Midras Mazmur 119:90: Midrash Tanchuma Buber & Midrash Tehillim

[(Exod. 29:1): AND THIS IS THE THING….] This text is related (to Ps. 119:89): FOREVER, O LORD, DOES YOUR WORD STAND FIRM IN THE HEAVENS.³⁵Tanh., Exod. 8:12; Exod. R. 38:6. R. Berekhyah the Priest said: From time immemorial you have treated us with the measure of mercy.³⁶Cf. PR 40:2. When? When our father Abraham was cast into the fiery furnace, the angels quarreled with each other.³⁷Exod. R. 18:5. Michael said: I am going down to rescue him,³⁸Cf. Gen. R. 44:13. but Gabriel said: I am going down and rescue him.³⁹Pes. 118a. The Holy One said: I am going down in my glory to rescue him, as stated (in Gen. 15:7): I AM THE LORD WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT FROM UR OF THE CHALDEES…. He said to them (the angels): You shall rescue his children's children. When Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah descended into the fiery furnace, the angel went down to rescue them.⁴⁰See Deut. R. 1:12; cf. Pes. 118ab; PR 35:2; M. Pss. 117:3, according to which the angel was Gabriel. Then the angels said (in Ps. 119:89–90): FOREVER, O LORD, DOES YOUR WORD STAND FIRM IN THE HEAVENS…. YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED THE EARTH AND IT STANDS FIRM. You are the foundation of the world.

Another interpretation (of Ps. 119:90): AND YOU STAND FIRM.⁴¹Here the midrash assumes this alternate translation of the verse. You stand firm by your word. By which word? By the word which you spoke to Aaron, that you would establish⁴²NTBSSH. On this reading, see above, note 32. the priesthood by his hand.

"The word of God stands firm in the heavens forever. Isaiah said (Isaiah 40:8), 'The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.' Similarly, David said (Psalm 89:3), 'Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.' And why is it standing firm without change, not based on one witness or two, but every supreme court appoints it? And so it says (Psalm 89:8), 'O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you?' And so Daniel says (Daniel 4:14), 'According to the decree of the watchers, the sentence is announced, and the decision of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.' And it says (Daniel 2:28), 'But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.' And why does it say 'and a great army'? They said that a great army is appointed over it. Therefore it says (Daniel 4:31), 'The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.' Job said (Job 23:13), 'But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does.' They said to Micah, 'What have you seen?' He said (1 Kings 22:19-20), 'I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him.' " And the Lord said, "Who will entice [him]...?" (2 Samuel 24:1). And one [commentator] says this [means] one thing, and another [commentator] says [it means] another thing. But they all agree upon it. Therefore it is said: "Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in heaven" (Psalms 119:89). What is the meaning of "Your word stands firm in heaven"? What is this thing that stands firm in heaven? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Upon what do the heavens stand? Upon that which I said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters,' and it was so" (Genesis 1:6-7). And it is written, "For He spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it stood" (Psalms 33:9). That very thing which He said, He made. Therefore it is said (Psalms 148:5), "He commanded, and they were created." In the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and in that very thing with which He created them, they stand forever. Therefore it is said, "Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in heaven" (Psalms 119:89). "Your faithfulness endures to all generations" (ibid. v. 90). The heavens and the earth stand [firm] based on faith, as it is said (ibid. 89:3), "The world stands firm with Your kindness." And likewise it says (Proverbs 20:9), "Who can say, 'I have purified my heart, I have cleansed myself from my sins'?" And (Job 15:15), "Behold, He does not trust in His holy ones; even the heavens are not pure in His eyes." And who can escape, as everything stands in judgment. Therefore it is said (Micah 1:3), "For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place, and He will descend and tread on the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will split open like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep slope" (Micah 1:3-4).