Pslam 138: I Will Give Thanks

"I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise." Psalm 138:1

There is a fine line between thanks and praise. When we look at the Psalms, there are some who suggest that the category of "Thanksgiving Psalm" doesn't exist. Rather, what we see are "Hymns of Praise." Yet even they see a distinction between two subcategories. Praise is when we praise God for his intrinsic attributes. We praise him for his power, his goodness, his love, his mercy, his eternal wisdom, etc. On the other hand, "Thanksgiving" is when we praise God for his specific actions in our behalf. In the Psalm we are looking at this week, David thanks God that he was heard in the day that he cried for help. He is thanking God for his saving work on his behalf.

He tells God that he is giving thanks with his "whole heart." David holds nothing back. As Jesus told us to love God with all our mind, soul, and strength, David gives God whole hearted thanks.

David then says he will sing God's praise "among the gods." This seems strange to us. Did David believe in more than one god? Certainly not. Yet David lived in a polytheistic culture. David's devotedness to the Lord was such that he could stand in the midst of a foreign people among their idols and unashamedly give praise to Yahweh. He would not cower back and be ashamed, but he would attribute his salvation to the Lord alone.

He then thanks God for his steadfast love and faithfulness. The steadfast love that it is talking about here is God's covenant loyal love. He has made a covenant with Abraham, and with David himself, and he will keep his covenant promises. He will save David from trouble because he will keep his word. David follows this up by stating that God has exalted his name and his word above all things. These two things are connected. His name (or his reputation) and his word (or his promise). Because the lord values his own glory above all things he will be faithful to his covenantal promises. For his own name's sake.

In verses 4-5 David talks about the kings of the earth. He says that they will give Yahweh thanks for they have heard the words of his mouth. While this is not the way most commentaries take this, I'll entertain a suggestion here. I would suggest that when it says they "heard" the words of his mouth, that it may mean hearing in the sense of obeying. I would suggest that this is the concept we see in Proverbs 21:1 and in the book of Daniel. God is the one who establishes kings, and the king's heart is in the hand of God. He will turn it however he wishes. So, who do kings have to be thankful for for their position? God! It doesn't matter if it is a good king or a bad king. All rulers have been put in place by a sovereign God. And ultimately, God is sovereign and he rules over every king. No matter how wicked a king is, he will not thwart the will of this sovereign God. So the kings have no choice but to obey the sovereign decree of God.

In the final verses, David returns to his personal reasons for thanking God. God preserves him in the midst of trouble. God will not forsake the works of his hands. He will fulfill his purposes and his plans. He will keep his word and he will preserve his people.

This is a great thing for us to be thankful for today. If we are in Christ, it doesn't matter what distress may come to us. He will protect us, and if any harm should come to us, we won't ultimately be harmed, because he will raise us again. We have been given indestructible life, and God will honor that for the sake of his own name.