Psalms 138 Study Notes: Wholehearted Thanks for Answered Prayer
David thanks God as he bows toward the temple, praising His covenant love and faithfulness and His answer that gave him new strength. He foresees earth's kings praising the LORD, who cares for the humble but keeps the proud at a distance, and he trusts God to complete His purpose for him.
General
According to 138:3, what did God do when David called to Him?
Answer: He answered and made him strong
David recalls a specific answer to prayer: on the day he called, God answered him and gave him boldness and strength in his soul (138:3). God's help reached David's inner life, not only his outward circumstances. David gives similar testimony elsewhere (Psalm 34:4). Isaiah says God strengthens those who are faint and weak (Isaiah 40:29), and Paul prays that believers would be strengthened with power in their inner being through the Spirit (Ephesians 3:16).
- Psalm 138:3 (BSB)“On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.”David recalls that God answered him on the day he called and made him bold and strong.
- Psalm 34:4 (BSB)“I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.”David elsewhere testifies that God answered him and delivered him from his fears.
- Isaiah 40:29 (BSB)“He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.”God gives power to the faint and strength to the weak.
- Ephesians 3:16 (BSB)“I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,”Paul prays that believers be strengthened in their inner being through God's Spirit.
Theological
What twofold answer does David report in 138:3?
Answer: He answered and made him strong
God answered on the very day David called, and the answer included inward fortification: God made him bold and strengthened his soul (138:3). The same testimony of answered prayer appears in Psalm 34:4. Scripture presents God as the one who gives strength to the weak (Isaiah 40:29), and Paul prays for this inner strengthening by the Spirit (Ephesians 3:16).
- Psalm 138:3 (BSB)“On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.”David recalls that God answered him on the day he called and made him bold and strong.
- Psalm 34:4 (BSB)“I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.”David elsewhere testifies that God answered him and delivered him from his fears.
- Isaiah 40:29 (BSB)“He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.”God gives power to the faint and strength to the weak.
- Ephesians 3:16 (BSB)“I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,”Paul prays that believers be strengthened in their inner being through God's Spirit.
General
What confidence does David express in 138:7-8?
Answer: That God will complete His purpose for him
David does not expect to escape trouble; he speaks of walking through it. But even there God keeps him alive, stretches out His hand against the anger of his foes, and saves him with His right hand (138:7). Then he states his confidence: the LORD will carry out His plan for him; he confesses that God's loving devotion lasts forever and asks God not to abandon what His own hands have made (138:8). God finishes what He begins. David says the same elsewhere (Psalm 57:2), God promises to be with His people through waters and fire (Isaiah 43:2), and Paul is confident that God will complete the good work He started in believers (Philippians 1:6).
- Psalm 138:7-8 (BSB)“If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me. The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever—do not abandon the works of Your hands.”David trusts God to preserve him in trouble, to fulfill His purpose for him, and not to abandon His work.
- Psalm 57:2 (BSB)“I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.”David elsewhere calls on God Most High, who fulfills His purpose for him.
- Philippians 1:6 (BSB)“being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”Paul is confident God will complete the good work He began in believers.
- Isaiah 43:2 (BSB)“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.”God promises to be with His people when they pass through waters and fire.
Theological
What assurance is expressed in 138:7-8?
Answer: That God will complete His purpose for him
The psalm closes in confidence of preservation. Walking amid trouble, David is kept alive by God's outstretched hand (138:7), and he is sure that the LORD will accomplish His purpose for him, and he confesses God's everlasting loving devotion while he prays that God will not forsake the work of His hands (138:8; Psalm 57:2). God's presence with His people in affliction is promised in Isaiah 43:2. Paul voices the same confidence for believers, the perseverance of the saints: the God who starts His good work in His people will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).
- Psalm 138:7-8 (BSB)“If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me. The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever—do not abandon the works of Your hands.”David trusts God to preserve him in trouble, to fulfill His purpose for him, and not to abandon His work.
- Psalm 57:2 (BSB)“I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.”David elsewhere calls on God Most High, who fulfills His purpose for him.
- Philippians 1:6 (BSB)“being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”Paul is confident God will complete the good work He began in believers.
- Isaiah 43:2 (BSB)“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.”God promises to be with His people when they pass through waters and fire.
General
True or False: According to 138:6, because the LORD is so exalted, He takes no notice of the lowly.
Answer: False
This is false. The verse says the opposite: exalted as He is, the LORD cares for the lowly, while He knows the proud only from a distance (138:6). His greatness does not keep Him from the humble; it is the proud who are kept away. Isaiah says the high and holy God lives with the humble and contrite (Isaiah 57:15), another psalm says the LORD enthroned on high bends low to raise the poor (Psalm 113:5-7), and James teaches that God sets Himself against the proud and shows favor to the humble (James 4:6).
- Psalm 138:6 (BSB)“Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.”Though exalted, the LORD cares for the lowly and keeps the proud at a distance.
- Isaiah 57:15 (BSB)“For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.”The high and holy God dwells with the humble and contrite.
- Psalm 113:5-7 (BSB)“Who is like the LORD our God, the One enthroned on high? He humbles Himself to behold the heavens and the earth. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump”The LORD enthroned on high humbles Himself to look down and raises the poor and needy.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Theological
True or False: 138:6 teaches that God's exaltation places the lowly beyond His regard.
Answer: False
This is false. The verse holds God's transcendence and condescension together: exalted as He is, He regards the lowly, while He keeps the proud at a distance (138:6). The same paradox appears in Isaiah 57:15 and Psalm 113:5-7, and the New Testament states the principle that God resists the proud and favors the humble (James 4:6).
- Psalm 138:6 (BSB)“Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.”Though exalted, the LORD cares for the lowly and keeps the proud at a distance.
- Isaiah 57:15 (BSB)“For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.”The high and holy God dwells with the humble and contrite.
- Psalm 113:5-7 (BSB)“Who is like the LORD our God, the One enthroned on high? He humbles Himself to behold the heavens and the earth. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump”The LORD enthroned on high humbles Himself to look down and raises the poor and needy.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
General
What does David say will lead earth's kings to thank the LORD in 138:4-5?
Answer: Hearing the words God has spoken
David's personal thanks widens into a vision of worldwide praise. Every king on earth will give thanks on hearing what the LORD has spoken, and will sing about His ways because His glory is great (138:4-5). It is God's word, not military force, that brings them. Other psalms speak of the nations and their kings fearing the LORD (Psalm 102:15) and all nations coming to bow before Him (Psalm 86:9), and Isaiah foresees kings coming to the light God gives His people (Isaiah 60:3).
- Psalm 138:4-5 (BSB)“All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth. They will sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.”David foresees all the kings of the earth thanking the LORD when they hear His words.
- Psalm 102:15 (BSB)“So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.”Another psalm says the nations and all earth's kings will fear the LORD's name and glory.
- Isaiah 60:3 (BSB)“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”Isaiah foresees kings coming to the light of God's people.
- Psalm 86:9 (BSB)“All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.”David says all the nations God has made will come and bow before Him.
Theological
By what means does 138:4-5 envision earth's kings coming to praise the LORD?
Answer: Hearing the words God has spoken
The psalm anticipates universal royal praise brought about by God's word: every earthly king gives thanks on hearing what God has spoken, and they sing of His ways because His glory is great (138:4-5). This hope for the nations runs through the Psalms (Psalm 102:15; Psalm 86:9) and the prophets (Isaiah 60:3). The means is revelation, the spoken word of God, rather than conquest.
- Psalm 138:4-5 (BSB)“All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth. They will sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.”David foresees all the kings of the earth thanking the LORD when they hear His words.
- Psalm 102:15 (BSB)“So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.”Another psalm says the nations and all earth's kings will fear the LORD's name and glory.
- Isaiah 60:3 (BSB)“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”Isaiah foresees kings coming to the light of God's people.
- Psalm 86:9 (BSB)“All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.”David says all the nations God has made will come and bow before Him.
General
For what does David give thanks as he bows toward the temple in 138:1-2?
Answer: For God's loving devotion and faithfulness
The heading names this as a psalm of David. He thanks God with all his heart and sings His praise before the gods, honoring the LORD in the presence of every rival power (138:1). He bows toward God's holy temple and gives thanks for God's loving devotion, His loyal, covenant-keeping love, and for His faithfulness, and he says God has lifted His name and His word over everything (138:2). David speaks elsewhere of bowing toward the temple in reverence (Psalm 5:7), and Solomon asked God to hear the prayers His people offered toward it (1 Kings 8:29-30). The so-called gods of other peoples are mere idols, while the LORD made the heavens (Psalm 96:4-5).
- Psalm 138:1-2 (BSB)“Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else.”David gives wholehearted thanks, bowing toward God's temple, for God's loving devotion and faithfulness.
- Psalm 5:7 (BSB)“But I will enter Your house by the abundance of Your loving devotion; in reverence I will bow down toward Your holy temple.”David elsewhere bows toward God's temple, relying on God's loving devotion.
- 1 Kings 8:29-30 (BSB)“May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place. Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.”Solomon asked God to hear the prayers His people offered toward the temple.
- Psalm 96:4-5 (BSB)“For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.”The LORD is to be feared above all the gods of the nations, which are idols.
Theological
For what does David give thanks as he bows toward the temple in 138:1-2?
Answer: For God's loving devotion and faithfulness
David, named in the heading, offers wholehearted thanks and sings praise before the gods, a public confession of the LORD's supremacy over all rival claimants (138:1; Psalm 96:4-5). Bowing toward the temple, the appointed place for prayer (1 Kings 8:29-30; Psalm 5:7), he gives thanks for God's loving devotion and His faithfulness, confessing that God has lifted His name and His word over everything (138:2). God's covenant loyalty and truthfulness are the ground of the praise.
- Psalm 138:1-2 (BSB)“Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else.”David gives wholehearted thanks, bowing toward God's temple, for God's loving devotion and faithfulness.
- Psalm 5:7 (BSB)“But I will enter Your house by the abundance of Your loving devotion; in reverence I will bow down toward Your holy temple.”David elsewhere bows toward God's temple, relying on God's loving devotion.
- 1 Kings 8:29-30 (BSB)“May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place. Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.”Solomon asked God to hear the prayers His people offered toward the temple.
- Psalm 96:4-5 (BSB)“For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.”The LORD is to be feared above all the gods of the nations, which are idols.