“Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.”
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly; but the haughty he knows from far away. The paradox of God's transcendence (high) and God's attentiveness to the lowly establishes a theological principle: supreme power is exercised with particular care for the vulnerable. The lowly become objects of divine regard; God's attention to them suggests that covenant faithfulness extends to the most marginalized. The haughty are known from far away; their distance from God suggests judgment and exclusion. This verse establishes that divine exaltation and lowly regard are not contradictory but complementary expressions of God's character.
Church Fathers on Psalms 138:6
1. The title of this Psalm is brief and simple, and need not detain us; since we know whose resemblance David wore, and since in him we recognise ourselves also, for we too are members of that Body. The whole title is, “To David himself.” Let us see then, what is to David himself. The title of the Psalm is wont to tell us what is treated of within it: but in this, since the title informs us not of this, but tells us only to Whom it is chanted, the first verse tells us what is…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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