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Psalm 138:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 138:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 138[a]
Thanksgiving for God’s Favor
1 Of David.
I offer you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;[b]
before the “gods” I sing your praise.
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and I praise your name[c]
for your kindness and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
3 On the day I cried out, you answered me
and granted strength to my spirit.
Footnotes
- Psalm 138:1 This psalm begins a collection of eight Davidic psalms (Pss 138–145). The believer, representing the people of Israel, knows from experience the God who saves the human race from its distress. He does not want to keep this conviction for himself but to share it with all peoples, all human beings. A deep faith in a universal plan of the Lord illumines this beautiful thanksgiving prayer.
We can pray this psalm keeping in mind the various victories that God empowers his Church to achieve against her material and spiritual enemies. These enable us to bless our Savior and to indicate the praise offered to him by earthly powers who witness and suffer under these victories. - Psalm 138:1 The psalmist stresses that praise belongs to the Lord alone and not to the gods of the nations, whose kings will have to submit to the Lord. After the word “heart” the Greek adds another line: “for you have heard the words of my mouth,” which is not in the Hebrew; it seems to have been a variant of verse 4b accidently inserted here. Heart: see note on Ps 4:8. Gods: the Hebrew is elohim, which is the word for “God,” “gods,” and sometimes “godlike beings,” such as the angels. The Septuagint and Vulgate have “angels” (see Ps 8:6); other versions, “kings” or “judges.”
- Psalm 138:2 Name: see note on Ps 5:12. Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5. Your word: i.e., God’s promise. By his faithfulness to his promise, God has made his name renowned.
