“I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” Psalm 138:1-2.
“I will praise You with my whole heart…” this psalm was written by King David who reigned about 1010 to 970 B.C.
King David was known as a man after God’s own heart (see Acts 13:22), because of this it is important to consider the depth of these words, “praise You with my whole heart”. Too many of us, myself included, say, “Praise You Lord!” not from the heart but with the lips, because that is what we are supposed to say.
True praise for God comes from life, meditating on His word, carefully considering the things He has done in your life, seeing how big God really is through careful study of the Scriptures, these things will fill you with heartfelt praise.
“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” Psalm 9:1-2.
“I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You.” Let us now examine the second half of this sentence, “…before the gods I will sing praises to You.”
David is saying here that our God is above all gods and that he, David holds all the idols in contempt as do all who love the Lord God – even at their own peril.
“ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Daniel 3:14-25.
It takes a lot to stand before men and say, “I serve God in Christ Jesus and Him only, I will not bow the knee to any other!” We say these words, but how many will have the courage to do them.
Even hardened men like Peter, a fisherman who faced many perils of the sea can overestimate their abilities.
“Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.’” John 13:37.
And as the Lord told him, he denied Jesus 3 times before the rooster crowed that morning.
“I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” Psalm 138:2.
The second verse in our study describes true worship as exemplified by King David.
David first tells us that he faced the location of the temple which had not been built yet because that honor was given to King David’s son King Solomon who reigned from 970-930 B.C.
Solomon, four years into his reign began to build the temple which took seven years to complete.
What King David referred to as the temple was the tabernacle which Moses, centuries earlier, had built in the wilderness, see Exodus 35:4-35. This same tabernacle was then carried into the land and erected there.
David then goes on to describe true worship, “…and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth…” true worship begins with heartfelt praise for who God is.
God’s glory is who He is, consider His stupefying power in holding His creation together, His brilliance in creating the atom and the laws that govern them and all of creation, His tender mercies in giving all of this to us without charge. It is mankind and the sin nature that has robbed us of things that were given to us free of charge.
, “…and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness…” can you give God praise for His lovingkindness amidst all the chaos that may have come into your life over the years?
It is easy to forget God when you are drowning, but you must cry out to God, call to Him as you reach out for a hand to help you out of the raging swells pulling you under.
I was once unemployed for such a long time that I was in complete despair, when I hit bottom the Lord reached out and gave me a job.
It was possibly the worst job I have ever had, but the work was honorable, pay was good and I learned a lot about godly discipline. God in His lovingkindness gave me the job I needed, not the one I wanted.
Consider the good and sometimes the strange things in your life as you praise God for His righteousness. God is good. God is good all the time!
“The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory. Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods.” Psalm 97:6-7.
“…and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth…” “Your truth”, I am so sick of the lies that politicians tell, the media tells, even the half mad busybodies, and rioters who are paid to lie about Israel, illegal aliens, Iran and so-on. Not to mention the false podcasters who push the worst lies to confuse Americans even more.
The people who spread these lies are wicked demon energized men and women who cannot speak the truth because Satan’s intent is to use these useful idiots to destroy America like they are now doing to the rest of the world. As for their reward:
“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation21:8.
God’s word is truth because it tells us all things as they really are.
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17:17.
God’s word sanctifies, sets us apart, by showing us who He is and by contrast who we are. God’s word, the Bible is so important to us that we are told:
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
This message is so important that God has put His word above His name:
“…Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” Psalm 138:2b.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Luke 21:33.
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24.
Psalm 138:1-2 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 5-11-26 ck.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.