For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psa 138

1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    before the ‘gods’ I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down towards your holy temple
    and will praise your name
    for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
    that it surpasses your fame.
3 When I called, you answered me;
    you greatly emboldened me.

4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord,
    when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they sing of the ways of the Lord,
    for the glory of the Lord is great.

6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
    though lofty, he sees them from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
    with your right hand you save me.
8 The Lord will vindicate me;
    your love, Lord, endures for ever –
    do not abandon the works of your hands.

A. Find Out

1. What will David do, and where? v.1,2a
2. Why? What has the Lord done? v.2b,3
3. To whom does he call to do what? v.4,5
4. Where is the Lord, but what does He do? v.6
5. What does He do for David? v.7
6. What will He do for David? v.8

B. Think:

1. What, in the past, has provoked David to write now?
2. What confidence does he have for now and the future?
3. What has he learnt of the Lord?

C. Comment:

                We note that this is a psalm of David and as such is quite personal. He starts by declaring that he will praise the Lord (v.1,2a) and he will do it in the face of all the ‘gods’ of the nations (v.1b) who (implied) are as nothing to the Lord. He will do this because he had cried to the Lord and the Lord had answered him (v.3) and expressed His love and faithfulness (unchanging commitment to David) so that His name and His word have been exalted – in David’s understanding at least (v.2). As a result he feels bold and courageous (v.3)

                Because of this experience he calls for the other kings that he knows of, to praise the Lord as well, especially when they hear the things the Lord says (v.4). He anticipates that their experience will bring a song to their lips (v.5) as they sing of the ways God acts and realise His wonder.

                He thing on the Lord. He realises He is high in heaven and great and mighty and holy (implied) and yet He looks kindly on those who are poor and lowly (v.6) but holds the proud at a distance. He testifies that though he may walk in trouble, the Lord will preserve his life (v.7) and keep him from his foes and save him. He has a sense of destiny and knows in his heart that the Lord will fulfil the purposes that He has for David (v.8). This is a psalm of confident reassurance.

D. Application:

1. Have we a testimony of the Lord answering our cries?
2. He we a sense of destiny in the Lord’s purposes for us?