Rabbi Roodyn

Chapter 98

א) מִזְמוֹר שִׁירוּ לַה’ שִׁיר חָדָשׁ כִּי נִפְלָאוֹת עָשָׂה הוֹשִׁיעָה לּוֹ יְמִינוֹ וּזְרוֹעַ קָדְשׁוֹ:

A song. Sing to the Lord a new song, for He performed wonders; His right hand and His holy arm have saved Him.

The Malbim explains that now the psalmist starts to talk about how Hashem will run the world in a supernatural fashion, with no intermediaries, totally bypassing the laws of nature. The new song that will be sung will be testimony to these wonders that He will perform.

He elaborates on this idea by saying that when referring to the laws of nature we refer to Hashem’s ‘left hand’ and when we refer to things that are above nature we refer to His ‘right hand’. Even within this there are different levels, as sometimes Hashem will deal with people in a fashion that is beyond the laws of nature because they deserve it, and sometimes He will do so even if they do not.

With this introduction he explains the metaphors at the end of this pasuk. The term yemino is used when He runs the world beyond the laws of nature in accordance with people’s merits. However when He does so even though mankind is not deserving of it. the term zero’oh is used.