Psalms 138:4

Psa 138:4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth.

Ver. 4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee] Such of them as shall read these psalms of my composing; or otherwise shall hear of thy gracious dealing with me, according to thy promise. Such also as shall hereafter be converted to the faith; for though "Not many mighty, not many noble, are called," 1Co 1:26, yet some are, and these shine in the Church like stars of the first magnitude.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 138:4-5. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee — All the neighbouring kings; or, rather, this is a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, and so the generality of the kings of the earth are intended, according to the prediction, Psa 72:11; All kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him; when they shall hear the words of thy mouth — The gospel preached among them. Yea, they shall sing in the ways — Or, of, or, because of the ways, of the Lord; that is, his wonderful counsel and gracious providences toward themselves and others. For great is — Or, great shall be, the glory of the Lord — At that time the worship and glory of God shall not be confined to one small land, as now it is, but shall be extended to all parts of the world.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. (Psa 138:4) Jehovah, all kings of the earth shall acknowledge thee, when they have heard the sayings of thy mouth. Not merely one king, though that king be David, shall acknowledge, thank, and praise thee, but all others who receive the true religion, when they know what thou hast promised, and especially when they compare the promise and fulfilment, with particular reference to the promise of Messiah, which is described in Scripture as a grand means for the conversion of the nations and the chiefs which represent them. See above, on Psa 68:29; Psa 68:31; Psa 102:15.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

138:4-5 As the Lord’s glory fills the earth, the world’s population must willingly submit to him. Every king (cp. Ps 2) will join the community of praise as they hear the Lord’s ways of truth and love.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

All the world shall confess that thou hast wonderfully preserved me, and performed thy promise.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 4. All the kings of the earth] Of the land: all the neighbouring nations, seeing what is done for us, and looking in vain to find that any human agency was employed in the work, will immediately see that it was thy hand; and consequently, by confessing that it was thou, will give praise to thy name.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Let all kings of the earth praise thee Here he declares that the goodness he had experienced would be extensively known, and the report of it spread over all the world. In saying that even kings had heard the words of God’s mouth, he does not mean to aver that they had been taught in the true religion so as to be prepared for becoming members of the Church, but only that it would be well known everywhere that the reason of his having been preserved in such a wonderful manner was God’s having anointed him king by his commandment. “Sed hoc ubique fore notum, non alia de causa mirabiliter servatum fuisse a Deo, nisi quod ejus mandate unctus fuerat in Regem.” — Lat.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(4, 5) The general sense of these verses is plain, though there are slightly different ways of understanding the expressions. The psalmist imagines that the word or promise, which has been so abundantly fulfilled, will, by its performance, convince all the kings of the earth, and bring them in confession and praise to Jehovah. For a Hebrew the expression “hear the words of Thy mouth,” referring in this instance immediately back to Psa_138:2, was synonymous with “see Thy wonders,” since for them “God spoke and it was done.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. All the kings of the earth shall give thanks unto thee, Jehovah] When the kings of the nations hear of Jehovah’s promises to Israel and His fulfilment of them, they will join in the Psalmist’s thanksgiving. Cp. Psa_68:29 ff.; Psa_102:15-16.

4–6. Jehovah’s faithfulness to His promises will evoke the homage of the world.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord,.... Or "let them confess", or "praise thee" (s); a wish or prayer. Not only the kings known to David, as Kimchi limits it; or that lived in his days, as Hiram and others; but in the latter day, when they shall come to Zion, the church, and be nursing fathers to it, and shall serve and worship the King Messiah, Isa 49:23;

when they hear the words of thy mouth; either the promises of it fulfilled not only with respect to David; but the Messiah, and his church and people, in the latter day, even the glorious things spoken thereof: or the doctrines of the Gospel, which are the words of his mouth, and more desirable than thousands of gold and silver; and which, when kings shall hear so as to understand, they will praise the Lord for them; see Isa 52:15. The Targum is,

"the words of thy praise.''

(s) "confiteantur tibi", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

All the kings of the earth shall praise thee ... - That is, kings, princes, and rulers shall learn the words of promise; shall be made acquainted with the words which thou hast graciously spoken, and with their fulfillment, and shall be led to praise thee. This refers to a time, of which frequent prophetic mention is made in the Scriptures, when kings and rulers shall be converted to the true religion, and when they shall act an important part, by their example and influence, in maintaining and diffusing it. Compare Psa 68:31-32; Isa 49:23.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Either,

1. All neighbouring kings; or,

2. The generality of kings and princes upon earth. And so this is a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, which seems to be confirmed by the next verse, which expresseth their extraordinary joy; and an eminent advancement of God’s glory, which agrees much better to this great occasion, than to that of David’s exaltation to the throne, wherein the other kings of the earth were not much concerned.

The words of thy mouth; either,

1. Thy promises declared unto them by me; or,

2. The gospel preached among them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Kings have usually small care to hear the word of the Lord; but King David feels assured that if they do hear it they will feel its power. A little piety goes a long way in courts; but brighter days are coming, in which rulers will become hearers and worshippers: may the advent of such happy times be hastened. What an assembly! "all the kings of the earth!" What a purpose! Gathered to hear the words of Jehovah's mouth. What a preacher! David himself rehearses the words of Jehovah. What praise! when they all in happy union lift up their songs unto the Lord. Kings are as gods below, and they do well when they worship the God above. The way of conversion for kings is the same as for ourselves: faith to them also cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Happy are those who can cause the word of the Lord to penetrate palaces; for the occupants of thrones are usually the last to know the joyful sounds of the gospel. David, the king, cared for kings' souls, and it will be wise for each man to look first after those who are of his own order. He went to his work of testimony with fall assurance of success: he meant to speak only the words of Jehovah's mouth, and he felt sure that the kings would hear and praise Jehovah.

Ver. 4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee. In a sense sufficiently striking this promise was fulfilled to David, and to the nation of Israel, as surrounding monarchs beheld the wonderful dispensations of divine providence which attended their steps (2Sa 5:11 8:10); but in its completest sense, it shall realize its accomplishment in the future conquests of Messiah, when the princes and potentates of the earth receive his word, learn by divine grace to celebrate the glorious methods of his love, and see in the light of faith the greatness of Jehovah's glory as the God of salvation. "All the kings of the earth" shall yet praise the Lord, and shall hasten with their numerous subjects to hail the triumphs of his grace. John Morison.

Ver. 4.

1. A royal audience.

2. A royal orchestra.

Ver. 4-5.

1. They who hear the words of God will know God.

2. They who know God will praise him, however exalted they may be amongst men: "All the kings, "etc.

3. They who praise God will walk in his ways.

4. They who walk in the ways of the Lord will glorify him, and he will be glorified in them.

G.R.

Psalms 138:5*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4, 5. The kings of the earth shall praise thee—The words give the moral tendency and intent of this wonderful display of divine mercy, and, as a general thing, its ultimate effect—namely, to cause the nations to confess and praise Jehovah. A result to be fully realized only in gospel times through the unfoldings of the great gospel word.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord. The world shall be converted to thy worship when it is seen how promptly and fully thou answerest prayer. (comp. Psa_68:31, 32 102:15) When they hear the words of thy mouth. The promises that thou makest, and thy performance of them.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The kings - A prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles. Hear - The gospel preached among then.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

for they heard When they heard the words of Your mouth: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery,” they acknowledged the words of Your mouth: “I am [the Lord your God]” and “You shall have no [other god].” It is proper to make them first accept the yoke of His kingdom, and then He should levy all His decrees.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.