John Gill Commentary Psalms 138

I will praise thee with my whole heart
Cordially and sincerely, in the uprightness and integrity of his heart; which denotes not the perfection of his service, but the sincerity of it; his heart was in it, and his whole heart; all the powers and faculties of his soul were engaged in it, being deeply sensible of the great favours and high honours bestowed upon him; and though the object of praise, to whom he was obliged for them, is not so fully expressed; yet is easily understood to be Jehovah, the Being of beings, the Father of mercies, even Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, and especially the Messiah; see (Psalms 111:1) ;

before the gods will I sing praise unto thee ;
before the princes, as Jarchi; before the kings, as the Syriac version; with which agrees (Psalms 119:46) ; and who would join therein, (Psalms 138:4) ; or before the judges, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; or civil magistrates, who are sometimes called gods, (Psalms 82:1Psalms 82:6) ; and they are the powers ordained of God, and represent him on earth; or the sanhedrim, as the Midrash; or before the gods of the Gentiles, those fictitious deities, above whom Jehovah is; and over whom the psalmist triumphs, having conquered the nations where they were worshipped; and therefore in their presence, and notwithstanding them, or in opposition to them, praised the Lord; see (Psalms 18:49) ;

or rather before the ark, the symbol of the presence of the true God; or, as Gussetius ^F12 interprets it, "before thee, O God, will I sing praise"; or I will sing praise to thee, the Son the Messiah, one divine Person before another; the Son before God the Father, and it may be added before God the Holy Spirit, the two other divine Persons; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "before the angels", who are sometimes called gods, (Psalms 8:5) (97:7) ; and who attend the assemblies of the saints and churches of Christ, (1 Corinthians 11:10) (Ephesians 3:10) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F12: Comment. Ebr. p. 50.

I will worship towards your holy temple
Not the temple at Jerusalem, which was not yet built, though, when it was, the Jews in their devotions at a distance looked towards it, (1 Kings 8:38 1 Kings 8:40) ; but rather the tabernacle of Moses, in which was the ark, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe; and over that the mercy seat and cherubim, between which Jehovah dwelt; and this being a type of Christ's human nature, which was perfectly holy, and is called by himself a temple, and is the true tabernacle God pitched, and not man, (John 2:19) (Hebrews 8:2) ; he may be designed, and to him, as Mediator, should we look, and with him deal in all our devotions for acceptance with God; see (Jonah 2:4) .

Unless heaven itself is meant, which is the palace of Jehovah, the habitation of his holiness, his temple where he dwells, (Psalms 11:4) (Habakkuk 2:20) ;

and praise your name, for your lovingkindness and for your truth ;
which may primarily regard the goodness and grace of God in promising David the kingdom, and his faithfulness in making good the promise, and for both which he was under obligation to praise the name of the Lord; and holds good with respect to all other promises.

And it may also signify the free favour and love of God to his people, which is from everlasting, is the source of all blessings, and is better than life; and the faithfulness of God to himself, his perfections, purposes and promises, council and covenant: it may be rendered, "for your grace, and for your truth" ^F13 , which both come by Christ, (John 1:17) ;

Grace may intend both the doctrine of grace, the Gospel of the grace of God preached by Christ, and the blessings of grace which come through him; as justification, pardon, adoption, sanctification, and eternal life, which are all of grace, and by Christ: and truth also may signify the word of truth, or solid substantial blessings, in distinction from typical ones; or the good things that come by Christ our High Priest, of which the law was only a shadow; and these are all of them things the name of the Lord is to be praised for;

for you have magnified your word above all your name ;
or "above every name of yours" ^F14 ; which Aben Ezra interprets of the glorious name Jehovah; the word God spoke to Moses, the name in which he made himself known to him, and to the Israelites, he had not to their fathers, (Exodus 3:14) (6:3) ; but rather it is to be understood of God's word of promise, and his faithfulness in fulfilling it; which, though not a greater attribute than any other, yet is made more known and more illustrious than the rest; and particularly may regard the promise of the coming of the Messiah, and of the blessings of grace by him; Jarchi interprets it particularly of the pardon of sin.

It may with propriety be applied to Christ, the essential Word, that was made flesh, and dwelt among men; whom God has highly exalted, and not only given him a name above every name of men on earth, but also above any particular name or attribute of his:

``the words of your praise above all your name;'' or "over all your name": everything by which he has made himself known in creation and providence; "you have magnified your word", all being done according to the word said in himself, his decrees and purposes; or declared in his word and promises, whereby he has glorified it.

or however he has magnified him "according" to every name of his ^F15 , it being his will that men should honour the Son as they honour the Father; or "with" ^F16 every name along with each of them; or "besides" ^F17 every name; for all these senses the word will bear. Some render them, as Ben Melech, "you have magnified above all things your name" and "your word"; or, as others, "your name [by] your word" ^F18 ; see (Psalms 8:1) (Psalms 57:10Psalms 57:11) ; The Targum is,

FOOTNOTES:

• F13: So Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.
• F14: (Kmv lk le) "super omne nomen tuum", Cocceius, Michaelis.
• F15: "Secundum omne nomen tuum", Gejerus.
• F16: "Cum toto nomine tuo", Junius & Tremellius.
• F17: "Vel praeter omne nomen tuum", Piscator.
• F18: "Nomen tuum sermone tuo"; so some in Piscator.

In the day when I cried you answered me
When in distress through Saul's persecution, he cried to the Lord, and he immediately answered him, and delivered him out of his troubles; and such immediate answers of prayer are to be remembered with thankfulness: see (Psalms 18:6) (Isaiah 65:24) ;

[and] strengthened me [with] strength in my soul ;
put him good heart and spirit, when before ready to faint; strengthened his heart and grace in it, particularly faith, and drew it forth into lively act and exercise so that he sunk not under the weight of affliction and trouble, but was filled with courage to withstand his enemies, and with strength to do the will and work of God; this is to be understood of inward spiritual strength; see (Ephesians 3:16) .

All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord
Or "let [them] confess", or "praise you" ^F19 ; a wish or prayer. Not only the kings known to David, as Kimchi limits it; or that lived in his days, as Hiram and others; but in the latter day, when they shall come to Zion, the church, and be nursing fathers to it, and shall serve and worship the King Messiah, (Isaiah 49:23) (Isaiah 60:3Isaiah 60:11Isaiah 60:16) (Psalms 72:10Psalms 72:11) ;

when they hear the words of your mouth ;
either the promises of it fulfilled not only with respect to David; but the Messiah, and his church and people, in the latter day, even the glorious things spoken thereof: or the doctrines of the Gospel, which are the words of his mouth, and more desirable than thousands of gold and silver; and which, when kings shall hear so as to understand, they will praise the Lord for them; see (Isaiah 52:15) . The Targum is,

``the words of your praise.''

FOOTNOTES:

• F19: (Kwdwy) "confiteantur tibi", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus.

Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord
Which are all mercy and truth; ways of pleasantness, and paths of peace: so the eunuch went on his way, and in the ways of the Lord rejoicing, (Acts 8:39) ; Or, "they shall sing of the ways of the Lord" ^F20 ; of the excellency, pleasure, and usefulness of them;

for great [is] the glory of the Lord ;
shown in the works of creation; more especially in the person of Christ, and in the glorious work of redemption and salvation by him; and of which there will be a great display throughout the earth in the latter day, by means of the Gospel, the great spread of it, and the multitude of persons converted by it; which will make the ways of the Lord still more pleasant; see (Isaiah 6:3) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: (hwhy ykrdb) "de viis Jehovae", Piscator, Schmidt; so some in Vatablus.