Psalm 138:1

Thanksgiving for Yahweh’s Goodness

Of David.

1 I give you thanks with my whole heart; before [the] gods I sing your praise.

Psalm 138:1 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 138:1

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 ( Psalms 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 ( Psalms 119:46 ) ; and who would join therein, ( Psalms 138:4 ) ; or before the judges, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; or civil magistrates, who are sometimes called gods, ( Psalms 82:1 Psalms 82:6 ) ; 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 ( Psalms 18:49 ) ; or rather before the ark, the symbol of the presence of the true God; or, as Gussetius ^F12 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, ( Psalms 8:5 ) ( 97:7 ) ; and who attend the assemblies of the saints and churches of Christ, ( 1 Corinthians 11:10 ) ( Ephesians 3:10 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 Comment. Ebr. p. 50.

Psalm 138:1 In-Context

1 I give you thanks with my whole heart; before [the] gods I sing your praise.

2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name, because of your loyal love and faithfulness, for you have magnified your word according to all your name.

3 {When} I called and you answered me, you emboldened me in my soul [with] strength.

4 All [the] kings of [the] earth will praise you, O Yahweh, when they have heard the words of your mouth,

5 and they will sing of the ways of Yahweh, because Yahweh's glory [is] great.

Footnotes

• [a] The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm