“THE PSALMIST’S DECLARATION TO PRAISE THE LORD” PSALM 138:1-8

In this wonderful psalm, the psalmist declares his determination to praise the Lord.  Every day of our existence, we should praise and bless the Lord’s name; in fact, He has been awfully good unto me and He has been the same to you!  And because of the Lord’s infinite goodness unto us, we ought to join the psalmist in Psalm 145:1-3: “I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.   Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.”

In verses 1-3, David was determined to praise the Lord wholeheartedly before the gods and to extol His name for His loyal love and truth: “I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee” (v. 1).  David declared that he would praise God before the pagan gods because the Lord had answered his prayer.  In psalm 18:3-6 the psalmist was going through a distressful period; yet he praised the Lord for his deliverance, for these verses read: “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.   The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.   The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.   In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His ears.  Similarly David says in verse 3, “In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.”

In verses 4-6, David declares that all kings should praise God when they hear of His word and they should acknowledge His glory.  These verses will be realized fully during the time of Christ’s Millennial reign.  David goes on to state in verse 6 that the Lord regards the lowly but does not look to the proud, for this verse says: “Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly: but the proud He knoweth afar off.”

Finally, in verses 7-8, David expresses his confidence that the Lord will deliver him from his enemies: “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” (v. 7). David was confident of God’s deliverance because of His power and His love. We too, should recognize that the Lord manifested His lovingkindness in safeguarding us from the many pitfalls of life and we should praise Him as the psalmist in Psalm 117:1-2: “O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye people.   For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.”   And finally, David is assured that: “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands” (v. 8).

May God Bless!