6 For Jehovah is high; but he looketh upon the lowly, and the proud he knoweth afar off.
Who is like unto Jehovah our God, who hath placed his dwelling on high; Who humbleth himself to look on the heavens and on the earth?
And the people cried out, A god's voice and not a man's. And immediately an angel of [the] Lord smote him, because he did not give the glory to God, and he expired, eaten of worms.
But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened unto presumption, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom, and they took his glory from him; and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the Most High God ruleth over the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. And thou, Belshazzar, his son, hast not humbled thy heart, although thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of the heavens; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy nobles, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: then from before him was sent the part of the hand, and this writing hath been written.
Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a ùgod, I sit [in] the seat of God, in the heart of the seas, (and thou art a man, and not ùGod,) and thou settest thy heart as the heart of God: behold, thou art wiser than Daniel! nothing secret is obscure for thee; by thy wisdom and by thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures; by thy great wisdom thou hast by thy traffic increased thy riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast set thy heart as the heart of God, therefore behold, I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall tarnish thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of those that are slain in the heart of the seas. Wilt thou then say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and not ùGod, in the hand of him that pierceth thee.
Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich, he bringeth low, also he lifteth up: He raiseth up the poor out of the dust; from the dung-hill he lifteth up the needy, To set [him] among nobles; and he maketh them inherit a throne of glory; For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah's, and he hath set the world upon them.
Likewise [ye] younger, be subject to [the] elder, and all of you bind on humility towards one another; for God sets himself against [the] proud, but to [the] humble gives grace. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in [the due] time;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 138
Commentary on Psalms 138 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 138
Ps 138:1-8. David thanks God for His benefits, and anticipating a wider extension of God's glory by His means, assures himself of His continued presence and faithfulness.
1. I will praise thee with my whole heart—(Compare Ps 9:1).
before the gods—whether angels (Ps 8:5); or princes (Ex 21:6; Ps 82:6); or idols (Ps 97:7); denotes a readiness to worship the true God alone, and a contempt of all other objects of worship.
2. (Compare Ps 5:7).
thy word above all thy name—that is, God's promise (2Sa 7:12-16), sustained by His mercy and truth, exceeded all other manifestations of Himself as subject of praise.
3-5. That promise, as an answer to his prayers in distress, revived and strengthened his faith; and, as the basis of other revelations of the Messiah, it will be the occasion of praise by all who hear and receive it (Ps 68:29, 31; Isa 4:3).
5. for great is the glory—or, "when the glory shall be great," in God's fulfilling His purposes of redemption.
6, 7. On this general principle of God's government (Isa 2:11; 57:15; 66:2), he relies for God's favor in saving him, and overthrowing his enemies.
knoweth afar off—their ways and deserts (Ps 1:6).
8. God will fulfil His promise.