The Cosmic Humility of God Text: Psalm 138:4-6
Introduction: The Coming Royal Choir
We live in an age that is pathologically inverted. Our culture celebrates the proud and disdains the humble. It elevates the arrogant man, the man who defines his own reality, who struts and boasts in his autonomy. At the same time, it despises the lowly, the one who acknowledges a higher authority, who bends the knee to God. Our world is built on the sandy foundation of self-esteem, which is nothing more than a pretty word for pride. But the Word of God comes to us as a wrecking ball to this entire edifice of arrogance. The gospel does not come to negotiate with our pride; it comes to kill it.
This psalm of David is a profound statement of this reality. It is a song of thanksgiving, a song that begins with personal praise and then swells into a global, cosmic prophecy. David, having been delivered and strengthened by God, does not keep this good news to himself. He anticipates a day when his private song of praise will become the anthem of the world, sung by the most unlikely of choirs: the kings of the earth. In our democratic and egalitarian age, we might be tempted to shrug at this. But we must understand the radical nature of this claim. Kings in the ancient world were not accountable to anyone. They were, in their own minds, the top of the food chain. They were the proud.
And so David prophesies a great reversal. He foresees a day when the gospel will go forth with such power that it will capture the highest authorities on earth. The very words of God's mouth will humble the haughty and bring them into the choir. This is a picture of the triumph of the gospel. It is not a picture of the church cowering in the catacombs, hoping the world doesn't notice us. It is a vision of the kingdom of God advancing in history, toppling thrones and dominions, not by the sword, but by the irresistible power of God's Word. And in these verses, we learn why this is. We see the character of the God who accomplishes this great work. He is the high and lofty one, and yet, in a paradox that shatters all human wisdom, He is the God of the humble.
The Text
All the kings of the earth, O Yahweh, will give You thanks, When they hear the words of Your mouth.
And they will sing of the ways of Yahweh, For great is the glory of Yahweh.
For Yahweh is high, Yet He sees the lowly, But the one who exalts himself He knows from afar.
(Psalm 138:4-6)
The Conquered Kings (v. 4)
We begin with this startling prophecy:
"All the kings of the earth, O Yahweh, will give You thanks, When they hear the words of Your mouth." (Psalm 138:4)
This is a postmillennial firecracker set off in the middle of the psalter. This is not a vain hope; it is a settled prediction. David says that all the kings of the earth shall praise the Lord. Not some of them. Not a beleaguered remnant. All of them. This is a prophecy of the success of the Great Commission. The gospel is not just for saving souls out of the world for a future heaven; it is for saving the world itself. And that includes its political structures.
What is it that brings about this astonishing political conversion? It is not a political program. It is not a lobbying effort. It is not a clever bit of cultural engagement. They will give thanks "when they hear the words of Your mouth." The engine of history is the Word of God. When God speaks, things happen. When He said, "Let there be light," there was light. And when His gospel is proclaimed, kings are brought to their knees. The words of God's mouth are the Scriptures. When the law and the gospel are faithfully preached, they have the power to humble the most powerful men on earth.
This is a direct challenge to the timid eschatology that has hamstrung the modern church. We have been taught to think that the world will just get worse and worse until Jesus comes back to rescue us from the mess. But the psalmist, and the whole of Scripture, teaches the opposite. The gospel is leaven, it is a mustard seed, it is a stone that grows into a mountain and fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:35). This psalm is a promise that one day, the rulers of the earth will stop their plotting against the Lord and His Anointed (Psalm 2) and will instead kiss the Son. They will trade their scepters for hymnals.
The Royal Song (v. 5)
Their conversion is not a sullen, forced submission. It is a joyful, musical eruption.
"And they will sing of the ways of Yahweh, For great is the glory of Yahweh." (Psalm 138:5)
They will not just give intellectual assent. They will sing. And what will they sing about? They will sing "of the ways of Yahweh." This means they will celebrate His methods, His decrees, His providential dealings in history. They will come to see that His law is liberty, His judgments are true, and His plan is perfect. The very things the world despises, the ways of God, will become the lyrics of their new favorite song.
Why? "For great is the glory of Yahweh." They will finally see reality for what it is. They will see that God's glory is the central fact of the universe, and their own glory was a fleeting vapor, a childish fantasy. True conversion is always a revolution in what you glorify. You stop glorying in yourself, your nation, your power, or your wealth, and you begin to glory in God. The reason the world is so miserable is that it is full of people seeking their own glory, which is like trying to fill your belly with cotton candy. It is a pursuit of nothing. But when these kings see the greatness of God's glory, they are set free to take their proper place, which is as lead tenors in the global choir.
The Great Reversal (v. 6)
This final verse gives us the theological foundation for this great hope. It reveals the very character of God that makes this global conversion possible.
"For Yahweh is high, Yet He sees the lowly, But the one who exalts himself He knows from afar." (Psalm 138:6)
Here is the central paradox of the Christian faith. God is high. He is transcendent, exalted, infinitely above His creation. He is not our buddy, He is not the man upstairs. He is the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity. And yet, for that very reason, He has respect for the lowly. Our thoughts are not His thoughts. We think that if someone is important, they associate with other important people. The celebrity hangs out with celebrities. The powerful man makes deals with other powerful men. We expect God to be the ultimate elitist.
But God inverts our entire social structure. Because He is infinitely high, He is not threatened by lowliness. He is free to condescend. He sees the lowly. He pays attention to them. He gets down in the ditch with them. This is the doctrine of the incarnation in seed form. The most high God became the most lowly man. Jesus Christ, the King of kings, was born in a stable, worked as a carpenter, and died the death of a slave. God dwells in two places: in the highest heaven, and with the humble and contrite in heart (Isaiah 57:15).
The second half of the verse shows the flip side. "But the one who exalts himself He knows from afar." This is a devastatingly polite dismissal. God is omniscient, so of course He knows the proud. He knows everything about them. But He knows them "from afar." He keeps His distance. He doesn't want to get near them; He doesn't like the way they smell. He holds them at arm's length, or rather, with a very long stick. The proud man thinks his arrogance makes him important, brings him closer to the top. In reality, it makes him a cosmic pariah. God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
Conclusion: The Humble God
This passage is a roadmap for the future of the world, and it is a diagnostic tool for the state of our own hearts. The gospel is advancing, and it will conquer. It will bring kings and nations to the feet of Christ. And it does this not through power politics as the world understands it, but through the power of a humble God who lifts up the humble.
The question for us, then, is simple. Which group are we in? Are we among the lowly, who know our need for grace, who have bent the knee, and who are therefore seen and known and loved by the Most High God? Or are we among the proud, who still believe we have something to offer, who are still trying to justify ourselves, who are keeping God at a distance with our filthy rags of self-righteousness?
If a king desires to draw near to God, he must first humble himself. If you desire to draw near to God, you must do the same. You must abandon all pretense. You must confess that you are a sinner, helpless and undone, and you must cling to the cross of the humble King, Jesus Christ. He is the one who was high and became low, so that we who are low might be lifted up high. When you do that, you join the song. You begin to sing of the ways of the Lord, because you have seen, even just a little, that great is the glory of the Lord. And you become part of that great, swelling choir that will one day fill the whole earth with His praise.