1Eu te louvarei, Senhor, de todo o meu coração: na presença dos deuses a ti cantarei louvores.
2Inclinar-me-hei para o teu sancto templo, e louvarei o teu nome pela sua benignidade, e pela tua verdade: pois engrandeceste a tua palavra acima de todo o teu nome.
3No dia em que eu clamei, me escutaste; e alentaste com força a minha alma.
4Todos os reis da terra te louvarão, ó Senhor, quando ouvirem as palavras da tua bocca;
5E cantarão os caminhos do Senhor; pois grande é a gloria do Senhor.
6Ainda que o Senhor é excelso, attende todavia para o humilde; mas ao soberbo conhece-o de longe.
7Andando eu no meio da angustia, tu me reviverás: estenderás a tua mão contra a ira dos meus inimigos, e a tua dextra me salvará.
8O Senhor aprefeiçoará o que me toca; a tua benignidade, ó Senhor, dura para sempre; não desampares as obras das tuas mãos.
📖 Chapter study
Summary
A personal song of thanksgiving by David, promising to praise God 'before the gods' (other authorities or nations), confident that even the kings of the earth will recognize the Lord's greatness, who cares for the humble and completes what he begins in a person's life.
Explanation
This personal psalm of thanksgiving highlights a beautiful tension: God is at once exalted (transcendent, above all things) and attentive to the humble (immanent, near the lowly) — a combination the psalmist sees as a cause for wonder, not a contradiction. The closing line ('forsake not the works of thine own hands,' v. 8) expresses confidence that God will complete what he began in the psalmist's life, a theme that reappears later in Philippians 1:6 in the New Testament. The application for today is trusting that God does not abandon halfway the work he has begun in us.
Fun facts
- The phrase 'the Lord will perfect that which concerneth me' (v. 8) is echoed almost word for word in Philippians 1:6, where Paul writes that 'he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it.'
- 'Before the gods' (v. 1) likely refers to other nations and their religious pantheons, a rhetorical device affirming the superiority of the God of Israel over any possible comparison.