Psalm 138/Commentary

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Bold and Humble Psalm 138

There are all sorts of motives concerning why people attend various churches in the religious world. Some churches present themselves as social centers, others as a kind of spiritual shopping center where we can pick and choose what sounds good to us. Other churches are there to rock the audience with an informal and contemporary format. Some people show up to “worship” out of a sense of history, duty or tradition, others are looking for business contacts or maybe even a Friday night date. Others think that God is going to directly speak to them and give them some kind of miraculous power. This Psalm addresses the issue of motives in worship. For David, worship began with the character of God. He is to be worshipped for who He is: His faithful love and truth (138:2). David has experienced both in this life. The God whom David serves answers prayer (138:3), remembers the lowly (138:6), and acts against the enemies of truth (138:7). In summation, God is to be worshipped because of what He has said (His revelation to man) and what He does (His acts on our behalf). These two grand truths should create in us both a boldness to praise Him and humility that willingly and cheerfully bows before Him. “I will give thanks with all my heart” (138:1) This would include both his mental and emotional capacities, as well as his energy, strength, and will. “Thus he will fulfill the Great Commandment to love God with all that he is” (Mastering the Old Testament, Psalms 73-150, Donald Williams, p. 477). “I will sing praises to Thee before the gods” (138:1) The expression “before the gods” can have a couple of different meanings seeing that the term render “gods” can be translated or applied to different individuals. It can mean “before the angels (Job 1:6). In Psalm 82:6 the term is used of earthly kings or judges, thus David could be saying that he would praise God before “the great ones of the earth”. He would be vocal about his faith in God even when in the presence of people that others might view as intimidating. When he met with rulers from other nations, among other things, he would talk to them about the true God. Finally, there is a possibility that the term here refers to idols or the false gods of the surrounding nations. This is an


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