Psalms 57:10
in Psalms 57For Your loving devotion reaches to the heavens, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For thy lovingkindness is great unto the heavens, And thy truth unto the skies.
KJV
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
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This verse in Psalms 57
Commentary
9 notes on this verseFor thy mercy is great unto the heavens. Right up from man's lowliness to heaven's loftiness mercy reaches. Imagination fails to guess the height of heaven, and even thus the riches of mercy exceed our highest thoughts. The psalmist, as he sits at the cave's mouth and looks up to the firmament, rejoices that God's goodness is more vast and more sublime than even the vaulted skies. And thy truth unto the clouds.
This site's exposition
I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations
on Psalms 57:9-11
The praise goes out among the nations, and verse 10 has the loving devotion reaching to the heavens and the faithfulness to the clouds. Verse 11 repeats verse 5 word for word. Psalm 108:1 to 5 takes up verses 7 to 11 of this psalm almost unchanged.
This site's exposition
Your loving devotion reaches to the heavens
The measure of God's love is the height of the sky. Charles Spurgeon pictured David at the cave's mouth looking up at the firmament. Faithfulness here and truth at verse 3 render the same Hebrew word, emet.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Therefore there has risen psaltery and harp in the dawn, and he confesses to the Lord; and says what? "I will confess to You among the peoples, O Lord, and will play to You among the nations: for magnified even unto the Heavens has been Your mercy, and even unto the clouds Your truth." Heavens above clouds, and clouds below heavens: and nevertheless to this nearest heaven belong clouds. But sometimes clouds rest upon the mountains, even so far in the nearest air are they rolled. But a Heaven above there is, the habitations of Angels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Powers. This therefore may perchance seem to be what should have been said: "Unto the Heavens Your truth, and even unto the clouds Your mercy." For in Heaven Angels praise God, seeing the very form of truth, without any darkness of vision, without any admixture of unreality: they see, love, praise, are not wearied. There is truth: but here in our own misery surely there is mercy. For to a miserable one must be rendered mercy. For there is no need of mercy above, where is no miserable one. I have said this because that it seems as though it might have been more fittingly said, "Magnified even unto the Heavens has been Your truth, and even unto the clouds Your mercy." For "clouds" we understand to be preachers of truth, men bearing that flesh in a manner dark, whence God both gleams in miracles, and thunders in precepts.. ..Glory to our Lord, and to the Mercy of the Same, and to the Truth of the Same, because neither has He forsaken by mercy to make us blessed through His Grace, nor defrauded us of truth: because first Truth veiled in flesh came to us and healed through His flesh the interior eye of our heart, in order that hereafter face to face we may be able to see It.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
8 ), even Christ, the best of blessings. When David was in the cave, in imminent peril, he here tells us what were the workings of his heart towards God; and happy are those that have such good thoughts as these in their minds when they are in danger! He supports himself with faith and hope in God, and prayer to him,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens. Right up from man's lowliness to heaven's loftiness mercy reaches. Imagination fails to guess the height of heaven, and even thus the riches of mercy exceed our highest thoughts. The psalmist, as he sits at the cave's mouth and looks up to the firmament, rejoices that God's goodness is more vast and more sublime than even the vaulted skies. And thy truth unto the clouds. Upon the cloud he sets the seal of his truth, the rainbow, which ratifies his covenant; in the cloud he hides his rain and snow, which prove his truth by bringing to us seedtime and harvest, cold and heat. Creation is great, but the Creator greater far. Heaven cannot contain him; above clouds and stars his goodness far exceeds.
Thy mercy is great unto the heavens - It is as far above all human description and comprehension as the heavens are above the earth. See the notes on Psa 36:5, Psa 36:6, where nearly the same words occur.
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 is great unto the heavens ... - See this explained in the notes at Psa 36:5.
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 |
| גָדֹ֣ל | gadol | [is] great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שָׁמַ֣יִם | shamayim | [the] heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ | chasdekha | covenant loyalty your | H2617 → | 247 times |
| וְֽעַד־ | vead- | and to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שְׁחָקִ֥ים | shechakim | [the] clouds | H7834 → | 21 times |
| אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃ | ʾamitekha | faithfulness your | H571 → | 127 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גָדֹ֣ל[is] great
gadolH1419 →526 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
שָׁמַ֣יִם[the] heavens
shamayimH8064 →421 times
חַסְדֶּ֑ךָcovenant loyalty your
chasdekhaH2617 →247 times
וְֽעַד־and 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 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
- Ephesians 2:4–7
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
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.
- Luke 1:50
His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.
- Ephesians 2:4–7
Through
Psalms 36:5Your loving devotion, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.
it leads to
- Psalms 103:11
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 89:2
For I have said, “Loving devotion is built up forever; in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 100:5
For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.
- Psalms 108:4
For Your loving devotion extends beyond the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
- Psalms 103:11
Through
Psalms 71:19Your righteousness reaches to the heavens, O God, You who have done great things. Who, O God, is like You?
it leads to
- Isaiah 55:9
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 55:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 57; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
