Rabbi Roodyn

ה) הָרִים כַּדּוֹנַג נָמַסּוּ מִלִּפְנֵי ה’ מִלִּפְנֵי אֲדוֹן כָּל הָאָרֶץ:

Mountains melted like wax from before Hashem, from before the Master of all the earth.

The Radak explains that the mountains are an allegory to the kings of the nations of the world. They appear vast and mighty and insurmountable. But when Hashem reveals the truth of His existence to the nations, they will melt like wax in front of a fire and will disappear into a puddle.

The Malbim explains this pasuk in light of the themes of the verses that have proceeded it. The flashes of lightning are the agents of Hashem’s hashgacha and emanate from the heavens and reach the peaks of the mountains. The mountains ‘melt’ from this ‘fire’ and everyone will recognise that it is purely from Hashem and not from any other power.

Hashem is also referred to as the ‘Master of all the earth’ perhaps to emphasise the point that there are no other powers in the universe apart from Him. Historically there have been other belief systems that ascribe power to natural forces. The Malbim here makes reference to the בעלי צאב”א, the Sabeans who are discussed at length in the Rambam’s Moreh Nevuchim. They believed in spirits and man’s power to direct the influences of the heavens through talismans and charms and the like. Each natural force has a specific deity resulting in a world view that contains a pantheon of gods, each one with their own defined and limited power, that they seek to influence.

That is why the pasuk concludes by referring to Hashem as the Master of the whole earth, to reinforce our belief in One power that controls the entire universe.