All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord

Psalm 138 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.
² I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
³ On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.

⁴ All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
⁵ And they will sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
⁶ For though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.

⁷ Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
⁸ The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

In this psalm, we see David, the king, recognizing the one true king. As king, David had many subjects, many who attended him, yet he never wavered in his acknowledgment, his praise and his thanksgiving toward God. No doubt David began his lifelong habit of worship and praise of God during his youth as a shepherd. It was there in his humble lowly position, that David developed his relationship with the God of the creation that surrounded him. We can only imagine, David, the shepherd praising and worshiping God as he watched over his sheep. Then the only ones to hear David’s songs of praise were those sheep, those sheep and God Himself. David continued his praise and worship of God, now as king over the nation, rather than watching over a few sheep, David lived out a life of praise to God. The text says:  I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before the gods. I will bow down toward Your holy temple… All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord, When they have heard the words of Your mouth. And they will sing of the ways of the Lord, For great is the glory of the Lord.       David did not praise and worship God for the attention gained from men, but neither was he afraid or ashamed to worship God, even in the presence of kings and other gods.

In this psalm, we see a few of the things David is thankful for. He says:  I will bow down toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.  On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul… Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. The Lord will accomplish what concerns me        David’s thankfulness includes appreciation and acknowledgment of God’s love and of His truth. He also though acknowledges God’s faithfulness. God is faithful, both to His word and His promises; and also God is faithful to answer when we call on Him. David lived through many highs and lows in his life. There were times that it seemed that perhaps God did not hear his prayers, yet he says: On the day I called, You answered me.       The answer of God, in our times of trouble, is not always that he will take us from the trouble or take the trouble from us. The answer of God to our call for Him is that:   Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me.   God’s promise to us is that He will never leave or forsake us. Jesus says:   “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)    More important than being delivered from our troubles, is the confidence and assurance, the peace of God in our troubles. Once we have the peace of God in our troubles, we can have the confidence and the clarity, the assurance that as the psalmist says:    You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. The Lord will accomplish what concerns me.      The troubles of the world become insignificant when we have the peace of God through Christ who has overcome the world.  

David lived his life of worship and praise for a purpose beyond himself. In today’s text he says:  All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord, When they have heard the words of Your mouth. And they will sing of the ways of the Lord, For great is the glory of the Lord.    In Psalm 51, David’s prayer of contrition for his sin against God with Bathsheba, David says:  Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.      David lived a life of worship, praise and thanksgiving, because of the relationship he had with God, but the purpose of his life was also to lead others to know God, His lovingkindness, His truth and His faithfulness. That too is what Jesus says we should do. He says:    “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

Like David, the life we live before others should be a life based on the relationship we have with God. Our praise and worship of God should be the same before men and alone in God’s creation. We should neither seek the attention and approval of man in our worship, nor should we be ashamed of our God, even in the presence of kings and gods. Our praise and our worship, our thanksgiving to God is because He is worthy. Yet if we truly know the lovingkindness of God, if we know His faithfulness and His truth, we will want others to know Him too. We will live our lives as a light and a testimony of the God we know.   

Like the psalmist, I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before the gods. I will bow down toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;    Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. Amen