Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 138:1
[A Psalm] of David. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
1. I will give thanks unto thee with my whole heart ] Cp. Psa 9:1. There is no need for the Psalmist to mention the name of Him Whom he addresses. The Ancient Versions, however, insert O Lord, after thee, and the P.B.V. follows them.
before the gods ] The Psalmist stands face to face with the might of the heathen world, apparently under the patronage and protection of powerful gods, but the sight does not shake his fidelity to Jehovah. It is not to be supposed that he would have admitted that these gods had a real existence; he speaks of them only as they existed in the minds of their worshippers; practically it is before those worshippers that he proclaims his faith. Cp. Psa 95:3; Psa 96:4-5. The LXX, probably fearing to seem to attribute a real existence to heathen gods, renders Elhm by angels (cp. Psa 97:7); but beautiful and solemn as is the thought that the angels are spectators of man’s worship, Elhm can hardly bear that meaning here. The Targ. renders it judges, the Syr. kings, giving a good sense (cp. Psa 119:46); but though the title Elhm is applied to judges in Psa 82:1; Psa 82:6, where they are spoken of as representatives of God, there would be no special fitness in the use of the word here.
will I sing praise] will I make melody: sing psalms of praise, as in Psa 101:1, and elsewhere. Some texts of the LXX, and the Vulg., add because thou hast heard the words of my mouth after the first line, others at the end of the verse. It is a gloss suggested by Psa 138:4.
2 a . A reminiscence of Psa 5:7.
and give thanks unto thy name for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name ] By the accomplishment of His promises Jehovah has surpassed all previous revelations of Himself. The expression, however, is a strange one; possibly thy word is a gloss, and we should read thou hast magnified thy name above all things [85] . The P.B.V., thou hast magnified thy name and thy word above all things (derived from Mnster, ‘Magnificasti supra omnia nomen tuum et eloquium tuum’) involves a harsh asyndeton.
[85] The reading of the Massora, not , is a reminiscence of this construction of the sentence. The Maqqph should be omitted.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1 3. Thanksgiving for Jehovah’s manifestation of His lovingkindness and truth in the fulfilment of His promises.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will praise thee with my whole heart – Reserving nothing m my heart to give to idols or to other gods. All that constitutes praise to God as God, he would address to him alone. He would use no language, and cherish no feeling, which implied a belief that there was any other God; he would indulge in no attachment which would be inconsistent with supreme attachment to God, or which would tend to draw away his affections from him. See the notes at Psa 9:1.
Before the gods will I sing praise unto thee – The idols; all idols; in preference to them all. This does not mean that he would do this in the presence of other gods; but that Yahweh should be acknowledged to be God in preference to any or all of them.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 138:1-8
I will praise Thee with my whole heart.
Moral features of a good mans life
I. The grand resolve of a good man–to serve God (verses 1, 2).
1. Entirely. I will praise Thee with my whole heart. Unless the Almighty is thus served He is never served at all.
2. Courageously. Before the gods, etc. No shame, no timidity, but exulting courage.
3. Intelligently. He is infinitely good and true.
II. The noble testimony of a good man (verse 3). What good man who has ever prayed could not furnish similar testimony?
III. The sanguine hope of a good man (verses 4, 5).
1. This hope implies a very desirable object. To have all the kings of the earth praising God, what patriotic, philanthropic, and religious ends could be more desirable?
2. This hope implies a reasonable expectation. Would it not be natural to expect that when kings heard of God, the words of His mouth, they would worship and serve Him? We have here–
IV. The theological belief of a good man (verse 6).
1. No creature is too humble for the Divine regard. He is not so taken up with the vast as to ignore the minute, so sublimely exalted as not to condescend to the meanest.
2. No creature is too vile to escape His notice. The proud He knoweth afar off.
V. The sublime confidence of a good man (verse 7).
1. The universal law of human life. What is that? Progress, walking. Implying–
(1) A constant change of position.
(2) A constant approximation to destiny, every step leading nearer to the end. Life is a constant walk. No pause. A rapid walk. Swifter than a post. An irretraceable walk.
2. The saddening probabilities of human life. In the midst of trouble. The path is not through flowery meads and under azure skies, but rugged, tempestuous, perilous.
3. The grand support of human life. Thou wilt revive me. The support is all-sufficient, the only effective and ever available. (Homilist.)
Open praise and public confession
David was vexed with rival gods, as we are with rival gospels. Nothing is more trying to the soul of a true man than to be surrounded with vile counterfeits, and to hear these cried up, and the truth treated with contempt. How will David act under the trial? For so should we act. He will–
I. Sing with whole-hearted praise (verse 1).
1. His song would openly show his contempt of the false gods: he would sing whether they were there or no. They were such nothings that he would not change his note for them.
2. It would evince his strong faith in the true God. In the teeth of the adversary he glorified Jehovah. His enthusiastic whole-hearted song was better than denunciation or argument.
3. It would declare his joyful zeal for God: he sang to show the strong emotion of his soul. Others might be pleased in Baal, he greatly rejoiced in Jehovah.
4. It would shield him from evil from those about him; for holy song keeps off the enemy. Praise is a potent disinfectant. If called to behold evil let us purify the air with the incense of praise.
II. Worship by the despised rule. I will worship toward Thy holy temple.
1. Quietly ignoring all will-worship, he would follow the rule of the Lord, and the custom of the saints.
2. Looking to the Person of Christ, which was typified by the temple. There is no sinning like that which is directed towards the Lord Jesus, as now living to present it to the Father.
3. Trusting in the one finished Sacrifice, looking to the one great Expiation, we shall praise aright.
4. Realizing God Himself.
III. Praise the questioned attributes.
1. Loving-kindness in its universality. Lovingkindness in its speciality. Grace in everything. Grace to me. Grace so much despised of Pharisees and Sadducees, but so precious to true penitents. Concerning the grace of God, let us cling close to the doctrine and spirit of the Gospel all the more because the spirit of the age is opposed to them.
2. Truth. Historic accuracy of Scripture. Absolute certainty of the Gospel. Assured truthfulness of the promises. Complete accuracy of prophecy.
IV. Reverence the honoured word. Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name. God has magnified His sure word of testimony beyond all such revelations as we receive through creation and providence, though these declare Gods Name. The Gospel word is–
1. More clear. Words are better understood than natures hieroglyphs.
2. More sure. The Spirit Himself sealing it.
3. More sovereign. Effectually blessing believers.
4. More complete. The whole of God is seen in Christ.
5. More lasting. Creation must pass away, the Word endures for ever.
6. More glorifying to God. Specially in the great Atonement.
V. Prove it by personal experience. In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, etc. He had used his knowledge of God derived from the Word.
1. By offering prayer. I cried. What do men know of the truth and grace of God and the virtue of His Word if they have never prayed?
2. By narrating the answer. Thou answeredst me, etc. We are Gods witnesses, and should with readiness, care, frequency, and courage testify what we have seen and known.
3. By exhibiting the strength of soul which was gained by prayer. This is good witness-bearing. Show by patience, courage, joy, and holiness what the Lord has done for your soul. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Whole-hearted praise before the world
He who praises God with his whole heart is like a man on fire, he is terrible to the adversaries of the Most High. When the great Spanish Armada was ready to swoop down upon the English coast, our brave Admiral Drake took some of his small ships, and placed them where the wind would carry them right among the Spanish fleet. He filled the vessels with combustible material, and set them alight. Then the wind just took the fire ships and drifted them up against the Spanish galleons that floated high out of the water, and exposed a vast surface to the air, and one and another of the big unwieldy monsters were soon in a blaze, and a great victory was won without a blow being struck. So, I like to get a red-hot Christian, full of music and praise unto Jehovah, and just let him go, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, right into the middle of the adversaries of truth. They cannot make him out, they do not know how to handle a man of fire. It was a wise plan, this of David, of getting in among the heathen gods and singing to the praise of Jehovah. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Courage in praising God
Singing unto Jehovah before the gods was good for Davids own soul. It is perilous to attempt a secret fidelity to God, it is so apt to degenerate into cowardice. A converted soldier tried at first to pray in bed, or in some secret corner, but he found it would not do; he must kneel down in the barrack-room before the others, and run the gauntlet of the mens remarks; for until he had done so he had not taken his stand and he felt no peace of mind. It is needful for our spiritual health that we come out distinctly upon the Lords side.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
PSALM CXXXVIII
The psalmist praises the Lord for his mercies to himself, 1-3.
He foretells that the kings of the earth shall worship him,
4, 5.
God’s condescension to the humble, 6.
The psalmist’s confidence, 7, 8.
NOTES ON PSALM CXXXVIII
The Hebrew and all the Versions attribute this Psalm to David, and it is supposed to have been made by him when, delivered from all his enemies, he was firmly seated on the throne of Israel. As the Septuagint and Arabic prefix also the names of Haggai and Zechariah, it is probable that it was used by the Jews as a form of thanksgiving for their deliverance from all their enemies, and their ultimate settlement in their own land, after Ahasuerus, supposed by Calmet to be Darius Hystaspes, had married Esther, before which time they were not peaceably settled in their own country.
Verse 1. I will praise thee with my whole heart] I have received the highest favours from thee, and my whole soul should acknowledge my obligation to thy mercy. The Versions and several MSS. add Yehovah, “I will praise thee, O LORD,” c.
Before the gods will I sing] neged Elohim, “in the presence of Elohim” most probably meaning before the ark, where were the sacred symbols of the Supreme Being. The Chaldee has, before the judges. The Vulgate, before the angels. So the Septuagint, AEthiopic, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon. The Syriac, Before kings will I sing unto thee. This place has been alleged by the Roman Catholics as a proof that the holy angels, who are present in the assemblies of God’s people, take their prayers and praises, and present them before God. There is nothing like this in the text; for supposing, which is not granted, that the word elohim here signifies angels, the praises are not presented to them, nor are they requested to present them before God; it is simply said, Before elohim will I sing praise unto THEE. Nor could there be need of any intermediate agents, when it was well known that God himself was present in the sanctuary, sitting between the cherubim. Therefore this opinion is wholly without support from this place.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Either,
1. Before the angels, who were represented by the cherubims upon the ark, who are called gods, Psa 8:5; 97:7, compared with Heb 1:6; 2:7, who also are present in the congregations of Gods people, 1Co 11:10. Or rather,
2. Before kings and princes, by comparing this with Psa 138:4, All kings (provoked by my example) shall praise thee; and with Psa 119:46, I will speak of thy testimonies before kings. And these are most commonly called gods in Scripture, as Exo 21:6; 22:9,28, compared with Deu 19:17. Besides, David mentions this as something singular and extraordinary, and designed by him; whereas the doing of this before the angels is common to all, and is unavoidably necessary.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. I will praise thee with my wholeheart(Compare Ps 9:1).
before the godswhetherangels (Ps 8:5); orprinces (Exo 21:6; Psa 82:6);or idols (Ps 97:7);denotes a readiness to worship the true God alone, and a contempt ofall other objects of worship.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I will praise thee with my whole heart,…. Cordially and sincerely, in the uprightness and integrity of his heart; which denotes not the perfection of his service, but the sincerity of it; his heart was in it, and his whole heart; all the powers and faculties of his soul were engaged in it, being deeply sensible of the great favours and high honours bestowed upon him; and though the object of praise, to whom he was obliged for them, is not so fully expressed; yet is easily understood to be Jehovah, the Being of beings, the Father of mercies, even Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, and especially the Messiah; see
Ps 111:1;
before the gods will I sing praise unto thee; before the princes, as Jarchi; before the kings, as the Syriac version; with which agrees
Ps 119:46; and who would join therein, Ps 138:4; or before the judges, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; or civil magistrates, who are sometimes called gods, Ps 82:1; and they are the powers ordained of God, and represent him on earth; or the sanhedrim, as the Midrash; or before the gods of the Gentiles, those fictitious deities, above whom Jehovah is; and over whom the psalmist triumphs, having conquered the nations where they were worshipped; and therefore in their presence, and notwithstanding them, or in opposition to them, praised the Lord; see Ps 18:49; or rather before the ark, the symbol of the presence of the true God; or, as Gussetius l interprets it, “before thee, O God, will I sing praise”; or I will sing praise to thee, the Son the Messiah, one divine Person before another; the Son before God the Father, and it may be added before God the Holy Spirit, the two other divine Persons; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, “before the angels”, who are sometimes called gods, Ps 8:5; and who attend the assemblies of the saints and churches of Christ, 1Co 11:10.
l Comment. Ebr. p. 50.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The poet will give thanks to Him, whom he means without mentioning Him by name, for His mercy, i.e., His anticipating, condescending love, and for His truth, i.e., truthfulness and faithfulness, and more definitely for having magnified His promise ( ) above all His Name, i.e., that He has given a promise which infinitely surpasses everything by which He has hitherto established a name and memorial for Himself ( , with o instead of o , an anomaly that is noted by the Masora, vid., Baer’s Psalterium, p. 133). If the promise by the mouth of Nathan (2 Sam. 7) is meant, then we may compare 2Sa 7:21. , , are repeated in that promise and its echo coming from the heart of David so frequently, that this seems like a hint pointing to that history, which is one of the most important crises in the history of salvation. The expression also becomes intelligible from this history. Ewald renders it: “in the presence of God!” which is surely meant to say: in the holy place (De Wette, Olshausen). But “before God will I sing praise to Thee (O God!)” – what a jumble! The lxx renders , which is in itself admissible and full of meaning,
(Note: Bellarmine: Scio me psallentem tibi ab angelis, qui tibi assistunt, videri et attendi et ideo ita considerate me geram in psallendo, ut qui intelligam, in quo theatro consistam .)
but without coherence in the context of the Psalm, and also is to be rejected because it is on the whole very questionable whether the Old Testament language uses thus, without anything further to define it, in the sense of “angels.” It might be more readily rendered “in the presence of the gods,” viz., of the gods of the peoples (Hengstenberg, Hupfeld, and Hitzig); but in order to be understood of gods which are only seemingly such, it would require some addition. Whereas can without any addition denote the magisterial possessors of the dignity that is the type of the divine, as follows from Psa 82:1 (cf. Psa 45:7) in spite of Knobel, Graf, and Hupfeld; and thus, too (cf. in Psa 119:46), we understand it here, with Rashi, Aben-Ezra, Kimchi, Falminius, Bucer, Clericus, and others. What is meant are “the great who are in the earth,” 2Sa 7:9, with whom David, inasmuch as he became king from being a shepherd, is ranked, and above whom he has been lifted up by the promise of an eternal kingship. Before these earthly “gods” will David praise the God of the promise; they shall hear for their salutary confusion, for their willing rendering of homage, that God hath made him “the highest with respect to the kings of the earth” (Psa 89:28).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Grateful Praise. | |
A psalm of David.
1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. 2 I 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. 3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. 4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. 5 Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.
I. How he would praise God, compare Ps. cxi. 1. 1. He will praise him with sincerity and zeal–“With my heart, with my whole heart, with that which is within me and with all that is within me, with uprightness of intention and fervency of affection, inward impressions agreeing with outward expressions.” 2. With freedom and boldness: Before the gods will I sing praise unto thee, before the princes, and judges, and great men, either those of other nations that visited him or those of his own nation that attended on him, even in their presence. He will not only praise God with his heart, which we may do by pious ejaculations in any company, but will sing praise if there be occasion. Note, Praising God is work which the greatest of men need not be ashamed of; it is the work of angels, the work of heaven. Before the angels (so some understand it), that is, in religious assemblies, where there is a special presence of angels, 1 Cor. xi. 10. 3. In the way that God had appointed: I will worship towards thy holy temple. The priests alone went into the temple; the people, at the nearest, did but worship towards it, and that they might do at a distance. Christ is our temple, and towards him we must look with an eye of faith, as Mediator between us and God, in all our praises of him. Heaven is God’s holy temple, and thitherward we must lift up our eyes in all our addresses to God. Our Father in heaven.
II. What he would praise God for. 1. For the fountain of his comforts–for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth, for thy goodness and for thy promise, mercy hidden in thee and mercy revealed by thee, that God is a gracious God in himself and has engaged to be so to all those that trust in him. For thou hast magnified thy word (thy promise, which is truth) above all thy name. God has made himself known to us in many ways in creation and providence, but most clearly by his word. The judgments of his mouth are magnified even above those of his hand, and greater things are done by them. The wonders of grace exceed the wonders of nature; and what is discovered of God by revelation is much greater than what is discovered by reason. In what God had done for David his faithfulness to his work appeared more illustriously, and redounded more to his glory, than any other of his attributes. Some good interpreters understand it of Christ, the essential Word, and of his gospel, which are magnified above all the discoveries God had before made of himself to the fathers. He that magnified the law, and made that honourable, magnifies the gospel much more. 2. For the streams flowing from that fountain, in which he himself had tasted that the Lord is gracious, v. 3. He had been in affliction, and he remembers, with thankfulness, (1.) The sweet communion he then had with God. He cried, he prayed, and prayed earnestly, and God answered him, gave him to understand that his prayer was accepted and should have a gracious return in due time. The intercourse between God and his saints is carried on by his promises and their prayers. (2.) The sweet communications he then had from God: Thou strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. This was the answer to his prayer, for God gives more than good words, Ps. xx. 6. Observe, [1.] It was a speedy answer: In the day when I cried. Note, Those that trade with heaven by prayer grow rich by quick returns. While we are yet speaking God hears, Isa. lxv. 24. [2.] It was a spiritual answer. God gave him strength in his soul, and that is a real and valuable answer to the prayer of faith in the day of affliction. If God give us strength in our souls to bear the burdens, resist the temptations, and do the duties of an afflicted state, if he strengthen us to keep hold of himself by faith, to maintain the peace of our own minds and to wait with patience for the issue, we must own that he has answered us, and we are bound to be thankful.
III. What influence he hoped that his praising God would have upon others, Psa 138:4; Psa 138:5. David was himself a king, and therefore he hoped that kings would be wrought upon by his experiences, and his example, to embrace religion; and, if kings became religious, their kingdoms would be every way better. Now, 1. This may have reference to the kings that were neighbours to David, as Hiram and others. “They shall all praise thee.” When they visited David, and, after his death, when they sought the presence of Solomon (as all the kings of the earth are expressly said to have done, 2 Chron. ix. 23), they readily joined in the worship of the God of Israel. 2. It may look further, to the calling of the Gentiles and the discipling of all nations by the gospel of Christ, of whom it is said that all kings shall fall down before him, Ps. lxxii. 11. Now it is here foretold, (1.) That the kings of the earth shall hear the words of God. All that came near David should hear them from him, Ps. cxix. 46. In the latter days the preachers of the gospel should be sent into all the world. (2.) That then they shall praise God, as all those have reason to do that hear his word, and receive it in the light and love of it, Acts xiii. 48. (3.) That they shall sing in the ways of the Lord, in the ways of his providence and grace towards them; they shall rejoice in God, and give glory to him, however he is pleased to deal with them in the ways of their duty and obedience to him. Note, Those that walk in the ways of the Lord have reason to sing in those ways, to go on in them with a great deal of cheerfulness, for they are ways of pleasantness, and it becomes us to be pleasant in them; and, if we are so, great is the glory of the Lord. It is very much for the honour of God that kings should walk in his ways, and that all those who walk in them should sing in them, and so proclaim to all the world that he is a good Master and his work its own wages.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Psalms 138
Praising God Scripture v. 1-8:
The following 8 Psalms , 138-145, are all songs of praise written by David, called forth by the Lord’s promise to preserve his house and throne forever, as related to him Through the prophet Nathan, 2 Samuel 7 and Psalms 72. These next 8 psalms are all written In first person, in priority praise to Jehovah God. They are Davidic Psalms.
Verse 1 declares that the psalmist David will praise the Lord, with his whole heart, all his affections, in absolute sincerity, 2Ch 5:13; Deu 6:5; Psa 18:49; Psa 81:1. He adds that it will be done before the gods, the idols, idol worshipers and heathen rulers, without any shame on his part, Psa 119:40; Psa 119:46.
Verse 2 adds that he will “worship toward thy holy temple (in Jerusalem) and praise thy name for thy loving kindness,” and his truth fulfills it, Psa 25:10; 2Sa 7:28; 1Ki 8:20. He continues “For thou hast magnified thy word (of truth) above all thy name,” or above your honor, Isa 42:21; 2Sa 7:10-29. See also Gen 22:5; Psa 5:7; Mat 4:5; Psa 17:7; Deu 32:4.
Verse 3 witnesses that “In the day when I (David) cried thou answeredest me, and strengthened me,” with strength in my soul, Exo 15:25; 2Sa 22:40; Eph 3:20; Zec 10:12; 2Co 12:9; Psa 18:29; Jer 9:23-24.
Verse 4 asserts, “all the kings (rulers) of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth,” and realize that what He promises He performs. Then shall all fall down before Him, Php_2:11.
Verse 5 adds, “yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord; for great is (exists) the glory of the Lord,” as witnessed Psa 145:7; Psa 18:30; Exo 24:17.
Verse 6 states that “Though the Lord be high (exalted), yet hath he respect unto the lowly,” even as David was lifted from a sheepfold to be a king, Psa 113:4-8. It is added, “But the proud he knoweth afar off,” those who are enemies of Him and His people, Pro 3:34; Jas 4:6; 1Pe 5:5; Luk 16:26; Mat 25:41; Psa 73:27; Jer 12:2. His respect for the lowly is further related 1Sa 2:7-8; Psa 51:17; Isa 57:15; Isa 66:2; Jas 5:5.
Verse 7 acknowledges that, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble thou wilt revive me,” a promise he had made to the afflicted, Job 11:16; Psa 23:3-4; Isa 43:2; Job 13:15; Job 19:25-26. He added, “Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies,” to help me, Deu 33:29; “And thy right hand (of power strength) shall save me,” Deu 5:15; Psa 27:1; see also Psa 30:3; Psa 71:13; Psa 60:5.
Verse 8 concludes, “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me,” to the hour of judgment. This is Divine security’s pledge, Psa 57:2; Isa 26:12; Php_1:6. He added, “Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth (continually) for ever,” Psa 103:17. His final appeal is, “Forsake not the works of thine own hands,” of raising up, securing mine own house forever, Deu 4:31; Psa 27:9.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. I will praise thee with my whole heart As David had been honored to receive distinguishing marks of the divine favor, he declares his resolution to show more than ordinary gratitude. This is exercise which degenerates and is degraded in the case of hypocrites to a mere sound of empty words, but he states that he would return thanks to God not with the lips only, but with sincerity of heart, for by the whole heart, as we have elsewhere seen, is meant a heart which is sincere and not double. The noun אלהים, Elohim, sometimes means angels, and sometimes kings, and either meaning will suit with the passage before us. The praise David speaks of is that which is of a public kind. The solemn assembly is, so to speak, a heavenly theater, graced by the presence of attending angels; and one reason why the cherubim overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant was to let God’s people know that the angels are present when they come to worship in the sanctuary. We might very properly apply what is said here to kings, on account of their eminence in rank, as in Psa 107:32, “Praise ye the Lord in the assembly of the elders” — that is, as we should say, in an assembly of an honored and illustrious kind. But I prefer the former sense, and this because believers in drawing near to God are withdrawn from the world, and rise to heaven in the enjoyment of fellowship with angels, so that we find Paul enforcing his address to the Corinthians upon the necessity of decency and order, by requiring them to show some respect at least in their public religious assemblies to the angels. (1Co 11:10.) The same thing was represented by God long before, under the figure of the cherubim, thus giving his people a visible pledge of his presence.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
INTRODUCTION
This, says Barnes, is the first of a series of eight Psalms (Psalms 38-145) placed together in this part of the book, and ascribed to David. They appear to be of the nature of a supplement to the Book of Psalms, composed of Psalms unknown to the original collector and arranger of the Book, and subsequently discovered and ascertained to be the works of David. It is not to be regarded as strange that there should be Psalms of this nature composed by David at different periods of his life, which might have been preserved in different branches of his family, and which might not have been generally known to exist. It is rare that the works of an author, especially a poet, are collected and published, and that things of this kindfugitive and occasional piecesare not subsequently found; nor is it very unusual that such pieces may, after all, be amongst the most tender, touching, and beautiful of his compositions. Burns Highland Mary, so much admired, and his, When wild Wars deadly blast was blown,a poem which no one can read without tears,with not a few others of his, are of this description. They are said, in his Biography, to have been extracted from the correspondence of Burns.
The occasion on which this Psalm was composed cannot now be determined.
A DEVOUT RESOLUTION, GRATEFUL RECOLLECTION, AND AN ENCOURAGING ANTICIPATION
(Psa. 138:1-5)
We have here
I. A devout resolution (Psa. 138:1-2). The poet resolves to celebrate the praise of God, and to do so
1. In the most excellent manner.
(1.) Heartily. I will praise Thee with my whole heart. It is remarkable that he does not say whom he will praise until he comes to the fourth verse. This is significant. It is as though in the Psalmists heart there could be but one object of praise, whether named or unnamed. Wholeheartedness and fervour in worship are acceptable unto God.
(2.) Confidently. Before the gods will I sing praise unto Thee. The gods,says Perowne, are the false gods, the objects of heathen worship, in the very presence of whom, and to the confusion of their worshippers, the Psalmist will utter his praise of the true God. When our faith in God is strong we shall be neither afraid nor ashamed to praise Him before any person.
(3.) Becomingly. I will worship toward Thy holy temple. The Psalmist was not allowed to enter the interior of the tabernacle, which he here designates, Thy holy temple. The tabernacle was regarded as the special residence of the Most High. Because He specially manifested Himself there, the pious Israelites turned their faces towards it when they worshipped. Thus Daniel in his exile prayed with his windows open in his chamber toward Jerusalem. There are certain forms and arrangements for worship which are reverent and seemly, and these every devout worshipper will endeavour to conform to. Keep thy foot when thou goest into the house of God, &c. We must worship reverently through the mediation of Jesus Christ.
2. For the most excellent reasons. I will praise Thy Name for Thy loving-kindness and for Thy truth; for Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy Name. The poet resolves to praise the Lord because of the kindness and faithfulness which He had manifested according to His Word. The final clause in the second verse has occasioned considerable difficulty to some expositors. The interpretation of Barnes, Hengstenberg, Henry, Perowne, and others seems to us undoubtedly correct,that the revelation of Himself which God has given to man in His Word surpasses in clearness and preciousness all the other manifestations which He has made of Himself: Thus Perowne: Thy word, or promise. (Comp. Psa. 56:10; Psa. 60:6; Psa. 62:11.) No particular promise is meant. The same word occurs frequently in Psalms 119. Above all Thy Name. The expression seems to mean that to the soul waiting upon God, and trusting in His word, the promise becomes so precious, so strong a ground of hope, that it surpasses all other manifestations of Gods goodness and truth; or in the promise may here also be included the fulfilment of the promise. In His Word God has given many exceeding great and precious promises, and they are all worthy of acceptation; for God in His fulfilment is better even than in His promises. Here then is an excellent reason for praising God, because He has manifested so much of Himself, and especially of His loving-kindness and faithfulness to us in His Word. Our revelation is much fuller and richer than was that of David. We see Jesus,
And, in His face a glory stands,
The noblest labour of Thy hands;
The radiant lustre of His eyes
Outshines the wonders of the skies.
Watts.
Therefore, our praise should be more hearty and confident than was that of David.
II. A grateful recollection. In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. Perowne: Thou madest me courageous with strength in my soul. In time of need the Psalmist had sought the Lord in prayer, and the Lord had heard and graciously answered him. God had answered him
1. Speedily. In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me. Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. (Comp. Dan. 9:20-24.)
2. Spiritually. Thou madest me courageous with strength in my soul. We pray in time of difficulty, and He gives us wisdom and courage to meet and surmount the difficulty; in time of affliction, and He gives us patience and strength to bear the suffering. My grace, saith He, is sufficient for thee. Recollections such as this one of Davids stimulate the heart to grateful and joyous praise.
III. An encouraging anticipation. The Psalmist confidently anticipates a time when all the kings of the earth shall recognise Jehovah as God, and render to Him devout homage and cheerful obedience.
1. All kings shall be made acquainted with the highest revelation of God and with His glory. They shall hear the words of His mouth, and see that great is the glory of the Lord. The Gospel shall be preached in all the world, and the glory of the Divine grace shall be exhibited to all peoples. God in Christ shall be made known to all men.
2. When all kings are acquainted with the words and the glory of the Lord they will heartily praise and cheerfully serve Him. Shall praise Thee, O Lord, &c. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord. The ways of the Lord are those of obedience and worship; the ways of reverence towards God and righteousness towards men. They shall tread them with cheerfulness. Obligation will be regarded as a privilege. Duty will be transformed into delight. Statutes will be translated into songs, and set to joyous music. A true acquaintance with the highest revelation of God is calculated to lead to such a result. The revelation of God in Christ is fitted to inspire our trust, to captivate our affections, and to secure our enthusiastic obedience. Let the world heartily accept Christthe Christ not of the creeds and the churches, but of the Evangelistsas the supreme Revelation of God, and it will speedily bow to His authority, resound with His praise, and delight in His service.
GODS WORD EXALTED
(Psa. 138:2)
Thou has magnified Thy word above all Thy Name.
I. As the medium of His self-manifestation.
II. As the exposition of His government.
III. As the record of His will.
IV. As the instrument of His power.
V. As the revelation of His love.
W. W. Wythe.
AN EARNEST PRAYER, AND AN IMMEDIATE ANSWER
(Psa. 138:3)
Consider
I. The earnestness of his prayer. I cried unto Thee. Beautiful description of prayercrying unto God. Prayer, says Mrs. More, is the cry of want, to Him that can relieve it; of guilt, to Him who is able to pardon it; of sorrow, to Him who is able to relieve it. (So Psa. 119:145.)
1. It supposes the pressure of distress, under the frowns of the world; under the temptations of Satan; under the difficulties of the way; under the exigencies of the Christian conflict. The day of trial, a long daya dark daya stormy daya day that brings God and the soul together. The time of affliction is the time of supplication. God afflicts us that He may hear from us.
2. It supposes the ready recourse of the Christian to God in prayer. No sooner does the storm of danger come down than the cry of faith and fervour goes up. It is this spirit of heartfelt continued instancy in prayer that keeps the Christian in the hour of temptation, or in the floods of adversity, and maintains the spiritual life within. But often is the Christian constrained to acknowledge that his heart has little to do with the cry of his lips. Yet in danger still he criessometimes with a cry which no words could fully express, that vents itself only in groanings which cannot be uttereda cry that enters into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
3. It supposes previous habits of acquaintance with God; for we do not run to a stranger in distress, much less to an enemy, but to a known and tried friend.
4. It supposes the union of prayer and thankfulness. Praise should always follow where prayer is answered. A gracious man is a praising and a grateful man. As answers come down, praises should go up.
II. The effectual relief he gained.
God is a prayer-hearing and a sin-pardoning God.
1. He obtained an immediate answer. In the day when I cried Thou answeredst, &c. Moses cried at the Red Sea, and had instant help. No needless delay: no indifference to the state and condition of the Church on the part of God. (Compare Psa. 32:3-5.) While the voice of penitent confession was suppressed, his cries and lamentations were disregarded; but upon the first utterance of prayer from his lips, or rather on the first purpose of contrition formed in his heart, the pardon, the full and free pardon, is granted. I said, I will confess, and Thou forgavest. How prompt was the answer to Jacobs prayer at Jabbok (Gen. 32:24-30); to Gideons (Jdg. 6:36-40; to Daniels (Dan. 9:20-23).
2. He was replenished with inward grace. Thou strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. Strength to bear troubles; strength to overcome temptations; strength to war with the powers of evil. Especially was he strengthened in the actings of faithled to renewed exercises of dependence upon the power and grace of Christ. Weak indeed are our purposes without grace to strengthen them, and worthless our good resolutions without grace to carry them out; but when the grace is enjoyed, difficulties give way, enemies are overcome, and inward peace is attained amidst outward trials. This is Gods way of putting life into the soul, when by an inexpressible sweetness and power He allures the soul to Himself. Every step, indeed, to the very end will be a conflict with besetting sin or with remaining enmity and unbelief. But in answer to prayer there will be a continual drawing of the Spirit of God towards high and holy things. The same Hand that gave a new bias to the soul in a heavenward motion, will confirm and strengthen it to the end.
3. The principle of hope was itself reinvigorated, that he was not only strengthened for the present, but enabled to anticipate the future. Though I walk in the midst of trouble. Thou wilt revive me.
III. The force and inspiration of his example upon other minds.
All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of Thy mouth, &c. We not only must be religious ourselves, but help others to be so.Samuel Thodey.
GODS TREATMENT OF DIFFERENT CLASSES OF CHARACTER
(Psa. 138:6-8.)
I. Gods treatment of the humble. Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly.
1. The character. The lowly. Not the lowly in outward condition merely, but in inward dispositionthe humble. Humility is not a thing of circumstances, but of soul.
2. The treatment. The Lord hath respect unto the lowly. He looks upon them. He not only sees them, but regards them graciously. He views them with approving interest, and affords them kindly aid.
3. The reason. Because the Lord is high He hath respect unto the lowly. The A. V. in giving the impression that the Lord looks upon the humble notwithstanding His greatness does not represent the poets meaning. God graciously regards the poor in spirit because He is so great. A more correct rendering is, For the Lord is lifted up, and looks upon the lowly.Hengstenberg. Or: For lofty is Jehovah, and the humble He sees.Barnes. God is a great Being, and therefore He is condescending. Hengstenberg: The lofty elevation of the Lord forms the ground, on account of which He lifts up the lowly, brings down the proud; not: and yet; but: and therefore. Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
II. Gods treatment of the proud. The proud He knoweth afar off.
1. The character. The proud. Not the exalted in station, but the haughty, the arrogant. Pride is unbecoming, foolish, sinful. Pride, says Sidney Smith, is not the heritage of man; humility should dwell with frailty, and atone for ignorance, error, and imperfection.
2. The treatment. Jehovah knoweth the proud afar off. He regards them only at a distance. Pride is an insuperable barrier between God and man. A haughty man is not regarded by God with favour, nor can he have any communion with Him. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord.
III. Gods treatment of His afflicted people. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, &c. We have here
1. A depressing possibility in the life of good men. The life of a good man may be
(1.) Surrounded by troublea journey in the midst of trouble. Piety does not secure a man from the afflictions of life. The godly man is exposed to infirmities and diseases of the body, to losses and difficulties in temporal affairs, to family and social trials and bereavements, to spiritual conflicts and distresses. Like Job, the godly man is sometimes almost overwhelmed with trouble. The life of a good man may be
(2.) Imperilled by angry enemies. The Psalmist seems to have been exposed to the wrath of his adversaries when he wrote this Psalm. The godly soul is exposed to the assaults of spiritual foes. The lusts of the flesh, the cares and anxieties, pomps and vanities, shams and dissipations of the world, and the subtlety and power of the devil are arrayed against him. The good man is acquainted with both trouble and peril; he has trials and enemies.
2. An encouraging confidence in the life of good men. David was confident of
(1.) Revival in trouble. Thou wilt revive me. He had an unfailing hope that the Lord would quicken and strengthen him to bear his trials. He sustains and comforts His afflicted people. David was confident of
(2.) Deliverance from enemies. Thou shalt stretch forth Thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and Thy right hand shall save me. God exerts His almighty power for the protection and salvation of His people. The good are shielded by Omnipotence.
IV. Gods treatment of His trustful people. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me, &c. Notice:
1. The inspiring assurance. The poet was confident that the Lord would accomplish the work which He had begun concerning him. God does not abandon His work in an incomplete state. We are confident that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Grace will complete what grace begins.
2. The firm basis of this assurance. The confidence of the Psalmist was grounded on the unchangeableness of Gods everlasting mercy. Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever. He who bases his trust of complete and glorious salvation on this foundation will never be put to shame.
3. The humble dependence of this assurance. Forsake not the works of Thine own hands. The poet here translates into a prayer what he had just before expressed as a conviction of his soul. Prayer is one of the means whereby the completion of the Divine work in us and for us is secured. The good man is sensible of his own weakness and waywardness, and depends upon God to perfect His own work in his salvation. In the material universe there are no unfinished worlds or systems; no half-made and forsaken works of His hands. And His work in the soul that trusts Him He will continue until it attains full and glorious perfection.
Here, then, is encouragement to His people to trust in Him at all times.
THE MAJESTY AND CONDESCENSION OF GOD
(Psa. 138:6)
Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly.
I. The majesty of God.
1. Consider His eternity.
2. Consider His immutability.
3. Consider His power.
4. Consider His goodness.
II. The condescension of God.
1. Consider the persons to whom His preference is shown.
2. Consider the special blessings with which He honours them.Geo. Brooks.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Psalms 138
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
A Kings Public Thanks for Advancement in Royal Dignity.
ANALYSIS
Stanza I., Psa. 138:1-3, Public Thanks for Unexpected Advancement and for the Lofty Feeling thereby imparted. Stanza II., Psa. 138:4-6, Anticipations of the Homage of Other Kings to Jehovah, which is Traced to its Moral Cause. Stanza III., Psa. 138:7-8, Assurance of the Coming Completion of Jehovahs Promises.
(Lm.) By David.
1
I will thank thee[801] with my whole heart,
[801] Some cod. (w. Aram., Sep., Vul.) add: JehovahGn.
before messengers divine[802] will I make melody unto thee:
[802] Cp. Psa. 8:5, Psa. 29:1, Psa. 89:6-9.
2
I will bow down towards thy holy temple,[803]
[803] Cp. Psa. 5:7.
and thank thy name for thy kindness and for thy faithfulness;
for thou hast magnified above all thy name thy promise:[804]
[804] So Del.; and cp. 119 (Table) for promise. Well explained: The fulfillment of Thy promise surpasses the renown of all Thy former mercies.Dr.
3
In the day that I called thou didst answer me,
didst embolden me in my soul with strength.[805]
[805] Didst inspire me with couragea lofty feeling permeated my soulDel.
4
All the kings of the earth will thank thee Jehovah,
when[806] they have heard the sayings of thy mouth;
[806] Or: because.
5
And will sing of the ways of Jehovah,
because great is the glory of Jehovah:
6
Though lofty is Jehovah yet the lowly he regardeth,
but the haughty afar off doth he acknowledge.
7
If I walk in the midst of distress thou revivest me:
over the wrath of mine enemies thou stretchest forth thy hand,[807]
[807] Some cod. (w. 2 ear. pr. edns. [1 Rabb.], Sep.): hands (pl.)Gn.
and thy right hand saveth me.
8
Jehovah will complete (all things)[808] on my behalf:
[808] So Dr. Cp. Psa. 57:2.
Jehovah thy kindness is to the ages,
the works[809] of thine own hands do not discard.
[809] Some cod. (w. Syr.): work (sing.)Gn.
(Lm.) to the Chief Musician.
PARAPHRASE
Psalms 138
Lord, with all my heart I thank You. I will sing Your praises before the armies of angels[810] in heaven.
[810] Literally, before the gods, or before the idols.
2 I face Your Temple as I worship, giving thanks to You for all Your lovingkindness and Your faithfulness, for Your promises are backed by all the honor of Your name.[811]
[811] Literally, You have exalted Your word above all Your name.
3 When I pray, You answer me, and encourage me by giving me the strength I need.
4 Every king in all the earth shall give You thanks, O Lord, for all of them shall hear Your voice.
5 Yes, they shall sing about Jehovahs glorious ways, for His glory is very great.
6 Yet though He is so great, He respects the humble; but proud men must keep their distance.
7 Though I am surrounded by troubles, You will bring me safely through them. You will clench Your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me.
8 The Lord will work out His plans for my lifefor Your lovingkindness, Lord, continues forever. Dont abandon mefor You made me.
EXPOSITION
The sudden reappearance of psalms ascribed To David, together with a survey of the literary field in which they present themselves, suggests the obvious conclusion, that an early psalter was concluded with the Hallel Psalms 105-107; Psalms 111-118; Psalms 135-136; Psalms , 146-150; and that, subsequently, other psalms were inserted among them. Of these subsequently inserted psalms, there are two groups assigned to David; namely, 108110 and 138145. Why they thus appear in two groups, rather than in one, is uncertain; but may easily have arisen from the order in which they were found, or the sources from which they were taken. The more urgent question is, how they came to be so belated in finding their way at all into the collected Praises of Israel.
Let us assume that we cannot now get to know this: is our ignorance material? There are many possible reasons why such a thing as so late a discovery of certain psalms might easily have happened. These two groups of Davidic psalms might have already appeared in other connections, and been regarded as sufficiently well preserved already; or they may have been stored at some spot or treasured in some library inaccessible to the earlier collectors of psalms. But the important point to note is, that no incident or accident of this kind is of sufficient weight to throw the smallest doubt upon the incorporated literary assignment of these psalms to David.
Because they are attributed to David, in closely-written and even continuous headlines, the presumption is that they came from his pen; and, unless we can establish the existence of an amount of Librarian carelessness or audacity which is inherently improbable, we ought not to set aside this presumption, save for good and strong cause.
Minute differences of style or orthography are seen to be insufficient reason for such discredit, as soon as proper consideration is given to the liberty known to have been taken by the Sopherim in controlling the Sacred Text. In the one known process of transliteration alone, they may have introduced orthographic peculiarities which it would be a great mistake to ascribe to a higher or earlier source, so as to disturb the question of original authorship.
Again: similarities to other psalms, may be due to such a cause as duplicate production from the authors own pen, who may have more than once given expression to similar sentiments, while in the same circumstances or in the same vein of feeling.
Once more: in some of these similar strains there may be special features which nowhere else appear: why not?
How these possibilities and cautions apply to the matter in hand will presently be seen.
We have here more psalms attributed to David: are they sufficiently like him to allow us to accept them on their own profession? Do they dovetail into what we know of him already and into what we have from him elsewhere? In our many-sided care not to be misled, may we not justly beware of being prejudiced against an addition to our autobiographical materials? Let this be the spirit, then, in which we proceed to the consideration of this new and important batch of psalms ascribed To David.
The first of the present series, namely the 138th, strikes us as not only an exceedingly bright and acceptable addition to those which have gone before; but as at once harmonising with what we know of David, and at the same time taking us a little beyond it.
The first stanza strikes just such a note as would be congenial to Davids circumstances and sentiments soon after the communication to him of the Divine Oath by Nathan respecting the permanent continuance in his house of the Throne of Israel (2 Samuel 7). Just as here portrayed, he would then worship before the newly brought-in Ark; and it commends itself to us as eminently fitting, that such an advance in Jehovahs self-manifestation as was constituted by the new and unexpected promises contained in his newly received Covenant, should have at this time found unique expression in the line (Psa. 138:2):
for thou hast magnified above all thy name thy promise; as to which see Drivers excellent comment at the foot of the text above. Corresponding with this, it is easy to conceive how almost dangerously life-like was the enhanced sense of royal importance as, in Delitzschs apt words, a lofty feeling permeated his soul.
In the second stanza of the psalm, we come upon something which seems at once new and apt: a sentiment not so clearly expressed elsewhere, but which nevertheless we are glad to perceive could find lodgment in Davids mind. That the kings of the earth should do homage to Davids Heirthis we have already perceived, as from Psalms 72, 89; but that those kings should, for themselves, rejoice in the sayings of Jehovahs mouth, and should, in the right of their own joy, sing of his ways because of the greatness of his glorythis is peculiarly acceptable: most of all acceptable, and of charming interest, because of the implied peculiarity, that such enthusiasm would be roused even in the minds of kings by Jehovahs supreme regard for the lowly. How this strikes a note not unknown to David, because probably taught him by Samuel, may be seen by reference to Psa. 18:20-27 with our Exposition thereof.
But, as the third stanza makes us feel, we have not done with Davidthe historical Davidwho, by little turns of expression peculiarly his own, lets us know that, while he is not yet finally out of trouble, he is confident that his covenant God will complete all things on his behalf. As in the earlier psalms of David which passed under Hezekiahs co-editing care, so this also is well handed over to the Chief Musician, which makes us feel quite at home, satisfied that the choirs will be well instructed how to deal with this addition to their Temple treasures.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
What is suggested by the sudden reappearance of psalms ascribed to David?
2.
There are many possible reasons why these psalms of David are so late in appearing. Discuss at least one possible reason.
3.
The literary critic is quick to see another author or redactor in any difference in expression. Show how this is a false practice.
4.
This psalm well illustrates 2 Samuel 17. How?
5.
A new thought concerning David is found in the second stanza. What is it?
6.
He who began a good work will perfect it. How does this thought apply to David?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) Before the gods.Undoubtedly, as in Psa. 82:1 : before the great or mighty. (Comp. Psa. 119:46, before kings.)
Sing praise.Rather, play.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. Before the gods Certainly not the heathen idols, which are contemptuously called nothings. See on Psa 96:5. “Before the gods,” means in their presence. Clearly this is an instance where , eloheem, denotes princes, kings, dignitaries, and should read: “Before the princes or kings,” etc. See on Psa 82:1; Psa 82:6. Compare Joh 10:34-35
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psalms 138
Psa 138:8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
Psa 138:8
Php 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Thanksgiving for God’s Salvation.
v. 1. I will praise Thee with my whole heart, v. 2. I will worship toward Thy holy Temple, v. 3. In the day when I cried, v. 4. All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee, O Lord, v. 5. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord, v. 6. Though the Lord be high. exalted above all creatures, yet hath He respect unto the lowly, v. 7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, v. 8. The Lord will perfect,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
A CLUSTER of Davidical psalms here follows. It is not easy to trace any single line of thought connecting them all, or to explain how they come to be so entirely separated from the great bulk of the Davidical psalms. The first two are, in the main, psalms of praise; the next four, psalms of supplication; in Psa 146:1-10, praise and supplication are blended; while in Psa 145:1-21. praise again forms the main, if not the sole, topic of the composition. It is a fanciful exegesis, which sees in all the eight psalms reflections upon the promise made to David in 2Sa 7:1-29.
Psa 138:1
I will praise thee with my whole heart (comp. Psa 9:1; Psa 111:1). Before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. Some suppose the expression, “before the gods,” to mean “before the great ones of the earth,” and quote Psa 119:46 as parallel. Others think that the imaginary vain gods of the heathen are intended.
Psa 138:2
I will worship toward thy holy temple. The term “temple” here must designate the tabernacle (comp. Psa 5:8). And praise thy Name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth. “Mercy” and “truth” are God’s two highest attributes (Exo 34:6). They were especially shown to Israel in God’s promises and his fidelity to them. For thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name. Some would amend the text, and read , “thy truth,” for, “thy Word.” But if we keep the text, and understand as “thy promises,” the sense will not be very different. God has magnified his promise, and his faithfulness to it, above all his other revealed attributes.
Psa 138:3
In the day when I cried thou answeredst me. Thy answer came to my prayer almost as soon as it was out of my mouth. And strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. The promptness of thy answer gave my soul fresh strength.
Psa 138:4
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord. The world shall be converted to thy worship when it is seen how promptly and fully thou answerest prayer (comp. Psa 68:31, Psa 68:32; Psa 102:15). When they hear the words of thy mouth. The promises that thou makest, and thy performance of them.
Psa 138:5
Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord. They, i.e. the kings, shall sing, no longer in their own misguided heathen ways, but in the ways of the Lord, in the mode prescribed by his Law and practiced in his temple (comp. Isa 49:22, Isa 49:23; Isa 60:3-5, etc.). For great is the glory of the Lord. (cf. Isa 60:1-3; Isa 66:18.) It is this “glory” which attracts “all nations and tongues.”
Psa 138:6
Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly. Notwithstanding all God’s glory and greatness, he condescends to look upon the lowly, to consider their needs, and to supply them (comp. Isa 57:15). Hence David feels sure that he will not be overlooked (see Psa 138:7, Psa 138:8). But the proud he knoweth afar off. God keeps proud men at a distance, does not draw near to them, much less make his abode with them, but leaves them to themselves until they are ripe for punishment.
Psa 138:7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me (comp. Psa 23:4). David “walked in the midst of trouble” during the greater part of his life. When the persecution of Saul was over, he had trouble from foreign enemies (2 Samuel 5-12.); when these were subdued, his domestic troubles began (2 Samuel 13-19.; 1Ki 5:1-18 :53). God, however, from time to time “gave him a reviving.” Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies (comp. Psa 3:7; Psa 9:3-6; Psa 18:14-17, etc.). What God had so often done for him, David is confident that he will do again. He will break the power of his enemies, and deliver him from their machinations. And thy right hand. The symbol of strength. Shall save me; or, “deliver me” (comp. Psa 18:35; Psa 60:5; Psa 63:8; Psa 108:6, etc.).
Psa 138:8
The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me; i.e. will complete what he has begun for mewill not leave his work unfinished (comp. Psa 57:2; Php 1:6). Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever. Does not suddenly break off and stop. Forsake not the works of thine own hands. This is probably more than a mere personal request. David sees in God’s care for himself a portion of his great providential scheme for the redemption of the world.
HOMILETICS
Psa 138:1-8
The goodness of God.
There are very few psalms where so much is crowded into a very small compass as in this. The writer in a very few strokes brings out those features in the character of God which make him to be the One who is worthy of our deepest reverence, of our fullest confidence, of our most grateful praise. We have
I. HIS LOVING–KINDNESS. (Psa 138:2.)
II. HIS FAITHFULNESS. (Psa 138:2.) The psalmist gives thanks for “thy truth,” and goes on to say that God has done that for him which more than fulfils his word of promise (see Jos 23:14). It is not only in the ordering of our outward life, but in his dealing with us in the gospel of his Son, that “God is faithful” (1Co 1:9). It is “he that is true” who speaks to us from heaven (see Rev 3:7), and summons us to his service and to his friendship. It is the unvarying testimony of Christian men, as their course closes, that their Divine Lord has been faithful to them, working in them and doing for them all that he had promised to them.
III. THE CONDITIONS OF HIS FELLOWSHIP. (Psa 138:6.) There is nothing more explicitly revealed, both in Old Testament and New, than this doctrine of humility. Throughout Scripture, pride is presented to us as the insuperable obstacle blocking the way to the favor of God: humbleness of heart is held before us as the very gateway of his kingdom. We can see the reason why it should be so.
1. It is the truth. When we take a high view of ourselves, we see ourselves in a false light; when a lowly view, we see ourselves as we are.
2. It is the one way to the admission of Divine wisdom. The haughty heart will not listen when God speaks; the humble heart is open and receptive.
3. It is the necessary condition of receiving Jesus Christ as our Divine Savior. He came “not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” It was the complacent Pharisee who stood aloof from him, and who rejected his doctrine; it was the consciously unworthy who “drew nigh unto him for to hear him” (Luk 15:1), and who “went into the kingdom” before the self-righteous and the respectable. Hence we find our Lord beginning his public teaching with the Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:3); hence we have his word, “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted “(Mat 23:12; and see Mat 18:3).
4. To be lowly minded is to be like our Lord himself (Mat 11:29; Php 2:7-9).
IV. HIS SUSTAINING AND REVIVING GRACE. (Psa 138:3-7.) In the day of our trouble we “cry unto the Lord.” It is an instinct of our religious nature (see Psa 107:1-43.). It is the natural refuge of the devout (Psa 46:1). It is in accordance with the Divine desire (Psa 50:15). His promise (and his performance) is to sustain our spirit, to “strengthen us with strength in our soul.” We think that we cannot possibly endure the weight of the afflictions that press upon us; but he makes us to know “the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe;” he “revives us,” he renews our hope, our confidence, our courage; he “girds us with all-sufficient grace” for the task we have to undertake, for the suffering we are called to bear. The “morning of joy” which is promised us may be a long way off; many dark hours may have to pass before that will dawn; but during the night of sorrow he will “give us songs,” he will sustain our spirit, he will make us to glory in infirmity,” because “Christ’s own power rests upon us.” There is a more signal proof of his Divine power and goodness than that which, perhaps, in human weakness, we prefer, viz.
V. HIS DELIVERING GRACE. (Psa 138:7, latter part.) For God does sometimes, and indeed often, interpose on behalf of his children. His “right hand,” the right hand of his power and of his righteousness, is laid, not then and there on our souls to revive, but on the enemy to subdue him, or on the tangled events to undo them, on the reduced circumstances to raise and restore them. One touch of that wise, strong handthe touch of a link in the chain far out of sightand the trouble is over. It is right for us to ask this of God, whatever be the trial through which we are passing; but we must ask reverently, and in the spirit of obedience, quite ready to find that he will not take away the cross, but give us strength to bear it.
VI. THE CONTINUOUSNESS AND COMPLETENESS OF HIS WORK WITHIN US. (Psa 138:8.)
1. We are God’s workmanship (Eph 2:10; 1Co 3:9; 2Co 5:5). It is he that hath made us what we are “in Christ Jesus.” It is his Spirit that has “renewed us in the spirit of our mind.” Our repentance, our faith, our peace and rest of heart, our hope of heaven, our interest in the work of God, our readiness or eagerness to serve in the vineyard of Christ,all this is, we gratefully own, the work of God within us.
2. We may count on its continuance. God will not forsake the work of his own hands. If he “pronounces good” the objects in nature, which are the product of his skill and power, how much more will he be pleased with the cleansed heart, with the renewed will, with the obedient spirit of his own child! He will not leave that to be lost on the waste; he will not abandon that to the mercy of wind and wave. We may and must ask his continued care of us, his guardianship and guidance and replenishment; but, thus asking for it, we may count confidently upon it.
3. We may look with a firm hope to the completion of his work in us; he will “perfect that which concerneth us.” His interest in us, his kindness toward us, will not lessen as we live our life in him and before him. As we grow into his image, and as we do his work more faithfully and effectively, his love will not lessen nor his grace slacken. This will “endure forever.” It will follow us all the way, until we are “perfected in Christ;” until we are “meet for the Master’s use” in a higher and larger sphere. For that post in his heavenly kingdom which he will have ready for us we may feel sure that he is fitting us, not only by abounding privilege and wise discipline, but by gracious influences from his Holy Spirit.
The goodness of God has large issues.
1. Its effect on the enlightened mind is whole-hearted praise (Psa 138:1, Psa 138:2). A deep sense of all that God is to us, and of all that we are to him, fills our heart and constrains us to fervent and to public devotion. Whatever is meant particularly by the words, “before the gods,” we may be sure that the psalmist intended to speak of public worship. He would not be satisfied with a thankful and loving spirit, good and right as that was; he would proclaim to all his sense of the loving-kindness and the faithfulness of Jehovah. Full and fearless expression is one part of sacred duty.
2. Its effect on those who stand without is correspondingly great. “The Lord hath done great things for them,” said the Babylonian witnesses (Psa 126:2). If we will so submit ourselves to Divine influences that our lives bear the mark and impress of God’s hand, there will be excited in the minds of those outside the Church of Christ a wondering admiration of the power of the gospel, and they, too, will join in praising God!
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY
Psa 138:1-8
Exultation in God.
What a contrast between this psalm and the previous one! There the sad-hearted writer asks, “How can we sing?” Here the psalmist can and will do nothing but sing. The effect of this spirit is seen throughout the psalm.
I. IT WILL OPENLY CONFESS GOD. (Psa 138:1, Psa 138:2.) “Before the gods,” meaning, we think, those high princes and potentatesgod-like in their majesty, power, and in the abject homage and deference that men paid to themunder whose authority and oppression they had so long lived. The den of lions, the burning fiery furnace, had hitherto been the penalty which had to be paid, did any man dare to praise Jehovah in the presence of these mighty kings. But it had been done all the same; and here the psalmist declares he will do it again. And, indeed, the spirit of praise is irrepressible. It must tell out its gladness in God.
II. AND WILL DECLARE THE REASON WHY.
1. Because of the Lord‘s “loving-kindness.” (Psa 138:2.) We do not know what special instance of this called forth the praise here expressed; but he whose eyes are opened of the Lord to mark his loving-kindness will never lack loving-kindness to mark.
2. His “truth.” The Lord’s fidelity to his Word. What he promised he performed. How unbelieving we too often are! Yet those who have trusted the Lord have never had cause to regret their doing so.
3. And this in so emphatic and extraordinary a manner. “Thou hast magnified thy Word,” etc. The Lord’s name and renown for fidelity were great already, and had led to high expectation; but what the Lord had done had surpassed all expectationit had been “above all thy Name.”
4. And this had been a matter of the psalmist‘s own personal experience. (Psa 138:3.) Whether or no the particular burden, for relief from which he had cried unto the Lord, had been taken away, we do not know; but if, as is so often the case, it had not, there had been given strength to bear it”Thou strengthenedst me,” etc. One way or the other, the cry of the believer is heard, and either the trouble itself is removed, or grace sufficient, not only to bear it, but to enable us to glory in it, is given instead; and this, surely, is the better of the two. And all this the psalmist had himself experienced (2Co 12:9).
III. WILL CONFIDENTLY EXPECT GREAT BLESSING AS THE RESULT OF HIS TESTIMONY. (Psa 138:4, Psa 138:5.) Kings, not merely common people, but kingsa very unlikely classshall be moved by it. They shall come away from the paths of sin into the ways of the Lord; they shall be really converted. And, what is more, they shall “sing in” those ways; they shall rejoice and be glad. And such confident expectation will ever result from this spirit.
IV. WILL DISCLAIM ALL WORTH AND GOODNESS OF ITS OWN, (Psa 138:6.) He confesses that he is one of the lowly ones, and that it is all of the Lord’s condescension that he has been noticed at all.
V. WILL GO FORWARD WITHOUT FEAR. (Psa 138:7.)
1. Of trouble; even though he walk in the midst of it; for God will revive him.
2. Of his enemies; for God will save him.
3. Of personal failure; for (Psa 138:8) “the Lord will perfect,” etc. He might, and probably would, fail; but God will not allow of that.
VI. BUT WILL NOT, THEREFORE, PRESUME. Instead of this, the psalm ends with the humble prayer, “Forsake not the works,” etc. Such are some of the blessed fruits of the spirit of exultation in God. Let us cherish it more by confession, by trust, by personal experience.S.C.
Psa 138:1-3
Valiant for the Lord.
The Septuagint ascribes this psalm to Haggai or Zechariah. It can hardly be by David. But it was by some greatly tried but triumphant saint.
I. SEE HOW HE STANDS UP FOR GOD. Note his boldness. Not only would he praise God with his whole heart, but he would do this in the very face, in the teeth as it were, of the heathen gods; so would he defy and scorn them whilst honoring the Lord in whom he trusted. So would he strengthen his faith and love, as by such valiant confession they ever are strengthened. Compare Daniel worshipping towards the temple.
II. AND VINDICATES GOD‘S INSULTED ATTRIBUTESHIS LOVING–KINDNESS AND HIS TRUTH. These were insulted when Israel was in exile; the heathen would laugh at the idea of these Jews being the objects of God’s loving-kindness, as they affirmed they were; and where was the truth of God, seeing that they were so very far from realizing the promises of God? But this saint of God declares that he will praise the Lord for these very things; be declares that God had helped and strengthened him, and shown to him his loving-kindness, etc. And this beyond all that even the great Name of God had led him to expect. For next he
III. ASSERTS THE HONOR OF HIS WORD. Many aver that God is glorious in nature, in the visible works of his hands; but that his Word often seems to have failed. But the psalmist says, No; so far from failing or falling short, God has “magnified his Word above,” etc. True, there is glory in nature (Psa 19:1-14.). But there is more in God’s Word. For it speaks with clearer voice, with no need of interpreter, as nature needs; its revelation is far more complete and effectual.
IV. AND GRATEFULLY DECLARES WHEREFORE HE DOES ALL THIS. For he has put his faith in God to practical test. He cried unto the Lord, and then and there, that very day, “the Lord answered him, and strengthened,” etc. This was matter of actual experience. He knew this, did not dream it, or tell of it as a mere theory. Oh the power of personal testimony! We cannot be valiant for the Lord unless we have it. But why should we not? We may.S.C.
Psa 138:2
The Word and the Name.
In order to understand the declaration of our text, let us
I. INQUIRE THE MEANING OF THE WORD AND THE NAME.
1. The Name. What is the import of this? The expression is one that perpetually occurs in Scripture, and generally it has much the same meaning. In Rom 1:19, Rom 1:20 it is spoken of as “that which may be known of God;” and he refers to “the things that are made” as a source of such knowledge. Thus St. Paul declares that ever since the Creation the unseen God has revealed himself by means of the works of his hands. The Name of God, therefore, means all the manifestations of God, howsoever made; but in the Old Testament it means more commonly the manifestation of God through his works, whether in creation or in providence. Then:
2. The Word. This has a threefold signification.
(1) The written Scripturethe Law, the Prophets, and the Psalmsand now, since Christ came, the Scriptures of the New Testament. These contain the Word of God, and hence commonly receive the title of the Word of God. But
(2) the Word means also that spiritual communication from God to the heart of his servants. Hence we often read, “The Word of the Lord came,” etc. God speaks to the soul by different means; but it is what God says that is his Word.
(3) And chiefly, there is God‘s revelation of himself in Christ. He is “the Word,” which was in the beginning, which became flesh, and dwelt amongst us, so that we could behold him, and, in seeing him, see the Father also. The Word of God, then, means God’s revelation of himself through the Scriptures, the Spirit, and through his Son Christ our Lord. Either and all are God’s Word.
II. GOD‘S NAME AND WORD HAVE MUCH IN COMMON. For:
1. Both reveal God. His existence, greatness, power, wisdom, unity, unchangeableness. We do not add his love, because there are those who deny that the love of God is to be seen in the natural world. They speak of “Nature, red in tooth and claw;” they see only her ruthlessness and frequent ferocity; stern law, but little love.
2. Neither ever wears out the patience or the love of those who study them. The more they search into God’s works or Word, the more they find in them. Both seem to be inexhaustible mines, whose riches never fail.
3. And both have a perpetual freshness. No human works or words can be compared to them for this.
III. AND GOD HAS MAGNIFIED BOTH. He has revealed himself to men by both, and drawn them nearer to himself. It is foolish and wrong, therefore, for any to disparage one at the expense of the other. Some there are who boast of the study of nature only; others have no patience with such study, but insist that the Word alone is to have our regard. But both are wrong, for God hath magnified his Word and his Name.
IV. STILL, HE HAS PUT THE GREATER HONOR ON HIS WORD.
1. The revelation of nature is dependent on that of his Word for its comprehension. The Word is the key of his works: without it, men cannot interpret his works.
2. His Word declares higher truths than his works ever can. The love of God; the whole plan of salvation; life eternal; holiness; the truth of the Trinity, etc.
3. His Word accomplishes far more for man‘s highest interests than his works do. See this in man’s knowledge of God, and whence it came; in the instruction which we derive from his works; we could not have had this but for his Word (see Psa 19:1-14.). In the understanding of God’s providence; in showing us God’s will concerning us; in revealing his grace; in the subduing of our will to himself;whatever the teachings of God’s work may have done for us in these respects, his Word, we must all own, has done far more.
V. THE SPREADING OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WORD IS, THEREFORE, OUR HIGHEST INTEREST AND DUTY. Men are saying todayEducate, teach art, science, philosophy; provide for men better homes, surroundings, and opportunities; and much more to like effect; and only a fool will despise what they say. But the real need of man is for some power which will touch his heart and change his nature; and this only the Word of God can do. Therefore let us prize that Word for ourselves, make it known to others, and ever maintain the truth that it and it alone can meet man’s universal, greatest, and constant need.S.C.
Psa 138:8
The Lord will perfect.
I. LET US LOOK AT THE SPEAKER. He is a man like ourselves; but as we look on him, we note how bright his eye, how radiant his countenance, how calm yet how joyous his tone, how happy in his conviction he seems to be, as he keeps saying to himself, “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” Then he pauses a moment, as if some doubt or question had entered his mind, and he adds, “Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever;” and then, with an upward look of intense devotion, addressing his words to the Lord, he prays, “Forsake not the works of thine own hands.” Now, as we thus in thought gaze upon the man, and. feel that assuredly he has got hold of a secret that too many of us do not possess, some less-favored one than the speaker comes up to him with wonder, wistfulness, perplexity, and desire written plainly on his countenance, and begins to
II. ASK HIM A FEW QUESTIONS. He asks:
1. “What do you mean when you say, ‘The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me’? You seem quite sure and very happy about it; but what do you mean?” The man replies, “I mean that whatever really concerns me the Lord will see after, and bring it to a perfect issue, whether it be what has to do with my outward circumstances, or with what is of far more importancemy standing in his sight, the condition of my soul. There are many things which concern me; but what they are I leave to the Lord to determine; for I often find, as many others have told me is true of them likewise, that I much concern myself about things which, after all, do not really concern me, and about which, therefore, I need not trouble. But whatever does really concern me, and especially my soul’s full salvation, I am sure the Lord will perfect.”
2. “But how do you know all this?“ so his questioner asks again; and the psalmist is at no loss for reply. “Well,” he says, “I know the Lord has begun his work in me. I am as certain of this as I am that I am alive; he has given me new tastes, dispositions, and desires; the sins I once loved I now hate, and the holiness which heretofore I had no care for I now long after; hence I am sure the Lord has begun his work in me. And it is not his way to leave off what he once begins. Why should he? Is he lacking in power or love? Further, what strong guarantees I have thus to believe I The honor of the Divine Name is pledged to keep those who trust in him; the atonement of the Lord Jesusfor will be not ‘ with him also freely give us all things’?the power of the Holy Spirit, which worketh in me now; the promises, so many, so great, and precious, contained in the Holy Scriptures; and my own experience thus far, and that of many others;all encourage :and establish my faith that ‘ the Lord will perfect that,’ etc.”
3. “But are you not afraid?” it is further asked; “for while all must admit the force of the arguments you have urged, yet there are facts which it seems to us may reasonably lead you to feel less confident than you now seem to be. Are we not perpetually warned against departing from the living God, grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit? How many are the Scriptures which bid us, by direct precept or by actual example, to fear lest we should come short of eternal life! And have not many actually made shipwreck of faith and a good conscience? Think of all those who, on the night of the Passover, came out of Egypt, but yet never entered into Canaan; their carcasses fell in the wilderness, because of their unbelief. And have not you a corrupt nature, an evil bias, a heart prone to evil, and loving it all too well? And are not temptations everywhere, and so many of them subtle and strong, and before which many souls have fallen? And do you not know that you, as do even the best of men, often sin, often transgress God’s commandment by thought, word, or deed?” Then we notice that he looks sad for a while, as if he cannot deny what has been urged; but presently he looks up, and his eyes are turned not to us, but lifted heavenward; and we hear him say, “Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever;” and he adds the prayer, “Forsake not the work,” etc. So we cannot but
III. NOTE THE ROCK ON WHICH HE RESTS. It is the ever-enduring mercy of the Lord on which he stays himself by means of continued faith and prayer. It is not his own strength or good resolves, but that ever-enduring mercy which fortifies him against all the risks and perils which he knows beset him; and he will abide in that mercy through continual prayer and trust.
IV. TRY TO LEARN HIS SECRET. Why should not we have like confidence? Of course, ere ever this be possible, the Lord’s work must have begun in us; we must have yielded ourselves up to him in real repentance and faith; but if we have done that, why, instead of our too common misgiving and fear, have we not this glad persuasion that is expressed in our text?
1. How it would honor God! For it would be all through simple and utter trust in himthrough nothing whatever of ourselves, but all of him.
2. And how it would bless us! What sunshine of the soul we should enjoy! Our lives would be radiant with joy, and our lips filled with praise; the joy of the Lord would be our strength.
3. And how, through us, others would be blessed! The writer of Psa 51:1-19. says if but the Lord will restore to him the joy of his salvation, and uphold him with his free spirit, “then will I teach transgressors,” etc. (Psa 51:13). And, without doubt, it is only as we are confident in the Lord that we render effective service and become channels of blessing to others: which God grant we may!S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
Psa 138:1
Unity, entireness, and sincerity in worship.
“With my whole heart.” The tenor and tone of the psalm suggest the authorship of Zerubbabel or of Nehemiah. Some important success had evidently been just gained; but there was still grave cause for anxiety. Some work of pressing need was seriously impeded. We can easily fit this into the times and experiences of Nehemiah. There was, consequently, the temptation to mingle fears with trust, and offer to God thanksgivings and praises that were imperfect, incomplete, the expression of the “divided heart.” And oftentimes in life the godly man is placed in such a position as is represented in this psalm. He has received some sign of the Divine favor which calls for praise and encourages trust; and yet he cannot shut his eyes to the fact that this intervention of God has only lifted the fringe of his difficulties. They hang heavy about him still; and he can hardly keep hack the repining that God does not deal with the big things that trouble him. So his praise is in danger of being half-hearted. The psalmist indicates what the good man should do at such times. He should fully learn what God would teach by the single blessing, and, letting trust blend with thanksgiving, praise God with his whole heart.
I. PRAISE WITH THE WHOLE HEART IS PRAISE WITHOUT RESERVE. How reserve may spoil prayer we are often pointing out. It is illustrated in St. Augustine’s prayer, “Lord, convert me, but not yet!“ It is not so often seen that reserve may spoil praise. We may praise for something; but feel we cannot praise for everything. We may praise formally, and reserve heart-feeling. We may praise as duty, and yet keep doubts and questionings as to God’s perfect wisdom and goodness in our hearts. Our praises are usually left to take their chance. We do not assure ourselves that we have praise-feelings, and worthy ones, before we offer praise or unite in offering it. And yet praise needs culture quite as truly as prayer.
II. PRAISE WITH THE WHOLE HEART IS PRAISE WITHOUT GUILE. Conscious guile absolutely spoils praise; makes it unworthy and even offensive to God. The consciously insincere man is rejected. “Thy heart is not right with God;” and there can he no acceptance of thy worship. But what the godly man has to fear is “unconscious, unrecognized” insincerity; a guile that he does not suspect, and so lets go, lets it do its evil work in spoiling his praise.R.T.
Psa 138:1
The term gods as a synonym for great ones.
The allusion may be to the rulers of Israel (Psa 119:46). The ‘Speaker’s Commentary,’ however, thinks the meaning can only be this, “Before, or in presence of, the gods of the heathen, i.e. in scorn of, in sight of, the idols, who can do nothing, I will praise Jehovah, who does miracles for me and his people.” Jennings and Lowe prefer the rendering, “before the national Elohim,” or great men; meaning that, even before persons high in office, in whose presence he would be naturally abashed, he will declare the praise of his Deliverer, Jehovah. It is not easy to fit these words into the experience of an Israelite among his own people. Such a man was not in the least likely to speak of the elders, princes, and statesmen of his own nation as gods. That term does not suit the Hebrew mind or association. But if we could fix the psalm as Nehemiah’s, and connect it with his success in securing the permission of the king to go to Jerusalemand this he regarded as a remarkable answer to his prayerthen the term “gods” may well enough be applied to the princes, councilors, courtiers, and great men of Babylon, to whom Nehemiah’s commission would be known, and before whom he would testify that God had heard his prayer, and made the way plain for him. Nehemiah would call the princes of Judah his brethren; he might well call the princes of Babylon, with a tinge of satire, “gods.”
I. WHEREVER A MAN IS, THERE HE IS TO WITNESS FOR GOD BY PRAISING HIM. It is an absolute and ever-working law that there can no more be religious life without outward expression than there can be life in the seed without a blade thrusting through the soil. And the natural, necessary, and ever-influential expression of the religious life is praisethe praise of God. That
(1) tells the sincerity of the religious life; and
(2) tells the character of the religious life; and
(3) tells the worthiness and winsomeness of him who is both the Love and the Life of the godly man.
So praise is testimony, and the most persuasive of testimonies.
II. WHEREVER A MAN IS, THERE CAN BE NO CONDITIONS ALLOWED TO RESTRAIN PRAISE. He may be among great men and fear. But then he must praise, only he must be wise in his praise. He may be among scoffers. Still he must praise, only he must he judicious in his praise. There is in relation to praise a being “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”R.T.
Psa 138:2
God acting beyond expectation.
The term “word,” in the last clause of this verse, means “promise.” So great are God’s promises, and so faithful and complete is his performance of them, as even to surpass the expectations which the greatness of his Name has excited. The psalmist often speaks of Jehovah’s Name, or reputation, or honor, being at stake. Here the poet can say that the praise won is beyond anything that could have been anticipated. Generally, the Name of God stands for the whole manifestation of himself. Or we may render thus, “For thou hast magnified thy characteristic of fidelity to promises above all the other characteristics implied in thy Name Jehovah.”
I. GOD‘S NAME IS THE BASIS OF OUR EXPECTATIONS. A name gathers up the characteristics of the person to whom it is applied, whenever it is a true name, and not a mere fanciful appellation, as names given to children now are. A true name embodies our apprehension of a person, fixes our relation to him, expresses the grounds of our confidence in him, and becomes a basis on which we rest our expectations of him. And so we give our own special names, pet-names, to those whom we more especially love and trust. And in the same way God’s Name gathers up into a term his attributes; not, however, as intellectually conceived only, but also as personally experienced and apprehended in the experiences and relationships of the individual, and of the race. On that Name we’ build our expectations. “This God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our Guide even unto the end.” But this has to be taken into careful accountman never raises expectations that compass the possibilities of the Name.
II. GOD HIMSELF GOES BEYOND THE EXPECTATIONS BASED UPON HIS NAME. “Thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name.” God does not go beyond himself; but he does go beyond our expectation. He does for us more than we can ask or think. In special emergencies of life this is precisely what the godly man feels. He was sure God would help him; but when the help has come, he has found that God surprised him with the fullness and the grace of his arrangements. This we can associate with Nehemiah. We can realize his almost overwhelming delight and surprise when God overcame his difficulties for him in such a quick and gracious way.R.T.
Psa 138:3
Recognized answer to prayer.
“In the day that I called thou answeredst me; thou didst encourage me with strength in my soul.” Here prayer had evidently been offered for some special thing; what it was we are not told, nor does it greatly matter. Our attention is fixed on the fact that the answer came at once, and was recognized as the answer. We have ways in which we expect answers to come; and because they do not come in the expected ways, we fail to recognize them as answers at all. But it cannot be becoming for us to fix conditions to the prayers we offer. There can be no “making terms” with God.
I. THE ANSWER IN THIS CASE WAS IMMEDIATE. “In the day when I called.” We need not press the word “day.” It is but equivalent to “at the very time.” Compare the experience of Daniel (Dan 9:21), and that of our Divine Lord (Joh 12:27, Joh 12:28). It is true that there is sometimes delay in the answer to our prayer; but, in that case, delay is the answer. The fact is that the answer is always immediate; and of this we can be sure, because the attention is always immediate. Illustrate by the orderliness of the business man, who sees to everything at once. Serious injury is done to Christian life by suggesting that God is very likely to delay, He is much more likely to answer at once.
II. THE ANSWER IN THIS CASE WAS NOT A SHAPING OF CIRCUMSTANCES. It often was in the Old Testament days; and this is strikingly illustrated in the prayer of Abraham’s servant (Gen 24:1-67.). The higher truth comes into view in the New Testament. St. Paul prays for a change of circumstancesthe removal of the “thorn in the flesh.” The answer did not change his conditions.
III. THE ANSWER IN THIS CASE WAS A DIVINE INWARD STRENGTHENING. “Thou didst encourage me with strength in my soul.” To St. Paul the answer was, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” The cry of genuine and heartfelt prayer is the expression of conscious weakness. It is, therefore, really a cry for strength. And the best answer is strength. But that is not what we seem to ask for, or think we ask for, and so we mistake the answer.
IV. THE ANSWER, IN THIS CASE, INVOLVED MASTERY OF CIRCUMSTANCES BY THE STRENGTHENED SOUL. Strength received in Gethsemane prayer-time enabled our Lord to endure Calvary; and so the triumph of the cross was the answer to his prayer, though it came as inward strengthening. What we should watch for is the immediate answer to our prayer for soul-strengthening, Answers in cur circumstances may be left to follow.R.T.
Psa 138:3
The provision of inward strength.
“And strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.” Whether this precisely renders the thought of the psalmist may be doubtful. It certainly presents a suggestive thought to us. The statement is certainly true of God’s ways with us. His best blessings come to the inward, spiritual selfto the true individuality, the real us. The various rendering is, “Thou madest me proud;” the Revised Version gives, “Thou didst encourage me with strength in my soul;” the Prayer-book Version has, “and enduedst me with much strength.” God does, as he may see fitting, make provision for the needs of our life, by altering and mastering our circumstances. But if he does not work for us in this way, we may be quite sure that he will “strengthen us with strength in our soul;” answering us as he did St. Paul, saying, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Inward strength to bear is a far higher provision than any mere mastery of the ills and troubles of life. In recalling sorrows, for the bearing of which we had inward peace, because our mind was stayed on God, we are conscious of recalling the noblest times of our past experience, and the times when we were most truly master of our circumstances. The Patriarch Job mastered Sabaeans, and Chaldeans, and lightnings, and the four winds, and a tempting wife, and Satan himself, by being soul-strong, and able to say, “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” We are accustomed to say that a man is not utterly lost until he has lost heart. But if God supplies inward strength, we never shall lose heart, and so never shall be lost. God is prepared ever to make a man’s soul triumphant over his circumstances. He may be very poor; God can make his soul very rich. He may be very full of troubles; God can make his soul quiet and calm with Divine peace; God can comfort him with the support of “the everlasting arms.” Outwardly a man may be tossed about, worn, wearied, wounded, almost broken; yet inwardly he may be kept in perfect peace; he may be “strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”R.T.
Psa 138:6
The Divine regard for the lowly.
“Lowliness and humility are the court-dress of God; he who wears them will please him well.” “Respect unto.” Bends down to look on them; draws them near to communion with him; gives them office and place beside him; entrusts them with honorable commissions for him. There is sharp contrast with God’s treatment of the proud. Them, too, he knoweth; but them he knoweth afar off; he keeps them at a distance; he has no intimacy with them, and could have no pleasure in their company. The proud man is the self-sufficient man, who is his own center. He does not want God, and would not know what to do with him if he had him. And there is no reason why God should want him, or trouble to find a place for one who does not want any place found for him.
I. GOD HAS REGARD FOR THE LOWLY BECAUSE THEY WANT HIM. All good persons are fully responsive to frail, weak things, that are entirely dependent on them. See the mother with a sickly child; or the teacher with a backward but loving child. Lowliness is a noble quality. It must not be confused with timidity, or self-conscious humiliation. It is that kind of estimate a man has of himself, when he has set before himself a worthy standard. But what is here more especially in view is that lowliness is the consciousness of want; and, in its best form, the consciousness of want which only God can supply. The lowly man is “not sufficient of himself;” “his sufficiency is of God” It is of the very nature of God to be the “Friend of the friendless and the faint.”
II. GOD HAS REGARD FOR THE LOWLY BECAUSE HE WANTS THEM. God ever alone, in solitary and isolated grandeur, is a totally inconceivable idea. God is Love; and love wants somebody to love. And the lowly ones are precisely those whom God can love, whose love he can enjoy, and on whom his love can be wisely expended. Bonar has a striking hymn, beginning, “Thou needest me, even me.”
III. GOD HAS REGARD FOR THE LOWLY BECAUSE THEY ARE LIKE HIM. It may be difficult to recognize lowliness as an essential of the Divine character, but it is of the essence of goodness; and it is plain enough in God manifest in the flesh. Kinness in this brings man and Christ, man and God, into loving fellowship.R.T.
Psa 138:7
Walking in trouble.
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble.” This suggests a particular phase of human experience. Sometimes troubles come upon us, crash after crash, until we are, like Job, utterly crushed; and can but clothe our selves with sackcloth, and sit in ashes. But the text indicates a more frequent, if less readily recognized, experience. The tone is gentler; there is no crashing of sudden calamity, no bursting of wild and desolating storms. The man is moving to and fro in the ordinary scenes of life, meeting his obligations and doing his duties. But everywhere things seem to go wrong; on all sides trouble, anxiety, worry, seem to attend him. He cannot get free night or day. These dog his steps continually. He walks in the midst of trouble. How true to universal experience all this is!
I. WALKING IN TROUBLE IS A MOST DEPRESSING EXPERIENCE. The constant wearing produces a fixed weariness; the constant worry produces a fixed fretfulness; the constant fear of some new anxiety produces a fixed hopelessness. Because nothing goes right, we are too ready to say nothing ever will go right. And then the heart is taken out of us; we become unfitted for battling with difficulty, and so largely increase our troubles; we make them for ourselves, as well as have them made for us. And those we make for ourselves are always the worst to deal with. There is one striking illustration of this depressed mood in the life of David. He walked in the midst of various and well-nigh overwhelming troubles, and in a hopelessness that was both pitiful and sinful, he exclaimed, “I shall now one day perish by the hand of Saul!” It may further be shown that such depressed moods, responsive to surrounding worry, very much depend on natural disposition, especially on that nervous irritability which can always see, or expect, evil.
II. WALKING IN TROUBLE MAKES US CRY FOR DIVINE REVIVING. “Thou wilt revive me.” The state of mind induced by the circumstances is much more important in the sight of God than the circumstances. And this the good man recognizes. His hope is in God’s soul-cheering, God’s inward reviving, God’s keeping from despair, and freshening trust and hope. And God does lead the walker out “into a large place,” in his own good time.R.T.
Psa 138:8
God completes what he undertakes.
(See Php 1:6.) “The Lord will carry to an end all things that concern my welfare.” Man lives and moves through life surrounded with unfinished things. He has constantly to say, “My purposes are broken off!” He is always attempting what he cannot accomplish, beginning what he cannot carry through. God must be thought of as always having a distinct purpose in whatever he undertakes, and as active until that purpose is realized. Illustrate by reference to 2Sa 7:25-29.
I. GOD ALWAYS HAS A PURPOSE. Thoughtless action, unpremeditated action, can never be associated with God. Men drift into things without knowing where they are going to. God never does. Men may talk about “waiting for something to turn up.” God never does. He is the Infinite Mind; and mind is put into everything he does. He knows the end from the beginning. We have always this consolationthere are no accidents to God. He is never surprised, never taken at unawares. He has a meaning in everything he does, a purpose in every design he forms. “Throughout the ages one unceasing purpose runs.”
II. GOD‘S PURPOSE IS NEVER FORGOTTEN. Man so often crowds his life with interests that he forgets what he intended to do. He is carried away with new attractions, and quite forgets what he meant to do. So man’s path is beset with the “young lions” of unfinished schemesthings dropped and forgotten in order to take up some new thing. God never forgets. To us he may seem to; and this may be our explanation of his delay. His purpose is kept ever in view.
III. GOD‘S PURPOSE IS NEVER FRUSTRATED. Man’s often is. He proposes to himself too much, and life beats him. Or what he proposes crosses what somebody else proposes, and the opposition beats him. God never proposes to himself what is beyond himself; for he can do what he will. God permits no rivalry of human purposes to cross or frustrate his perfect plan.R.T.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT
Psa 138:2
The greatness of the Word of God.
“For thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name.”
I. GOD‘S WORD IS GREATER THAN HIS MATERIAL WORK. His word of command was the cause of creation. “Let there be light;” “He commanded, and it stood fast:
II. GOD‘S WORD EXPRESSES MORE THAN HIS WORK. God’s Word is his uttered thought, and expresses more than the utmost science of nature can utter. Goes beyond all the teachings of chemistry, electricity, etc.
III. GOD‘S WORD CAN REGENERATE HIS WORK. In man and in all intelligent beings, when it has been injured and partly destroyed. Christ, the Word of God’s regenerating power.
IV. GOD‘S WORD ABIDES UNCHANGEABLY, WHILE SOME OF HIS WORK ALTERS AND PASSES MANY. “Wax old, as doth a garment; but thou remainest,” etc.
V. GOD‘S WORD OF PROMISE IS GREATER THAN ANYTHING HE HAS DONE. That Word furnishes not only the pillars on which the present order of things rests, but is the ground of all the new and future. Of whatever is to come, in the outward and inward universe of man.S.
Psa 138:8
God’s perfecting.
“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
I. THE PSALMIST‘S CONVICTION. Words such as these are said only in the strongest grandest moments of a good man’s life. David, St. Paul, St. Peter, St. John, could say them; but the majority of believers in Christ cannot say them at all times; only at certain privileged moments of their lives. And the reason isthey see their own imperfections more strongly than God’s unchangeable love towards them; that salvation has a multitude of convictions as well as a multitude of promises. Look at some of the words of Christ and the apostles, and ask what they mean (Joh 10:27-29); Paul (Rom 8:1-39.; Php 1:6; 1Pe 5:10). I think it may be said that the meaning of these uniform utterances is that the strength of God’s faithful love to us, and not the strength of our love to him, is the pledge of our salvationthe guarantee that we shall not be left to perish in our sins and weakness. We may unfold this in two particulars.
1. That God will do for us towards this end what we are unable to do for ourselves. Some think little of their sins. Forgiveness, renewed day by day, extending to the new sins I commit. I have not the right nor the disposition (often) to pardon myself. He will give gracethat is, help and strengthaccording to our needs. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.” He will permit no temptation to assail us for which he does not furnish the means of resistance. He can do no more. In dying, we shall be utterly helpless in ourselves; but he will be with us to save and preserveto lead us through the dark labyrinth. He will raise us up at the last day.
2. God will do for us what we are not willing to do for ourselves. A great part of our danger arises more from want of will than want of strength. He will institute purifying processes. “Every branch in me that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” We are averse to thisto trials and afflictions and discipline. The clay does not know into what beautiful shapes it may be wrought by the hand of the potter. Gold when it is in the ore does not know its need of the furnace, to be separated and refined from the dross. We are disinclined, naturally, to love him supremely, and to employ the means that will lead to it. He conquers our aversion by successive revelations of his love. “He worketh in us the willing and the doing” by his own sovereign will.
II. THE GROUNDS OF THIS GLORIOUS CONVICTION.
1. God‘s enduring, unchanging mercy. His disposition to pardonhis delight in saving. Can it be a question, even for a moment, whether God would rather save you or allow you to perish? “His mercy endureth forever;” “He delighteth in mercy;” “Who is a God like unto thee?’ Then he will endure you and save you, though you have many sins in your heartif you do not love the sins so that you cannot be separated from them. He will endure many backslidings, till he has healed you of them. Will endure your cold earthliness of mind, till he has made you heavenly minded, etc.
2. God will not forsake the work of his own hands. Has not forsaken the earth, or the sun, or any work in the material universe, much less the most precious work he ever began. “The mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed.” The sculptor may leave his statue unfinished, the artist his picture, and the poet his epic; but God the Ever-Living will not forsake the work of his hands.
CONCLUSION.
1. Take courage.
2. Be diligent to make calling and election sure.S.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Psalms 138.
David praiseth God for the truth of his word: he prophesieth that the kings of the earth shall praise God: he professeth his confidence in God.
A Psalm of David.
Title. ledavid This psalm, though first composed by David, as a thankful acknowledgment of God’s goodness to him in advancing him from a low and afflicted condition to the royal dignity, yet was afterwards, as we may gather from the Septuagint translation, made use of by Haggai and Zechariah at the rebuilding of the temple.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 138:1-2. Before the gods We have shewn, that the word elohim, here rendered gods, signifies either angels or princes, judges or rulers; in either of which senses it may be taken in this place. Houbigant however renders it, Before God will I sing unto thee; meaning, “in thy presence, or before thy sacred oracle, I will sing thy praises;” and the next verse seems to countenance his opinion; for, towards thy holy temple, may be rendered, towards the palace of thy holiness; i.e. the sanctuary and the mercy-seat. See Psa 99:5. For thou hast magnified thy name, means, “Thyself, and thy attributes;” and by magnifying his word, is meant, his making great and excellent promises, and then punctually performing them. How God’s word, or truth, or promise, was fulfilled to David, see 1Sa 16:13. This clause might be better rendered, Thou hast magnified above all things thy name, and thy word. Houbigant has it, For thou hast made thy word more excellent than all thy glory.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psalms 138
A Psalm of David
I 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 loving-kindness 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.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Composition.This Psalm consists of three strophes, moved by three closely connected thoughts: First, a vow is made by the Psalmist that he will praise God thankfully in His Church, for a great deed done for him in answer to prayer, by which a distinct promise previously given had been still more glorified (Psa 138:1-3). Next he predicts that all the kings of the earth, upon hearing of this, would thank the living God of Revelation for it, and would extol the ways of this exalted God and His glory, as made known in the manner in which He regards both the abased and the proud (Psa 138:4-6). Finally: he utters his assurance of the Divine help in time of need and against the anger of His foes, as the completion of the gracious work begun for him by God (Psa 138:7-8)
This creates the impression that both the person and the experiences of the Psalmist were deserving of public attention, and had enlisted it. It is further to be inferred that these conditions stand in connection with Divine promise and its fulfilment, exceeding all expectation, by Divine action, and consequently in connection with the history of redemption. It appears, still further, that these relations had a significance extending beyond the person of the Psalmist to the history of his kingdom, and beyond particular interests to those of the world. And it is manifest, lastly, that all that had already taken place was, on Gods part, but the beginning of a plan and course of working carried forwards with the certainty of fulfilment by the performance of deeds of mercy. Consequently the Psalm bears a prophetico-messianic character. How much its several features are appropriate to David, his experiences, and his position in the history of religion, does not, after our previous attempts to unfold them, require any special proof here. We therefore refer this Psalm not to Johannes Hyrcanus, (Hitzig), but to David, who is named in the superscription, and with whose Psalms many expressions are found to have points of coincidence. We are also of the opinion that it was not written by an unknown person who had Davids Psalms in mind, and uttered it as if from Davids personality, being a picture taken from 2 Samuel 7 (Delitzsch); but that it had David himself for its author, and that it was composed when he, after a victorious warfare, and elevated with the sense of his great destiny, did yet with humility give God the glory, and formed the purpose of building for Him a Temple instead of the Tabernacle upon Zion (Hengstenberg). It is uncertain whether the addition to the superscription in the Sept. and Vulg.: of Haggai and Zechariah, would refer the present recension of the Text to the prophets named (Khler, Haggai, p. 33). These and the similar additions in other Psalms show, at all events, that in the opinion of the Seventy, the Psalm collection was not completed later than the time of Nehemiah (Delitzsch).
[Hengstenberg: The Psalm belongs to that chain of Davidic Psalms which was called forth by the promise in 2 Samuel 7, and which rest upon it: Psalms 18, 21, 61, 101-103, 110. Comp. Psalms 72, 89, 132. That the promise here celebrated is no other than that, is as clear as day. Here as well as there the subject handled has respect to a blessing of surpassing greatness. Further, here as well as there, we have to do, not with a particular blessing, but with a chain of blessings reaching even to eternity, Psa 138:8. Finally, the promise has here the same subject as there. If the Psalm refers to the promise in 2 Samuel 7, there can be no doubt of the correctness of the superscription which assigns it to David. For he on whom the promise has been conferred, himself stands forth as the speaker. There is a proof also that the author was David, in the union, so characteristic of him, of bold courage (see especially Psa 138:3) and deep humility (see Psa 138:6). And in proof of the same comes, finally, the near relationship in which it stands to the other Psalms of David.J. F. M.]
Psa 138:1. In presence of Elohim.[E. V.: before the gods]. These words are certainly intended to set forth the publicity and solemnity of the praise rendered to Jehovah, and probably also the exultation proceeding from the joy of victory. For in the first place the expression is not: before the face of, but , which, with the idea of presence, combines that of the person opposite. In the second place Elohim does not refer to the angels (Sept., Luth., Calv., J. H. Michaelis, Rosenmller) which is a very rare sense (see on Psa 29:1). Nor does it designate God throned upon the ark as parallel to the sacred places of worship mentioned immediately thereafter (Drusius, De Wette, Ewald, Olshausen); but either the rulers as earth-gods [powerful ones of earth], Psa 82:1, comp. Psa 45:7; Psa 89:28; Psa 119:46; 2Sa 7:9 (Rabbins, Flaminius, Geier, Bucer, Clericus, Delitzsch), or the gods of the nations (Aquila, Symmachus, Jerome, Kster, Hengst., Hupf., Hitzig), which are then regarded as being able to do nothing like those things which God does for His own, and as only evincing their impotence to the shame of their worshippers. [The last named view is supported by Perowne and Alexander, and most Engl. expositors, and has, it may be presumed, the common consent of uncritical readers. Wordsworth and Noyes are undecided as to the application.J. F. M.]
Psa 138:2. Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.This mode of expression, which does not occur elsewhere, has in some cases called forth very forced explanations. It gave such offence to Clericus that this learned critic preferred, in place of , to read , as in Psa 8:4 : thy heavens (comp. Psa 108:5; Psa 113:4; Psa 119:89). But the sentence is not so distorted (Hupfeld) that a transposition of must be resorted to (Kimchi), giving the sense: Thy name above all Thy word, i.e., Thou hast glorified it above all promises. It is certainly inadmissible to translate: Thou hast glorified thy name above all through Thy word (Luth., Calvin), or: according to Thy word (Venema) or: and Thy word (Flaminius, Dderlein), even if the pointing be chosen. But if we do not disallow so sweepingly as Hupfeld has done the historical allusions, it becomes no arbitrary limitation, but an interpretation consistent with those events, to understand this passage not to relate to the totality of all the possible names of God, or to His revelation of His nature, but to everything by which He had hitherto made for Himself a name and established a memorial, and that not to the word of God generally, but to a special promise. There remain then only two points undecided: first, whether this promise is to be regarded as the one celebrated in 2 Samuel 7, or as another also historically and religiously significant; secondly, whether the exalting, glorifying, and magnifying relates to this promise as such (Hengstenberg, Delitzsch) or to its fulfilment (Geier, J. H. Michaelis, Kster, Olshausen, Ewald, Hitzig). Since the giving of such a promise is also a great deed on the part of God, no decision can be arrived at from the word itself, which, besides, occurs in different applications in the prophecy in 2 Samuel 7. Nor is there more light thrown on the question by the following sentences viewed separately. But if we view the whole Psalm as a unit, and in the light of 2 Samuel 7, then the reference to the promise sought for is readily perceived. This promise of the eternal dominion of Davids family is then in Psa 138:3 declared by him to be the Divine answer to his prayer (Hengstenberg) Psa 21:3; Psa 21:5; Psa 61:6; and has filled his soul with lofty courage and strength in reliance upon Gods word (Psa 18:30), of whose efficiency he had already during his life experienced so very many proofs. [Translate Psa 138:3 b: Thou hast made me courageous in my soul with strength.J. F. M.]
Psa 138:4-6. The words of the mouth of Jehovah (Psa 138:4) are thus not Gods word in general (Hupfeld) nor, specially, the Gospel after the intervening fulfilment (many of the older expositors) but this promise itself, both before and after its fulfilment, which is here viewed as one that is in course of actual realization through Gods guiding and disposing power. For the ways of God (Psa 138:5) are not the commands according to which, or the ways in which, the converted kings of the Gentile world walk, (Hengstenberg after the older expositors), but the dealings of God which will form the subject of even their praise (Chald., Syr., and most). [Translate Psa 138:5 : They shall sing of the ways, etc. Psa 138:6. Perowne:He knoweth afar off. This is the only proper rendering of the clause; but the expression is somewhat remarkable. (1). It has been explained by reference to Psa 139:2, which would mean, God knows (observes) the proud, distant as they may think themselves to be from His control. (2). But it seems rather to mean, God knows (regards) them only at a distance, does not admit them into His fellowship; He does not see them as He seeth the humble. (3). Or it would be possible to explain: He knows them so as to keep them at a distance.J. F. M.]
Psa 138:8. The works of Gods hands, from which God will not cease, and in whose performance He will not remit His working, are the historical acts and provisions of His gracious working and disposing. To those belong also even the elevation of David to the kingdom from a low position, his deliverance from the persecutions of Saul and the like proud enemies, and the gift of a blessed posterity. The word in the last line, expressing denial, indicates the inward emotion, the subjective interest felt by the speaker.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
With us men everything is piece-work, but God lets nothing be half done. He fulfils His purposes completely.Alas how hard it is to find pleasure in Gods ways, in those which His law enjoins upon us, and in those in which His hand leads us!The conversion of the world as the gracious work of God and the believing hope of His servants.
Luther: Christs ruling is to sit on high and to help the abased.
Starke: The less we pray, the more unskilful we become in prayer, the more are our hearts filled with vain, worldly thoughts, and the less inclination do we discover in ourselves to pray and praise.Up, dear soul, what though thou hast once complained like Israel? Psa 137:1, sing now once more a song of joy to the Lord; thou hast been pressed also like a grape, give forth thy sweet juice.He who undismayed confesses Jesus before the mighty of the earth, and has thus fixed his hope in God, has then sung a hymn of praise before the gods.Goodness and faithfulness are the foundations of our faith; goodness has won salvation and blessedness for us poor sinners, and faithfulness preserves us in the enjoyment of them.None know how much the prayer for spiritual strength can give, but those who have experienced it.Lowliness and humility are the court-dress of God; He who wears them will please Him well.The more highly man exalts himself the further he departs from God. How many of the proud have found that out to their cost!God changes not in goodness and faithfulness, how great soever distress and afflictions may be.The life of believers is like an unsafe road, which is infested everywhere with robbers and murderers.But let not your courage fail, God needs only to stretch out His hand and they are beaten back, while we are saved.He who knows no sorrow will not receive Gods strength. It is not until we suffer that we know how God revives and saves.As a good artificer does not leave his work until he has finished and completed it, so will God carry on His work begun in thee, until the day of Jesus Christ. Entrust that to Him.
Frisch: God gives Himself fully to us men; it is therefore just that we, in return, should yield up our whole heart to His service and glory. God bestows upon us not only domestic but public good; then again, it is right and just that we should praise Him not only in the silence of our hearts, but in public, and before all the world.Guenther: From faith, love; in love the true thanksgiving.He who does not experience in himself what a daily answer to prayer brings with it, does not believe it; and he who will not make trial of it with Christ, does not experience it.Taube: The Lord will complete for me! That is the most beautiful and profound expression of faith, the joyous exhibition of the title-deed of the great inheritance.
[Matt. Henry: Christ is our Temple, and towards Him we must look with an eye of faith, as the Mediator between God and man, in all our praises of Him.The Psalmist had been in affliction and remembers with thankfulness: (1) the sweet communion he then had with God; (2) sweet communication he then had from God.If God give us strength in our souls to bear the burdens, resist the temptations, and do the duties of an afflicted state; if He strengthen us to keep hold of Himself by faith, to maintain the peace of our own minds, and to wait patiently for the issue, we must own that He hath answered us, and are bound to be thankful.Those that walk in the ways of God, have reason to sing in those ways.Scott: In performing His promises God more magnifies His perfections than in all His other works; of which He has given us an illustrious specimen and earnest in sending the promised Saviour.Barnes: Prayer is one of the meansand an essential meansby which the saints are to be kept unto salvation. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is not inconsistent with prayer, but rather prompts to it.J. F. M.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
The Psalmist is here at his devotions, with his hymn of praise. He not only blesseth God himself, but he utters a prophecy (no doubt, in allusion to the days of the gospel) that all the great ones of the earth shall bless him; and he closeth the psalm with declaring his assurance that the Lord, who had begun grace in his heart, would perfect it in glory.
A Psalm of David.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
These are short, but most expressive words. Nothing, he saith, shall put his soul out of order in blessing the Lord; even in the presence of all the dunghill-gods of the earth, will he praise the Lord. But what I particularly request the Reader to remark with me, in these words, is the gospel strain of them. David considered himself, one of those whom Jesus makes his people; I mean, kings and priests unto God and the Father. Moses declared that the Israel of God should be unto him a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation: and the gospel of Christ confirms it. See Exo 19:6 ; Rev 1:5-6 ; 1Pe 2:9 . Hence when believing souls see Jesus, who is our New Testament temple, and of whom the Old Testament temple was but a type; they are made priests to God and the Father, in Christ Jesus; and in and through their great High Priest, they are permitted, nay commanded, to draw nigh with boldness, Heb 10:19-21 . One observation more meets us in these verses: David saith, Jehovah hath magnified his word above all his name: Is not this the uncreated Word, even Jesus? Surely Jehovah hath made his dear, and ever-blessed Son most glorious, above all the other discoveries of his love! Oh! how sweet to trace Christ through whatever part of the sacred volume!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 138:8
In Unorthodox London (2nd Series, pp. 255-60) C. Maurice Davies describes a service at the City Temple. He says that Dr. Parker took as his text the words, ‘Forsake not the works of Thine own hands’.
‘He proposed to examine the natural claims we had on God. We did not ask to be here in this world, but here we are, and therefore we had a right by nature, by the state of things in which we found ourselves, to say that, under such circumstances, we ought not to be forsaken. It was not enough to bring us here. If we had asked to be brought, then we might have divided the responsibility.
‘You yourselves,’ he said, ‘allow the efficacy of such an appeal. A child, it may be, left you ten years ago, and though that child could not plead virtue, it could groan forth the heart-breaking word, “Bad as I am, I am your own flesh and blood. I have done wrong, but don’t let me rot. This flesh is your flesh. May I not come home on that natural claim?” So we could say to God, “Thou didst not make us thoughtlessly. That would have been unworthy of a work which comprised within it the stars and the angels. Don’t forsake us.”
‘Some said,’ the preacher continued, ‘that as vessels of wrath, God had the right to dash us to pieces just as the potter had the work of his hands. No: God might dispose thus of masses of men, but He dealt differently with individuals. The text was a lawful, a pathetic, and a universal appeal. Now what was God’s answer to this pathetic appeal of forsaken men? The whole constitution of nature,’ he again submitted, ‘was God’s answer by anticipation. It would have no meaning else. For every desire of man there was a provision: for his hunger a table, for his thirst fountains of living water springs perennial and inexhaustible. The answer came before the cry. Nature would be one huge waste if this were not so. When we are asked, “Will God forsake the works of His hands,” we may take the whole scheme of nature for our answer. The whole constitution of things mountains, streams, forests, fowl, and fish are a pledge that God will not forsake man. He makes His rain to fall and His sun to shine on all on the man who prays and on the man who blasphemes. You ask what is man’s claim on God. This is the infinite reply.
‘No bird ever sang the pathetic refrain of the text. The young lion finds his mouthful of food. It is man only that realizes the idea of being forsaken. The greater the life the greater the need, just as it had been curiously said, the more glorious the intellect the nearer to insanity. It is man who cries, “Why standest Thou so far off, O God?” Millions of human voices were gathered up in that cry on the Cross, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” We see man’s greatness in his distress. As man suffers more than beast or bird, so he can enjoy and know and realize more. Are ye not much better than they?
‘It is we who have forsaken God. The forsakenness is not on man’s side. His children have gone from Him to be guests at the devil’s table. All we, like sheep, have gone astray.
‘Does God forsake the righteous? Don’t let us give an opinion today. Let an old man speak a bright old man, with silver locks on his shoulder and an eye like a star. He has a harp in his hand, and thus the old ministrel sings, “I have been young and now am old, yet saw I never the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread”. David never saw the child of God dead upon his Father’s doorstep. If you are forsaken, ask yourselves whether you have been righteous. Paul and David the great reasoner and the greater singer answer, “Cast down, but not forsaken”.
‘Make His service your delight
He’ll make your wants His care.
‘The above is only a condensation of a long and eloquent discourse. Some of the bits were worthy of Charles Dickens. For instance, picturing the abode of a poor widow, Dr. Parker spoke of “a place out of which even a sheriff’s officer could not take more than the shadow, and would not take that because he could not sell it “. “I have been as nearly forsaken as any man in the world. I looked around on all sides, but could see no way out no lateral way, only a vertical one!”‘
References. CXXXVIII. 8. A. Maclaren, Old Testament Outlines, p. 152. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v. p. 231. Ibid. vol. xxv. No. 1506. A. P. Peabody, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xii. p. 158.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
PSALMS
XI
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS
According to my usual custom, when taking up the study of a book of the Bible I give at the beginning a list of books as helps to the study of that book. The following books I heartily commend on the Psalms:
1. Sampey’s Syllabus for Old Testament Study . This is especially good on the grouping and outlining of some selected psalms. There are also some valuable suggestions on other features of the book.
2. Kirkpatrick’g commentary, in “Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges,” is an excellent aid in the study of the Psalter.
3. Perowne’s Book of Psalms is a good, scholarly treatise on the Psalms. A special feature of this commentary is the author’s “New Translation” and his notes are very helpful.
4. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. This is just what the title implies. It is a voluminous, devotional interpretation of the Psalms and helpful to those who have the time for such extensive study of the Psalter.
5. Hengstenburg on the Psalms. This is a fine, scholarly work by one of the greatest of the conservative German scholars.
6. Maclaren on the Psalms, in “The Expositor’s Bible,” is the work of the world’s safest, sanest, and best of all works that have ever been written on the Psalms.
7. Thirtle on the Titles of the Psalms. This is the best on the subject and well worth a careful study.
At this point some definitions are in order. The Hebrew word for psalm means praise. The word in English comes from psalmos , a song of lyrical character, or a song to be sung and accompanied with a lyre. The Psalter is a collection of sacred and inspired songs, composed at different times and by different authors.
The range of time in composition was more than 1,000 years, or from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra. The collection in its present form was arranged probably by Ezra in the fifth century, B.C.
The Jewish classification of Old Testament books was The Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings. The Psalms was given the first place in the last group.
They had several names, or titles, of the Psalms. In Hebrew they are called “The Book of Prayers,” or “The Book of Praises.” The Hebrew word thus used means praises. The title of the first two books is found in Psa 72:20 : “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” The title of the whole collection of Psalms in the Septuagint is Biblos Psalman which means the “Book of Psalms.” The title in the Alexandrian Codex is Psalterion which is the name of a stringed instrument, and means “The Psalter.”
The derivation of our English words, “psalms,” “psalter,” and “psaltery,” respectively, is as follows:
1. “Psalms” comes from the Greek word, psalmoi, which is also from psallein , which means to play upon a stringed instrument. Therefore the Psalms are songs played upon stringed instruments, and the word here is used to apply to the whole collection.
2. “Psalter” is of the same origin and means the Book of Psalms and refers also to the whole collection.
3. “Psaltery” is from the word psalterion, which means “a harp,” an instrument, supposed to be in the shape of a triangle or like the delta of the Greek alphabet. See Psa 33:2 ; Psa 71:22 ; Psa 81:2 ; Psa 144:9 .
In our collection there are 150 psalms. In the Septuagint there is one extra. It is regarded as being outside the sacred collection and not inspired. The subject of this extra psalm is “David’s victory over Goliath.” The following is a copy of it: I was small among my brethren, And youngest in my father’s house, I used to feed my father’s sheep. My hands made a harp, My fingers fashioned a Psaltery. And who will declare unto my Lord? He is Lord, he it is who heareth. He it was who sent his angel And took me from my father’s sheep, And anointed me with the oil of his anointing. My brethren were goodly and tall, But the Lord took no pleasure in them. I went forth to meet the Philistine. And he cursed me by his idols But I drew the sword from beside him; I beheaded him and removed reproach from the children of Israel.
It will be noted that this psalm does not have the earmarks of an inspired production. There is not found in it the modesty so characteristic of David, but there is here an evident spirit of boasting and self-praise which is foreign to the Spirit of inspiration.
There is a difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint. Omitting the extra one in the Septuagint, there is no difference as to the total number. Both have 150 and the same subject matter, but they are not divided alike.
The following scheme shows the division according to our version and also the Septuagint: Psalms 1-8 in the Hebrew equal 1-8 in the Septuagint; 9-10 in the Hebrew combine into 9 in the Septuagint; 11-113 in the Hebrew equal 10-112 in the Septuagint; 114-115 in the Hebrew combine into 113 in the Septuagint; 116 in the Hebrew divides into 114-115 in the Septuagint; 117-146 in the Hebrew equal 116-145 in the Septuagint; 147 in the Hebrew divides into 146-147 in the Septuagint; 148-150 in the Hebrew equal 148-150 in the Septuagint.
The arrangement in the Vulgate is the same as the Septuagint. Also some of the older English versions have this arangement. Another difficulty in numbering perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another, viz: In the Hebrew often the title is verse I, and sometimes the title embraces verses 1-2.
The book divisions of the Psalter are five books, as follows:
Book I, Psalms 1-41 (41 chapters)
Book II, Psalms 42-72 (31 chapters)
Book III, Psalms 73-89 (17 chapters)
Book IV, Psalms 90-106 (17 chapters)
Book V, Psalms 107-150 (44 chapters)
They are marked by an introduction and a doxology. Psalm I forms an introduction to the whole book; Psa 150 is the doxology for the whole book. The introduction and doxology of each book are the first and last psalms of each division, respectively.
There were smaller collections before the final one, as follows:
Books I and II were by David; Book III, by Hezekiah, and Books IV and V, by Ezra.
Certain principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection:
1. David is honored with first place, Book I and II, including Psalms 1-72.
2. They are grouped according to the use of the name of God:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovah psalms;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohim-psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovah psalms.
3. Book IV is introduced by the psalm of Moses, which is the first psalm written.
4. Some are arranged as companion psalms, for instance, sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes more. Examples: Psa 2 and 3; 22, 23, and 24; 113-118.
5. They were arranged for liturgical purposes, which furnished the psalms for special occasions, such as feasts, etc. We may be sure this arrangement was not accidental. An intelligent study of each case is convincing that it was determined upon rational grounds.
All the psalms have titles but thirty-three, as follows:
In Book I, Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 33 , (4 are without titles).
In Book II, Psa 43 ; Psa 71 , (2 are without titles).
In Book IV, Psa 91 ; Psa 93 ; Psa 94 ; Psa 95 ; Psa 96 ; Psa 97 ; Psa 104 ; Psa 105 ; Psa 106 , (9 are without titles).
In Book V, Psa 107 ; III; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 117; 118; 119; 135; 136; 137; 146; 147; 148; 149; 150, (18 are without titles).
The Talmud calls these psalms that have no title, “Orphan Psalms.” The later Jews supply these titles by taking the nearest preceding author. The lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; and 10 may be accounted for as follows: Psa 1 is a general introduction to the whole collection and Psa 2 was, perhaps, a part of Psa 1 . Psalms 9-10 were formerly combined into one, therefore Psa 10 has the same title as Psa 9 .
QUESTIONS
1. What books are commended on the Psalms?
2. What is a psalm?
3. What is the Psalter?
4. What is the range of time in composition?
5. When and by whom was the collection in its present form arranged?
6. What the Jewish classification of Old Testament books, and what the position of the Psalter in this classification?
7. What is the Hebrew title of the Psalms?
8. Find the title of the first two books from the books themselves.
9. What is the title of the whole collection of psalms in the Septuagint?
10. What is the title in the Alexandrian Codex?
11. What is the derivation of our English word, “Psalms”, “Psalter”, and “Psaltery,” respectively?
12. How many psalms in our collection?
13. How many psalms in the Septuagint?
14. What about the extra one in the Septuagint?
15. What is the subject of this extra psalm?
16. How does it compare with the Canonical Psalms?
17. What is the difference in the numbering of the psalms in our version which follows the Hebrew, and the numbering in the Septuagint?
18. What is the arrangement in the Vulgate?
19. What other difficulty in numbering which perplexes an inexperienced student in turning from one version to another?
20. What are the book divisions of the Psalter and how are these divisions marked?
21. Were there smaller collections before the final one? If so, what were they?
22. What principles determined the arrangement of the several psalms in the present collection?
23. In what conclusion may we rest concerning this arrangement?
24. How many of the psalms have no titles?
25. What does the Talmud call these psalms that have no titles?
26. How do later Jews supply these titles?
27. How do you account for the lack of titles in Psa 1 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 10 ?
XII
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS (CONTINUED)
The following is a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms:
1. The author: “A Psalm of David” (Psa 37 ).
2. The occasion: “When he fled from Absalom, his son” (Psa 3 ).
3. The nature, or character, of the poem:
(1) Maschil, meaning “instruction,” a didactic poem (Psa 42 ).
(2) Michtam, meaning “gold,” “A Golden Psalm”; this means excellence or mystery (Psa 16 ; 56-60).
4. The occasion of its use: “A Psalm of David for the dedication of the house” (Psa 30 ).
5. Its purpose: “A Psalm of David to bring remembrance” (Psa 38 ; Psa 70 ).
6. Direction for its use: “A Psalm of David for the chief musician” (Psa 4 ).
7. The kind of musical instrument:
(1) Neginoth, meaning to strike a chord, as on stringed instruments (Psa 4 ; Psa 61 ).
(2) Nehiloth, meaning to perforate, as a pipe or flute (Psa 5 ).
(3) Shoshannim, Lilies, which refers probably to cymbals (Psa 45 ; Psa 69 ).
8. A special choir:
(1) Sheminith, the “eighth,” or octave below, as a male choir (Psa 6 ; Psa 12 ).
(2) Alamoth, female choir (Psa 46 ).
(3) Muth-labben, music with virgin voice, to be sung by a choir of boys in the treble (Psa 9 ).
9. The keynote, or tune:
(1) Aijeleth-sharar, “Hind of the morning,” a song to the melody of which this is sung (Psa 22 ).
(2) Al-tashheth, “Destroy thou not,” the beginning of a song the tune of which is sung (Psa 57 ; Psa 58 ; Psa 59 ; Psa 75 ).
(3) Gittith, set to the tune of Gath, perhaps a tune which David brought from Gath (Psa 8 ; Psa 81 ; Psa 84 ).
(4) Jonath-elim-rehokim, “The dove of the distant terebinths,” the commencement of an ode to the air of which this song was to be sung (Psa 56 ).
(5) Leannoth, the name of a tune (Psa 88 ).
(6) Mahalath, an instrument (Psa 53 ); Leonnoth-Mahaloth, to chant to a tune called Mahaloth.
(7) Shiggaion, a song or a hymn.
(8) Shushan-Eduth, “Lily of testimony,” a tune (Psa 60 ). Note some examples: (1) “America,” “Shiloh,” “Auld Lang Syne.” These are the names of songs such as we are familiar with; (2) “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” are examples of sacred hymns.
10. The liturgical use, those noted for the feasts, e.g., the Hallels and Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 146-150).
11. The destination, as “Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120-134)
12. The direction for the music, such as Selah, which means “Singers, pause”; Higgaion-Selah, to strike a symphony with selah, which means an instrumental interlude (Psa 9:16 ).
The longest and fullest title to any of the psalms is the title to Psa 60 . The items of information from this title are as follows: (1) the author; (2) the chief musician; (3) the historical occasion; (4) the use, or design; (5) the style of poetry; (6) the instrument or style of music.
The parts of these superscriptions which most concern us now are those indicating author, occasion, and date. As to the historic value or trustworthiness of these titles most modern scholars deny that they are a part of the Hebrew text, but the oldest Hebrew text of which we know anything had all of them. This is the text from which the Septuagint was translated. It is much more probable that the author affixed them than later writers. There is no internal evidence in any of the psalms that disproves the correctness of them, but much to confirm. The critics disagree among themselves altogether as to these titles. Hence their testimony cannot consistently be received. Nor can it ever be received until they have at least agreed upon a common ground of opposition.
David is the author of more than half the entire collection, the arrangement of which is as follows:
1. Seventy-three are ascribed to him in the superscriptions.
2. Some of these are but continuations of the preceding ones of a pair, trio, or larger group.
3. Some of the Korahite Psalms are manifestly Davidic.
4. Some not ascribed to him in the titles are attributed to him expressly by New Testament writers.
5. It is not possible to account for some parts of the Psalter without David. The history of his early life as found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1and 2 Chronicles, not only shows his remarkable genius for patriotic and sacred songs and music, but also shows his cultivation of that gift in the schools of the prophets. Some of these psalms of the history appear in the Psalter itself. It is plain to all who read these that they are founded on experience, and the experience of no other Hebrew fits the case. These experiences are found in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.
As to the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition, I have this to say:
1. This theory has no historical support whatever, and therefore is not to be accepted at all.
2. It has no support in tradition, which weakens the contention of the critics greatly.
3. It has no support from finding any one with the necessary experience for their basis.
4. They can give no reasonable account as to how the titles ever got there.
5. It is psychologically impossible for anyone to have written these 150 psalms in the Maccabean times.
6. Their position is expressly contrary to the testimony of Christ and the apostles. Some of the psalms which they ascribe to the Maccabean Age are attributed to David by Christ himself, who said that David wrote them in the Spirit.
The obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result if it be Just, is a positive denial of the inspiration of both Testaments.
Other authors are named in the titles, as follows: (1) Asaph, to whom twelve psalms have been assigned: (2) Mosee, Psa 90 ; (3) Solomon, Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ; (4) Heman, Psa 80 ; (5) Ethem, Psa 89 ; (6) A number of the psalms are ascribed to the sons of Korah.
Not all the psalms ascribed to Asaph were composed by one person. History indicates that Asaph’s family presided over the song service for several generations. Some of them were composed by his descendants by the game name. The five general outlines of the whole collection are as follows:
I. By books
1. Psalms 1-41 (41)
2. Psalms 42-72 (31)
3. Psalms 73-89 (17)
4. Psalms 90-106 (17)
5. Psalms 107-150 (44)
II. According to date and authorship
1. The psalm of Moses (Psa 90 )
2. Psalms of David:
(1) The shepherd boy (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 ).
(2) David when persecuted by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ).
(3) David the King (Psa 101 ; Psa 18 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 2 ; Psa 110 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 20 ; Psa 21 ; Psa 60 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 41 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 3:4 ; Psa 64 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 ).
3. The Asaph Psalms (Psa 50 ; Psa 73 ; Psa 83 ).
4. The Korahite Psalms (Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 84 ).
5. The psalms of Solomon (Psa 72 ; Psa 127 ).
6. The psalms of the era of Hezekiah and Isaiah (Psa 46 ; Psa 47 ; Psa 48 )
7. The psalms of the Exile (Psa 74 ; Psa 79 ; Psa 137 ; Psa 102 )
8. The psalms of the Restoration (Psa 85 ; Psa 126 ; Psa 118 ; 146-150)
III. By groups
1. The Jehovistic and Elohistic Psalms:
(1) Psalms 1-41 are Jehovistic;
(2) Psalms 42-83 are Elohistic Psalms;
(3) Psalms 84-150 are Jehovistic.
2. The Penitential Psalms (Psa 6 ; Psa 32 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 51 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 130 ; Psa 143 )
3. The Pilgrim Psalms (Psalms 120-134)
4. The Alphabetical Psalms (Psa 9 ; Psa 10 ; Psa 25 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 37 ; 111:112; Psa 119 ; Psa 145 )
5. The Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 11-113; 115-117; 146-150; to which may be added Psa 135 ) Psalms 113-118 are called “the Egyptian Hallel”
IV. Doctrines of the Psalms
1. The throne of grace and how to approach it by sacrifice, prayer, and praise.
2. The covenant, the basis of worship.
3. The paradoxical assertions of both innocence & guilt.
4. The pardon of sin and justification.
5. The Messiah.
6. The future life, pro and con.
7. The imprecations.
8. Other doctrines.
V. The New Testament use of the Psalms
1. Direct references and quotations in the New Testament.
2. The allusions to the psalms in the New Testament. Certain experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart, such as: (1) his peaceful early life; (2) his persecution by Saul; (3) his being crowned king of the people; (4) the bringing up of the ark; (5) his first great sin; (6) Absalom’s rebellion; (7) his second great sin; (8) the great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 ; (9) the feelings of his old age.
We may classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time, thus:
1. His peaceful early life (Psa 8 ; Psa 19 ; Psa 29 ; Psa 23 )
2. His persecution by Saul (Psa 59 ; Psa 56 ; Psa 34 ; Psa 7 ; Psa 52 ; Psa 120 ; Psa 140 ; Psa 54 ; Psa 57 ; Psa 142 ; Psa 17 ; Psa 18 )
3. Making David King (Psa 27 ; Psa 133 ; Psa 101 )
4. Bringing up the ark (Psa 68 ; Psa 24 ; Psa 132 ; Psa 15 ; Psa 78 ; Psa 96 )
5. His first great sin (Psa 51 ; Psa 32 )
6. Absalom’s rebellion (Psa 41 ; Psa 6 ; Psa 55 ; Psa 109 ; Psa 38 ; Psa 39 ; Psa 3 ; Psa 4 ; Psa 63 ; Psa 42 ; Psa 43 ; Psa 5 ; Psa 62 ; Psa 61 ; Psa 27 )
7. His second great sin (Psa 69 ; Psa 71 ; Psa 102 ; Psa 103 )
8. The great promise made to him in 2Sa 7 (Psa 2 )
9. Feelings of old age (Psa 37 )
The great doctrines of the psalms may be noted as follows: (1) the being and attributes of God; (3) sin, both original and individual; (3) both covenants; (4) the doctrine of justification; (5) concerning the Messiah.
There is a striking analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms. The Pentateuch contains five books of law; the Psalms contain five books of heart responses to the law.
It is interesting to note the historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms. These were controversies about singing uninspired songs, in the Middle Ages. The church would not allow anything to be used but psalms.
The history in Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah is very valuable toward a proper interpretation of the psalms. These books furnish the historical setting for a great many of the psalms which is very indispensable to their proper interpretation.
Professor James Robertson, in the Poetry and Religion of the Psalms constructs a broad and strong argument in favor of the Davidic Psalms, as follows:
1. The age of David furnished promising soil for the growth of poetry.
2. David’s qualifications for composing the psalms make it highly probable that David is the author of the psalms ascribed to him.
3. The arguments against the possibility of ascribing to David any of the hymns in the Hebrew Psalter rests upon assumptions that are thoroughly antibiblical.
The New Testament makes large use of the psalms and we learn much as to their importance in teaching. There are seventy direct quotations in the New Testament from this book, from which we learn that the Scriptures were used extensively in accord with 2Ti 3:16-17 . There are also eleven references to the psalms in the New Testament from which we learn that the New Testament writers were thoroughly imbued with the spirit and teaching of the psalms. Then there are eight allusions ‘to this book in the New Testament from which we gather that the Psalms was one of the divisions of the Old Testament and that they were used in the early church.
QUESTIONS
1. Give a list of the items of information gathered from the titles of the psalms.
2. What is the longest title to any of the psalms and what the items of this title?
3. What parts of these superscriptions most concern us now?
4. What is the historic value, or trustworthiness of these titles?
5. State the argument showing David’s relation to the psalms.
6. What have you to say of the attempt of the destructive critics to rob David of his glory in relation to the Psalter by assigning the Maccabean era as the date of composition?
7. What the obvious aim of this criticism and the necessary result, if it be just?
8. What other authors are named in the titles?
9. Were all the psalms ascribed to Asaph composed by one person?
10. Give the five general outlines of the whole collection, as follows: I. The outline by books II. The outline according to date and authorship III. The outline by groups IV. The outline of doctrines V. The outline by New Testament quotations or allusions.
11. What experiences of David’s life made very deep impressions on his heart?
12. Classify the Davidic Psalms according to these experiences following the order of time.
13. What the great doctrines of the psalms?
14. What analogy between the Pentateuch and the Psalms?
15. What historic controversies concerning the singing of psalms?
16. Of what value is the history in Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, and in Ezra and Nehemiah toward a proper interpretation of the psalms?
17. Give Professor James Robertson’s argument in favor of the Davidic authorship of the psalms.
18. What can you say of the New Testament use of the psalms and what do we learn as to their importance in teaching?
19. What can you say of the New Testament references to the psalms, and from the New Testament references what the impression on the New Testament writers?
20. What can you say of the allusions to the psalms in the New Testament?
XVII
THE MESSIAH IN THE PSALMS
A fine text for this chapter is as follows: “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Psalms concerning me,” Luk 24:44 . I know of no better way to close my brief treatise on the Psalms than to discuss the subject of the Messiah as revealed in this book.
Attention has been called to the threefold division of the Old Testament cited by our Lord, namely, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luk 24:44 ), in all of which were the prophecies relating to himself that “must be fulfilled.” It has been shown just what Old Testament books belong to each of these several divisions. The division called the Psalms included many books, styled Holy Writings, and because the Psalms proper was the first book of the division it gave the name to the whole division.
The object of this discussion is to sketch the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah, or rather, to show how nearly a complete picture of our Lord is foredrawn in this one book. Let us understand however with Paul, that all prophecy is but in part (1Co 13:9 ), and that when we fill in on one canvas all the prophecies concerning the Messiah of all the Old Testament divisions, we are far from having a perfect portrait of our Lord. The present purpose is limited to three things:
1. What the book of the Psalms teaches concerning the Messiah.
2. That the New Testament shall authoritatively specify and expound this teaching.
3. That the many messianic predictions scattered over the book and the specifications thereof over the New Testament may be grouped into an orderly analysis, so that by the adjustment of the scattered parts we may have before us a picture of our Lord as foreseen by the psalmists.
In allowing the New Testament to authoritatively specify and expound the predictive features of the book, I am not unmindful of what the so-called “higher critics” urge against the New Testament quotations from the Old Testament and the use made of them. In this discussion, however, these objections are not considered, for sufficient reasons. There is not space for it. Even at the risk of being misjudged I must just now summarily pass all these objections, dismissing them with a single statement upon which the reader may place his own estimate of value. That statement is that in the days of my own infidelity, before this old method of criticism had its new name, I was quite familiar with the most and certainly the strongest of the objections now classified as higher criticism, and have since patiently re-examined them in their widely conflicting restatements under their modern name, and find my faith in the New Testament method of dealing with the Old Testament in no way shattered, but in every way confirmed. God is his own interpreter. The Old Testament as we now have it was in the hands of our Lord. I understand his apostle to declare, substantially, that “every one of these sacred scriptures is God-inspired and is profitable for teaching us what is right to believe and to do, for convincing us what is wrong in faith or practice, for rectifying the wrong when done, that we may be ready at every point, furnished completely, to do every good work, at the right time, in the right manner, and from the proper motive” (2Ti 3:16-17 ).
This New Testament declares that David was a prophet (Act 2:30 ), that he spake by the Holy Spirit (Act 1:16 ), that when the book speaks the Holy Spirit speaks (Heb 3:7 ), and that all its predictive utterances, as sacred Scripture, “must be fulfilled” (Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:16 ). It is not claimed that David wrote all the psalms, but that all are inspired, and that as he was the chief author, the book goes by his name.
It would be a fine thing to make out two lists, as follows:
1. All of the 150 psalms in order from which the New Testament quotes with messianic application.
2. The New Testament quotations, book by book, i.e., Matthew so many, and then the other books in their order.
We would find in neither of these any order as to time, that is, Psa 1 which forecasts an incident in the coming Messiah’s life does not forecast the first incident of his life. And even the New Testament citations are not in exact order as to time and incident of his life. To get the messianic picture before us, therefore, we must put the scattered parts together in their due relation and order, and so construct our own analysis. That is the prime object of this discussion. It is not claimed that the analysis now presented is perfect. It is too much the result of hasty, offhand work by an exceedingly busy man. It will serve, however, as a temporary working model, which any one may subsequently improve. We come at once to the psalmist’s outline of the Messiah.
1. The necessity for a Saviour. This foreseen necessity is a background of the psalmists’ portrait of the Messiah. The necessity consists in (1) man’s sinfulness; (2) his sin; (3) his inability of wisdom and power to recover himself; (4) the insufficiency of legal, typical sacrifices in securing atonement.
The predicate of Paul’s great argument on justification by faith is the universal depravity and guilt of man. He is everywhere corrupt in nature; everywhere an actual transgressor; everywhere under condemnation. But the scriptural proofs of this depravity and sin the apostle draws mainly from the book of the Psalms. In one paragraph of the letter to the Romans (Rom 3:4-18 ), he cites and groups six passages from six divisions of the Psalms (Psa 5:9 ; Psa 10:7 ; Psa 14:1-3 ; Psa 36:1 ; Psa 51:4-6 ; Psa 140:3 ). These passages abundantly prove man’s sinfulness, or natural depravity, and his universal practice of sin.
The predicate also of the same apostle’s great argument for revelation and salvation by a Redeemer is man’s inability of wisdom and power to re-establish communion with God. In one of his letters to the Corinthians he thus commences his argument: “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? -For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preach-ing to save them that believe.” He closes this discussion with the broad proposition: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,” and proves it by a citation from Psa 94:11 : “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
In like manner our Lord himself pours scorn on human wisdom and strength by twice citing Psa 8 : “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Mat 11:25-26 ). “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Mat 21:15-16 ).
But the necessity for a Saviour as foreseen by the psalmist did not stop at man’s depravity, sin, and helplessness. The Jews were trusting in the sacrifices of their law offered on the smoking altar. The inherent weakness of these offerings, their lack of intrinsic merit, their ultimate abolition, their complete fulfilment and supercession by a glorious antitype were foreseen and foreshown in this wonderful prophetic book: I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goat out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all of the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Psa 50:8-13 .
Yet again it speaks in that more striking passage cited in the letter to the Hebrews: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers, once purged should have no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, But a body didst thou prepare for me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God. Saying above, Sacrifice and offering and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein, (the which are offered according to the law), then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second” (Heb 10:1-9 ).
This keen foresight of the temporary character and intrinsic worthlessness of animal sacrifices anticipated similar utterances by the later prophets (Isa 1:10-17 ; Jer 6:20 ; Jer 7:21-23 ; Hos 6:6 ; Amo 5:21 ; Mic 6:6-8 ). Indeed, I may as well state in passing that when the apostle declares, “It is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins,” he lays down a broad principle, just as applicable to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. With reverence I state the principle: Not even God himself by mere appointment can vest in any ordinance, itself lacking intrinsic merit, the power to take away sin. There can be, therefore, in the nature of the case, no sacramental salvation. This would destroy the justice of God in order to exalt his mercy. Clearly the psalmist foresaw that “truth and mercy must meet together” before “righteousness and peace could kiss each other” (Psa 85:10 ). Thus we find as the dark background of the psalmists’ luminous portrait of the Messiah, the necessity for a Saviour.
2. The nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah. In no other prophetic book are the nature, fullness, and blessedness of salvation so clearly seen and so vividly portrayed. Besides others not now enumerated, certainly the psalmists clearly forecast four great elements of salvation:
(1) An atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit offered once for all (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:4-10 ).
(2) Regeneration itself consisting of cleansing, renewal, and justification. We hear his impassioned statement of the necessity of regeneration: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts,” followed by his earnest prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” and his equally fervent petition: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa 51 ). And we hear him again as Paul describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin Psa 32:1 ; Rom 4:6-8 .
(3) Introduction into the heavenly rest (Psa 95:7-11 ; Heb 3:7-19 ; Heb 4:1-11 ). Here is the antitypical Joshua leading spiritual Israel across the Jordan of death into the heavenly Canaan, the eternal rest that remaineth for the people of God. Here we find creation’s original sabbath eclipsed by redemption’s greater sabbath when the Redeemer “entered his rest, ceasing from his own works as God did from his.”
(4) The recovery of all the universal dominion lost by the first Adam and the securement of all possible dominion which the first Adam never attained (Psa 8:5-6 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 ; 1Co 15:24-28 ).
What vast extent then and what blessedness in the salvation foreseen by the psalmists, and to be wrought by the Messiah. Atoning sacrifice of intrinsic merit; regeneration by the Holy Spirit; heavenly rest as an eternal inheritance; and universal dominion shared with Christ!
3. The wondrous person of the Messiah in his dual nature, divine and human.
(1) His divinity,
(a) as God: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Psa 45:6 and Heb 1:8 ) ;
(b) as creator of the heavens and earth, immutable and eternal: Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end Psa 102:25-27 quoted with slight changes in Heb 1:10-12 .
(c) As owner of the earth: The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein, Psa 24:1 quoted in 1Co 10:26 .
(d) As the Son of God: “Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee” Psa 2:7 ; Heb 1:5 .
(e) As David’s Lord: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool, Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:41-46 .
(f) As the object of angelic worship: “And let all the angels of God worship him” Psa 97:7 ; Heb 1:6 .
(g) As the Bread of life: And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them food from heaven Psa 78:24 ; interpreted in Joh 6:31-58 . These are but samples which ascribe deity to the Messiah of the psalmists.
(2) His humanity, (a) As the Son of man, or Son of Adam: Psa 8:4-6 , cited in 1Co 15:24-28 ; Eph 1:20-22 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Compare Luke’s genealogy, Luk 3:23-38 . This is the ideal man, or Second Adam, who regains Paradise Lost, who recovers race dominion, in whose image all his spiritual lineage is begotten. 1Co 15:45-49 . (b) As the Son of David: Psa 18:50 ; Psa 89:4 ; Psa 89:29 ; Psa 89:36 ; Psa 132:11 , cited in Luk 1:32 ; Act 13:22-23 ; Rom 1:3 ; 2Ti 2:8 . Perhaps a better statement of the psalmists’ vision of the wonderful person of the Messiah would be: He saw the uncreated Son, the second person of the trinity, in counsel and compact with the Father, arranging in eternity for the salvation of men: Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 . Then he saw this Holy One stoop to be the Son of man: Psa 8:4-6 ; Heb 2:7-9 . Then he was the son of David, and then he saw him rise again to be the Son of God: Psa 2:7 ; Rom 1:3-4 .
4. His offices.
(1) As the one atoning sacrifice (Psa 40:6-8 ; Heb 10:5-7 ).
(2) As the great Prophet, or Preacher (Psa 40:9-10 ; Psa 22:22 ; Heb 2:12 ). Even the method of his teaching by parable was foreseen (Psa 78:2 ; Mat 13:35 ). Equally also the grace, wisdom, and power of his teaching. When the psalmist declares that “Grace is poured into thy lips” (Psa 45:2 ), we need not be startled when we read that all the doctors in the Temple who heard him when only a boy “were astonished at his understanding and answers” (Luk 2:47 ); nor that his home people at Nazareth “all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luk 4:22 ); nor that those of his own country were astonished, and said, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Mat 13:54 ); nor that the Jews in the Temple marveled, saying, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (Joh 7:15 ) ; nor that the stern officers of the law found their justification in failure to arrest him in the declaration, “Never man spake like this man” (Joh 7:46 ).
(3) As the king (Psa 2:6 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 45:1-17 ; Psa 110:1 ; Mat 22:42-46 ; Act 2:33-36 ; 1Co 15:25 ; Eph 1:20 ; Heb 1:13 ).
(4) As the priest (Psa 110:4 ; Heb 5:5-10 ; Heb 7:1-21 ; Heb 10:12-14 ).
(5) As the final judge. The very sentence of expulsion pronounced upon the finally impenitent by the great judge (Mat 25:41 ) is borrowed from the psalmist’s prophetic words (Psa 6:8 ).
5. Incidents of life. The psalmists not only foresaw the necessity for a Saviour; the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation; the wonderful human-divine person of the Saviour; the offices to be filled by him in the work of salvation, but also many thrilling details of his work in life, death, resurrection, and exaltation. It is not assumed to cite all these details, but some of the most important are enumerated in order, thus:
(1) The visit, adoration, and gifts of the Magi recorded in Mat 2 are but partial fulfilment of Psa 72:9-10 .
(2) The scripture employed by Satan in the temptation of our Lord (Luk 4:10-11 ) was cited from Psa 91:11-12 and its pertinency not denied.
(3) In accounting for his intense earnestness and the apparently extreme measures adopted by our Lord in his first purification of the Temple (Joh 2:17 ), he cites the messianic zeal predicted in Psa 69:9 .
(4) Alienation from his own family was one of the saddest trials of our Lord’s earthly life. They are slow to understand his mission and to enter into sympathy with him. His self-abnegation and exhaustive toil were regarded by them as evidences of mental aberration, and it seems at one time they were ready to resort to forcible restraint of his freedom) virtually what in our time would be called arrest under a writ of lunacy. While at the last his half-brothers became distinguished preachers of his gospel, for a long while they do not believe on him. And the evidence forces us to the conclusion that his own mother shared with her other sons, in kind though not in degree, the misunderstanding of the supremacy of his mission over family relations. The New Testament record speaks for itself:
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them. How is it that ye sought me? Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them Luk 2:48-51 (R.V.).
And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Joh 2:3-5 (R.V.).
And there come his mother and his brethren; and standing without; they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him. Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren) For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother Mar 3:31-35 (R.V.).
Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may behold thy works which thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou doest these things, manifest thyself to the world. For even his brethren did not believe on him. Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time is not fulfilled. Joh 7:2-9 (R.V.).
These citations from the Revised Version tell their own story. But all that sad story is foreshown in the prophetic psalms. For example: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, And an alien unto my mother’s children. Psa 69:8 .
(5) The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was welcomed by a joyous people shouting a benediction from Psa 118:26 : “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mat 21:9 ); and the Lord’s lamentation over Jerusalem predicts continued desolation and banishment from his sight until the Jews are ready to repeat that benediction (Mat 23:39 ).
(6) The children’s hosanna in the Temple after its second purgation is declared by our Lord to be a fulfilment of that perfect praise forecast in Psa 8:2 .
(7) The final rejection of our Lord by his own people was also clear in the psalmist’s vision (Psa 118:22 ; Mat 21:42-44 ).
(8) Gethsemane’s baptism of suffering, with its strong crying and tears and prayers was as clear to the psalmist’s prophetic vision as to the evangelist and apostle after it became history (Psa 69:1-4 ; Psa 69:13-20 ; and Mat 26:36-44 ; Heb 5:7 ).
(9) In life-size also before the psalmist was the betrayer of Christ and his doom (Psa 41:9 ; Psa 69:25 ; Psa 109:6-8 ; Joh 13:18 ; Act 1:20 ).
(10) The rage of the people, Jew and Gentile, and the conspiracy of Pilate and Herod are clearly outlined (Psa 2:1-3 ; Act 4:25-27 ).
(11) All the farce of his trial the false accusation, his own marvelous silence; and the inhuman maltreatment to which he was subjected, is foreshown in the prophecy as dramatically as in the history (Mat 26:57-68 ; Mat 27:26-31 ; Psa 27:12 ; Psa 35:15-16 ; Psa 38:3 ; Psa 69:19 ).
The circumstances of his death, many and clear, are distinctly foreseen. He died in the prime of life (Psa 89:45 ; Psa 102:23-24 ). He died by crucifixion (Psa 22:14-17 ; Luk 23 ; 33; Joh 19:23-37 ; Joh 20:27 ). But yet not a bone of his body was broken (Psa 34:20 ; Joh 19:36 ).
The persecution, hatred without a cause, the mockery and insults, are all vividly and dramatically foretold (Psa 22:6-13 ; Psa 35:7 ; Psa 35:12 ; Psa 35:15 ; Psa 35:21 ; Psa 109:25 ).
The parting of his garments and the gambling for his vesture (Psa 22:18 ; Mat 27:35 ).
His intense thirst and the gall and vinegar offered for his drink (Psa 69:21 ; Mat 27:34 ).
In the psalms, too, we hear his prayers for his enemies so remarkably fulfilled in fact (Psa 109:4 ; Luk 23:34 ).
His spiritual death was also before the eye of the psalmist, and the very words which expressed it the psalmist heard. Separation from the Father is spiritual death. The sinner’s substitute must die the sinner’s death, death physical, i.e., separation of soul from body; death spiritual, i.e., separation of the soul from God. The latter is the real death and must precede the former. This death the substitute died when he cried out: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” (Psa 22:1 ; Mat 27:46 ).
Emerging from the darkness of that death, which was the hour of the prince of darkness, the psalmist heard him commend his spirit to the Father (Psa_31:35; Luk 23:46 ) showing that while he died the spiritual death, his soul was not permanently abandoned unto hell (Psa 16:8-10 ; Act 2:25 ) so that while he “tasted death” for every man it was not permanent death (Heb 2:9 ).
With equal clearness the psalmist foresaw his resurrection, his triumph over death and hell, his glorious ascension into heaven, and his exaltation at the right hand of God as King of kings and Lord of lords, as a high Driest forever, as invested with universal sovereignty (Psa 16:8-11 ; Psa 24:7-10 ; Psa 68:18 ; Psa 2:6 ; Psa 111:1-4 ; Psa 8:4-6 ; Act 2:25-36 ; Eph 1:19-23 ; Eph 4:8-10 ).
We see, therefore, brethren, when the scattered parts are put together and adjusted, how nearly complete a portrait of our Lord is put upon the prophetic canvas by this inspired limner, the sweet singer of Israel.
QUESTIONS
1. What is a good text for this chapter?
2. What is the threefold division of the Old Testament as cited by our Lord?
3. What is the last division called and why?
4. What is the object of the discussion in this chapter?
5. To what three things is the purpose limited?
6. What especially qualifies the author to meet the objections of the higher critics to allowing the New Testament usage of the Old Testament to determine its meaning and application?
7. What is the author’s conviction relative to the Scriptures?
8. What is the New Testament testimony on the question of inspiration?
9. What is the author’s suggested plan of approach to the study of the Messiah in the Psalms?
10. What the background of the Psalmist’s portrait of the Messiah and of what does it consist?
11. Give the substance of Paul’s discussion of man’s sinfulness.
12. What is the teaching of Jesus on this point?
13. What is the teaching relative to sacrifices?
14. What the nature, extent, and blessedness of the salvation to be wrought by the coming Messiah and what the four great elements of it as forecast by the psalmist?
15. What is the teaching of the psalms relative to the wondrous person of the Messiah? Discuss.
16. What are the offices of the Messiah according to psalms? Discuss each.
17. Cite the more important events of the Messiah’s life according to the vision of the psalmist.
18. What the circumstances of the Messiah’s death and resurrection as foreseen by the psalmist?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Psa 138:1
Ver. 1. I will praise thee with my whole heart ] Which no hypocrite can do; though he may pray in distress from the bottom of his heart. A grateful man is a gracious man, viz. if he come with a true heart, as the apostle hath it, Heb 10:22 (Aben Ezra).
Before the gods will I sing praise unto thee
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Of David.” It is Jehovah’s faithfulness to His sayings, His mercy in this respect which Israel proved experimentally, and all kings of the earth celebrate in that day. What a change from this day of delusion and infidelity, to which the Jew contributes so largely!
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 138:1-3
1I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.
2I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
3On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.
Psa 138:1-3 This strophe outlines what the psalmist will do (four imperfects used in a cohortative sense), while Psa 138:4-6 reflects what the nations should do.
1. I will give You thanks – BDB 392, KB 389, Hiphil imperfect used in a cohortative sense
2. I will sing praises to You – BDB 274, KB 273, Piel imperfect used in a cohortative sense
3. I will bow down towards Your holy temple – BDB 1005, KB 295, Hishtaphel imperfect used in a cohortative sense
4. I give thanks to – same as #1
YHWH answered him on the day he prayed and continues to answer him because
1. he is a faithful follower emboldened and strengthened by YHWH, Psa 138:3 b
2. of the character of YHWH
a. His name, Psa 138:2 b,c
b. His lovingkindness, Psa 138:2 b
c. His faithfulness, Psa 138:2 b
d. His word, Psa 138:2 c
Notice the number of times the k sound closes words in Psa 138:1-2.
1. I will give You thanks, Psa 138:1
2. I will sing Your praise, Psa 138:1
3. holy, Psa 138:2
4. Your name, Psa 138:2
5. Your lovingkindness, Psa 138:2
6. Your truth/faithfulness, Psa 138:2
7. Your name, Psa 138:2
8. Your word, Psa 138:2
Psa 138:1 with all my heart This is a Hebrew idiom of total dedication (cf. Psa 86:12; Psa 111:1). This was a way of showing the difference between the faith/faithfulness of
1. David – a whole heart (before Bathsheba and later after the terrible episode)
2. Solomon – a divided heart (when he was old)
Sin was not the issue, all sin (see note at Psa 130:3-4), but continuing faith and repentance. Relationship with YHWH is the key, not performance based on human efforts.
before the gods This could be viewed in two ways.
1. the throne room of heaven (i.e., temple worship) is where the psalmist makes his faith songs known (i.e., the heavenly council, Psa 82:1; Psa 89:7-8; Psa 95:3; Psa 96:4; Psa 97:9)
2. that YHWH is the one true God (see Special Topic: Monotheism ), which was Israel’s uniqueness in the ANE
3. note SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY , C. Elohim
Psa 138:2 toward Your holy temple Jews and Muslims prayed toward Jerusalem (later Muslims changed to Mecca). This was the place where the one true God chose to dwell (cf. Deu 12:11), between the wings of the cherubim on the ark of the covenant (cf. Exo 25:22) in the Holy of Holies. It was the place where heaven and earth met.
If David’s reign is the historical setting, then temple should be understood as ark, housed in the tabernacle. Israelites prayed
1. when away from Jerusalem facing Jerusalem (cf. Dan 6:10)
2. when in the temple facing the ark (cf. Psa 28:2)
Your name See Special Topic: The Name of YHWH (OT) .
lovingkindness See Special Topic: Lovingkindness (hesed) .
NASB, NKJVtruth
NRSV, TEV,
JPSOA, REBfaithfulness
NJBconstancy
The term’s (BDB 54) meaning can be seen in use of the verb (BDB 52). See Special Topic: Believe, Trust, Faith and Faithfulness in the OT .
Your word See Special Topic: Terms for God’s Revelation .
NASBaccording to all
NKJVabove all
This phrase is unclear in Hebrew. It may relate to before the gods of Psa 138:1 b. It is also possible that it relates to the kings of the earth in Psa 138:4. Whatever the specific referent, in the mind of the psalmist it magnified the person of Israel’s Deity. His characteristics are supreme (NJB). See SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL’S GOD (OT) and Special Topic: Characteristics of Israel’s God (NT) .
Psa 138:3 YHWH’s answer (imperative) to the psalmist’s prayer was (two imperfect verbs)
1. make him bold (lit. arrogant, BDB 923) but in this context the unique use of the Hiphil imperfect, bold is the intended meaning
The UBS Text Project (p. 421) gives the MT (BDB 923, ) a B rating (some doubt) and mentions the emendation of the RSV, NRSV, which suggests multiply or increase (BDB 915, ).
2. with strength – the noun, BDB 738, denotes strength or courage
What a difference repentant, faithful prayer makes. Prayer affects us and God (see SPECIAL TOPIC: INTERCESSORY PRAYER ).
soul See full note on nephesh (BDB 659) at Gen 35:18 online at www.freebiblecommentary.org .
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Title. of David = by David. Placed here by Hezekiah, to correspond with H1, H2 and H4 See p. 826.
praise Thee. Some codices, with Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, add “O Jehovah”.
heart. Septuagint adds “for Thou hast heard the words of my mouth”, probably from Psa 138:4.
gods. Hebrew. ‘elohim. App-4. See note on Exo 22:8.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 138:1-8 :
I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name ( Psa 138:1-2 ).
Here David is expressing his praise unto the Lord. Praising God with a whole heart, praising God for His loving-kindness, His truth, and for His Word, that God has magnified His Word above His name. Now, in all the earth there is no name like the name of God.
In the Old Testament times, the Jews held this name in such high esteem that they would never pronounce the name of God. They felt that no human lips were worthy to pronounce His name. And it came to pass that as they would copy the scriptures, when they came to the name of God, they would only copy the consonants, leaving out the vowels, so that a person would not even pronounce the name in his mind as he was reading because just the consonants were unpronounceable. And so in reading of the scriptures, when they would come to this name of God, they would just bow their head and worship. Now as we’ve gone through the Psalms, you’ve noticed how often it says, “Thy name, O Lord, is above all the earth.” “Thy name, O Lord, is to be magnified. Thy name.” And all of the emphasis that was put upon the name of God. “The name of the Lord is a high tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” ( Pro 18:10 ).
And so they would just put consonants, Y-H-V-H. Try and pronounce it. It’s impossible to pronounce. They left out the vowels deliberately so that people would not be tempted to pronounce the name. This was never required of God. This was just sort of something that man by religious tradition picked up on. There are a lot of things that God does not require. Men have just made them religious traditions. And so we follow in the religious traditions of man things that are not necessarily commands or even desires or wishes of God. Man always has to make some kind of religious hocus-pocus out of things, rather than just taking it straight as God dished it out.
And so we do not know for sure the exact pronunciation, but it is thought to be Yahweh. There are some who say Yahovah. And there is theological debate on what is the correct pronunciation, whether it be Yahovah or Yahweh. It seems that Yahovah is more recent type of a pronunciation dating from maybe the sixteenth century and that Yahweh is indeed the correct pronunciation for the name of God. We don’t know, but Yah is the contracted form. They would refer to as Yah. And thus, there were many names that had this Yah in it. Yahosaphat, Joshua, Yashua, actually, our Yashua. And this Yashua, the contracted form of Yahweh is salvation, is the name Jesus in Greek. So He was given one of the names of God, Yashua, Jehovah is become our salvation.
Now in the New Testament, we read that, “God has given to Him,” that is, Jesus Christ, “the name that is above all names. That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father” ( Php 2:10-11 ). A name above all names.
Yet, as important as is the name of Jesus, as glorious as is the name of Jesus, yet God has honored His Word. “Thou has magnified Thy Word above even Thy name.” Now, as I say, there’s nothing more important than the name of God, and yet, He has put His Word even above the name, as far as magnifying His Word. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall never pass away” ( Luk 21:33 ). We need also to honor the Word of God, even as He has honored it.
In the day [the psalmist said] when I cried you answered me, and you strengthened me with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth ( Psa 138:3-4 ).
And so referring to the Word of God.
Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD. Though the LORD be high, yet he has respect to the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off ( Psa 138:5-6 ).
Here is, again, a good example of Hebrew poetry. The contrast, “The Lord is high, yet He has great respect to the lowly. But the proud,” so you have the contrast here, “He knoweth afar off.”
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will revive me: you shall stretch forth your hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endures for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands ( Psa 138:7-8 ).
I love this verse. “The Lord will perfect that,” and the word perfect is to complete. God’s going to complete that which concerns me. Those things that are of concern to you in your relationship with God, God’s going to take care of it. The Lord is going to perfect that which concerns me. For His mercy endures forever. And then the prayer, “Lord, don’t forsake.” I’m the work of His hands. “God, don’t forsake the work of Your own hands.” “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
A Psalm of David.
Psa 138:1. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
Before the heathen gods, however highly exalted I will sing thy praises so in their very teeth; and the magistrates and princes and kings who think themselves gods on earth I will not fear them or be silenced by them.
Psa 138:2. I 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.
For thou wert far more glorious in revelation than in creation thy promise did greatly transcend every other display of thyself above all we have ever known or conceived of thee. Thou hast magnified thyself by thy covenant of grace, and thy works of grace toward thy people. For this worship and praise are for ever due!
Psa 138:3. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
That is a thing to make a man King when in the day of trouble God comes to him, hears his prayer and works his deliverance, when none else can help. Gods rescues demand our grateful songs: his deliverances our new anthems of exultant praise.
Psa 138:4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
When thy gospel is preached, and they know it, they shall count it their honour to honour thee. It is ignorance of its glory and grace that makes silence possible: but to hear it as Gods word of caring love is to be compelled to extol.
Psa 138:5. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the LORD.
David was a king, and he danced before the ark, and he anticipated the time when other kings should not be ashamed of exuberant rejoicing in the King of kings. Oh, that it were come! May the Lord hasten it in his own time, and the choral hosts of heaven be swelled by the presence of the crowned monarchs of earth!
Psa 138:6. Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly:
That is a sweet text. One who was a scoffer met a humble child of God one morning, and he said to him, Tell me, is your God a great God or a little God, and the poor man said, Sir, he is both, for, though he is so great that the heaven of heavens cannot contain him, yet he makes himself so little that he condescends to dwell in my poor heart. Ah, it was sweetly said. He who fills the heavens, nay all things, will be our abiding guest and friend if we will but welcome him.
Psa 138:6. But the proud he knoweth afar off.
He has enough of them. He does not want them to come near to him. When they are miles away he knows all about them. They make a fair show, but he sees that it is all a fable and pretence. He knows them afar off!
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Psa 138:1-3
PSALM 138
THANKSGIVING FOR THE LORD’S LOVINGKINDNESS
This is the first of a group of eight psalms that are ascribed to David in the superscriptions, and this writer demands something more reliable than the speculations and guesses of critics as a reason for denying their accuracy.
We agree with Leupold that, “Up to this point, we have found the inscriptions in the Hebrew text to be at least defensible. There are some writers who take the word “temple” (Psalms 138:2) as a reference to that of Solomon. However, as Barnes declared, “In this passage it undoubtedly refers to the tabernacle.
Dahood has removed all doubt of the psalm being Davidic. He first recounted the critical judgment of the psalm as being post-exilic, that it could not have been written by a king, and that it reflects the message of the (so-called) Second Isaiah. Then he wrote, “Results just the contrary emerge when we take cognizance of epigraphic discoveries of the past forty years. These reveal that the psalm is a royal song; and the words of it find their closest counterparts in the Ugaritic tablets of the tenth century B.C.. So, a date in the Davidic period seems reasonable.
Psalms 138:1-3
“I will give thee thanks with my whole heart:
Before the gods will I sing praises unto thee.
I will worship toward thy holy temple,
And give thanks unto thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth:
For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
In the day that I called thou answeredst me,
Thou didst encourage me with strength in my soul.”
“Before the gods will I sing praises unto thee” (Psalms 138:1). The “gods” here are such persons as rulers, magistrates and other earthly authorities, many of whom deport themselves “as if they were gods.” It is simply inconceivable that the psalmist was here speaking of idols. For a further discussion of this secondary use of the term “gods,” see the chapter introduction to Psalms 82 (above).
“I will worship toward thy holy temple” (Psalms 138:2). This is a reference to the tabernacle, not to Solomon’s temple, nor to the rebuilt temple following the captivity.
“In the day that I called, thou answeredst me” (Psalms 138:3). This psalm was apparently written following God’s favorable answer of some very significant prayer on the part of the psalmist. Other than that, it is impossible to determine exactly the occasion of it.
E.M. Zerr:
Psalm 138:1. With the whole heart means his praise would be wholehearted. The word for gods sometimes is defined as magistrates. David meant he would not be ashamed to sing praises of the Lord in the hearing of the rulers of the land.
Psalm 138:2. Holy temple is a reverential expression for the throne of God, and the Psalmist would conduct his devotions in view of that heavenly shrine. A good name is always to be desired and means much to a man’s influence. However, it is possible to have a good name that is not merited. But if a man so conducts himself that his “word is as good as his bond,” his influence will certainly be great. Comparatively speaking, then, the Word of God is the greatest attribute that he possesses. If the Lord so regards his Word, how terrible It must be In His eyes if man disregards it.
Psalm 138:3. The Psalmist acknowledges that the Lord heard him when he cried or prayed unto him. Soul is from a word that includes a living creature with all that it takes to comprise such a being. His whole person had been strengthened by the Lord in answer to his earnest prayers.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The final personal note of this song is reached in the words, Jehovah will perfect that which concerneth me. It opens with consecration to the sacred duty of praise. This consecration has a threefold aspect. It is personal, and thus is expressed in terms of completeness. With the whole heart leaves no room for mixed motives of divided devotion. It has in view the surrounding authorities, before the gods.
As a testimony to the supreme God the singer will praise. It is directed towards the holy temple, and so is conscious of the next true order of worship as ordained. The reason of praise is next declared to be that of lovingkindness and truth as already proved. The effect of praise is to be that of the revelation of God to others, who if they come to know Him, will also praise Him.
The final movement tells of the singers confidence as to the future. This is based on His knowledge. He sees the lowly, and haughty cannot escape Him by distance. Therefore, the deliverance of the trusting soul from all coming trouble is assured, of the enduring mercy of Jehovah, and the petition which reveals the singers need of the continual help of God.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
the Most High Regards the Lowly
Psa 138:1-8
This is the first of a cycle of Davidic psalms, based on 2Sa 7:1-29. Gods promised favors are the theme of devout thanksgiving. No idols could have achieved such generous and great results. Even God had outdone Himself by magnifying His word above His name. Prayer had played its part, for in the day that it was offered it had been answered. Even kings in their various spheres would add their praises, Psa 138:4. Yet this would be only the beginning of wonders. God can never rest with an incomplete or an unfinished work. When He puts His hand to the salvation of a soul, He pledges Himself to perfect the good work until the day of Jesus Christ, Php 1:6. Trust God, amid all disappointment and heartache. He will wipe away all tears, explain all mysteries, and place the topstone on the structure of your life.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Psa 138:8
(with Psa 56:4; Psa 61:2)
I. The hand of God is in everything. No point is more distinct to a trustful, relying spirit, no truth is more settled, than this. There are no fortuities in this world; there is not an event which has not its meaning, its connections, and its end. The confidence which gives peace, and fixedness, and strength to the mind fastens upon the views which the Bible gives of God, His agency and His purposes, as a God who is concerned with everything, and who acts in everything in reference to an end worthy of Himself.
II. The word of God, in which faith rests, contemplates man in all the various circumstances of his being, in every possible or supposable condition in which he may be placed. The promise of a Saviour, and of all good in Him, covers all our interests; hence the word which is given to us is full of promises, and they are “exceeding great and precious”-great in their range, because there is no circumstance which they do not reach; precious in their character, because there is no exigency in our affairs to which they are not adapted.
III. All these promises are promises in Christ Jesus; and herein we have the evidence of their certainty, the assurance of their fulfilment.
IV. The Christian’s confidence has been actually tested by experiment, and has never yet failed. Confidence in God always ministers peace and joy to the human spirit.
E. Mason, A Pastor’s Legacy, p. 124.
References: Psa 138:8.-J. J. West, Penny Pulpit, No. 1441; A. Maclaren, Old Testament Outlines, p. 152; Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 144; Ibid., Sermons, vol. v., No. 231, and vol. xxv., No. 1506; J. H. Evans, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 145; A. P. Peabody, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xii., p. 158. Psalm 138-Bishop Thorold, Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xx., p. 23.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
Psalm 138
A Psalm of Deliverance
This is a Psalm of David giving praise to the Lord for deliverance. The harp is now no more hanging idle on the willows, but is tuned afresh to praise His Name. It is not alone Davids praise who cried and the Lord answered him, it is the praise of Israel for accomplished deliverance from the exile and therefore the kings of the earth are also mentioned. All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee O LORD, when they hear the words of Thy mouth.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
I will praise: Psa 9:1, Psa 86:12, Psa 86:13, Psa 103:1, Psa 103:2, Psa 111:1, 1Co 14:15, Eph 5:19
with my whole: The versions and several manuscripts add Jehovah.
before: Psa 82:1, Psa 82:6, Psa 119:46, Exo 22:28, Joh 10:34-36, Act 23:5, Heb 1:14
the gods: Or, God, Elohim
Reciprocal: 1Ch 29:10 – David blessed 2Ch 6:4 – who hath with Psa 57:9 – General Psa 108:1 – I will Psa 109:30 – I will praise Col 2:18 – intruding Col 3:16 – singing
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The deliverance of the lowly, magnifying the word of God.
[A psalm] of David.
The second psalm of the series is in such decided contrast with the first that it is somewhat hard to realize the connection; although this contrast is in fact part of the connection. The present psalm is praise all through: the harp is not on the willows, but in the hand; and the praise is not that of Israel only, but (in anticipation; at least) from all the earth. God has fulfilled His word in such a manner as to bring out in full reality the meaning of His Name; and in doing this He has acted as the God of judgment, abasing the proud and exalting the lowly, giving to His people that truth in the inward parts without which the deliverance itself could not be truly that.
This shows, I believe, the connection with the previous psalm,where in Babylon is seen the ruin wrought, and in which they have learned to cry after Jehovah: “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.” Such is the lesson of the opening psalm of this fifth book: so simple as hardly to be called such, and yet in effect the moral of all man’s history -self-caused ruin; the cry after the Father’s house only forced out by the famine, and yet the open arms to receive a wanderer home. Thank God, for the soul really awakened to its need, those embracing arms can do a work which nothing else can, and the lost and found becomes by this one brought to life from the dead.
1. The psalmist evidently voices the praise of Israel, now praising with the whole heart. “Before the gods” speaks of those who are called gods as representing God in places of authority, the judges of the earth. They are now called to contemplate and admire the judgments of Jehovah with regard especially to Israel as the great object lesson placed by Him before their eyes. There is once more among His people a temple to His praise. and toward which the eyes of the worshiper are turned, because of the Living Presence connected with it. And His Name has been declared in loving-kindness and in truth; His saying magnified according to all the value of that Name, which the fulfillment of it has now declared.* Nay, in the very day in which His people cried unto Him, He answered, and infused new courage into their drooping souls.
{*This seems to me the meaning of what is here ordinarily rendered “Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy Name”; but if God’s Name is just the revelation of Himself, it is hard to know in what way we are to take this. The only thing that seems possible to imagine in this case, is, as usually done, that His Name stands here for the revelation of Himself up to this time, which His present action has now transcended. And some would bring in the thought of the Personal Word -Christ -as One who, as Christianity has now declared Him, has indeed transcended all previous manifestations. The truth of this no one would think of disputing: the question can only be of the application of this to what is here. Certainly Christianity does not seem at all to be implied; and “Thy saying,” as it literally is, would scarcely seem to convey the thought of the Personal Word. It naturally speaks of the fulfillment of some promise or promises that had been made, and to which now perhaps a deeper meaning had been imparted in their fulfillment. But this hardly seems to suit the connection. For the psalmist has just been saying “I will confess Thy Name, for Thy loving kindness and for Thy truth’s sake”; and this is how he illustrates Jehovah’s truth: “for Thou hast magnified Thy saying in accordance with all Thy Name”: -Thou hast fulfilled it in such a manner as to bring out all that Thy Name implies. The deliverance of Israel is what the psalm speaks of, and Christ does not seem to be mentioned in it.}
Now all the kings of the earth, when they hear the sayings of Jehovah, shall also confess Him; and, weary at last of their own ways, in which they have so long been walking, they shall sing of the ways of Jehovah, that great is His glory. Thus the misrule of the earth shall cease.
2. And now what gives them this apprehension of Jehovah’s ways is intimated. The Supreme -seen to be that yet regardeth the humble; while He knoweth the proud too, but afar off. Israel brought out of her low estate, and delivered from the wrath of her enemies, will declare this; perfectly accomplishing that which concerns her. And for this, in the conviction of His eternal loving-kindness, she prays, that He may not forsake the work of His own hands.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Psa 138:1-2. I will praise thee with my whole heart With uprightness of intention, and fervency of affection. Before the gods will I sing praises, &c. Before kings and princes, or, before judges and great men, either those of other nations who visited him, or those of his own nation that attended on him. He will not only praise God in his heart, which he might do, by pious ejaculations, in any company, but will sing praise with his voice, if there should be occasion. I will worship toward thy holy temple Where the ark was. He saith, toward it, because he was not permitted to enter into it. For thy loving-kindness and for thy truth For thy goodness and for thy promises; 1st, For promising me singular blessings out of thy mere grace and favour; and, 2d, For performing thy promises most faithfully. For thou hast magnified thy word, &c. Thou hast glorified thy faithfulness, in fulfilling thy promises unto me, more than any other of thy glorious perfections by which thou art known. Not that one of Gods attributes is really, and in itself, more great or glorious than another; or can be made so, but because one may be more celebrated and admired by men than another; as here, Gods gracious promise of the kingdom made to David, and the wonderful accomplishment thereof, in spite of all those difficulties which stood in the way, and which seemed to men to be insuperable, was, at this time, more observed and admired than any other of his attributes or actions.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The LXX have prefixed the name of Haggai and Zechariah to this psalm; but all the Versions follow the Hebrew in ascribing it to David, to whom it undoubtedly belongs. It was probably one of the favourite psalms of those holy men in Babylon, and used by them in such religious services as could be performed in the captivity.
Psa 138:2. Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. The readings vary here in modern Versions. Gods word cannot be magnified above his name. Kimchi reads, Thou hast magnified thy name in every word of thine. An anonymous critic reads, Thou hast magnified thy name above all things by thy word.
Psa 138:4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee. This is the usual language in which the prophets speak of the conversion of the gentiles from idolatry, to worship the Lord Messiah.
REFLECTIONS.
We have another divine effusion of Davids heart. By worshipping towards Gods holy temple, he appears to have been in exile; for every Jew endeavoured in whatever place he wandered to look towards the mercyseat. So the christian should ever lift up his heart to Gods high throne in the heavens.
Though wandering from wilderness to wilderness, he maintained constant communion with God. Every painful intelligence of the machination of his enemies which for awhile excited palpitation of heart, was a fresh subject of prayer. He poured all his griefs into the bosom of God.
In the very day that he cried, God gave him an answer of peace; and finding his breast emptied of earthly troubles, and filled with heavenly joys, he would praise God with his whole heart, and glorify him before the gods, or gentile kings and rulers, that all the kings of the earth might praise him. It is also highly probable, that God on the very day he prayed gave him some temporal comfort or hope of deliverance. Fresh grief should always be followed with fresh devotion. Then we take omnipotence for our shield and might; and then we are enabled to trust with confidence, and walk in the might of the Lord. When the Lord is graciously pleased to give spiritual and temporal answers to prayer, it has a most sanctifying effect on the heart. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect to the lowly. He makes the needy and the afflicted his friends. This poor man cried unto the Lord, and he heard him; while, on the contrary, the proud are rejected.
Past mercies encourage us to trust for the future. Though David walked for many years amidst troubles, he believed that God would revive him, and bring him to the throne, and to his holy place. God will perfect concerning us also what he has promised, and what is lacking concerning our sanctification. Providence in a thousand ways, manages our afflictions for our greater piety, and for the manifestation of its most signal favours.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
CXXXVIII. Psa 138:1-3. The Psalmist praises Yahweh, in spite of the false gods and their worshippers, for His grace and fidelity to himself in trouble.
Psa 138:2 c. Omit thy word (so LXX), and read simply, Thou hast magnified thy name above all.
Psa 138:3 b. The text is very doubtful. Read perhaps (cf. LXX), Thou makest thy strength great in my soul.
Psa 138:4-6. Even the kings of the earth shall sing Yahwehs ways, those ways by which He withdraws from the proud and reserves His intimacy for the lowly.
Psa 138:7 f. Whatever danger may come, Yahweh will protect His worshippers.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
PSALM 138
The godly man praises the Lord for answering his cry in the midst of trouble.
(vv. 1-2) The psalmist praises the Lord, not only with lip profession, but, with his whole heart – an undistracted heart engrossed with its object. Moreover he publicly acknowledges the Lord by praising before the judges of the earth; here called gods, as representing God in their positions of authority (Psa 82:1; Psa 82:6-7).
Furthermore the psalmist worships towards Jehovah’s holy temple. This would indicate that the godly man is not yet established in the land. Like Daniel, though not in the temple, he prays towards it, in the faith of Solomon’s prayer. Solomon had asked that God would hear His people if, in their time of trouble, they prayed toward the city that God had chosen, and toward the house that was built for the glory of His Name (cp. 1Ki 8:44; 1Ki 8:48 and Dan 6:10-11).
The praise is called forth by God’s Name and God’s Word. God’s Name declares God’s character as marked by loving-kindness and truth. God’s Word declares His Name, and must ever be in accord with that Name. God is ever faithful to His Word, and, by fulfilling His Word, He magnifies it above all His Name. Men profess the Name of God, but set aside the Word of God. God, Himself, magnifies His Word above His Name.
(vv. 3-5) In his trouble the godly man had cried to the Lord, and had been answered. Thus the confidence of his soul is strengthened through the trouble.
The Lord’s answer to his prayer encourages him to look on to the time when all the kings of the earth will praise Jehovah, when at last they will listen to His words, walk in His ways, and behold His glory.
(vv. 6-8) Though the Lord is high and His glory great, yet He has respect unto the lowly (cp. Psa 147:3-4). The proud He knows afar off. God regards them, but at a distance. He does not admit them into His favour or confidence.
The psalmist’s heart is full of praise, though in circumstances he walks in the midst of trouble. Nevertheless if the trouble tends to cast him down, the Lord will revive him. The hand of the Lord that deals with the believer’s enemies supports the believer himself (cp. Act 11:21; Act 13:11).
In the end the Lord will perfect that which concerns the godly. The trouble will pass, the enemies will be judged, and the godly will be blessed, for the mercy of the Lord endures for ever, and the Lord cannot forsake His own.
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
138:1 [[A Psalm] of David.] I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the {a} gods will I sing praise unto thee.
(a) Even in the presence of angels and of them who have authority among men.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Psalms 138
David thanked the Lord for His loyal love and faithfulness in answering his prayer. He hoped that everyone would acknowledge God’s goodness and experience His deliverance.
"As in other songs of thanksgiving, this prayer remembers a time of need that has now been resolved in deliverance. What is special here is that the circle of praise is expanded, both in heaven and in earth." [Note: Ibid., p. 131.]
This psalm of individual or communal thanksgiving begins a group of eight psalms of David, his last in the Psalter. Altogether he wrote nearly half the psalms.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
1. Praise for answered prayer 138:1-3
The psalmist vowed to praise God wholeheartedly in the temple for His loyal love and faithfulness. The "gods" before whom he promised to give thanks may be judges and rulers (cf. Psa 95:3; Psa 96:4; Psa 97:7) or perhaps the pagan idols that surrounded him (cf. Psa 138:4-5). God had exalted His Word equally with His reputation by being faithful to His promises (Psa 138:2). God had answered David’s petition and had strengthened him spiritually (Psa 138:3).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 138:1-8
This is the first of a group of eight psalms attributed to David in the superscriptions. It precedes the closing hallelujah psalms, and thus stands where a “find” of Davidic psalms at a late date would naturally be put. In some cases, there is no improbability in the assigned authorship; and this psalm is certainly singularly unlike those which precede it, and has many affinities with the earlier psalms ascribed to David.
In reading it, one feels the return to familiar thoughts and tones. The fragrance it exhales wakes memories of former songs. But the resemblance may be due to the imitative habit so marked in the last book of the Psalter. If it is a late psalm, the speaker is probably the personified Israel, and the deliverance which seems to the singer to have transcended all previous manifestations of the Divine name is the Restoration, which has inspired so many of the preceding psalms. The supporters of the Davidic authorship, on the other hand, point to the promise to David by Nathan of the perpetuity of the kinghood in his line, as the occasion of the psalmists triumph.
The structure of the psalm is simple. It falls into three parts, of which the two former consist of three verses each, and the last of two. In the first, the singer vows praise and recounts Gods wondrous dealings with him (Psa 138:1-3); in the second, he looks out over all the earth in the confidence that these blessings, when known, will bring the world to worship (Psa 138:4-6); and in the third, he pleads for the completion to himself of mercies begun (Psa 138:7-8).
The first part is the outpouring of a thankful heart for recent great blessing, which has been the fulfilment of a Divine promise. So absorbed in his blessedness is the singer that he neither names Jehovah as the object of his thanks, nor specifies what has set his heart vibrating. The great Giver and the great gift are magnified by being unspoken. To whom but Jehovah could the current of the psalmists praise set? He feels that Jehovahs mercy to him requires him to become the herald of His name; and therefore he vows, in lofty consciousness of his mission, that he will ring out Gods praises in presence of false gods, whose worshippers have no such experience to loose their tongues. Dead gods have dumb devotees; the servants of the living Jehovah receive His acts of power, that they may proclaim His name.
The special occasion for this singers praise has been some act, in which Jehovahs faithfulness was very conspicuously shown. “Thou hast magnified Thy promise above all Thy name.” If the history of David underlies the psalm, it is most natural to interpret the “promise” as that of the establishment of the monarchy. But the fulfilment, not the giving, of a promise is its magnifying, and hence one would incline to take the reference to be to the great manifestation of Gods troth in restoring Israel to its land. In any case the expression is peculiar, and has induced many attempts at emendation. Baethgen would strike out “Thy name” as a dittograph from the previous clause, and thus gets the reading “done great things beyond Thy word”-i.e., transcended the promise in fulfilment-which yields a good sense. Others make a slight alteration in the word “Thy name,” and read it “Thy heavens,” supposing that the psalmist is making the usual comparison between the manifestation of Divine power in Nature and in Revelation, or in the specific promise in question. But the text as it stands, though peculiar, is intelligible, and yields a meaning very appropriate to the singers astonished thankfulness. A heart amazed by the greatness of recent blessings is ever apt to think that they, glittering in fresh beauty, are greater, as they are nearer and newer, than the mercies which it has only heard of as of old. Today brings growing revelations of Jehovah to the waiting heart. The psalmist is singing, not dissertating. It is quite true that if his words are measured by the metaphysical theologians foot rule, they are inaccurate, for “the name of God cannot be surpassed by any single act of His, since every single act is but a manifestation of that name”; but thankfulness does not speak by rule, and the psalmist means to say that, so great has been the mercy given to him and so signal its confirmation of the Divine promise, that to him, at all events, that whole name blazes with new lustre, and breathes a deeper music. So should each mans experience be the best teacher of what God is to all men.
In Psa 138:3 b the psalmist uses a remarkable expression, in saying that Jehovah had made him bold, or, as the word is literally, proud. The following words are a circumstantial or subsidiary clause, and indicate how the consciousness of inbreathed strength welling up in his soul gave him lofty confidence to confront foes.
The second part (Psa 138:4-6) resembles many earlier psalms in connecting the singers deliverance with a world wide manifestation of Gods name. Such a consciousness of a vocation to be the worlds evangelist is appropriate either to David or the collective Israel. Especially is it natural, and, as a fact, occurs in post-exilic psalms. Here “the words of Thy mouth” are equivalent to the promise already spoken of, the fulfilment of which has shown that Jehovah the High has regard to the lowly-i.e., to the psalmist; and “knows the lofty”-i.e., his oppressors-“afar off.” He reads their characters thoroughly, without, as it were, needing to approach for minute study. The implication is that He will thwart their plans and judge the plotters. This great lesson of Jehovahs providence, care for the lowly, faithfulness to His word, has exemplification in the psalmists history; and when it is known, the lofty ones of the earth shall learn the principles of Jehovahs ways, and become lowly recipients of His favours and adoring singers of His great glory.
The glowing vision is not yet fulfilled; but the singer was cherishing no illusions when he sang. It is true that the story of Gods great manifestation of Himself in Christ, in which He has magnified His Word above all His name, is one day to win the world. It is true that the revelation of a God who regards the lowly is the conquering Gospel which shall bow all hearts.
In the third part (Psa 138:7-8), the psalmist comes back to his own needs, and takes to his heart the calming assurance born of his experience, that he bears a charmed life. He but speaks the confidence which should strengthen every heart that rests on God. Such a one may be girdled about by troubles, but he will have an inner circle traced round him, within which no evil can venture. He may walk in the valley of the shadow of death unfearing, for God will hold his soul in life. Foes may pour out floods of enmity and wrath, but one strong hand will be stretched out against (or over) the wild deluge, and will draw the trustful soul out of its rush on to the safe shore. So was the psalmist assured; so may and should those be who have yet greater wonders for which to thank Jehovah.
That last prayer of the psalm blends very beautifully confidence and petition. Its central clause is the basis of both the confidence in its first, and the petition in its last, clause. Because Jehovahs lovingkindness endures forever, every man on whom His shaping Spirit has begun to work, or His grace in any form to bestow its gifts, may be sure that no exhaustion or change of these is possible. God is not as the foolish tower builder, who began and was not able to finish. He never stops till He has completed His work; and nothing short of the entire conformity of a soul to His likeness and the filling of it with Himself can be the termination of His loving purpose, or of His achieving grace. Therefore the psalmist “found it in his heart to pray” that God would not abandon the works of His own hands. The prayer appeals to His faithfulness and to His honour: It sets forth the obligations under which God comes by what He has done. It is a prayer which goes straight to His heart; and they who offer it receive the old answer, “I will not leave thee till I have done unto thee that which I have spoken to thee of.”