John Gill Commentary Psalms 138:1

"I will give thee thanks with my whole heart: Before the gods will I sing praises unto thee." — Psalms 138:1 (ASV)

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) .

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FOOTNOTES:

• F12: Comment. Ebr. p. 50.