John Calvin Commentary Psalms 135:5

"For I know that Jehovah is great, And that our Lord is above all gods." — Psalms 135:5 (ASV)

For I know that Jehovah is great. We have here a general description of the power of God, to show the Israelites that the God they worshipped was the same who made the world, and rules over all according to his will, and there is no other besides him.

He would not exclude others when he speaks of having known for himself the greatness of God, but is rather to be considered as taking occasion from his own experience to stir up people generally to attend to this subject, and to awaken to the recognition of what is abundantly open to observation.

The immensity of God is what no one can comprehend; still, his glory, so far as was deemed fit, has been sufficiently manifested to leave all the world without excuse for ignorance. How can one who has enjoyed a sight of the heavens and the earth shut his eyes so as to overlook their Author without sin of the deepest dye?

It is with the aim, then, of stirring us up more effectively that the Psalmist refers to himself when inviting us to the knowledge of God’s glory; or rather, he rebukes our carelessness in not being sufficiently attentive to it.

The second part of the verse makes the truth of the observation I have already stated even more apparent: that the Psalmist’s design was to retain the Israelites in the service and fear of the one true God, by declaring that the God who made a covenant with their fathers was the same who created heaven and earth. No sooner had he mentioned Jehovah than he adds that He is the God of Israel.

It necessarily follows that all who depart from this God prefer a god who has no claim to that title. For example, Jews and Turks in our own time are guilty of mere pretense when they claim to worship God the Creator of the world.

When people have diverged from the law and from the gospel, any appearance of piety they may have amounts to a renunciation of the true God. The Psalmist, therefore, in giving God a specific title, intended to limit the Israelites to that God who was set forth in the doctrine of the Law.

If by אלהים, Elohim, we understand the false gods of the Gentiles—the title is given to them only by concession, for it could not be properly assigned to what are mere lying vanities. The meaning is that God’s greatness altogether eclipses any pretended deity.

But the expression would seem to include the angels, as has already been observed, in whom there is some reflection of divinity, since they are heavenly principalities and powers. However, they are exalted by God and assigned such a subordinate place that it does not interfere with his glory.