Psalm 138
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Through faith in Jesus, we have all receive new hearts that are alive to God. Thus, we could say that by God’s grace we Christians all are men and women after God’s own heart.
There are many today who say that being a Christian, being a man or woman after God’s own heart makes life easier.
But I think we know that hasn’t been our experience.
It wasn’t David’s experience.
And it isn’t what Jesus teaches.
He said that in this world we would have tribulation.
He said that people would persecute us.
He said that as the world hated Him so it would hate us.
He said that it is through many tribulations that we enter the Kingdom of God.
We know this by experience and David knew it too, but when the trials, tribulations, hardships, persecutions, etc. came for him, he called on God.
In Psalm 138 David called on God because God is faithful and demonstrates His faithfulness by keeping His word.
This psalm reminds us that we have reasons to praise and thank the Lord in our trials.
The Lord answers our call!
He regards the lowly!
His loving kindness is everlasting!
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
The Lord answers our call (Psalm 138:1-3)!
The Lord answers our call (Psalm 138:1-3)!
1 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.
We are obligated to give thanks and praise the Lord. Doing so requires boldness and humility.
How do we boldness and humility at the end of v. 1 and beginning of v. 2?
Boldness = “I will sing praises to You before the gods.”
Humility = “I will bow down toward Your holy temple...”
Who are the gods in v. 1?
Psalm 138:1 (CSB)
1 I will give you thanks with all my heart; I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.
Psalm 138:1 (NIV84)
1 I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
? True God?
? Ark of God’s Presence?
? Angels?
? Earthly kings and rulers?
? False gods?
? All of the above?
17 Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.” 18 He also said, “Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand? 19 “Now therefore, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is men, cursed are they before the Lord, for they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 “Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”
What does it mean in v. 2 that God has magnified his word according to all his name?
2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.
give thanks to your name
for your lovingkindness and truth
you have magnified your word
according to all your name
The Lord exalts Himself as He faithfully keeps His word.
3 On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul.
David cried out to God and God answered, but what did God do?
God made David bold with strength in his soul.
Why do you think God didn’t make David bold with strength in his flesh?
Strength in the flesh can sometimes make us rely on our own strength.
Strength in the soul causes us to rely on God.
It is strength in the soul that made David bold enough to praise God before the other gods in v. 1.
Uses…
Uses…
Let these verses challenge you.
Challenge you to praise/thank the Lord…
from the heart (v. 1a)
with boldness (v. 1b)
for his lovingkindness and truth (v. 2b)
for magnifying himself in faithfully keeping His word to us (v. 2c)
because he answers our call; he hears our prayers
because He makes us bold with strength in our souls
He doesn’t always change our circumstances; He often gives us strength of soul so that we can be bold in our circumstances.
Challenge you to bow down before Him…
submit ourselves to Him in our circumstances
depending on Him in our circumstances
and give Him praise and thanksgiving that He has answered us in our circumstances
Sometimes we praise upright with our hands raised, but sometimes we praise bowed down with our faces near the floor.
Challenge you to call on the Lord…
because His lovingkindness and faithfulness never fail
because He desires to magnify Himself in His faithfulness to us
because He answers us when we call
because He gives us the strength of soul that we desperately need
W. S. Plumer wrote, “In this warfare, natural courage is nothing. It must come from God and be imparted to the soul.”
Let these verses assure/comfort you.
Let these verses assure you that God knows your circumstances.
Let these verses assure you that God loves you and is faithful to you even in difficult circumstances.
Let these verses assure you that God will exalt Himself in your circumstances by being faithful to you.
Let these verses assure you that God hears and will answer your prayers.
Let these verses assure you that God knows just what you need whatever you’re going through.
The Lord regards the lowly (Psalm 138:4-6)!
The Lord regards the lowly (Psalm 138:4-6)!
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.
Perhaps when David wrote this psalm Saul was on the throne, but David had been anointed king.
Perhaps David was dreaming about how wonderful it would be for God’s people…
…to have a king who rejoiced in the words of God rather than trusting in His own Word…
…to have a king who sang of the ways of the Lord rather than leading by his own way…
…a king who lived for the glory of God rather than aiming for his own glory.
One day that will be reality not only for Israel but for the whole earth as the nations come to King Jesus to learn from Him (Isa. 2).
He is and will be exalted but will bless the lowly (i.e., humble) when they come seeking to learn from Him.
The prideful, however, won’t be close to Him.
The Lord lovingkindness is everlasting (Psalm 138:7-8)
The Lord lovingkindness is everlasting (Psalm 138:7-8)
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.
David’s circumstances haven’t changed; he still walks in the midst of trouble; his enemies are still his enemies. He is weary, but he trusts that God will revive him, save him, and accomplish His word concerning him.
When we are going through a difficult time, what is it that wears us out?
Physical exertion (sleeplessness, stress)
Emotional exhaustion
Prolonged suffering
Unknown outcome
How might the Lord revive us during this time?
By way of His Word
By way of His Spirit
By way of His people
By way of His answer (some change in circumstances)
How might the Lord save us?
He might save us by removing the trial from us.
He might save us by removing us from the trial.
This he has promised to do when we live with him in eternity.
What do you think David meant in v. 8 when he said, “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me”?
God anointed David as King of Israel and promised that a descendent of his would sit on the throne of Israel forever. When Saul was trying to hold on to the throne or when Absalom was trying to steal the throne, David might have wondered if God would accomplish His word concerning him.
But David knew that God would because God’s lovingkindness is everlasting (i.e., God’s love doesn’t change its mind; it goes all the way to the end).
Even so, David still prays that God wouldn’t give up the work of His hands.
David and the promises of God to Him are the works of God’s hand in this case, and this is a prayer surely to be answered with a ‘yes’ because God is perfectly faithful.
David will be king.
David’s descendant, Jesus, will sit on the throne of Israel forever.
And one day, all kings and kingdoms will stream to Him and say, “Teach us your ways that we may walk in your paths,” (Isa. 2:1-3).
Uses…
Let these verses inspire you to trust.
Let them inspire you to trust that in Christ Jesus you are God’s workmanship.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Let these verses inspire you to trust that God will complete His good work in you.
6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Conclusion
Conclusion
[PRAYER]
