Psa 135:5-12 | KingComments | STEP | From the depths of his heart, the righteous acknowledges in an emphatic personal confession, “I”, that “the LORD is great” ( ). This is, as it were, the echo of Jethro’s personal confession when he saw what the LORD had done to Israel ( ). He is absolute in His greatness. It is folly to make any comparison between Him and anyone or anything else. There is no one and nothing to compare Him to ( ; ). The gods that are there are dwarfed in His presence. The muslims cry ‘allahu akbar’ – meaning ‘allah is greater’ (than other gods) – but the psalmist exclaims “the LORD is great”. In the book of Isaiah, the LORD is called “the First and the Last” ( ), meaning that He is not only the greatest, but also the Only One, the only true God. There is no God outside of Him. He is the “Lord”, Adonai, the sovereign Ruler of the universe. This is how the righteous know Him, for they speak of “our Lord”. He is the absolute Ruler, Who can and does do whatever pleases Him ( ). He not only has a sovereign will, but also absolute power and might to carry out His will. Nor is there any area or territory that can escape His power. His sovereignty and power are unlimited. He does what pleases Him “in heaven and in the earth” and also “in the seas and in all the deeps” (cf. ). The “deeps” are the subterranean waters. That He is Lord over creation is a fact. That He is Lord over men is at present a choice. The believers acknowledge His lordship, the unbelievers do not, that is, not yet. For a day is coming “that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” ( ). The entire universe is created by Him and therefore subject to Him. Here it is not primarily about the LORD as Creator, but about His power over creation. It is about God’s eternal power and Divine nature, which have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made ( ). Knowing His eternal power and Divine nature should lead us to honor Him and give thanks to Him as God ( ). That is what the psalmist is doing here. His power is evident in causing vapors to ascend ( ). We speak of evaporating the water, but the psalmist teaches us here that God does it. The Canaanites believe that the Baal works this. In the future, man will believe that the beast can do anything ( ). The remnant, however, puts their trust in Him Who has said that to Him all authority in heaven and on earth has been given ( ). The psalmist is not speaking as a physicist, but as a believer who knows that everything that happens on earth comes from God, is worked by Him. In the same way, we speak of ‘it lightens’ and ‘it blows’, while here we read that God “makes lightnings for the rain” and “brings forth the wind from His treasuries” (cf. ). He is indeed incomparably great. We cry out with the writer of the song: ‘How great Thou art, how great Thou art!’

‏ Psalms 135:5-12

The LORD Is Great

From the depths of his heart, the righteous acknowledges in an emphatic personal confession, “I”, that “the LORD is great” (Psa 135:5). This is, as it were, the echo of Jethro’s personal confession when he saw what the LORD had done to Israel (Exo 18:11). He is absolute in His greatness. It is folly to make any comparison between Him and anyone or anything else. There is no one and nothing to compare Him to (Exo 15:11; Isa 40:18 ; 25). The gods that are there are dwarfed in His presence.

The muslims cry ‘allahu akbar’ – meaning ‘allah is greater’ (than other gods) – but the psalmist exclaims “the LORD is great”. In the book of Isaiah, the LORD is called “the First and the Last” (Isa 44:6), meaning that He is not only the greatest, but also the Only One, the only true God. There is no God outside of Him.

He is the “Lord”, Adonai, the sovereign Ruler of the universe. This is how the righteous know Him, for they speak of “our Lord”. He is the absolute Ruler, Who can and does do whatever pleases Him (Psa 135:6). He not only has a sovereign will, but also absolute power and might to carry out His will. Nor is there any area or territory that can escape His power. His sovereignty and power are unlimited. He does what pleases Him “in heaven and in the earth” and also “in the seas and in all the deeps” (cf. Jer 10:13 ; Jer 51:16). The “deeps” are the subterranean waters.

That He is Lord over creation is a fact. That He is Lord over men is at present a choice. The believers acknowledge His lordship, the unbelievers do not, that is, not yet. For a day is coming “that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10-11).

The entire universe is created by Him and therefore subject to Him. Here it is not primarily about the LORD as Creator, but about His power over creation. It is about God’s eternal power and Divine nature, which have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made (Rom 1:20). Knowing His eternal power and Divine nature should lead us to honor Him and give thanks to Him as God (Rom 1:21). That is what the psalmist is doing here.

His power is evident in causing vapors to ascend (Psa 135:7). We speak of evaporating the water, but the psalmist teaches us here that God does it. The Canaanites believe that the Baal works this. In the future, man will believe that the beast can do anything (Rev 13:4). The remnant, however, puts their trust in Him Who has said that to Him all authority in heaven and on earth has been given (Mt 28:18).

The psalmist is not speaking as a physicist, but as a believer who knows that everything that happens on earth comes from God, is worked by Him. In the same way, we speak of ‘it lightens’ and ‘it blows’, while here we read that God “makes lightnings for the rain” and “brings forth the wind from His treasuries” (cf. Job 38:22). He is indeed incomparably great. We cry out with the writer of the song: ‘How great Thou art, how great Thou art!’

God Redeems His People

God is not only great in His power over creation and nature, He is also great when He uses His power to redeem His people. That people He has chosen to be His people, that they may serve Him. The redemption of the remnant of Israel in the future is now described in the language of the redemption from Egypt.

The redemption from Egypt is a foreshadowing of the redemption to come. The redemption from Egypt focuses on the death of the firstborn (Psa 135:8), and from Psa 135:10 on the death of the hostile kings. The future redemption involves driving out the antichrist and defeating the kings of the nations.

In their deliverance from Egypt, God acted with great display of power. The greatest display of power is mentioned first, which is His power over life and death. For the deliverance of His people, He broke the power of the enemy by smiting “the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast” (Exo 11:5 ; Exo 12:29). It is the culmination of the ten plagues on Egypt, the culmination of the signs and wonders for God’s people. Egypt is struck to the heart by it.

He did have this supreme display of power precede by “signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt” (Psa 135:9; Psa 105:27-36). In the middle of his argument, the psalmist suddenly addresses Egypt, so involved is he in and impressed by what God has done. Pharaoh and all his servants have had to acknowledge the power of God in the signs and wonders done in their midst.

The Israelites owe their existence to the LORD’s deliverance from Egypt. That is why this is repeated again and again (cf. Psa 78:51; Neh 9:10). The believers of the New Testament dispensation realize that they owe their existence to the redemption by the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Therefore, their redemption is also spoken of with regularity (cf. Gal 2:20; Eph 1:7; Rev 1:5b).

After He delivered His people from the bondage of Egypt, He did not leave them to themselves. On their journey through the wilderness, He “smote many nations and slew mighty kings” (Psa 135:10; Deu 7:1) who sought to bar their way to the promised land.

The first redemption of Israel is their redemption from the power of the false king, Pharaoh of Egypt. The first deliverance in the future is from the power of the false king of Israel, the antichrist. The final deliverance of Israel, before the people enter the promised land, is from hostile powers in the wilderness side of Jordan. The last deliverance from hostile powers in the future, just before the realm of peace, is also in the area at the eastside of Jordan, namely from the power of the hostile nations in Edom (Isa 63:1-6).

God killed “Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan” and defeated “all the kingdoms of Canaan” (Psa 135:11; Num 21:21-26 ; 33-35; Deu 2:30-33 ; Deu 3:1-6). Sihon and Og are mentioned by name. The defeating of these kings is described in detail in Joshua 12 (Jos 12:1-6). They are the first hostile nations of whom God tells His people to conquer and take possession of their territory. Of the rest of the kings, “all the kingdoms”, only the names are mentioned in Joshua 12 with the mention at the end of “in all, thirty-one kings” (Jos 12:9-24).

Having thus paved the way for His people in power and majesty, God gave the land of the hostile nations “as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people” (Psa 135:12; Deu 4:38; Psa 111:6). The heritage consists of both the possession of the land on the east side of Jordan (Deu 3:12) and the possession of the land of Canaan.