The Meaning of Psalms 113:4 Explained

Psalms 113:4

KJV: The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

YLT: High above all nations is Jehovah, Above the heavens is his honour.

Darby: Jehovah is high above all nations, his glory above the heavens.

ASV: Jehovah is high above all nations, And his glory above the heavens.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The LORD  [is] high  above all nations,  [and] his glory  above the heavens. 

What does Psalms 113:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 113:1-9 - The Mighty God Uplifteth The Lowly
We detect the song of Samuel's mother in the first of these psalms. She sang the Old Testament "Magnificat" and it was embalmed by the psalmist here. Thus it passed into the psalter of the Church. Note the universality of this ascription of praise. For all time, Psalms 113:2; through all the earth, Psalms 113:3; and above all heavens, Psalms 113:4. What a wonderful God is ours! Heaven cannot contain Him, but He lifts the poor and needy out of the dust. Largeness is not greatness, and the babe in the cot is more important than the palace.
In Psalms 114:1-8 Egypt represents the tyranny of sin; but we have been redeemed. Like Israel we have gone forth. We belong no more to the present world with its strange tongue. Ours is the language of Canaan, our home. This exodus of ours has made us the temple and sanctuary of God. If once the Church realized that she is God-possessed, she would become irresistible. Seas would divide, rivers would start back, mountains would cleave, and the hills would remove. "Impossible" would be blotted from our vocabulary. The power that made Sinai tremble gave earth water-springs. When the soul finds its all in God, the world ceases to affright or attract it, and the rocks yield refreshing streams. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 113

1  An exhortation to praise God for his excellence
6  For his mercy

What do the individual words in Psalms 113:4 mean?

High above all nations Yahweh [is] above the heavens His glory
רָ֖ם עַל־ כָּל־ גּוֹיִ֥ם ׀ יְהוָ֑ה עַ֖ל הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם כְּבוֹדֽוֹ

רָ֖ם  High 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָרוּם 
Sense: to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted.
עַל־  above 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
גּוֹיִ֥ם ׀  nations 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
יְהוָ֑ה  Yahweh  [is] 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
עַ֖ל  above 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם  the  heavens 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
כְּבוֹדֽוֹ  His  glory 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּבֹוד  
Sense: glory, honour, glorious, abundance.