Psalm 138 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 138 Short Summary:

David authored Psalm 138 and wrote of his devotion to God above all the pagan deities. He wrote that the kings of the earth would one day come to recognize God as supreme and worthy of their worship. He described God as his personal helper and as a helper to the humble people of the world. He asked God to use him for His will and expressed trust that God would protect him and accomplish all He intended through him.

Psalm 138 Summary

AUTHOR:

• David wrote Psalm 138.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• No known New Testament References.

THEMES:

• David honored God as His strength and His creator.

• God is worthy of the worship of kings, and kings will one day sing His praises.

DEFINITIONS:

• Haughty (138:6) – Thinking one’s self to be superior to others and looking at people you perceive to be below you with disdain.

• Lowly (138:6) – Humble; A person of low status.

OUTLINE:

• A GOD OF THE LOWLY WHO IS WORSHIPED BY KINGS (138:1-8):

  • Psalm 138 begins with David worshiping the God of Israel, not because he wasn’t aware there were other gods (pagan gods) to worship, but because He knew the God of Israel was superior to them all.

  • He directed all his worship to the Lord, writing, “before the gods I sing your praise” (138:1).

  • He described himself bowing down before the Lord at His temple. The temple in Jerusalem wasn’t built in David’s lifetime, so this probably refers to the Tabernacle or the tent in Jerusalem which housed the Ark of the Covenant.

  • David worshipped God for His “steadfast love and faithfulness,” and for exalting His name and His word.

  • He worshipped God for helping him and giving him strength during times of trouble.

  • Then David spoke of a day when the kings of the earth would recognize God’s greatness through His words and would sing of God’s glory. Some understand this verse to be a prophetic statement speaking of the future gentile kings who would hear the words of the Lord and become part of God’s kingdom.

  • While kings would be converted, David wanted to make it clear that God was not a god of the elite, He wrote that God “regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.”

  • If a king desired to draw near to God, he would first have to humble himself and become like the simple people of the earth.

  • David ended Psalm 138 expressing his confidence that the Lord would be at his side to aid him through future struggles.

  • He was confident that God would use him to accomplish His will. He prayed for God to finish the work He had started in him, and to bring his life as a vessel of God to completion.

APPLICATION:

• I love David’s mentality at the close of this psalm and I think it’s an attitude that all Christians should share.

• He asked God to fulfill His purpose for him, and not to leave that work half finished.

• David didn’t want to reach a particular point of maturity and then quit growing. He didn’t want God to stop working on him and through him. 

• He didn’t want to get to middle age and then be content with his progress as a follower of God.

• His goal wasn’t to get to his golden years and then start coasting.

• He didn’t want God to leave him incomplete. He wanted to be all that he could be, all that God created him to be.

• It should be our desire to reach our potential as vessels of God. 

• That means we will have to surrender our life to Him and allow Him to continue to shape us and use us all the way to the end.

• David didn’t want to be half finished… and neither do I!