World English Bible
- By David. I will give you thanks with my whole heart. Before the gods, I will sing praises to you.
- I will bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to your Name for your loving kindness and for your truth; for you have exalted your Name and your Word above all.
- In the day that I called, you answered me. You encouraged me with strength in my soul.
- All the kings of the earth will give you thanks, LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth.
- Yes, they will sing of the ways of the LORD, for the LORD’s glory is great!
- For though the LORD is high, yet he looks after the lowly; but he knows the proud from afar.
- Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies. Your right hand will save me.
- The LORD will fulfill that which concerns me. Your loving kindness, LORD, endures forever. Don’t forsake the works of your own hands.
Psalm 138 feels even stronger when read after Psalm 137. Yesterday was exile, tears, and the humiliation of Zion. Today David sings “before the gods.” That phrase is not decorative. In the ancient Near East, every city had its patron deities, every empire its sacred claims, every king his divine backing. So this is not private devotion. It is public defiance. David praises the Lord as if every rival power is in the room and must listen.
That is why verse 2 is so striking. God has exalted his Name and his Word. The Hebrew here is difficult, and translators differ, but the force is clear: the Lord has tied his reputation to what he has spoken. Ancient kings built monuments to make a name for themselves. Israel’s God does something more daring—he binds his name to his promise. He lets his truth be tested in history. Christians cannot read that without thinking of Christ, in whom God’s Name and God’s Word meet in one person (John 1:14; Philippians 2:9–11).
David says he bows toward God’s holy temple. For a western reader, that can sound merely ceremonial. But in Scripture, to face the sanctuary is to orient yourself toward covenant reality, the place where God chose to place his Name. Daniel did the same in exile (Daniel 6:10). This was not superstition; it was embodied hope. The body itself was taught to lean toward promise.
Then comes one of the most piercing lines in the psalm: “Though the Lord is high, yet he looks after the lowly; but he knows the proud from afar.” The proud are not unknown to God. They are known at a distance. That is a terrible judgment. To be noticed by God is not the same as being near him. The lowly, however, receive his attention. As Calvin observed, God’s height does not make him remote; it frees him to stoop without fear of losing his glory.
The psalm ends with confidence, but not with self-confidence: “The Lord will fulfill that which concerns me… Don’t forsake the works of your own hands.” That final prayer is beautiful because it turns David from achiever into artifact. Psalm 135 mocked idols as “the work of men’s hands.” Here David says, in effect, I am the work of God’s hands. He is not asking merely for help with his plans. He is asking the Maker not to abandon his craftsmanship.
That means your unfinished soul is not an embarrassment to God. It is his workshop.
Suggested cross-references: Daniel 6:10; Isaiah 57:15; Luke 1:48–52; John 1:14; Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 2:10.
Hymn suggestion: How Firm a Foundation.
Lord, before all false powers and all proud claims, teach me to praise you with my whole heart. Turn me toward your promises. Keep me lowly enough to be near you, and confident enough to trust that you will finish what you have begun in me. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Amen.