For though Yahweh is high, yet he looks after the lowly; but he knows the proud from afar.
Parallel Translations
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For though Yahweh is high, yet he looks after the lowly; but he knows the proud from afar.
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Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
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For though the LORD be high, yet regardeth He the lowly, and the haughty He knoweth from afar.
Cross-references (22)
Passages linked to Psalms 138:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 113:5-6 Who is like Yahweh, our God, who has his seat on high, Who stoops down to see in heaven and in the earth?
- 1 Samuel 2:7-8 Yahweh makes poor and makes rich. He brings low, he also lifts up. He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill to make them sit with princes and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s. He has set the world on them.
- Isaiah 57:15 For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
- Proverbs 3:34 Surely he mocks the mockers, but he gives grace to the humble.
- James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Isaiah 66:2 For my hand has made all these things, and so all these things came to be,” says Yahweh: “but I will look to this man, even to he who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.
- Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase.
- Luke 1:48 for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
- Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart.
- Isaiah 2:17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the arrogance of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day.
- Acts 12:22-23 The people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory. Then he was eaten by worms and died.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:9 who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
- 1 Peter 5:5-6 Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,
- Isaiah 2:11 The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the arrogance of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.
- Ezekiel 28:2-9 “Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas;’ yet you are man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God— behold, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden from you; by your wisdom and by your understanding you have gotten yourself riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasures; by your great wisdom and by your trading you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches—” “ ‘therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “Because you have set your heart as the heart of God, therefore, behold, I will bring strangers on you, the terrible of the nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom. They will defile your brightness. They will bring you down to the pit. You will die the death of those who are slain in the heart of the seas. Will you yet say before him who kills you, ‘I am God’? But you are man, and not God, in the hand of him who wounds you.
- Daniel 5:20-24 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the animals’, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the sky; until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. “You, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which don’t see, or hear, or know; and you have not glorified the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.
- Luke 1:51-53 He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.
- Job 40:11-12 Pour out the fury of your anger. Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low. Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the wicked in their place.
- Psalms 139:2 You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.
- Matthew 25:41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 6. Because Jehovah the exalted, etc. In this verse…
6. Because Jehovah the exalted, etc. In this verse he passes commendation upon God’s general government of the world. The thing of all others most necessary to be known is, that he is not indifferent to our safety; for though in words we are all ready to grant this, our disbelief of it is shown by the feat’ we betray upon the slightest appearance of danger, and we would not give way to such alarm if we had a solid persuasion of our being under his fatherly protection. Some read, Jehovah on high, that is, he sits on his heavenly throne governing the world; but I prefer considering, that there is an opposition intended — that the greatness of God does not prevent his having’ respect to the poor and humble ones of the earth. This is confirmed by what is stated in the second clause, That being highly exalted he recognises afar off, or from a distance. Some read גבה, gabah, in the accusative case, and this gives a meaning to the words which answers well to the context, That God does not honor the high and haughty by looking near to them — that he despises them — while, with regard to the poor and humble, who might seem to be at a great distance from him, he takes care of them, as if they were near to him. By some the verb ידע, yada, is rendered, to crush, and they take the meaning to be, that God, while he favors the lowly, treads down the mighty who glory in their prosperity. There is reason to doubt, however, whether any such refinement of meaning is to be attached to David’s words, and it is enough to conclude, that he here repeats the same sentiment formerly expressed, that God though highly exalted, takes notice of what might be thought to escape his observation. Thus we have seen, (Psalm 113:6,)
“The Lord dwelleth on high, yet he humbleth himself to behold both the things that are in heaven and on earth.”
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The meaning is, that though God’s glory is far above all heavens, the distance at which he is placed does not prevent his governing the world by his providence. God is highly exalted, but he sees after off, so that he needs not change place when he would condescend to take care of us. We on our part are poor and lowly, but our wretched condition is; no reason why God will not concern himself about us. While we view with admiration the immensity of his glory as raised above all heavens, we must not disbelieve his willingness to foster us under his fatherly care. The two things are, with great propriety, conjoined here by David, that, on the one hand, when we think of God’s majesty we should not be terrified into a forgetfulness of his goodness and benignity, nor, on the other, lose our reverence for his majesty in contemplating the condescension of his mercy. “Ne nons oste le goust de sa bonte, et benignite: d’autre part aussi afin que sa bonte par laquelle il daigne bien s’abbaisser jusques a nons, ne diminue rien de la reverence que nous devons a sa gloire.” — Fr.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Distance of place cannot hinder God to show mercy…
Distance of place cannot hinder God to show mercy to his, and to judge the wicked though they think that he is far off.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 138:6 Though the LORD [be] high, yet hath…
Psa 138:6 Though the LORD [be] high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
Ver. 6. Though the Lord be high, &c.] Even "the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity," Isa 57:15. See on Psa 113:6-7.
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Yet hath he respect unto the lowly] This maketh that ancient cry out, Videte magnum miraculum, See here a great miracle; God is on high; thou liftest thyself up, and he flieth from thee; thou bowest thyself down, and he descendeth unto thee (Aug. de Temp.). Low things he looketh close upon, that he may raise them higher; lofty things he knoweth afar off, that he may crush them down lower. The proud Pharisee pressed as near God as he could; the poor publican, not daring to do so, stood aloof off; yet was God far from the Pharisee, near to the publican. The Lord Christ is a door to heaven, but a low door; he who will enter in thereby, humiliet se oportet, ut sano capite intrare contingat, saith Austin, he must needs stoop to save his head piece.
But the proud he knoweth afar off] As not vouchsafing to come near such loathsome lepers. For pride is like a great swelling in the body, apt to putrefy, break, and run with loathsome and foul matter. Hence God stands off from such, as odious and abominable; be cannot abide the sight of them; Superbos a coelo longe propellit, as the Chaldee here paraphraseth, he driveth the proud far enough off from heaven, yea, he thrusteth them into hell, to their father Lucifer, that king of all the children of pride, as leviathan is called, Job 41:34.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Unto the lowly; unto such as are mean and…
Unto the lowly; unto such as are mean and obscure in the world; to me, a poor contemptible shepherd, whom he hath preferred before great princes, and to such as are little in their own eyes.
But the proud he knoweth afar off; but for the great men of the world, who are lifted up in pride, he looks upon them as they do upon others, with scorn and contempt, and at a great distance, as disdaining to admit them into his presence. But the words may be, and by divers interpreters are, rendered otherwise, And he who is high, or the lofty one from afar, (i.e. from his high and holy place, even the highest heavens, where he dwells, notwithstanding that distance,) doth know them, or will own them. So this is the repetition of the former sentence, as is very usual in this book. And this seems best to suit, as with the foregoing, so also with the following words, and thus all will be understood of one and the same sort of persons.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain David here comforts himself with three things: -
David here comforts himself with three things: -
I. The favour God bears to his humble people (Psa 138:6): Though the Lord be high, and neither needs any of his creatures nor can be benefited by them, yet has he respect unto the lowly, smiles upon them as well pleased with them, overlooks heaven and earth to cast a gracious look upon them (Isa 57:15; Isa 66:1), and, sooner or later, he will put honour upon them, while he knows the proud afar off, knows them, but disowns them and rejects them, how proudly soever they pretend to his favour. Dr. Hammond makes this to be the sum of that gospel which the kings of the earth shall hear and welcome - that penitent sinners shall be accepted of God, but the impenitent cast out; witness the instance of the Pharisee and the publican, Lu. 18.
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II. The care God takes of his afflicted oppressed people, Psa 138:7. David, though a great and good man, expects to walk in the midst of trouble, but encourages himself with hope, 1. That God would comfort him: "When my spirit is ready to sink and fail, thou shalt revive me, and make me easy and cheerful under my troubles." Divine consolations have enough in them to revive us even when we walk in the midst of troubles and are ready to die away for fear. 2. That he would protect him, and plead his cause: "Thou shalt stretch forth thy hand, though not against my enemies to destroy them, yet against the wrath of my enemies, to restrain that and set bounds to it." 3. That he would in due time work deliverance for him: Thy right hand shall save me. As he has one hand to stretch out against his enemies, so he has another to save his own people. Christ is the right hand of the Lord, that shall save all those who serve him.
III. The assurance we have that whatever good work God has begun in and for his people he will perform it (Psa 138:8): The Lord will perfect that which concerns me, 1. That which is most needful for me; and he knows best what is so. We are careful and cumbered about many things that do not concern us, but he knows what are the things that really are of consequence to us (Mat 6:32) and he will order them for the best. 2. That which we are most concerned about. Every good man is most concerned about his duty to God and his happiness in God, that the former may be faithfully done and the latter effectually secured; and if indeed these are the things that our hearts are most upon, and concerning which we are most solicitous, there is a good work begun in us, and he that has begun it will perfect it, we may be confident he will, Phi 1:6. Observe, (1.) What ground the psalmist builds this confidence upon: Thy mercy, O Lord! endures for ever. This he had made very much the matter of his praise (Psa 13:6), and therefore he could here with the more assurance make it the matter of his hope. For, if we give God the glory of his mercy, we may take to ourselves the comfort of it. Our hopes that we shall persevere must be founded, not upon our own strength, for that will fail us, but upon the mercy of God, for that will not fail. It is well pleaded, "Lord, thy mercy endures for ever; let me be for ever a monument of it." (2.) What use he makes of this confidence; it does not supersede, but quicken prayer; he turns his expectation into a petition: "Forsake not, do not let go, the work of thy own hands. Lord, I am the work of thy own hands, my soul is so, do not forsake me; my concerns are so, do not lay by thy care of them." Whatever good there is in us it is the work of God's own hands; he works in us both to will and to do; it will fail if he forsake it; but his glory, as Jehovah, a perfecting God, is so much concerned in the progress of it to the end that we may in faith pray, "Lord, do not forsake it." Whom he loves he loves to the end; and, as for God, his work is perfect.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Though the Lord be high,.... Above all the earth,…
Though the Lord be high,.... Above all the earth, and all the nations of it, and the highest of men in it; above the heavens, and the angels there, who are his creatures and at his command; above all the blessings and praises of his saints: the perfect knowledge of him is so high as not to be attained; and his thoughts and ways are higher than ours, as the heavens are higher than the earth; he is indeed the most High, higher than the highest; see Psa 113:4. According to Arama, here begins the song,
"the kings of the earth shall sing in the ways of the Lord?''
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yet hath he respect unto the lowly; for good, as the Targum; that are low in their own eyes, humbled under a sense of sin, convinced, of the insufficiency of their own righteousness to justify them, and made to submit to the righteousness of Christ; ascribe the whole of their salvation to the free grace of God; patiently and quietly bear every afflictive providence; think the worst of themselves, and the best of others; and, being the followers of the lowly Jesus, learn of him, imitate him, and become like unto him: these the Lord has a gracious respect unto; he looks upon them with a look of love; he has respect to their persons in Christ, and to their sacrifices for his sake, which are those of a broken and contrite heart; he regards their prayers, though low and destitute, and gives more grace unto them; yea, he condescends to dwell with them, and in due time highly exalts them; see Isa 57:15. David may have in view his own low state and condition as a shepherd, in which he was when the Lord took him, and raised him to the throne of Israel;
but the proud he knoweth afar off; the Targum adds,
"to destroy them:''
such who are proud of themselves and what they have; of their wisdom and knowledge, of their strength or beauty, of their wealth and riches; or of their righteousness and holiness; of the purity and goodness of their hearts, and power of their free will, they vainly think themselves possessed of; and despise others below them in these things, or the practice of them: these the Lord takes notice of, and looks upon them at a distance with scorn and contempt; nor will he admit them to nearness to him, nay, opposes himself to them, and sooner or later abases them; see Pro 3:34. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it, "high things he knoweth afar off"; things too high for creatures, that are out of their reach; he sees and knows all persons and things, whether in heaven or in earth. Others render them, "and the high One knoweth afar off" (u); knows the lowly, owns and acknowledges them for his own; takes care of them, provides for them, and protects them: and then the sense is the same with the preceding clause.
(u) So Pagninus; "quamvis", Junius & Tremellius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Though the Lord be high] Infinitely great…
Verse 6. Though the Lord be high] Infinitely great as God is, he regards even the lowest and most inconsiderable part of his creation; but the humble and afflicted man attracts his notice particularly.
But the proud he knoweth afar off.] He beholds them at a distance, and has them in utter derision.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 138:6. Though the Lord be high — And…
Psa 138:6. Though the Lord be high — And neither need any of his creatures, nor can be benefited by them. Yet hath he respect unto the lowly — Unto such as are mean and obscure in the world; to me, a poor contemptible shepherd, whom he hath preferred before great princes; and to such as are little in their own eyes. But the proud he knoweth afar off — But, as for the great men of the world, who are lifted up in pride, he looks upon them, as they do upon others, with scorn and contempt, and keeps them at a great distance, as disdaining to admit them into his presence.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Though the Lord be high - This might be…
Though the Lord be high - This might be rendered “For lofty is Yahweh - and the humble he sees - and the proud he knows from afar.” The idea is, that God - so high and exalted - sees and knows all of every rank among people. The mind of the psalmist had been impressed with a sense of the greatness and majesty of God, but (as if it might be said that one so great could not regard man, so humble and insignificant) he adds, that the fact of God’s exaltation does not prevent his noticing the affairs of people: that the lowly in life need not fear lest they should be overlooked; the proud need not hope that they will escape the notice of his eye.
Yet hath he respect unto the lowly - Those in humble life; the obscure; the unknown. It does not mean here that he has any special favor toward them, but merely that he sees them. Their low and obscure condition does not prevent his observing them, and they need have no fear that he will overlook them, or that they will be forgotten. Compare the notes at Jam 4:6; notes at 1Pe 5:5.
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But the proud - Those of lofty rank, and of lofty feelings; the haughty.
He knoweth afar off - From afar. Though he is exalted - though he is in heaven - yet he is not so far removed but that he sees them, and knows them altogether. Distance from him is no protection for them; nor can the wicked hope to escape notice from the fact that God reigns over distant worlds.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. See on Psa_113:5-6.
6. See on Psa_113:5-6.
Afar off—That is, though God is apparently “afar off,” in the highest heaven, yet he knoweth the proud, and taketh cognizance of all their thoughts and acts. See on “afar off,” Psa_139:2, and on this judicial knowing, Jer_29:23. It is opposed to his having respect to, or seeing with approbation, the “lowly” of the previous line.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. For though Jehovah is high, yet he seeth…
6. For though Jehovah is high, yet he seeth the lowly] Exalted as He is, Jehovah never loses sight of the lowly, and in due time raises them up (Exo_3:7; Isa_57:15; Isa_66:2; Psa_113:5 ff.): and the haughty he knoweth from afar; no distance hides them from His eye, and they cannot escape the punishment they deserve. Cp. Psa_94:7 ff.; Job_22:12 ff.; and for know see note on Psa_1:6.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) Knoweth afar off.—Or, recognises from afar. From His…
(6) Knoweth afar off.—Or, recognises from afar. From His exaltation Jehovah looks down alike on the lowly and on the proud, but it is to show a gracious interest in the former, while the latter are merely marked as persons to be kept at a distance. “Lowliness and humility are the court dress of God; he who wears them will please Him well.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect…
Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly. Notwithstanding all God"s glory and greatness, he condescends to look upon the lowly, to consider their needs, and to supply them. (comp. Isa_57:15) Hence David feels sure that he will not be overlooked (see vers. 7, 8). But the proud he knoweth afar off. God keeps proud men at a distance, does not draw near to them, much less make his abode with them, but leaves them to themselves until they are ripe for punishment.
The Divine regard for the lowly.
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"Lowliness and humility are the court-dress of God; he who wears them will please him well." "Respect unto." Bends down to look on them; draws them near to communion with him; gives them office and place beside him; entrusts them with honorable commissions for him. There is sharp contrast with God"s treatment of the proud. Them, too, he knoweth; but them he knoweth afar off; he keeps them at a distance; he has no intimacy with them, and could have no pleasure in their company. The proud man is the self-sufficient man, who is his own center. He does not want God, and would not know what to do with him if he had him. And there is no reason why God should want him, or trouble to find a place for one who does not want any place found for him.
I GOD HAS REGARD FOR THE LOWLY BECAUSE THEY WANT HIM. All good persons are fully responsive to frail, weak things, that are entirely dependent on them. See the mother with a sickly child; or the teacher with a backward but loving child. Lowliness is a noble quality. It must not be confused with timidity, or self-conscious humiliation. It is that kind of estimate a man has of himself, when he has set before himself a worthy standard. But what is here more especially in view is that lowliness is the consciousness of want; and, in its best form, the consciousness of want which only God can supply. The lowly man is "not sufficient of himself;" "his sufficiency is of God" It is of the very nature of God to be the "Friend of the friendless and the faint.
II GOD HAS REGARD FOR THE LOWLY BECAUSE HE WANTS THEM. God ever alone, in solitary and isolated grandeur, is a totally inconceivable idea. God is Love; and love wants somebody to love. And the lowly ones are precisely those whom God can love, whose love he can enjoy, and on whom his love can be wisely expended. Bonar has a striking hymn, beginning, "Thou needest me, even me.
III GOD HAS REGARD FOR THE LOWLY BECAUSE THEY ARE LIKE HIM. It may be difficult to recognize lowliness as an essential of the Divine character, but it is of the essence of goodness; and it is plain enough in God manifest in the flesh. Kinness in this brings man and Christ, man and God, into loving fellowship. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 6. Though the Lord be high. In greatness,…
Ver. 6. Though the Lord be high. In greatness, dignity, and power, Jehovah is higher than the highest. His nature is high above the comprehension of his creatures, and his glory even exceeds the loftiest soarings of imagination.
Yet hath he respect unto the lowly. He views them with pleasure, thinks of them with care, listens to their prayers, and protects them from evil. Because they think little of themselves he thinks much of them. They reverence him, and he respects them. They are low in their own esteem, and he makes them high in his esteem.
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But the proud he knoweth afar off. He does not need to come near them in order to discover their utter vanity: a glance from afar reveals to him their emptiness and offensiveness. He has no fellowship with them, but views them from a distance; he is not deceived, but knows the truth about them, despite their blustering; he has no respect unto them, but utterly abhors them. To a Cain's sacrifice, a Pharaoh's promise, a Rabshakeh's threat, and a Pharisee's prayer, the Lord has no respect. Nebuchadnezzar, when far off from God, cried, "Behold this great Babylon which I have builded"; but the Lord knew him, and sent him grazing with cattle. Proud men boast loudly of their culture and "the freedom of thought", and even dare to criticize their Maker: but he knows them from afar, and will keep them at arm's length in this life, and shut them up in hell in the next.
Ver. 6. Though the LORD be high. We have here God's transcendent greatness; he is the high Lord, or Jehovah: he is "the high and lofty One, who inhabits eternity, and who dwells in the high and lofty place, to which no man can approach." Who can think or speak of his highness in a suitable manner? It dazzles the eyes of sinful mortal worms to behold "the place where his honour dwells." Oh how infinite is the distance between him and us! "There are none of the sons of the mighty that can be compared unto him"; yea, "the inhabitants of the earth are before him but as the drop in the bucket, and the small dust in the balance." He is not only "high" above men, but above angels: cherubims and seraphims are his ministering spirits. He is "high" above the heavens; for "the heaven, yea, the heaven of heavens cannot contain him"; and he "humbleth himself" when "he beholds things that are in heaven." Oh, sirs, study to entertain high and admiring thoughts and apprehensions of the glorious majesty of God; for "honour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary." Ebenezer Erskine.
Ver. 6. The LORD hath respect unto the lowly. God has such a respect unto the lowly, not as if this frame of soul were meritorious of any good at his hand, but because,
1. This is a disposition that best serves God's great design of lifting up and glorifying his free grace. What think you, sirs, was God's design in election, in redemption, in the whole of the gospel dispensation, and in all the ordinances thereof? His grand design in all was to rear up a glorious high throne, from which he might display the riches of his free and sovereign grace; this is that which he will have magnified through eternity above all his other name. Now, this lowliness and humility of spirit suits best unto God's design of exalting the freedom of his grace. It is not the legalist, or proud Pharisee, but the poor humble publican, who is smiting on his breast, and crying, "God be merciful to me, a sinner", that submits to the revelation of grace.
2. God has such respect unto the humble soul because it is a fruit of the Spirit inhabiting the soul, and an evidence of the soul's union with the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone we are accepted.
3. This is a disposition that makes the soul like Christ; and the more alike that a person is to Christ, God loves him all the better. We are told that Christ was "meek and lowly"; "he did not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets"; though he was "the brightness of his Father's glory", yet he was content to appear "in the form of a servant"; though he was rich, yet he was content to become poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. Now, the humble soul, being the image of Christ, who is the express image of his Father, God cannot but have a regard unto him. Ebenezer Erskine.
Ver. 6. He hath respect unto the lowly. Give me the homely vessel of humility, which God shall preserve, and fill with the wine of his grace; rather than the varnished cup of pride, which he will dash in pieces, like a potter's vessel. Where humility is the corner stone, there glory shall be the top stone. William Seeker, in "The Nonsuch Professor in his Meridian Splendour", 1660.
Ver. 6. The proud he knoweth afar off. He that meets a spectacle or person which he cannot endure to look upon, avoids it, or turns from it while he is yet afar off; whereas, if the object be delightful, he draweth near and comes as close as he can. When therefore it is said, The Lord knoweth a proud man afar off, it shows his disdain of him: he will scarce touch him with a pair of tongs (as we say); he cannot abide to come near him. He knows well enough how vile he is even at the greatest distance. Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 6. The proud he knoweth afar off. By punishing them in hell. Richard Rolle, 1340.
Ver. 6. Divine inversions.
1. Lowliness honoured to its great surprise.
2. Pride passed by to its eternal mortification.
W.B.H.
Psalms 138:7*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect…
Psa_138:6
Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly.
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Gods greatness and condescension
I. What is here asserted respecting God. He is high, i.e. glorious, majestic, infinite in every excellent and glorious attribute.
II. The cheering declaration which accompanies this assertion. Yet hath He respect unto the lowly.
1. A character described.
(1) Possessed of a humble and contrite heart.
(2) Earnestly hungering and thirsting after righteousness.
(3) Coming to Christ for the blessings of salvation.
(4) Every Christian grace is connected with this lowliness.
(5) The Scriptures represent those who were most eminent for piety as wearing this grace: Job, Daniel, Paul.
2. The great God is here represented as manifesting peculiar favour to the lowly.
(1) Forgiving mercy.
(2) Introduction into His family.
(3) Grace.
(4) Glory. (John Pike.)
Humility
I. As it affects the judgments which we form of ourselves. Humility, as distinguished from meanness, and opposed to arrogance of mind, consists in forming a just and moderate opinion of our own endowments and merits. It disposes us to examine our character with impartiality--it suffers not self-love to magnify our good qualities--it contrasts our imperfections with our virtues--it compares our own excellencies and defects with those which are discernible in the characters of others, and permits us not to rise, in our own esteem, above the rank which we really possess among our brethren around us.
II. As it affects our conduct towards our brethren. To the low it condescends without degrading the character--to the high it pays its homage without assentation or servility. Founded on a moderate conception of our own ability, it disposes us to listen with respect to the opinions of others; arising from a just sense of our own imperfection, it teaches us to make allowance for their errors and defects. In its external manner it is placid and unassuming. It expresses itself by the mildness of its look and the gentleness of its language. It claims not--it expects not any extraordinary attention; its own importance is forgotten amidst its courtesy to others.
III. As it prepares us for discharging, in the most becoming manner, our duties to God. In the presence of that God whoso majesty fills the heavens and the earth the humble prostrate themselves on their native dust. Their own limited knowledge is annihilated in their esteem when they consider the height and the depth of the judgments of God; and their own imperfect goodness is lost to their view when they contemplate that diffusive bounty by which the universe is blest. Feeling and acknowledging the feebleness of their minds, they receive with gratitude the revelation of heaven. In their religious services there is no ostentation. Their employment is with God alone. It is to acknowledge His favours, of which they confess themselves unworthy; to bewail their transgressions, which they recollect with heartfelt sorrow; to adore the mercy which continues to regard them; to repeat the vows which they regret to have broken, or to bless the grace which has enabled them to perform it. (W. Moodie, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 138:6-8 The exalted God takes care of the humble…
138:6-8 The exalted God takes care of the humble (138:6), especially his servant the psalmist (138:7-8).
138:6 God’s holiness and excellence are great, beyond the scope of humanity (see 99:2; 113:4; Isa 6:1; 57:15).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.