Psalms 108:4
in Psalms 108For Your loving devotion extends beyond the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For thy lovingkindness is great above the heavens; And thy truth reacheth unto the skies.
KJV
For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.
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This verse in Psalms 108
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"For your mercy is great above the heavens." There is no creature that does not stand in need of God's mercy. All of us stand in need of God's mercy. Gabriel, Michael, the Seraphim, the Cherubim, the Powers, the Dominions, are indeed holy, but they stand in need of the mercy of their creator. I do not disparage the angels, but I proclaim the creator; since the angels themselves gladly have their creator proclaimed. And we can say it another way: "For your mercy raises up from the earth to the heavens. And your truth reaches even to the clouds."
This site's exposition
loving devotion extends beyond the heavens
on Psalms 108:4-5
Devotion is measured against the heavens, faithfulness against the clouds. Psalm 57:10 has that devotion reaching to the heavens, and here it extends beyond them. The one request in the first half is that God be exalted and His glory cover all the earth.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Of the Greeks, some have said that God is the soul of the world; others that his power does not extend to earth but only to heaven. Some, laboring under a similar delusion, misinterpret the text "and your faithfulness to the skies" and have dared to limit the providence of God to the skies and heaven and to alienate from God the things on earth, forgetting the psalm that says, "If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I sink to the underworld, you are present there." For if there is nothing higher than heaven and the underworld is deeper than the earth, he who rules the lower regions reaches the earth also.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For thy mercy is great above the heavens,..... It is in Psa 57:10, "thy mercy is great unto the heavens". See Gill on Psa 57:10.
), mercy in promising, truth in performing. The heavens are vast, but the mercy of God is more capacious; the skies are high and bright, but the truth of God is more eminent, more illustrious. We cannot see further than the heavens and clouds; whatever we see of God's mercy and truth there is still more to be seen, more reserved to be seen, in the other world.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and therefore there must be no limit of time, or place, or people, when that mercy is to be extolled. As the heavens over arch the whole earth, and from above mercy pours down upon men, so shalt thou be praised everywhere beneath the sky. Mercy is greater than the mountains, though they pierce the clouds; earth cannot hold it all, it is so vast, so boundless, so exceeding high that the heavens themselves are over topped thereby. And thy truth teacheth unto the clouds.
For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and therefore there must be no limit of time, or place, or people, when that mercy is to be extolled. As the heavens over arch the whole earth, and from above mercy pours down upon men, so shalt thou be praised everywhere beneath the sky. Mercy is greater than the mountains, though they pierce the clouds; earth cannot hold it all, it is so vast, so boundless, so exceeding high that the heavens themselves are over topped thereby. And thy truth teacheth unto the clouds. As far as we can see we behold thy truth and faithfulness, and there is much beyond which lies shrouded in cloud, but we are sure that it is all mercy, though it be far above and out of our sight. Therefore shall the song be lifted high and the psalm shall peal forth without stint of far resounding music. Here is ample space for the loudest chorus, and a subject which deserves thunders of praise.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For thy mercy ... - This is taken from Psa 57:10. The only change is in the expression “above the heavens,” instead of “unto the heavens.” The sense is essentially the same. The particular idea here, if it differs at all from the expression in Psa 57:1-11, is, that the mercy of God seems to “descend” from heaven upon man, or “comes down” from on high.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
I shall awaken the dawn It is the custom of other kings that the dawn awakens them, but I awaken the dawn, for I rise at midnight, when the psaltery and the harp awaken me, as our Rabbis said (Ber. 3b): A harp was suspended above David’s bed.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גָד֣וֹל | gadol | [is] great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| מֵֽעַל־ | meal- | <from> above | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שָׁמַ֣יִם | shamayim | [the] heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ | chasdekha | covenant loyalty your | H2617 → | 247 times |
| וְֽעַד־ | vead- | and [is] to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שְׁחָקִ֥ים | shechakim | [the] clouds | H7834 → | 21 times |
| אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃ | ʾamitekha | faithfulness your | H571 → | 127 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גָד֣וֹל[is] great
gadolH1419 →526 times
מֵֽעַל־<from> above
meal-H5921 →5755 times
שָׁמַ֣יִם[the] heavens
shamayimH8064 →421 times
חַסְדֶּ֑ךָcovenant loyalty your
chasdekhaH2617 →247 times
וְֽעַד־and [is] to
vead-H5704 →1261 times
שְׁחָקִ֥ים[the] clouds
shechakimH7834 →21 times
אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃faithfulness your
ʾamitekhaH571 →127 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 36:5Your loving devotion, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.
it leads to
- Psalms 100:5
For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 100:5
Through
Psalms 103:11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.
it leads to
- Psalms 57:10
For Your loving devotion reaches to the heavens, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 36:5
Your loving devotion, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 103:17
But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children—
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 1:50
His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.
- Ephesians 2:4–7
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Psalms 57:10
Through
Psalms 85:10Loving devotion and faithfulness have joined together; righteousness and peace have kissed.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:3
Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
- Psalms 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.
- Proverbs 3:3
About Psalms
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 8:2; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jerome, Homily 34, on Psalm 107; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.