The lofty looks - Hebrew 'The eyes of pride,' that is, the proud eyes or looks. Pride commonly evinces itself in a lofty carriage and supercilious aspect; Psalm 18:27.

Shall be humbled - By the calamities that shall sweep over the land. This does not mean that he shall be brought "to be" humble, or to have a humble heart, but that that on which he so much prided himself would be taken away.

The Lord alone ... - God will so deal with them as to vindicate his honor; to turn the attention entirely on himself, and to secure the reverence of all the people. So terrible shall be his judgments, and so "manifestly" shall they come from "him," that they shall look away from everything else to "him" alone.

In that day - In the day of which the prophet speaks, when God would punish them for their sins, Reference is probably made to the captivity at Babylon. It may be remarked, that one design of punishment is to lead people to regard and honor God. He will humble the pride of people, and so pass before them in his judgments, that they shall be compelled to "acknowledge" him as their just Sovereign and Judge.

Be humbled - "שפל ושח shaphel veshach, read שפלו שח shaphelu shach." - Dr. Durell. Which rectifies the grammatical construction. No MS. or version confirms this reading.

The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,.... Particularly of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, assuming that to himself which belongs to God; looking down with contempt upon, and behaving haughtily and insolently to all below him; blaspheming the name of God, his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven; he shall be humbled, consumed, and destroyed with the breath of Christ's mouth, and the brightness of his coming, 2 Thessalonians 2:4.

and the haughtiness of man shall be bowed down; of the followers of antichrist, who have boasted of their wisdom and knowledge, of their number, power, greatness, and authority, of their wealth and riches, and of their merits and works of supererogation; their pride will now be stained, and all their glory laid in the dust:

and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day: in his divine Person, and in all his offices, and especially in his kingly office; he shall be King over all the earth, the kingdoms of this world will become his, he shall be the one Lord, and his name one, Zechariah 14:9 this will be in the spiritual reign of Christ, in the latter day, or last day of the Gospel dispensation, when the church will be exalted, as in Isaiah 2:2 and in the personal reign of Christ it will still more appear, that he, and he alone, will be exalted by and among his people, among whom his tabernacle will be, for then he will have no rivals; not only all rule, power, and authority among men, will be put down, and the beast and false prophet will have been cast alive into the lake of fire; but Satan, the god of this world, will be taken and bound, and cast into the bottomless pit, and so remain during the time of Christ's thousand years' reign with his saints on earth: this passage is referred by the Jews (u) to the end of the six thousand years the world according to them shall stand.

(u) T. Bab. Roshhashana, fol. 31. 1. & Sanhedrin, fol. 92. 2. & 97. 1.

The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be abased, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in {s} that day.

(s) Meaning, as soon as God will begin to execute his judgments.

11. lofty looks-literally, "eyes of pride" (Ps 18:27).

humbled-by calamities. God will so vindicate His honor "in that day" of judgments, that none else "shall be exalted" (Zec 14:9).

2:10-22 The taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans seems first meant here, when idolatry among the Jews was done away; but our thoughts are led forward to the destruction of all the enemies of Christ. It is folly for those who are pursued by the wrath of God, to think to hide or shelter themselves from it. The shaking of the earth will be terrible to those who set their affections on things of the earth. Men's haughtiness will be brought down, either by the grace of God convincing them of the evil of pride, or by the providence of God depriving them of all the things they were proud of. The day of the Lord shall be upon those things in which they put their confidence. Those who will not be reasoned out of their sins, sooner or later shall be frightened out of them. Covetous men make money their god; but the time will come when they will feel it as much their burden. This whole passage may be applied to the case of an awakened sinner, ready to leave all that his soul may be saved. The Jews were prone to rely on their heathen neighbours; but they are here called upon to cease from depending on mortal man. We are all prone to the same sin. Then let not man be your fear, let not him be your hope; but let your hope be in the Lord your God. Let us make this our great concern.