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Psalms 138

KJV · Chapter 138/150

1I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.

2I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

3In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.

4All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth.

5Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.

6Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.

7Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

8The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

📖 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.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Psalms 138:1“Gods” here likely refers to deities worshiped by other peoples, or perhaps to powerful rulers. Praising the Lord in their presence is a way of saying He stands above any rival power, without claiming these other gods are real in the same sense.
  2. Psalms 138:2It is a striking statement: God’s word is described as exalted even above His own name, as if keeping promises mattered as much as, or more than, His own reputation.
  3. Psalms 138:3The testimony is deeply personal: a specific cry was heard, and the result is described almost physically, like strength being injected back into the soul.
  4. Psalms 138:4The vision expands beyond Israel: kings of the whole earth praising God after hearing His own words — an international reach for a praise that began as something personal.
  5. Psalms 138:5It continues the same vision from the previous verse: even foreign rulers singing about the ways of the Lord, moved by the sheer greatness of His glory.
  6. Psalms 138:6“High” describes greatness and distance, but the verse immediately adds that this greatness does not keep God far from the humble. The contrast is the point: the greater the power, the more striking it is when it turns toward the small.
  7. Psalms 138:7Trust is declared in the middle of the trouble itself, not after it: he does not wait for the danger to pass before trusting, he trusts while still walking through it.
  8. Psalms 138:8The final request is unusual: that God not abandon “the works of thine own hands,” using God’s own personal investment in his life as the argument for Him to finish what He started.

Chapters

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