Psalm 138 - When I called

Read: Psalm 138 vs 1-8

Today we come to Psalm 138. It is another psalm of David and the minute you start reading it you are struck by how this a psalm that looks forward. Verse 1 begins:

‘I will praise you, LORD … I will sing your praise.’

Many many of the psalms speak about what God has done, and in lots of the psalms we see deep foundations being laid for the life of faith as God’s great works in the past are set out and retold. This psalm too anchors itself in God’s ‘unfailing love’ and ‘faithfulness’ (vs 2) but the real focus of David here is on what he has decided about the future direction of his life, and the future response of his heart.

It is a fundamental principle of the life we are called to that the future is unknown. In Genesis God forbids our first parents to eat from the tree of knowledge and in Leviticus God’s people are given stern warnings against seeking out mediums or spiritists with their promise of a realm of knowledge that we are simply not to have. The future is unknown and for the person walking forward in faith it is meant to be unknown. In words from 2 Corinthians 5:7 ‘We live by faith, not by sight.’

Back in Psalm 138 David does not know what the future holds but he has clear sight of the One holding the future and holding him. So, living in a world of much turmoil (turmoil that for David was often very close to home), David can write:

‘Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life.’

The LORD’s ‘love endures forever’ (vs 8) and for David that is enough. He is ‘all in’. He has made his choice. He will praise the LORD and He will keep on singing for as the LORD gives life to him.

Prayer: Lord thank You for the call to walk by faith and not by sight. I will keep on praising You. Lord please keep me on this road and keep me faithful and trusting each new day. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.