Loving God for Loving Us – Psalm 138

“A Psalm of David.”

“I will praise You with my whole heart. Before the gods I will sing praises to You.” Psalm 138:1

How was David’s wholehearted worship expressed to God? In Psalms, David speaks of singing praises to the Lord and giving thanks to Him. He calls people to clap and lift their hands to the Lord. When the Ark of the Covenant was returned to its proper place, he danced in worship unto the Lord with all his might.

David had no reservations about being seen and perhaps being “labeled” as one who was “fanatical” about God. He loved the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.

“Before the gods will I sing praise unto you.” This can refer to the false gods that other nations worshipped. David allowed no competitors to have a place in his thoughts or worship. If he were in modern America, I imagine that he would not allow for talk about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny when God-fearers gathered to honor the Son of God for His saving work.

“I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your Name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth. For You have magnified Your Word above all Your Name.” Psalm 138:2

Only the priests were permitted to enter the temple itself. The people worshiped God by turning toward the temple, even when they were at a distance. When we worship God, we lift our eyes toward heaven, remembering that He is “Our Father in heaven.” [2]

David praised God for His lovingkindness and truth. God reveals truth to us out of His lovingkindness. Knowing the truth and walking in it, keeps us from falling into the devil’s traps and from becoming one of his tormented captives. Praise be to God for His Word, and for His Holy Spirit. By God’s Word and Spirit we understand that God loves us.

When I began to witness my faith in Christ to people I met outside the Church, they had many reasons why they did not want to believe in God or be associated with His people. I was a young Christian, and I did not know how to respond to a lot of things that they said. I was convicted by these experiences that if I was going to love my neighbor by sharing the Gospel with him or her, I needed to know how to defend God’s truth against the devil’s lies.

God has magnified His Word above all His Name. He has revealed Himself to humanity in many ways through creation and His providential care, but He has revealed Himself most clearly through His Word. What God has revealed about Himself through Scripture is far greater than what human reason alone can discover. [3]

People need to hear God’s Word. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

Truth, lovingkindness and the Word of God are attributes of Jesus our Messiah.

Jesus has the attribute of being God’s truth. He told Pilate that He came into the world to bear witness to the truth. In John 14:6, Jesus said that He is the truth. Jesus is truth embodied in human flesh.

Jesus Christ has the attribute of being God’s lovingkindness. He is God’s expression of love to the world. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.”

Jesus has the attribute of being God’s Word. He is referred to as the Word of God in John 1:1 and in Revelation 19:13.

“In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.” Psalm 138:3

In Matthew 6:8, Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” But then in Matthew 6:11-12, He taught us to ASK God for our daily bread, to forgive our sins, to lead us not into temptation but to deliver us from the evil one. We demonstrate faith in God by asking Him to meet our needs and by believing that He will. In Hebrews 11:6, it is written, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul wrote, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Did you hear that? Paul said to pray with thanksgiving. Thank God for His past, present and future faithfulness. In Matthew 15:36, prior to multiplying food to feed a multitude, Jesus thanked His Father for the food. In John 11:41, before Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the dead, He thanked the Father that He heard His prayer. Faith thanks God in advance of the miracle.

“You made me bold with strength in my soul.” God does not merely speak words. He actually gives strength to His people. “In the day when I cried.” God helped David when he needed help.

“All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, when they hear the Words of Your mouth. Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord.” Psalm 138:4-5

“All the kings of the earth” are said to have sought Solomon’s presence in 2 Chronicles 9:23. In Revelation 1:6 and 5:10, it is written that Jesus “made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” In Revelation 21:24, it is written, “And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its [New Jerusalem’s] light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.” Yes, godly kings sing God’s praises when they hear His Word.

“Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly. But the proud He knows from afar.” Psalm 138:6

God looks favorably upon humble people. True humility means shifting your focus away from yourself rather than lowering your self-worth. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” [4]

God distances Himself from the proud. He does not approve of them or accept their claims to His favor, no matter how confidently they may boast about their relationship with Him. [5]

I like what Benjamin Franklin wrote in his Poor Richard’s Almanack: “A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.” And “He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.”

Repentant sinners are accepted by God, while those who refuse to repent are rejected. The contrast between prayer of the Pharisee and the prayer of the tax collector in Luke 18:9-13 illustrates this truth. In Luke 18:14, Jesus said, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me. You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.” Psalm 138:7

David expresses faith in God that though trouble is around about him on every side, God will keep his spirit revived, and He will deal with his enemies by His right hand.

Who sits at the right hand of the Father? Jesus does. In 1 John 2:1-2, the apostle John wrote, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

Sin created distance between God and us. But thanks be to God, Jesus paid for our sin on the cross. So we plead His shed blood for us on the cross, and ask God to forgive us our sin in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ, and He does, and God draws near to help us.

“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” Psalm 138:8

In Philippians 1:6, the Lord says that He started a good work in us, and that He will keep on completing His work in us until the day of Jesus Christ. In Philippians 2:13, God says that He is working in us both to will and to do His good pleasure.

David’s hope for perfection was based in God’s mercy toward him. 

When death comes for us, it will be God’s mercy in Christ that transfers our soul from this world to heaven. Jesus shed His blood on the cross to remove that which would keep us from God, namely our sins. Our confidence is in God’s power and mercy in Christ Jesus to complete the work He has begun in us. Praise the Lord!


[1-3] Material developed and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary
[4] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (2002)
[5] Material developed and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary