Psalms 138:2 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Psalms 138:2
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
to depress · verb, hithpael imperfect, 1st person common singular
holy
קָדְשְׁךָ֡kod.she.cha
H6944
a sacred place or thing · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
temple
הֵיכַ֪לhei.Khal
H1964
a large public building · noun, common masculine singular construct
praise
וְא֘וֹדֶ֤הve.'o.Deh
H3034
physically · conjunction + verb, hiphil, 1st person common singular
name
שְׁמֶ֗ךָshe.Me.kha
H8034
an appellation · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
lovingkindness
חַסְדְּךָ֥chas.de.Kha
H2617
kindness · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
truth
אֲמִתֶּ֑ךָ'a.mi.Te.kha
H571
stability · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
magnified
הִגְדַּ֥לְתָּhig.Dal.ta
H1431
to be (causatively make) large (in various senses · verb, hiphil perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
word
אִמְרָתֶֽךָ'im.ra.Te.kha
H565
something said · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
name
שִׁ֝מְךָ֗Shim.Kha
H8034
an appellation · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Psalms 56:10 In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word.
Isaiah 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Psalms 56:4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
1 Kings 8:29-30 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that tho…
Psalms 5:7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
Psalms 28:2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 138:1-5
I. How he would praise God, compare Psa 111:1. 1. He will praise him with sincerity and zeal - "With my heart, with my whole heart, with that which is within me and with all that is within me, with uprightness of intention and fervency of affection, inward impressions agreeing with outward expressions." 2. With freedom and boldness: Before the gods will I sing praise unto thee, before the princes, and judges, and great men, either those of other nations that visited him or those of his own nation that attended on him, even in their presence. He will not only praise God with his heart, which we may do by pious ejaculations in any company, but will sing praise if there be occasion. Note, Prais…
I will worship towards thy 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; 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; 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,…
Psalm 138:1-5
1. I will praise thee [189] with my whole heart, before the gods [190] will I sing psalms to thee. 2. I will worship thee towards the temple of thy holiness, and sing unto thy name for thy mercy and for thy truth; for thou hast magnified thy name above all things by thy word. 3. In the day when I cried to thee then thou answeredst me, and hast abundantly ministered strength to me in my soul. 4. Let all kings of the earth praise thee, O Jehovah! because they have heard the words of thy mouth. 5. And let theta sing in [191] the walls of Jehovah, for great is the glory of Jehovah.
1. I will praise thee with my whole heart As David had been honored to receive distinguishing marks…
The Church Fathers
Upon your mercy and your truth. Let the sinner hear "mercy," but let the just and proud man hear "truth."
I will worship toward your holy temple. If this is the temple which now is seen to be deserted, in which one ought to worship: then the Jews ought not to worship, since the temple has been overthrown. But by "temple" he means the holy and heavenly Jerusalem.
"I will worship toward Your holy Temple" [Psalm 138:2]. What holy Temple? That where we shall dwell, where we shall worship. For we hasten that we may adore. Our heart is pregnant and comes to the birth, and seeks where it may bring forth. What is the place where God is to be worshipped?..."The Temple of God is holy," says the Apostle, "which Temple you are." [1 Corinthians 3:17] But assuredly, as is manifest, God dwells in the Angels. Therefore when our joy, being in spiritual things, not in earthly, takes up a song to God, to sing before the Angels, that very assembly of Angels is the Temple of God, we worship toward God's Temple. There is a Church below, there is a Church above also; the Church below, in all the faithful; the Church above, in all the Angels. But the God of Angels came down to the Church below, and Angels ministered to Him on earth, [Matthew 4:11] while He ministered to us; for, "I came not," says He, "to be ministered unto, but to minister." [Matthew 20:28] ...The Lord of Angels died for man. Therefore, "I will worship toward Your holy Temple;" I mean, not the temple made with hands, but that which You have made for Yourself.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Loving-Kindness Of God, The · Praise God for — Praise God for
Praise · Is due to God on account of: His loving-kindness and truth — Is due to God on account of: His loving-kindness and truth
Truth Of God, The · We should: Magnify — We should: Magnify
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The poet will give thanks to Him, whom he means without mentioning Him by name, for His mercy, i.e., His anticipating, condescending love, and for His truth, i.e., truthfulness and faithfulness, and more definitely for having magnified His promise (אמרה) above all His Name, i.e., that He has given a promise which infinitely surpasses everything by which He has hitherto established a name and memorial for Himself (על־כּל־שׁמך, with ō instead of ŏ, an anomaly that is noted by the Masora, vid., Baer's Psalterium, p. 133). If the promise by the mouth of Nathan (2 Sam. 7) is meant, then we may compare Sa2 7:21. גּדל, גּדול, גּדלּה are repeated in that promise and its echo coming from the heart…
Pss 138–145 In this final collection of psalms of David, praise and wisdom psalms (Pss 138–139, 145) form a frame around five poems of lament (Pss 140–144).
Ps 138 In this wisdom psalm, the Lord is presented as the God of gods. He rescued his people and has a perfect plan for them as individuals. The nations will join Israel in glorifying God.
138:1-3 The Lord receives praise before the gods of the nations.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 138:2
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
I will worship toward thy holy temple, or the place of God's dwelling, where the ark abode. He would worship God in God's own way. The Lord had ordained a centre of unity, a place of sacrifice, a house of his indwelling; and David accepted the way of worship enjoined by revelation. Even so, the true hearted believer of these days must not fall into the will worship of superstition, or the wild worship of scepticism, but reverently worship as the Lord himself prescribes. The idol gods had their temples; but David averts his glance from them…
