Psalms 138:1-6

1 {[A Psalm] of David.} I will give thee thanks with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing psalms of thee.

2 I will bow down toward the temple of thy holiness, and celebrate thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth; for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

3 In the day when I called thou answeredst me; thou didst encourage me with strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth shall celebrate thee, Jehovah, when they have heard the words of thy mouth;

5 And they shall sing in the ways of Jehovah, for great is the glory of Jehovah.

6 For Jehovah is high; but he looketh upon the lowly, and the proud he knoweth afar off.

Psalms 138:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 138

\\<>\\. This psalm is generally thought to have been written by David upon his being advanced to the throne; on account of which he praises the Lord, who had supported him under many exercises, and had made good his promise to him, at least in part; and he firmly believed the accomplishment of the rest, that he would perfect what concerned him, Ps 138:8. It seems as if this psalm was composed between his being king over Judah and over all Israel. Though Theodoret understands the psalm as a thanksgiving of the Jews upon their return from Babylon, which David prophesied of. The Syriac version calls it a thanksgiving with a prophecy; as indeed it is a prophecy of the Messiah's kingdom, and of the calling of the Gentiles in the latter day, as appears from Ps 138:4.

Footnotes

• [a]. Imrah: see Ps. 119.11.
• [b]. Or 'mightily.'
• [c]. Omer: see Ps. 119.11.
• [d]. Or 'of.'