John Calvin Commentary Psalms 138

I will praise thee with my whole heart. As David had been honored to receive distinguishing marks of divine favor, he declares his resolution to show more than ordinary gratitude. This is a practice that, in the case of hypocrites, degenerates and is degraded to a mere sound of empty words. However, he states that he would return thanks to God not with the lips only, but with sincerity of heart; for by the whole heart, as we have seen elsewhere, is meant a heart that is sincere and undivided.

The noun אלהים, Elohim, sometimes means angels, and sometimes kings, and either meaning is suitable for the passage before us. The praise David speaks of is of a public nature.

The solemn assembly is, so to speak, a heavenly theater, graced by the presence of attending angels. Indeed, one reason the cherubim overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant was to let God’s people know that angels are present when they come to worship in the sanctuary.

We might very properly apply what is said here to kings, on account of their eminence in rank, as in Psalm 107:32, Praise ye the Lord in the assembly of the elders—that is, as we would say, in an assembly of an honored and illustrious kind.

However, I prefer the former sense (interpreting Elohim as angels). This is because believers, in drawing near to God, are withdrawn from the world and rise to heaven, enjoying fellowship with angels. Thus, we find Paul urging the Corinthians on the necessity of decency and order by requiring them to show at least some respect to the angels in their public religious assemblies (1 Corinthians 11:10).

The same thing was represented by God long before, under the figure of the cherubim, thus giving his people a visible pledge of his presence.

I will worship towards the temple of your holiness. He intimates that he would show more than private gratitude and, in order to set an example before others, come in compliance with the precept of the law into the sanctuary. He worshipped God spiritually, and yet would lift his eyes to those outward symbols which were the means then appointed for drawing the minds of God’s people upwards.

He singles out the divine mercy and truth as the subject of his praise. For while the power and greatness of God are equally worthy of commendation, nothing has a more perceptible influence in stimulating us to thanksgiving than his free mercy. And when he communicates his goodness to us, he opens our mouths to sing his praises.

As we cannot taste, or at least have any vivid understanding in our souls of the divine mercy except through the word, mention is made of his faithfulness or truth. This coupling of mercy with truth should be particularly noted, as I have frequently observed.

For however much the goodness of God may appear to us in its effects, our insensibility is such that it will never penetrate our minds unless the word has come to us first.

Goodness is first mentioned, because the only ground upon which God shows himself to us as true is that he has bound himself by his free promise. And it is in this that his unspeakable mercy shows itself—that he, with this mercy, graciously comes before those who were at a distance from him, and invites them to draw near to him by condescending to address them in a familiar manner.

In the end of the verse, some supply the conjunction and read—You have magnified your name and your word above all things. Learned interpreters have rejected this as a meagre rendering, and yet have themselves resorted to what I consider a forced interpretation, You have magnified your name above all your word.

I am satisfied David means to declare that God’s name is exalted above all things, specifying the particular manner in which he has exalted his name—namely, by faithfully performing his free promises.

Nor can anyone doubt that, owing to our blind insensibility to the benefits which God bestows upon us, the best way he can awaken us to take proper notice of them is by first addressing his word to us and then certifying and sealing his goodness by accomplishing what he has promised.

In the day when I cried to you, etc. Frequently God anticipates our prayers and surprises us, as it were, while we are sleeping. But commonly he stirs us up to prayer by the influence of his Spirit, and he does this to illustrate his goodness further, as we find that he crowns our prayers with success.

David rightly infers that his escape from danger could not have been merely coincidental, as it plainly appeared that God had answered him. This, then, is one noteworthy point: that our prayers more clearly reveal his goodness to us.

Some add a conjunction in the second part of the verse: You have increased me, and in my soul is strength. But this is unnecessary, since the words read well enough as they are, whether we translate the passage as I have done above, or as: You have multiplied, or increased, me with strength in my soul. The meaning is that from a weak and afflicted state, he had received fresh strength to his spirit. Or some may, perhaps, prefer to interpret it this way: You have multiplied—that is, blessed me, from which came strength in my soul.

Let all kings of the earth praise thee. Here he declares that the goodness he had experienced would be extensively known, and the report of it spread over all the world.

When he says that even kings had heard the words of God’s mouth, he does not mean to assert that they had been taught the true religion, preparing them to become members of the Church. Rather, he means only that it would be well known everywhere that the reason for his having been preserved in such a wonderful manner was God’s anointing him king by his commandment.

Thus, although the neighboring kings gained no advantage from that divine oracle, the goodness of God was illustrated by its being universally known that he was called to the throne in an extraordinary manner.

Having uniformly declared during the whole period of Saul’s severe and bloody persecution that he raised his standard in God’s name, there could be no doubt that he came to the crown by divine will and commandment.

And this was a proof of divine goodness which might elicit an acknowledgment even from pagan kings.

Because Jehovah the exalted, etc. In this verse he commends God’s general government of the world. The most necessary thing to know is that He is not indifferent to our safety. For though in words we are all ready to grant this, our disbelief of it is shown by the fear we betray at the slightest appearance of danger, and we would not give way to such alarm if we were firmly convinced of our being under His fatherly protection.

Some read, Jehovah on high, meaning He sits on His heavenly throne governing the world. However, I prefer to consider that an opposition is intended: that the greatness of God does not prevent His regard for the poor and humble of the earth. This is confirmed by what is stated in the second clause: that being highly exalted, He recognises from afar, or from a distance.

Some read גבה, gabah, in the accusative case, and this gives a meaning to the words that fits the context well: that God does not honor the high and haughty by looking closely at them—that He despises them—while, with regard to the poor and humble, who might seem to be at a great distance from Him, He takes care of them, as if they were near to Him.

Others render the verb ידע, yada, as to crush, and they understand the meaning to be that God, while He favors the lowly, treads down the mighty who glory in their prosperity. There is reason to doubt, however, whether any such refinement of meaning should be attached to David’s words. It is enough to conclude that he here repeats the same sentiment previously expressed: that God, though highly exalted, takes notice of what might be thought to escape His observation. Thus we have seen (Psalms 113:6):

The Lord dwelleth on high, yet he humbleth himself to behold both the things that are in heaven and on earth.

The meaning is that though God’s glory is far above all heavens, the distance at which He is placed does not prevent His governing the world by His providence. God is highly exalted, but He sees from afar, so that He does not need to change place when He would condescend to take care of us.

We on our part are poor and lowly, but our wretched condition is no reason why God will not concern Himself about us. While we view with admiration the immensity of His glory as raised above all heavens, we must not disbelieve His willingness to foster us under His fatherly care.

These two things are, very appropriately, joined here by David: that, on the one hand, when we think of God’s majesty we should not be terrified into a forgetfulness of His goodness and kindness, nor, on the other hand, lose our reverence for His majesty in contemplating the condescension of His mercy.