Psalms 138
Butler1. I WILL give thee thanks with my whole heart: Before the gods will I sing praises unto thee. 2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, And give thanks unto thy name for thy lov- ingkindness and for thy truth: For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. 3 In the day that I called thou answeredst me, Thou didst encourage me with strength in my soul. 4 All the kings of the earth shall give thee thanks, O LORD, For they have heard the words of thy mouth.
5. Yea, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD; For great is the glory of the LORD. 6 For though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: But the haughty he knoweth from afar. 7 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. 8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever; Forsake not the works of thine own hands.
THIS is the first of a series of eight Psalms (138-145), probably the last composed by David, a kind of commentary on the great Messianic promise in 2 Sam. 7. They are found in this part of the Psalter, in consequence of having been made the basis, or rather the body, of a system or series (135-146) by a later writer. A. These eight Psalms are composed in the first person, and they follow very happily after the fifteen “Songs of Up-goings,” and the three Psalms of praise uttered by the chorus of those who have gone up to Zion. Those Psalms were the united utterances of national devotion. These eight Psalms are the devout Israelite’s manual of private prayer and praise. C. Wordsworth.
The Psalm before us contains an acknowledgment of God’s goodness as experienced already, an anticipation of His universal recognition by the nations, and, in the mean time, of additional favors to the Psalmist, or to the Church of which he was the temporary head. Such a Psalm was, of course, well suited to sustain the faith and revive the hopes of a later generation. A.
The Psalm consists of three strophes. In the first the poet encourages himself to praise God both because of His goodness and faithfulness and His great promises, and also because he himself had had his prayers answered (vs. 1-3). He utters the hope, the prophecy, that the kings of the earth shall acknowledge the greatness of
Jehovah-His greatness chiefly in this, that He does not measure by any human standard of great and small, of high and low (vs. 4-6). The application of all that he has learned of Jehovah’s character to his own individual experience in prospect of trouble and danger (vs. 7, 8). P.
2. The Psalmist will thank Him for His grace, i.e., His anticipating, condescending love; and for His truth, i.e., His truthfulness and faithfulness; and more especially for that He has made His promise great above all His name, i.e., for having given His promise, which infinitely surpasses everything whereby He has hitherto gotten for Himself a name and a memorial. D.
I will worship toward Thy holy temple; or, the place of God’s dwelling, where the ark abode. He would worship God in God’s own way. The Lord had ordained a centre of unity, a place of sacrifice, a house of His indwelling; and David accepted the way of worship enjoined by revelation. And praise Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and for Thy truth. Praise would be the main part of David’s worship; the name or character of God the great object of his song; and the special point of his praise the grace and truth which shone so conspicuously in that name. S.
Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name. “By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” But mightier far is the Word by which a lost world is redeemed. This is the “Word” that He hath “magnified above all His name,” as displaying at once the exceeding greatness of His power, the resources of His manifold wisdom, and the blended glories of holiness and love. John Lillie.—God has a greater regard unto the words of His mouth than to the works of His hand; heaven and earth shall pass away, but one jot or tittle of what He hath spoken shall never fall to the ground. E. Erskine.
Above all Thy name. The expression seems to mean that to the soul waiting upon God and trusting in His Word the promise becomes so precious, so strong a ground of hope, that it surpasses all other manifestations of God’s goodness and truth; or in the promise may here also be included the fulfilment of the promise. P.—He would sooner allow all His other perfections to come to naught, than for His faithfulness to fail. He has so magnified His faithfulness that His love, His mercy, His grace, would all sooner fail than His faithfulness—the Word of His mouth and what He has revealed in the Scripture. Philpot.
In the sacred volume all the glory of the God-head shines; there we are admitted even to the council-chamber of the Most High, to hear the covenant entered into between the Father and the Son. This mysterious transaction having taken place in the incarnation and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, we behold all the perfections of God united and harmonizing in a way that they never could by any other means; we see justice more inexorable than if it had executed vengeance on the whole human race; and mercy more abundant than if it had spared the whole human race without any such atonement. There, as it is well expressed, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Of this great mystery we find not a trace in the whole creation besides; but in the Word it is reflected as in a mirror (2 Cor. 3 : 18). From the Word we derive all our knowledge of Divine truth and all our hopes of everlasting salvation. Nor is it the knowledge only of truth that we obtain, but the operation and efficacy of it on our souls. There is in Divine truth when applied by the Holy Spirit a power to wound, to sanctify, to save. When it comes to the soul with power, the stoutest heart in the universe is made to tremble; when it is poured out as balm, the most afflicted creature under heaven is made to leap for joy. Thus God has magnified and will magnify His name. C. Simeon.
When the Bible, reason, and the Church concur in regard to a doctrine, that doctrine may be set down as having a clear majority. If the Bible and reason concur, but the Church dissents, the majority is still for the doctrine. If the Bible propounds, and reason and the Church dissent, still the doctrine has a clear majority. The Bible, reason, and the Church are not a tripod, but a pyramid. The Bible is the base, the Church a temple built upon it, and reason is its dome of crystal, letting in the light of heaven that all may be clearly seen and set in order. Take off the dome, the pile remains undisturbed. Take off the ecclesiastical structure, still the pyramid stands. The foundation standeth sure. Other foundation can no man lay than is laid. Interior.
The history of the Church abounds in proofs that the study of the Bible and intense spiritual life go hand in hand. As we look back upon certain epochs when there were great awakenings, we find that the most important factor which brought about the wonderful work was a return to both the spirit and the letter of the revealed Word. There were controversies on theological questions, and some of them were animated enough, but they took their place in the background when the supreme question of the conversion of souls came to the front. Here before me is a volume of sermons preached by Gilbert Tennent and Samuel Blair, and published in Boston in 1739. They are fair specimens of the preaching of the times. One of these sermons is on the Divinity of the Scriptures, and another on the Sanctifying Efficacy of the Gospel on the Souls of Men, while the whole volume abounds in appeals to the exact language of the Word of God. The first six of the nineteen remarkable letters of Jonathan Dickinson on religious subjects, published about the same time (Boston, 1745), dealt entirely with the Old and New Testaments. It was when the Bible, with all its fulness of promise and threat, was held up, that the hearer and the reader were aroused, and from deep conviction they passed into a beautiful and joyous Christian life. The same return to the study of the Bible is perceptible in the great struggles for the reform of the Church. There is not a country where the Reformation was a success, or, for that matter, where it was attempted and at last failed, where the whole movement did not find its very centre and inspiration in the study of the Scriptures. The Reformers, every one of them, were students of the Word before all other things. Is it any wonder that when ministers and laymen go back to it, and study it closely, and bring it before the people in all its native glow and searching force, there should be great heart-searching, that old things should pass away, and all things should become new? All the men who have become prominent as successful evangelists have aroused themselves with the Scriptures. Bishop Hurst.
3. With strength in my soul.** This was a true answer to his prayer. If the burden was not removed, yet strength was given wherewith to bear it, and this is an equally effective method of help. It may not be best for us that the trial should come to an end; it may be far more to our advantage that by its pressure we should learn patience. Sweet are the uses of adversity, and our prudent Father in heaven will not deprive us of those benefits. Strength imparted to the soul is an inestimable boon; it means courage, fortitude, assurance, heroism. By his Word and Spirit the Lord can make the trembler brave, the sick whole, the weary bright. S.
4. They have heard the sayings of Thy mouth.** Not merely one king, though that king be David, shall acknowledge, thank, and praise Thee, but all others who receive the true religion, when they know what Thou hast promised, and especially when they compare the promise and fulfilment with particular reference to the promise of Messiah, which is described in Scripture as a grand means for the conversion of the nations and the chiefs which represent them.
5. And they shall sing in the ways of Jehovah, for great (shall be) the glory of Jehovah.** The kings of the earth, representing its nations, shall join in the praise of the true God, walking in His ways, i.e., as converts to the true religion. Compare Mic. 4 : 2 ; Isa. 4 : 3. A.
6. He hath respect unto the lowly.** Give me the homely vessel of humility, which God shall preserve and fill with the wine of His grace, rather than the varnished cup of pride, which He will dash in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Where humility is the cornerstone, there glory shall be the topstone. W. Secker.—Pride is the growth of blindness and darkness; humility, the product of light and knowledge; and while the former has its origin in a mistaken and delusive estimate of things, the latter is as much the offspring of truth as it is the parent of virtue. R. Hall.—Let us aspire after true greatness, that is only found in humility. God rebukes the proud even in this world, and in the world to come they are abased; but the humble, even in this life, shall receive the respect that they have not sought for, and eternal glory shall be the recompense of their contempt of false and perishing honors. Fénelon.
8. The Lord will perfect.** God’s work is perfect, man’s is clumsy and incomplete. God does not leave off till He has finished. When He rests, it is because, looking on His work, He sees it all “very good.” If you and I have been changed from enemies into sons, and have one spark of love to God kindled in our hearts, that is a mightier change than any that yet remains to be effected in order to make us perfect. One grain has been changed, the whole mass will be in due time. A. M.—None of God’s designs break in the middle or fall short of their end. He will perfect that good work which He hath begun, to the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1 : 6). And how often is He called the strength of those that trust on Him; their buckler, and His way perfect. He performeth all things for me (Psalm 57 : 2). Hence is the stability of grace and perseverance of the saints; it is founded upon His unchangeableness. Not that they are so, though truly sanctified, if they and their graces were left to their own management; no, it is He who not only gives that rich portion to those He adopts to be His children, but keeps it for them, and them in the possession of it. And to build that persuasion of perseverance upon His truth and power engaged in it is no presumption; yea, it is high dishonor to Him to question it. . . . Put all your trust in the special and singular mercy of God, that He, for His mercy’s sake, and of His only goodness, will help and bring you to perfection; not that absolute perfection is attainable here, but the meaning is, to high degrees of that spiritual and Divine life which is always growing and tending toward the absolute perfection above; but in some persons comes nearer to that and riseth higher, even here, than in the most. If you, with hearty and fervent desires, do continually wish and long for it, and with most humble devotion daily pray unto God and call for it, and with all diligence do busily labor and travel to come to it, undoubtedly it shall be given you. Leighton.
When we find that Christ hath by His Spirit begun to make us know God, and love Him, and delight in Him, and praise Him, it is the easier to make us believe that He will perfect His work in us. It is God’s work to love them that love Him, and to reward the obedient; and I must needs believe that God will do His work, and will never fail the just expectations of any creature. All my doubt is whether I shall do my part, and whether I shall be a prepared subject for that felicity. And He that resolveth this, resolveth all; He that will make me fit for heaven hath overcome the greatest difficulty of my belief, and I should the more easily believe that He will do the rest, and that I shall surely come to heaven when I am fit for it. Baxter.
Many a Christian who thinks he is not growing at all may be growing in the most important sense of the word. He that is growing more acquainted with the weakness, and the sinfulness, and the waywardness of his own heart is no doubt thinking that he is going back, but he may be really making preparation for going forward in the noblest sense of that word. We may be growing downward in lowly humility, not less important in its place than growing upward in conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ. Cumming.—When we think we are growing worse we may actually be growing better, and making no little progress when we seem to be making none. Be not cast down! Progression is the ordinary law of God’s government. It is minute by minute that morn’s gray dawn brightens up into perfect day; it is inch by inch and foot by foot that the tide comes creeping in on the shore. And not like justification, an act, our sanctification, being a work of God’s free grace, is under the same law of progress. More or less rapid, it is a thing of steps and stages. Therefore, while praying earnestly and working diligently, live hopefully and wait patiently. He will perfect that which concerneth us, and one day bring forth the headstone with “shoutings of grace, grace unto it.” Guthrie.
God has a plan concerning every one of us. Our lives do not move on at haphazard, neither are they altogether shaped by our own choice; but the Lord had a purpose in bringing us into being, and is directing our lives toward the fulfilment of that purpose. His purpose toward the work of His hands is always good. We can, indeed, frustrate the moral end of our creation by our perversity and sin; but if we adapt ourselves in obedience and submission to the will of God, He will perfect that which concerneth us. He will not abandon His own plan. It matters nothing that He is so great and high, and we so insignificant; He who clothes the lilies and feeds the birds of the air, and watches over the minutest laws and processes of the physical universe, thinks upon His children with a Father’s watchful and forecasting love. When we find ourselves in trouble, we may not infer that God has forsaken or forgotten us. Our path may lie through the sea, but He will make the waters as a wall upon the right hand and the left. Our way may lead through the valley of the shadow of death, but He will go with us; His rod and staff will comfort us. The very troubles of life—disciplining our hearts to a loftier faith, separating us from a worldly unto a spiritual life—may be a means of perfecting that which concerneth us in the wise and holy purpose of God. So the Psalmist had already found it. His troubles had brought him experiences of the merciful faithfulness of God, so rich and blessed, that the fulfilment of the Divine promise even exceeded the hopes based upon His glorious name. So let the remembrance of past mercies lead us to praise and trust Him whose ways toward us are perfect, and whose mercy endureth forever. J. P. T.
By the discipline of daily life, by the ministry of sorrow and joy, by merciful chastisements dogging our steps when we stray, by duties and cares, by the teaching of His Word coming even closer to our hearts and quickening our consciences to discern evil where we had seen none, as well as kindling in us desires after higher and rarer goodness, by the reward of enlarged perceptions of duty and greater love toward it, with which He recompenses lowly obedience to the duty as yet seen, by the secret influences of His Spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind breathed into our waiting spirits, by the touch of His own sustaining hand and glance of His own guiding eye, He will reveal to the lowly soul all that is yet wanting in its knowledge, and communicate all that is lacking in character. So for us, the true temper is confidence in His power and will, an earnest waiting on Him, a brave forward, yearning hope blended with a lowly consciousness of imperfection which is a spur, not a clog, and vigorous increasing efforts to bring into life and character the fulness and beauty of God. Presumption should be as far from us as despair; the one because we have not already attained, the other because “God will reveal even this unto us.” Only let us keep in mind the caution which the apostle, knowing the possible abuses which might gather round His teaching, has here attached to it, “Nevertheless”—though all which I have been saying is true, it is only true on this understanding—“where to we have already attained, by the same let us walk.” God will perfect that which concerneth you if—and only if—you go on as you have begun, if you make your creed a life, if you show what you are. If so, then all the rest is a question of time. Begin with humble trust in Christ, and a process is commenced which has no natural end short of that great hope with which this promise is charged, that the change which begins in the deepest recesses of our being, and struggles slowly and with many interruptions into partial visibility in our character, shall one day triumphantly irradiate our whole nature out to the very finger tips, and “even the body of our humiliation shall be fashioned like unto the body of Christ’s glory, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” A. M.
Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever. God’s work in us will abide unto perfection because God’s mercy toward us thus abideth. “Forsake not the works of Thine own hands.” Our confidence does not cause us to live without prayer, but encourages us to pray all the more. Since we have it written upon our hearts that God will perfect His work in us, and we see it also written in Scripture that His mercy changeth not, we with holy earnestness entreat that we may not be forsaken. If there be anything good in us, it is the work of God’s own hands; will He leave it? He who has gone so far will surely persevere with us to the end. Our hope for the final perseverance of the believer lies in the final perseverance of the believer’s God. S.
There is already a power at work within us, if we be Christians, of whose workings we may be aware, and from them forecast the measure of the gifts which it can bestow upon us. We may estimate what will be by what we know has been and by what we feel is. That is to say, in other words, the effects already produced and the present operations of that power carry in them the pledge of their own completion. The strange mingling of good and evil in our present nature, our aspirations so crossed and contradicted, our resolution so broken and falsified, the gleams of light, and the eclipses that follow—all these, in their opposition to each other, are plainly transitory, and the workings of that power within us, though they be often overborne, are as plainly the stronger in their nature, and meant to conquer and to endure. The whole threefold Divine cause of our salvation supplies the measure and lays the foundation for our hopes in the glory of the Father, the grace of the Son, the power of the Holy Ghost. Let us lift up our cry: “Perfect that which concerneth me, forsake not the works of Thine own hands,” and we shall have for answer the ancient Word fresh as when it sounded long ago from among the stars to the sleeper at the ladder’s foot, “I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” A. M.
The hand of God is in everything. No point is more distinct to a trustful, relying spirit, no truth is more settled than this. There are no fortuities in this world; there is not an event which has not its meaning, its connections, and its end. The confidence which gives peace, and fixeliness, and strength to the mind fastens upon the views which the Bible gives of God, His agency, and His purposes; as a God who is concerned with everything and who acts in everything in reference to an end worthy of Himself. The Word of God, in which faith rests, contemplates man in all the various circumstances of his being, in every possible or supposable condition in which he may be placed. The promise of a Saviour and of all good in Him covers all our interests; hence the Word which is given to us is full of promises, and they are “exceeding great and precious”—great in their range, because there is no circumstance which they do not reach; precious in their character, because there is no exigency in our affairs to which they are not adapted. All these promises are promises in Christ Jesus, and herein we have the evidence of their certainty, the assurance of their fulfilment. The Christian’s confidence has been actually tested by experiment, and has never yet failed. Confidence in God always ministers peace and joy to the human spirit. In the last hour nothing but confidence in God will help us; and herein we have an illustration of the value and glory of this confidence, that it can and does sustain the spirit and give it in this hour perfect peace. That hour is just before us; it will not be long before we shall be passing through it. Happy is the man who can say with calmness and composure, in view of such a scene, “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” Faith, simple confidence in God through Christ, can give a man strength and peace in such a scene as this, and nothing else can do it. E. M.
The Word of God consecrates home joy, and yet reminds us that every garden has its grave, every dear union its separation. But, on the other hand, there are no utterances of unbearable grief, or unmitigated woe. It says ever to us, Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide. And the facts of experience in every age endorse its truth. As the snows hide flowers even in the Alps, so beneath all our separations and sorrows there are still plants of the Lord, peace, and hope, and joy, and rest in Him. Blessed indeed shall we be if we can rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. We, too, shall all change. Time and sorrow will write their experiences on our brow. There will be hours in which we feel like Naomi, empty, oh! so empty—the cup of
affection poured out on the ground, the forest without its songsters, the garden without its flowers, the home without its familiar faces. We shall see these pictures every day, and wonder more and more how any hearts can do without a Brother and a Saviour in Jesus Christ. But if character be enriched and trained, all is well; for this very end have we had Divine discipline, and the Lord will perfect that which concerneth us for the highest ends of eternal life in Him. W. M. Statham.