Friday, June 28, 2024
A Thankful Heart – Psalm 138 Submitted by Kay Crumley
Why are we to be thankful? You may ask how you can be thankful while in the circumstances that you’re currently facing. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to be joyful in all circumstances and to pray continually. Again, in Philippians 4:4 he tells us to be joyful always because we belong to the Lord. Those who are thankful find joy even in the most difficult circumstances. We find in Psalm 138 that David is declaring his thanks to God. We can be thankful because of who God is, His character, when we are confident that His promises apply to us. That’s the assurance that Christ followers always have. However, we can become discouraged because of our circumstances just as Peter did when the disciples thought they would be drowned in the storm, but they saw Jesus was walking on the water and He calmed the storm. Peter wanted to go to Him, and he too was able to walk on the water until he lost his focus on Jesus and began to sink. We can have a thankful heart filled with joy if our attention is on Him and not our circumstances.
David is declaring his thankfulness in the first three verses and lists the reasons for that heart of thanks. God is to be praised because His love is constant, He is the God of truth, His promises never fail, and He hears and answers our prayers. That is true for us just as it was for David. Then we can have our strength renewed by our Heavenly Father.
1 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings.
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your constant love and truth.
You have exalted Your name
and Your promise above everything else.
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You increased strength within me.
Then David lists all those who do or will give thanks to the Lord. The kings will learn about His promises and sing praises to Him. Even though these are people who have great earthly power, they will humble themselves to the Lord of Lords. We must recognize who God is and what our relationship is to Him. He is all-powerful, we must accept that and humble ourselves to Him. The final line of verse six is why we must humble ourselves. God knows those who are filled with pride, haughty, and He doesn’t come near to them. We don’t want to have distance between us and God because of our selfishness and pride.
4 All the kings on earth will give You thanks, Lord,
when they hear what You have promised.
5 They will sing of the Lord’s ways,
for the Lord’s glory is great.
6 Though the Lord is exalted,
He takes note of the humble;
but He knows the haughty from a distance.
David ends this passage as he began it. He is again praising God for what He has done for him. God protected him from danger and extended His right hand to save him just as we saw Jesus save Peter from drowning in the sea when he took his eyes off Him. He gives us purpose that we are to fulfill as we live a life of obedience and service to Him.
7 If I walk into the thick of danger,
You will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.
You will extend Your hand;
Your right hand will save me.
8 The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.
Lord, Your love is eternal;
do not abandon the work of Your hands.
God’s love for us is eternal and He will not abandon us. Isaiah 49:16, one of my favorite verses, Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me. The Amplified version says I have inscribed a picture of you in the palm of my hands. He will never leave us or forsake us. We are His eternally because of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sin. God saves all those who repent, believe, and follow Jesus.
Therefore, we have reason to be thankful, regardless of the difficulties we may be facing. Our heart of gratitude leads to joy. We should have joy in our hearts because of who God our Father is every day of our lives.
