Psalms 108:3

4. (Psa 108:3) I will thank thee among the nations, 0 Jehovah, I will praise thee among the peoples. See above, on Psa 57:9. The only variation is the substitution of the name Jehovah for Adhonai, a change scarcely perceptible in the English versions.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He prophecieth of the calling of the Gentiles: for except they were called, they could not hear the goodness of God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. Among the people] The Jews.

Among the nations.] The Gentiles. Wherever this Psalm is sung or read, either among Jews or Gentiles, David may be said to sing praise to God.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. I will give thanks unto thee, Jehovah, among the peoples:

And I will make melody unto thee among the nations.

Jehovah (A.V. Lord) takes the place of Adônai (A.V. Lord) of the ‘Elohistic’ Psa_57:9. Again the old words would have special significance for the returned Israelites. Jehovah had wrought salvation for them “in the sight of the nations” (Psa_98:2-3), and therefore they were to publish His praise among them (Psa_96:3; Psa_105:1).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will praise thee, O Lord ... - This is taken from Psa 57:9. The only change is the substitution here of the name יהוה Yahweh for אדני 'Adonāy. Why that change was made is unknown.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 3. I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people. Whoever may come to hear me, devout or profane, believer or heathen, civilized or barbarian, I shall not cease my music. David seemed inspired to foresee that his Psalms would be sung in every land, from Greenland's icy mountains to India's coral strand. His heart was large, he would have the whole race of man listen to his joy in God, and lo, he has his desire, for his psalmody is cosmopolitan; no poet is so universally known as he. He had but one theme, he sang Jehovah and none beside, and his work being thus made of gold, silver, and precious stones, has endured the fiery ordeal of time, and was never more prized than at this day. Happy man, to have thus made his choice to be the Lord's musician, he retains his office as the Poet Laureate of the kingdom of heaven, and shall retain it till the crack of doom.

And I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. This is written, not only to complete the parallelism of the verse, but to reaffirm his fixed resolve. He would march to battle praising Jehovah, and when he had conquered he would make the captured cities ring with Jehovah's praises. He would carry his religion with him wherever he pushed his conquests, and the vanquished should not hear the praises of David, but the glories of the Lord of Hosts. Would to God that wherever professing Christians travel they would carry the praises of the Lord with them! It is to be feared that some leave their religion when they leave their homes. Nations and peoples would soon know the gospel of Jesus if every Christian traveller were as intensely devout as the Psalmist. Alas, it is to be feared that the Lord's name is profaned rather than honoured among the heathen by many who are named by the name of Christ.

Ver. 3. We must not restrain praise because we are overheard by strangers, nor because the listeners are heathen, or ungodly, or are numerous, or are likely to oppose. There may be all the more reason for our outspoken praise of God when we are in such circumstances.

Psalms 108:4*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Lord—Jehovah; in Psa_57:9, אדני, (Adonah,) Lord.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. Identical with Psa_57:9, except that "O Lord" is expressed by "Jehovah" instead of "Adonai."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

your covenant faithfulness is great above the heavens; and your trustworthiness reaches to the skies

These two phrases have similar meanings. They speak of the greatness of Yahweh's covenant faithfulness and trustworthiness as if they were objects that were tall enough to reach up to the sky. The abstract nouns "faithfulness" and "trustworthiness" can be translated as adjectives. AT: "For your covenant faithfulness and trustworthiness are greater than the distance between heaven and earth" or "For you are more faithful to your covenant and more worthy of people trusting you than the sky is higher than the earth" (See: Parallelism and Metaphor and Abstract Nouns)

translationWords

Yahweh

people group

praise

nation

covenant faithfulness

heaven

trust

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

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. As soon as midnight arrived, the north wind would blow on it and it would play by itself.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.