Psalms 138

I will give thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before the gods. I will bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth. For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name. On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul. 

What does one do when they don’t feel like having their morning devotions?  

• Sleep an extra 30 minutes beyond your alarm. Check! 

• Curse the weakness of your flesh. Done! 
• Piddle around with email. Check! 
• Check out the news websites. Ok, Ok, Ok, I’ll open my Bible! 

A long time ago my Youth Pastor used to say, “when you don’t feel like having your Quiet Time, that’s probably when you need it the most.” So, this morning I forced myself to do it. I opened Acts 10 and it wasn’t doing much for me. When this happens, I usually turn to Psalms. So, I read psalms 138. What a blessing! 

David most likely wrote this shortly after God gave him the Davidic Covenant. So, after reading Psalms 138, I went to 2 Samuel 7 where the prophet Nathan spoke GOD’S word to David and blessed him with the Davidic covenant. The Davidic covenant was the promise of God to David of blessings upon blessings to him and to his heirs. God told David that He took him from being a shepherd boy to being the ruling king of Israel; virtually, the ruling king of the world. Beyond that, through David’s heirs, God would establish a kingdom to endure FOREVER! This is the promise of the Messiah as the descendent of David. 

This is a mind-blowing revelation! 

David responds to this overwhelming blessing with, 

“Who am I, O Lord God and what is my house that you have brought me this far? And yet, this was insignificant to Your eyes, O Lord God, for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future…Again, what more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord God! For the sake of Your word and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your servant know.“ 2 Samuel 7:18-21 

Back to Psalms 38. In response to the revelation of the Davidic Covenant, David pens this Psalm of thanksgiving for the Lord’s favor. David basically won the super lotto of God’s favor. His odds were 1 in a trillion and he won. But there’s a covenant that is greater than the David Covenant. The fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. And that’s the New Covenant. Under the New Covenant, You and I have won the super, super, super lottery of God’s favor. 

Through the New Covenant, ushered in through Jesus, we believe and receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heaven places in Christ, Ephesians 1:3ff. The New Covenant that God has given to you and me is a forever covenant of favor and blessings. 

Like David, we should say, who am I that I should be so favored by God? Like David, we should say, “I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth. The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting.” Amen 

I’m glad I opened my Bible this morning!