּדְבָּר׃ - Do not harden your heart as at Merivah, as on the day of Massah in the wilderness.
Radak explains: Do not harden your hearts as your ancestors did. The place was named Massah and Merivah because the Jewish people quarreled with Hashem and tested Him: "because of their testing Hashem, saying: Is Hashem in our midst or not?" (Shemot 17:7). That is to say: Do not question Hashem your God as the wilderness generation questioned at the waters of Merivah.
The Malbim explains: Since He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the flock of His hand, it is fitting that you do not harden your heart. Hashem did not reveal Himself to the nations, and they did not merit divine abundance; therefore, when they harden their hearts, it is not considered hardness of heart at all. It is like someone whom you never invited: you are not aggrieved that he did not show up, and you do not label him stiff-necked, for you never called him. But if you called someone and he refused to come, he is indeed termed stiff-necked. Hashem did not reveal Himself to the nations through signs and wonders, nor does He communicate with them; therefore, they are not called stiff-necked. But we, who know Hashem, and yet do not draw close to Him and do not heed His voice - this is true hardness of heart.
And what is hardness of heart? It occurs when a person witnesses the deeds and wonders of Hashem and hardens his heart against them, in the sense of "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart" (Shemot 7:3) - seeing signs and wonders, yet hardening his heart. You saw all of Hashem's deeds with your own eyes, and will you still not draw close to Him, blessed be He? That is the essence of hardness of heart. So it was at the waters of Merivah and on the day of Massah in the wilderness, as it is said: "For all the men who saw My glory and My signs... and have tested Me these ten times, and have not listened to My voice, shall surely not see the land" (Bamidbar 14:22-23). That was the grievance: you saw My glory, you saw My signs, so why do you test Hashem?
"Tested Me" and "Tried Me" - Two Stages of Denial
אֲשֶׁר נִסּוּנִי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם בְּחָנוּנִי גַּם־רָאוּ פׇעֳלִי׃ - Where your ancestors tested Me, tried Me, though they saw My work.
How many times did your ancestors test Me, even though they saw My deeds: I split the sea for them, I brought down the manna for them, I brought forth water for them from the flinty rock - and nevertheless they continued and tested Hashem. This is the meaning of "they tried Me, though they saw My work": they tested Me even though they had already seen My work. What reason remained for you to doubt and question, when you had already seen it with your own eyes?
The Malbim notes the precise distinction between po'al (ongoing activity) and ma'aseh (completed action), as he has explained elsewhere: po'al refers to the ongoing engagement in something while it is happening, whereas ma'aseh refers to the finished result. Po'al implies an ongoing action in the present; 'asah denotes something already completed. "They saw My work [pa'oli]" means that they saw how I was continually occupied with their needs: the Clouds of Glory accompanied them at all times, the manna fell constantly, the well traveled with them continually. This was not a past deed, like the creation of heaven and earth which was brought into being and concluded, but a daily renewal. This is also the meaning of "they do not regard the work [po'al] of Hashem" - the things you see day by day, the ongoing daily renewal, come from Hashem. They should have contemplated this, yet they still tested and probed.
And what is the difference between "they tested Me [nissuni]" and "they probed Me [bechanuni]"? The Malbim explains: to examine (livchon) something means to check whether it fulfills its intended purpose, whether it is capable of doing what it is supposed to do. To test (lenassot) something means to check whether it possesses new capabilities, whether it can also do additional things. At first, "they tested Me" - they thought the matter was beyond Hashem's ability, so it was in the category of a test: Does He have the power to do this? And after they saw that He indeed had the power, it became "they probed Me": they knew He had the power, but they said, let us see if He will also do this, and do that. As the verse says, "Can He also give bread? Can He provide meat for His people?" Each time they introduced another test, even though they already knew He had the power to grant them whatever He willed, yet they still probed Me.
"For forty years I quarreled with a generation"
אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה אָקוּט בְּדוֹר וָאֹמַר עַם תֹּעֵי לֵבָב הֵם וְהֵם לֹא־יָדְעוּ דְרָכָי׃ - For forty years I quarreled with a generation, and I said: They are a people of erring hearts, and they have not known My ways.
Rashi explains: I contended with them, I fought with them, related to the expression "My soul is weary of my life" (naketah nafshi bechayai) - I battled against them for forty years to bring about their death in the wilderness, for I said, they are a people of erring hearts. According to this, "akut bedor" means that I contended with the generation of the wilderness for forty years. "And I said: They are a people of erring hearts" - the Radak explains: their hearts turned to rebellion and they did not believe in Me; "and they have not known My ways" - they did not recognize all the miracles I performed for them, and they still feared entering the Land, suspecting perhaps that it was beyond My power and that I was unable.
Ibn Ezra explains that akut is similar to "and I loathed them" (ve-akutah vam) and "my soul is weary of my life," not in the sense of quarreling, but in the sense of My soul being revolted, My soul rejecting them. He explains that this refers to those forty years during which we find no prophecy granted to Moshe in the wilderness: we see prophecies during the Exodus from Egypt in the first year, and we see prophecy at the end before entering the Land, but throughout all the intervening years we find no prophecies. Chazal teach that this was the period when Israel was not deemed worthy, and therefore divine communication was withheld from Moshe for thirty-eight years - meaning communication on behalf of the nation, prophecies for their sake; learning Torah directly from Hashem continued as before. Only the communication with the Holy One, blessed be He, for the sake of the people was absent during those years. This is the meaning of "For forty years I was disgusted with a generation," as in My soul loathed them, "for they have not known My ways," echoing Moshe Rabbeinu's words, "Yet Hashem did not give you a heart to know" - they did not recognize the ways of Hashem, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, did not transmit messages to Moshe Rabbeinu on their behalf.
"That they should not enter My resting place"
אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי בְאַפִּי אִם־יְבֹאוּן אֶל־מְנוּחָתִי׃ - So that I swore in My wrath: They shall not enter into My rest.
The Radak explains: Although I contended and struggled with this people for forty years, that generation was the very generation regarding whom I swore in My wrath that they would not enter My rest. With this generation, upon whom I decreed that they would not enter the Land, I walked for forty years in the wilderness and contended with them, saying of them that they are a people of erring hearts - as Scripture states: "And I led you forty years in the wilderness; your garments did not wear out... so that you might know," and "Yet Hashem did not give you a heart to know, or eyes to see, or ears to hear, until this day." "Erring hearts" describes people who do not follow what they see with their own eyes, whose hearts stray after what is false and untrue. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: all My contention with them throughout those forty years did not succeed in correcting their ways.
"So that I swore in My wrath" - I swore in My anger that they would not enter the Land of Israel and Jerusalem, which are called "rest," as it is said, "This is My rest forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it." On this account I was enraged at them and declared that they would not enter My resting place - this refers to the Land of Israel, "to the rest and to the inheritance," where Israel found rest. And "My rest" means the rest that I grant them, much like the expression "and I will gladden them in My house of prayer" - the prayer that they offer before Me. And what is the meaning of "if they shall enter" (im yevo'un)? The Radak explains that this is the phrasing of an oath, in the manner of someone taking a vow with a condition: if such and such happens, I will do so and so. Similarly, "they shall not see [im yir'u] the land that I swore to their fathers," and "I will not lie [im akhazev] to David." Here too: I swore that because they acted in this way, they would not enter into My rest.
In conclusion:
In this section of the psalm, the Malbim clarifies the fundamental difference between two forms of recognition: the nations of the world recognize the Creator solely through nature - "in Whose hand are the depths of the earth," "the heights of the mountains are His," "to Whom belongs the sea, and He made it" - a recognition of general acts and the preservation of creation according to the laws of nature, entirely independent of human deeds. We, on the other hand, prostrate and bless "before Hashem our Maker," out of individual providence and an intimate personal relationship: "For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the flock of His hand" - a bond that is not fixed in advance, but is renewed according to our deeds and our choices: "Today, if you will listen to His voice." From this stems the warning not to harden the heart like the generation of the wilderness, who saw the ongoing workings of Hashem every single day yet still tested and probed, and concerning whom Hashem swore in His wrath that they would not enter His rest. The lesson is that the "today" belongs to us: only today is demanded of you, only this single step, and "he who gathers little by little shall increase" - and upon that very "today," our redemption depends.