A text – Psalm 138
1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;
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 your name and your word above everything.
3 On the day I called, you answered me; you increased my strength of soul.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord, for they have heard the words of your mouth.
5 They shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he perceives from far away.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
A reflection:
This is a psalm of David. It is a thanksgiving poem for God’s rescuing him. It reminds me of the 23rd psalm a little bit. It goes farther in its praise and its descriptions of the peril David has been preserved from, but it’s clear that David, like a sheep, owes his protection to the good shepherd, the Lord.
And it goes even farther in the final stanza, saying the Lord has a purpose for David, one that the Lord is determined to save David for. David thinks of himself as a work of God’s hands and thinks of God’s purpose as a larger work of God’s hands that David is just a small part of. David is part of a bigger tapestry or history, one that has roles for the lowly, who are always the ones delivered by God’s hand.
David had humility and gratitude. His psalms often display those qualities. David got into a lot of trouble through his life. He was not afraid to take risks, and not always for the right reasons. Through every adventure his relationship with the Lord seems to have been constant, and the Lord seems to have rewarded him.
When I call upon the Lord when I (or someone I love) am in trouble, sometimes I fail to follow up with thanks and praises as this psalm does. Does that happen to you? I’m making a promise today to praise the Lord every single day, just so that I will be in this good habit when I also might ask for rescue.
A prayer:
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for David, shepherd, King, and poet. Thank you for preserving his psalms for us today. Help us remember that humility and gratitude go along with asking for rescue. Help us build the habit of daily connection with you. Amen.
Short Dwellings in the Word by Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison 