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.

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