Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 115:13
He will bless them that fear the LORD, [both] small and great.
13. both small and great ] One and all without distinction of rank or condition. Cp. Jer 6:13; Jer 16:6; Jer 31:34.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He will bless them that fear the Lord – Compare Psa 115:11.
Both small and great – Margin, as in Hebrew, with. The little with the great; children and grown persons; the poor and the rich; the ignorant and the learned; those of humble rank, and those of most exalted birth and condition.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 115:13
He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.
The equality of small and great
There are thousands of young men and women who retain belief in God, but do not fear Him; cherishing the easy notion that since He is so very good, everything will come right by and by. This is not love. It is something near akin to contempt, and God is not good enough to consent to be despised. Rather let me say that He is too good, too righteous, too mindful of the interests of His children, who can only find salvation in faith and love that are touched with holy fear. God is Love. He so loved the world that He gave His son: His lovingkindness is over all His works; and He includes in His Divine regard both the small and the great.
I. We have here a recognition of the natural inequality of men, great and small. Men differ outwardly, and the difference counts for something. But there are deeper differences that count for more: the differences of the mind. Sometimes a massive and majestic frame co-exists with a weak will. Or it may be that a man of feeble appearance, like St. Paul, has a will of tempered steel. And what a force that is. The crowd makes way for one of inflexible determination, and he moves on to the fulfilment of his purpose with something like the inevitableness of fate. As John Foster exclaims, It is wonderful how the casualties of life bow to a will that will not bow to them, and in the end subserve a purpose which at first they seemed to frustrate.
II. The impartiality of God. He will bless both small and great. We are always being tempted to respect of persons; often we scarcely make pretence of resistance. But the Bible reiterates the statement that God is no respecter of persons. He is sublimely impartial. He is a faithful Creator, a loving Father. He is not dazzled by His own gifts. He considers not the beauty, the stature, the cleverness, which come to men without their seeking; but that inner man, which is expressed in character, and which accepts or rejects eternal love. He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.
III. The blessing of God, that tends to make men equal in spite of differences. Lately I was standing near an elm tree that towered scores of feet above me. No other tree was by to draw attention from its solitary glory. The splendour of its early foliage flashed and darkled in the sunshine, and its giant shadow fell across the field. It was a mighty work of God and dwarfed its surroundings, making the bushes of a neighbouring hedge seem little things indeed. A little later my attention was arrested by tiny blossoms shining in the long lush grass beneath this giant tree. Bright-eyes the flowers are called, and the name is descriptive, though I never saw eyes so blue as the petals of these flowers. I plucked one or two, looked up again at the tree, and thought of the contrast. They represented the great and the small. The one had braved the storms of generations, the other lived for a fleeting summer and might be plucked and torn by baby fingers, and yet were they brought into equality by the blessing of Almighty God. Each was perfect in its own order, and it were impossible to say with which Divine power had taken more pains, the elm tree or the bright-eyes. It is a parable: God made the elm tree and the bright-eyes. He made each to fill its place. Each is faithful to its own order. Each equally declares the glory of the Lord. And God has made men both small and great. And when in holy fear and reverent love they open their hearts to Him, as the trees and flowers open their hearts to the sunshine, He blesses them by coming in to dwell with them, and His blessing means that they fulfil their destiny and manifest His glory; and herein are they equal. (G. Hawker.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Either in age or condition, of whatsoever quality, high and low, rich and poor; for he is no respecter of persons.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
He will bless them that fear the Lord,…. They shall want no good thing now, and have much goodness laid up for them to be enjoyed hereafter; the sun of righteousness rises upon them, and a book of remembrance is written on their account; the Lord delights in them, his eye is upon them; and they are blessed with more grace now, and will be blessed with glory hereafter.
Both small and great; young and old, rich and poor, high and low, lesser or greater believers; be they children, young men, or fathers; see Re 11:18.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He says, both the small with the great, by which circumstance he magnifies God’s paternal regard the more, showing that he does not overlook even the meanest and most despised, provided they cordially invoke his aid. Now, as there is no acceptance of persons before God, our low and abject condition ought to be no obstruction to our drawing near to him, since he so kindly invites to approach him those who appear to be held in no reputation. Moreover, the repetition of the word bless is intended to mark the uninterrupted stream of his loving-kindness. Should any prefer the past tense, he has blessed, the meaning will be, that the favor of God towards his people has continued for a long period, which ought to be a sure evidence of the perpetuity of his fatherly regard. This interpretation is strengthened by the subsequent verse, in which he says, that God would multiply the benefits which he had up to that time conferred upon them. For God’s liberality is an inexhaustible fountain, which will never cease to flow so long as its progress is not impeded by the ingratitude of men. And hence it will be continued to their posterity, because God manifests the grace and the fruit of his adoption even to a thousand generations.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) Them that fear the Lordi.e., all Israel.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 115:13 He will bless them that fear the LORD, [both] small and great.
Ver. 13. He will bless ] Such shall abound with blessings, Pro 28:20 .
Both small and great
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
He will bless. Figure of speech Anaphora (App-6), taken with the last line of Psa 115:12.
fear = revere.
small and great. Both plural. Figure of speech Syntheton. App-6.
and = with.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
He will bless: Psa 29:11, Psa 112:1, Psa 128:1, Psa 128:4, Psa 128:5, Mal 3:16, Mal 3:17, Mal 4:2, Luk 1:50, Act 13:26, Col 3:11
both small: Act 26:22, Rev 11:18, Rev 19:5, Rev 20:12
and: Heb. with
Reciprocal: Gen 32:26 – thou bless Num 6:27 – and I will 1Ki 8:40 – fear thee 2Ki 4:1 – thy servant did fear 2Ki 23:2 – both small and great 2Ch 15:13 – whether small Psa 5:12 – bless Psa 19:9 – The fear Psa 22:23 – Ye that Psa 24:5 – receive Psa 61:5 – heritage Pro 13:13 – he Pro 14:26 – fear Ecc 8:12 – surely Ecc 12:13 – for Jer 32:39 – for the Mat 25:34 – Come Act 11:14 – all Rev 13:16 – both