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416 / 1113 · Psalms 138 · The United Kingdom · Traditionally David's lifetime, c. 1000 BC (by its heading; debated)

Thanks With a Whole Heart

Debated
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Think of the parent who has spent weeks praying over a child's surgery or a pending visa, then gets the phone call: it went well, it is approved. Often the first response is not a speech but a rush of thanks, told to anyone who will listen, and then a quieter thought: there is still so much ahead. Psalm 138 holds both. It begins with wholehearted thanks for a prayer answered on the day it was prayed, and ends with a request that God will not abandon the work he has started.

Where it sits in the story: In Act 3 God has made great promises to David: a house, a name, a lasting throne. Psalm 138 opens the last group of psalms headed 'of David' (138–145), gathered near the end of his life. It is a song of thanks from someone who has seen God keep his word, and who dares to imagine that even foreign kings will one day hear it and sing.

What this chapter is doing: To give thanks for answered prayer, to declare that God's faithfulness is greater than anything said about him, and to rest the unfinished future on his steady love.

Why it is read here: This psalm carries David's name (or sits in the David collection), but no heading ties it to an event. We gather these near the end of David's life — 'the sweet psalmist of Israel' (2 Samuel 23:1) — rather than guess an occasion for each. 'Of David' can mean by, for, or in the tradition of David.
The walk-through
  • 138:1–3 — With his whole heart the speaker gives thanks before 'the gods', bowing towards God's holy temple. He praises God's steadfast love and faithfulness: on the day he called, God answered and strengthened his soul.
  • 138:4–6 — All the kings of the earth will give thanks when they hear God's words and sing of his ways. For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, while the proud he knows from far away.
  • 138:7–8 — Even walking through trouble, the speaker expects God to preserve his life and to stretch out his hand against enemies' anger. The LORD will fulfil his purpose for him; his love endures forever. The final line is a plea: do not forsake the work of your hands.
What it showsThe phrase 'before the gods' reflects the ancient setting of many nations and their deities, where Israel's worship is a public claim about its God. The vision of foreign kings praising the LORD fits the royal psalms' wide horizon.
Where the evidence stopsThe heading 'of David' may mean by, for or in the tradition of David, and the mention of bowing towards the temple leads some scholars to date the psalm after Solomon built it. No specific answered prayer is named.

Key verse: Psalm 138:8  ·  So what: Gratitude and worry often live side by side: one prayer is answered, and ten more are waiting. Psalm 138 does not pretend the trouble is over. It lets thanks for what God has done become the ground for trusting him with what he has not yet done. Its closing request is a good prayer for anyone who feels half-finished.

← When Brothers Live in UnityYou have just read Psalm 133, a song of family unity on Zion. Next comes Psalm 139, a searching meditation on being fully known by God from the womb onwards.Known, Searched and Knit Together →
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