A psalm of thanksgiving that moves in an unusual direction — not from trouble to relief, but from personal praise outward to the kings of the whole earth, before circling back to a single unfinished request: don’t stop what You’ve started in me.
A study in Psalm 138 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 11 min read
I Will Praise Thee With My Whole Heart
“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 lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”
Psalm 138:1-2
“Before the gods” is worship offered in full view of every rival claim on David’s allegiance — not praise whispered in private safety, but a declared loyalty in the very presence of whatever else might compete for it.
“In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.”
Psalm 138:3
The strength named here is not relief from the circumstance that caused the cry, but something given directly to the soul underneath it — David does not say the trouble ended, only that he was made able to stand under it.
All The Kings Of The Earth Shall Praise Thee
“All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.”
Psalm 138:4-5
The psalm makes a striking leap here, from one man’s private answered prayer straight to the courts of foreign kings — the same personal deliverance that strengthened David’s soul is treated as evidence weighty enough to eventually reach every throne on earth.
Though The LORD Be High, Yet Hath He Respect Unto The Lowly
“Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.”
Psalm 138:6
“Knoweth afar off” is a picture of distance kept, not ignorance — God sees the proud perfectly well, He simply does not draw near to them the way He draws near to the lowly.
“Lowliness of heart is the strength that gives victory to the followers of Christ; it is the token of their connection with the courts above. ‘Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly.’ … Those who reveal the meek and lowly spirit of Christ are tenderly regarded by God. They may be looked upon with scorn by the world, but they are of great value in His sight.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 301
White quotes this verse in the middle of her comments on the Beatitude “Blessed are the meek,” naming exactly the kind of victory David is describing — not strength that overpowers opposition, but strength that keeps a person low enough for God to draw near.
The LORD Will Perfect That Which Concerneth Me
“Though 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.”
Psalm 138:7
“In the midst of trouble” describes exactly where David expects to be revived — not after trouble ends, not once it is removed, but while he is still standing in the center of it.
“The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
Psalm 138:8
The psalm closes on an unfinished note rather than a settled one — David does not claim the work in him is already complete, only that the One who began it can be trusted to finish it, and asks, quite simply, that He not stop now.
