The Incomparable God of Condescension and Exaltation

This is not a psalm for elitists. The chief symbols of power—all the nations in the earth and the heavens in the cosmos—do not impress King Yahweh (vv. 4–6). He, in fact, seems to delight in raising up society’s helpless to positions of social status (vv. 7–9). This psalm is a hymn, and more specifically it is one that uses both imperatives and participles, along with a rhetorical question concerning Yahweh’s incomparability (a form usually found in hymns, e.g., Exod. 15:11). The characteristic commands to praise at the beginning imply an audience of some kind is present. It is unclear whether the servants of the Lord (v. 1) are the general congregation or Levitical singers in particular. The opening verse of Psalm 135 calls on the same g…