Psalm 138:1 I will give you thanks with my whole heart. Before the gods, I will sing praises to you.
Psalm 138:2 I will bow down toward your holy temple, And give thanks to your Name for your lovingkindness and for your truth; For you have exalted your Name and your Word above all.
Psalm 138:3 In the day that I called, you answered me. You encouraged me with strength in my soul.
Psalm 138:4 All the kings of the earth will give you thanks, Yahweh, For they have heard the words of your mouth.
Psalm 138:5 Yes, they will sing of the ways of Yahweh; For great is Yahweh's glory.
Psalm 138:6 For though Yahweh is high, yet he looks after the lowly; But the proud, he knows from afar.
Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch forth your hand against the wrath of my enemies. Your right hand will save me.
Psalm 138:8 Yahweh will fulfill that which concerns me; Your lovingkindness, Yahweh, endures forever. Don't forsake the works of your own hands. -- World English.
Many use Psalm 138:2, as it appears in the King James Version, and some other translations, as proof that Jesus is Jehovah, and/or that Jesus' name is greater than that of Jehovah's name. The KJV states: " I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."
According to the reasoning many give, it appears that they assume that "thy word" of Psalm 138:2 is Jesus, as spoken of in Revelation 19:13. Some trinitarians, of course, read into this that it is speaking of two persons of their alleged triune God. Some oneness believers in some vague manner read into this that Jesus and Jehovah are the same person.
According to one trinitarian site: "Psalm 138:2 States that God and the Word are the same & equal."
One states that it is possible "that the name JESUS is magnified above all of the revealed names of God including 'Jehovah' and 'I AM WHO I AM'."
One has claimed that it is saying that the only thing higher than the name of "the Lord" (evidently meaning "Jehovah") is Jesus Christ His Word. Of course, in reality, Psalm 138:2 is about Jehovah. If one insists on the KJV rendering, however, it is simply stating that God places His Word over His Name, that is, that His Name provides the surety that what he says will come true.
The usage of the Hebrew word often transliterated as "'imrah" (Strong's #565, utterance, speech, word) here is not speaking of the "name" given to the Lord Jesus, as spoken of in Revelation 19:13; it is simply referring to the utterance or saying of Jehovah.
Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name - All the Versions read this sentence thus: "For thou hast magnified above all the name of thy holiness," or, "thy holy name." Thou hast proved that thou hast all power in heaven and in earth, and that thou art true in all thy words. And by giving the word of prophecy, and fulfilling those words, thou hast magnified thy holy name above all things - thou hast proved thyself to be ineffably great. The original is the following: אמרתך שמך כל על הגדלת כי ki higdalta al col shimcha, imrathecha, which I think might be thus translated: "For thou hast magnified thy name and thy word over all," or, "on every occasion." Kennicott reads, "He preferred faithfulness to his promise to the attribute of his power." I believe my own translation to be nearest the truth. There may be some corruption in this clause. -- Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Psalms 138". "The Adam Clarke Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/psalms-138.html. 1832.
For thou hast magnified thy word - Thou hast made it great. Compare Isaiah 42:21. The reference here is to the promises of God, and especially to the promise which God had made to David that the Messiah would descend from him. Compare Psalm 19:1-14. There are very many points in relation to God, of the highest interest to mankind, on which the disclosures of science shed no light; there are many things which it is desirable for man to know, which calmer be learned in the schools of philosophy; there are consolations which man needs in a world of trouble which cannot be found in nature; there is especially a knowledge of the method by which sin may be pardoned, and the soul saved, which can never be disclosed by the blow-pipe, the telescope, or the microscope. These things, if learned at all must be learned from revelation, and these are of more importance to man as a traveler to another world than all the learning which can be acquired in the schools of philosophy - valuable as that learning is. -- Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Psalms 138". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/psalms-138.html. 1870.
2. For the most excellent reasons. "I will praise Thy Name for Thy loving-kindness and for Thy truth; for Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy Name." The poet resolves to praise the Lord because of the kindness and faithfulness which He had manifested according to His Word. The final clause in the second verse has occasioned considerable difficulty to some expositors. The interpretation of Barnes, Hengstenberg, Henry, Perowne, and others seems to us undoubtedly correct,—that the revelation of Himself which God has given to man in His Word surpasses in clearness and preciousness all the other manifestations which He has made of Himself: Thus Perowne: "Thy word, or ‘promise.' (Comp. Psa ; Psa 60:6; Psa 62:11.) No particular promise is meant. The same word occurs frequently in Psalms 119. Above all Thy Name. The expression seems to mean that to the soul waiting upon God, and trusting in His word, the promise becomes so precious, so strong a ground of hope, that it surpasses all other manifestations of God's goodness and truth; or in the promise may here also be included the fulfilment of the promise." In His Word God has given many exceeding great and precious promises, and they are all worthy of acceptation; for God in His fulfilment is better even than in His promises. Here then is an excellent reason for praising God, because He has manifested so much of Himself, and especially of His loving-kindness and faithfulness to us in His Word. -- Exell, Joseph S. "Commentary on Psalms 138". Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/phc/psalms-138.html. Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1892.
For thou hast magnified thy word about all thy name - thou hast bestowed the promise of perpetuity to my house and my kingdom, which rises in grandeur and goodness above all thy past manifestations of thyself in behalf of thy people (2 Samuel 7:10; 2 Samuel 7:12-13; 2 Samuel 7:15-16; 2 Samuel 7:21-22; 2 Samuel 7:24-26; 2 Samuel 7:29 : Ps. 138:29 especially, "For thy Word's sake ... hast thou done all those great things;" Ps. 138:26 , "And let thy name be magnified forever" - an undesigned coincidence of language between the history and the psalm). In Messiah alone the greatness of the promise finds, and shall hereafter more fully find, its realization for Israel and the whole world. -- Jamieson, Robert, D.D.; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on Psalms 138". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/psalms-138.html. 1871-8.
Psalms 138:2. Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. The readings vary here in modern Versions. God’s word cannot be magnified above his name. Kimchi reads, “Thou hast magnified thy name in every word of thine.” An anonymous critic reads, “Thou hast magnified thy name above all things by thy word.” -- Sutcliffe, Joseph. "Commentary on Psalms 138:4". Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jsc/psalms-138.html. 1835.
For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name] Or, Thou hast magnified thy name in all thy words. Or, Thou hast magnified above all things thy name by thy word; that is, Thou hast got thee a very great name, by fulfilling thy promises, and by setting on thy word with power. -- Trapp, John. "Commentary on Psalms 138". John Trapp Complete Commentary. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/psalms-138.html. 1865-1868.
For Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name, literally, "for Thou hast made great above all Thy name Thy Word," that is, the promise of God, 2Sa_7:12-16, exceeded all other revelations of Himself in its greatness and in its application to the salvation of men. -- Kretzmann, Paul E. Ph. D., D. D. "Commentary on Psalms 138:4". "Kretzmann's Popular Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/kpc/psalms-138.html. 1921-23.
For thou hast magnified thy word, &c. — Thou hast glorified thy faithfulness, in fulfilling thy promises unto me, more than any other of thy glorious perfections by which thou art known. Not that one of God’s attributes is really, and in itself, more great or glorious than another; or can be made so, but because one may be more celebrated and admired by men than another; as here, God’s gracious promise of the kingdom made to David, and the wonderful accomplishment thereof, in spite of all those difficulties which stood in the way, and which seemed to men to be insuperable, was, at this time, more observed and admired than any other of his attributes or actions. -- Benson, Joseph. "Commentary on Psalms 138:4". Joseph Benson's Commentary. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rbc/psalms-138.html. 1857.
The Septuagint does not mention “word” at all, but says, “You have exalted Your Name above all.” This is in harmony with many other scriptures. Due to this, some believe that, as Clarke states, “there may be some corruption in this clause.”
Regardless, the idea that this verse is referring to exalting Jesus higher than God’s name has to be imagined and assumed, and read into, what is stated.
Regardless, the idea that this verse is referring to exalting Jesus higher than God’s name has to be imagined and assumed, and read into, what is stated.
