Psalms 138:7

Psa 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

Ver. 7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble] Even in the vale of the shadow of death, so that I seem little different from a dead man.

Thou wilt revive me] That is, restore me from so great a death, as 2Co 1:10.

Thou shall stretch forth thine hand] Thou shall interpose thy help between me and them, and save me harmless; as the poets feign their gods did those whom they favoured. Thou shall strike them with thy left hand, and save me with thy right; so Tremellius senseth it.

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_138:7

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me.

Human life

I. The universal law of human life. What is it? It is expressed in one word--walking. Life is a walk, a journey. It is constant action, and constant action onward. Life is never stationary; it is always on the move; it is motion.

1. Constant change of position. Every step puts us in a fresh point of space, and surrounds us with something new in scenery. So with life.

2. Constant approximation to destiny. The grave for the body; retribution for the soul.

II. The saddening probabilities of human life. Life is not only a walk, but a walk often in the midst of trouble. Since the introduction of sin into our world, it has never been a walk of unmingled pleasure. All here meet with trials on the way; but some more than others. Physical--bodily pains and diseases; moral--the conflict of passions, the remorse of conscience, and the dread of death; social--disappointments in business, the treachery of false friends, the corruption of the world, and the bereavement of death.

III. The grand support of human life. Thou wilt revive me.

1. God is an all-sufficient support. He is equal to all our emergencies. He is our refuge and strength, etc. There is no enemy from which He cannot deliver us; there is no trial under which He cannot support us; there is no danger from which lie cannot rescue us. In the fiery furnace, in the surging waters, in the valley of the shadow of death, He is all-sufficient.

2. He is the only effective support. No one else can support you. Put not your trust in princes.

3. He is an available support. Available to all at any time. Call upon Me in the time of trouble and I will deliver you. (Homilist.)

The Christians comfort in the midst of troubles

I. The Christians troubles. They arise from--

1. The world within. An evil heart of unbelief; prone to distrust God, to dishonour God, to wander from God.

2. The world without. Bodily affliction, worldly trials, opposition from the world, etc.

3. The world beneath. Satan distils his venom in secret.

II. The Christians comforter. Though he walks in trouble, he does not walk alone. Though persecuted, he is not forsaken; though cast down, not destroyed.

1. God can enter the inner world and bring comfort there, and spread a banquet within, and open a little paradise (Psa_94:19; Job_35:10; Psa_27:5).

2. God can enable us to meet the world without. So He enabled Jacob to meet Esau; Elijah, Baals priests; David, Goliath.

3. God can effectually subdue the world beneath. Bruise Satan under your feet.

III. The Christians confidence. What it is proved.

1. What He is--God of mercy.

2. What He has done.

3. What He has promised to do. (Evangelist.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 138:7-8. Though I walk in the midst of trouble — That is, be compassed with dangers; thou wilt revive me — Thou wilt cheer my spirit and preserve my life. Thou shalt stretch forth thy hand — Put forth thy almighty power; against the wrath of mine enemies — To oppose and restrain their rage. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me — Will finish that great work of my deliverance and advancement, which he hath undertaken, and carried on hitherto. Thy mercy endureth for ever — It is not inconstant and changeable, as men’s affections are, but everlasting. And this may be either produced as a proof of the foregoing assertion, The Lord will perfect, &c. — Or, as an argument to enforce the following petition. Forsake not — Do not withdraw thy presence from me, who am thy creature, but continue to support and save me. Or, leave not, or, do not desist from, or, cease to carry on, as תרŠ, rather signifies, the work, namely of my salvation, which is thus far advanced, not by any human help, but by thy power and providence.

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

7. (Psa 138:7) If Ig o through the midst of distress, thou wilt save (or make) me alive; upon the wrath of my enemies thou wilt stretch forth thy hand, and save me (with) thy right hand. The first clause resembles that of Psa 23:4. Go through or walk in the midst of trouble. To quicken or revive, as in Psa 30:3; Psa 71:20. Upon the wrath, implying motion from above, which significant and graphic than against implying common version of the last words (and thy right hand shall save me) is equally grammatical, and found in all the ancient versions; but the other is recommended by its ascribing the deliverance directly to God, and by the analogy of Psa 60:5, where hand is adverbially construed with the same verb. See also Psa 17:14.

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

Verse 7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble] I have had such experience of thy mercy, that let me fall into whatsoever trouble I may, yet I will trust in thee. Thou wilt quicken me, though I were ready to die; and thou wilt deliver me from the wrath of my enemies.

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

7. Should I walk in the midst of trouble, etc. Here David declares the sense in which he looked flint God would act the part of his preserver — by giving him life from the dead, were that necessary. The passage is well deserving our attention for by nature we are so delicately averse to suffering as to wish that we might all live safely beyond shot of its arrows, and shrink from close contact with the fear of death, as something altogether intolerable. On the slightest approach of danger we are immoderately afraid, as if our emergencies precluded the hope of Divine deliverance. This is faith’s true office, to see life in the midst of death, and to trust the mercy of God — not as that which will procure us universal exemption from evil, but as that which will quicken us in the midst of death every moment of our lives; for God humbles his children under various trials, that his defense of them may be the more remarkable, and that he may show himself to be their deliverer, as well as their preserver. In the world believers are constantly exposed to enemies, and David asserts, that he will be safe under God’s protection from all their machinations. He declares his hope of life to lie in this, that the hand of God was stretched out for his help, that hand which he knew to be invincible, and victorious over every foe. And from all this we are taught, that it is God’s method to exercise his children with a continual conflict, that, having one foot as it were in the grave, they may flee with alarm to hide themselves under his wings, where they malt abide in peace. Some translate the particle אף, aph, also, instead of anger, reading — thou wilt also extend over mine; enemies, etc. But I have followed the more commonly received sense, as both fuller and more natural.

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.

(7) This verse echoes Psa_23:4; Psa_30:3; Psa_71:20.

Against the wrath.—Or perhaps, upon the wrath.

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

7. wilt revive me] Or, preserve me alive. Cp. Psa_71:20; Psa_119:25 &c.; Psa_143:11.

thou shalt stretch forth thine hand] A common figure for the exertion of Divine power to help or punish. Cp. Psa_144:7; Exo_3:20; Exo_9:15.

thy right hand &c.] Cp. Psa_17:7; Psa_139:10.

7, 8. Though fresh troubles may still await Israel, Jehovah will not fail to carry out His purposes for them.

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.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,.... Trouble attends the best of men; both outward and inward trouble, from sin, Satan, and the world; yea, they are in the midst of it, surrounded with it; and it is a way in which they walk through this world, and enter the kingdom of heaven; it is continued unto them; it is a long walk, and yet will have an end; see Psa 23:4;

thou wilt revive me; preserve his life amidst all his troubles, support him under them, make him cheerful and fearless; revive his work of grace in him, quicken him to the lively exercise of grace, and fervent discharge of duty: this the Lord does by his gracious presence, by the discoveries of his love, and by the application of precious promises;

thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies; to stop and restrain it; which he can easily do, when most violent and outrageous, Psa 76:10. Or, "against the nose of mine enemies" (w); strike them on the nose, as men do unruly horses to stop them: or give a slap on their face with the left hand, as Arama observes, the right being after mentioned;

and thy right hand shall save me; for that has saving strength in it, Psa 20:6. This may be understood of Christ, who is not only the man of his right hand, but is the right hand of his righteousness; by whom he saves his people with a spiritual and eternal salvation, as well as with a temporal one, Isa 41:10.

(w) "super nasum inimicorum meorum", Montanus, Tigurine version; so Gussetius; "in faciem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

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

Though I walk in the midst of trouble - Though I am in the low vale of sorrow, I shall not be overlooked or forgotten. This implies that the writer was then in trouble, and it expresses the conviction that whenever he should be in trouble God would remember him, and give him life and strength.

Thou wilt revive me - Thou wilt cause me to live; thou wilt give me life. Psa 30:3. Compare the notes at Psa 71:20. The meaning is, Thou wilt give me life - vigor - strength - to bear the trouble.

Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand - As one does when he is about to inflict a blow.

Against the wrath of mine enemies ... - In reference to all their attempts to destroy me. Thou wilt meet their wrath by thy power, and I shall be safe.

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

Walk in the midst of trouble, i.e. be encompassed with dangers.

Thou wilt revive me; thou wilt cheer my spirit, and preserve my life.

Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand; put forth thy almighty power, to oppose and restrain their rage, and to save me from them, as it follows.

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

Ver. 7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me. If I am walking there now, or shall be doing so in years to come, I have no cause for fear; for God is with me, and will give me new life. When we are somewhat in trouble it is bad enough, but it is worse to penetrate into the centre of that dark continent and traverse its midst: yet in such a case the believer makes progress, for he walks; he keeps to a quiet pace, for he does no more than walk; and he is not without the best of company, for his God is near to pour fresh life into him. It is a happy circumstance that, if God be away at any other time, yet he is pledged to be with us in trying hours: "when thou passest through the rivers I will be with thee." He is in a blessed condition who can confidently use the language of David, "thou wilt revive me." He shall not make his boast of God in vain: he shall be kept alive, and made more alive than ever. How often has the Lord quickened us by our sorrows! Are they not his readiest means of exciting to fulness of energy the holy life which dwells within us? If we receive reviving, we need not regret affliction. When God revives us, trouble will never harm us.

Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. This is the fact which would revive fainting David. Our foes fall when the Lord comes to deal with them; he makes short work of the enemies of his people, with one hand he routs them. His wrath soon quenches their wrath; his hand stays their hand. Adversaries may be many, and malicious, and mighty; but our glorious Defender has only to stretch out his arm and their armies vanish. The sweet singer rehearses his assurance of salvation, and sings of it in the ears of the Lord, addressing him with this confident language. He will be saved, saved dexterously, decidedly, divinely; he has no doubt about it. God's right hand cannot forget its cunning; Jerusalem is his chief joy, and he will defend his own elect.

Ver. 7. Though a walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me. So as to the three youths in the fiery furnace, their persecutor, Nebuchadnezzar, said, "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Andrew Robert Fausset.

Ver. 7. In the midst of trouble thou wilt revive me. The wisdom of God is seen in helping in desperate cases. God loves to show his wisdom when human help and wisdom fail. Exquisite lawyers love to wrestle with niceties and difficulties in the law, to show their skill the more. God's wisdom is never at a loss; but when providences are darkest, then the morning star of deliverance appears. Sometimes God melts away the spirits of his enemies. Jos 2:24. Sometimes he finds them other work to do, and sounds a retreat to them, as he did to Saul when he was pursuing David. "The Philistines are in the land." "In the mount God will be seen." When the church seems to be upon the altar, her peace and liberty ready to be sacrificed, then the angel comes. Thomas Watson.

Ver. 7. Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand, etc. Thou shalt interpose thine help betwixt me and them, and save me harmless; as the poets feign their gods did those whom they favoured. Thou shalt strike them with thy left hand, and save me with thy right; so Tremellius senses it. John Trapp.

Ver. 7. (first clause).

1. The Psalmist's dismal excursion: walking "in the midst of trouble"; this is not a spectator, but one assailed. Troublespersonal, social, ecclesiastical, national.

2. His cheering anticipationof revival, defence, deliverance.

W.J.

Ver. 7.

1. Good men are sometimes in the midst of troubles: these are many, and continue long.

2. They interfere not with their progress. They "walk in the midst" of them; faint, yet pursuing; sometimes they "run with patience", etc.

3. They have comfort in them: "Though I walk", etc., "thou wilt revive me."

4. They are benefited by them.

a) Their enemies are overthrown.

b) Their deliverance is complete.

G.R.

Ver. 7. The child of God often revived out of trouble; more frequently in trouble; not seldom through trouble. Delivered from, sustained in, sanctified through, trouble.

A.G.B.

Ver. 7. An incident of the road to the city.

1. Pilgrims beset by thieves and struck down.

2. The arrival of Great heart and flight of the enemy.

3. The flask to the lips: "thou wilt revive me." Sweet awakening to know the beauty of his face and strength of his hand!

W.B.H.

Ver. 7. (third clause). Right hand salvation.

1. It shall be wrought of God.

2. He shall throw his strength into the deed.

3. His utmost dexterity shall be displayed.

Psalms 138:8*

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

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me. (comp. Psa_23:4) David "walked in the midst of trouble" during the greater part of his life. When the persecution of Saul was over, he had trouble from foreign enemies; (2Sa 5-12) when these were subdued, his domestic troubles began. (2Sa 13-19 1Ki 5:53) God, however, from time to time "gave him a reviving." Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies. (comp. Psa_3:7 Psa_9:3-6 Psa_18:14-17, etc.) What God had so often done for him, David is confident that he will do again. He will break the power of his enemies, and deliver him from their machinations. And thy right hand. The symbol of strength. Shall save me; or, "deliver me". (comp. Psa_18:35 Psa_60:5 Psa_63:8 Psa_108:6, etc.)

Walking in trouble.

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble." This suggests a particular phase of human experience. Sometimes troubles come upon us, crash after crash, until we are, like Job, utterly crushed; and can but clothe our selves with sackcloth, and sit in ashes. But the text indicates a more frequent, if less readily recognized, experience. The tone is gentler; there is no crashing of sudden calamity, no bursting of wild and desolating storms. The man is moving to and fro in the ordinary scenes of life, meeting his obligations and doing his duties. But everywhere things seem to go wrong; on all sides trouble, anxiety, worry, seem to attend him. He cannot get free night or day. These dog his steps continually. He walks in the midst of trouble. How true to universal experience all this is!

I WALKING IN TROUBLE IS A MOST DEPRESSING EXPERIENCE. The constant wearing produces a fixed weariness; the constant worry produces a fixed fretfulness; the constant fear of some new anxiety produces a fixed hopelessness. Because nothing goes right, we are too ready to say nothing ever will go right. And then the heart is taken out of us; we become unfitted for battling with difficulty, and so largely increase our troubles; we make them for ourselves, as well as have them made for us. And those we make for ourselves are always the worst to deal with. There is one striking illustration of this depressed mood in the life of David. He walked in the midst of various and well-nigh overwhelming troubles, and in a hopelessness that was both pitiful and sinful, he exclaimed, "I shall now one day perish by the hand of Saul!" It may further be shown that such depressed moods, responsive to surrounding worry, very much depend on natural disposition, especially on that nervous irritability which can always see, or expect, evil.

II WALKING IN TROUBLE MAKES US CRY FOR DIVINE REVIVING. "Thou wilt revive me." The state of mind induced by the circumstances is much more important in the sight of God than the circumstances. And this the good man recognizes. His hope is in God"s soul-cheering, God"s inward reviving, God"s keeping from despair, and freshening trust and hope. And God does lead the walker out "into a large place," in his own good time. R.T.

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

Out of these experiences-so important for all mankind - of David, who has been exalted by passing through humiliation, there arise from him confident hopes concerning the future. The beginning of this strophe calls Psa 23:4 to mind. Though his way may lead through the midst of heart - oppressing trouble, Jahve will loose these bands of death and quicken him afresh (חיּה as in Psa 30:4; Psa 71:20, and frequently). Though his enemies may rage, Jahve will stretch forth His hand threateningly and tranquillizingly over their wrath, and His right hand will save him. ימינך is the subject according to Psa 139:10 and other passages, and not (for why should it be supposed to be this?) accus. instrumenti (vid., Psa 60:7). In Psa 138:8 יגמר is intended just as in Psa 57:3 : the word begun He will carry out, ἐπιτελεῖν (Phi 1:6); and בּעדי (according to its meaning, properly: covering me) is the same as עלי in that passage (cf. Psa 13:6; 142:8). The pledge of this completion is Jahve's everlasting mercy, which will not rest until the promise is become perfect truth and reality. Thus, therefore, He will not leave, forsake the works of His hands (vid., Psa 90:16.), i.e., as Hengstenberg correctly explains, everything that He has hitherto accomplished for David, from his deliverance out of the hands of Saul down to the bestowment of the promise - He will not let one of His works stand still, and least of all one that has been so gloriously begun. הרפּה (whence תּרף) signifies to slacken, to leave slack, i.e., leave uncarried out, to leave to itself, as in Neh 6:3. אל expresses a negation with a measure of inward excitement.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

walk

live, exist

in the middle of danger

Being in danger is spoken of as being in a physical place. (See: Metaphor)

you will reach out with your hand against the anger of my enemies

God is spoken of as if he will strike the enemies with his hand. (See: Metaphor)

anger of my enemies

The abstract noun "anger" can be stated as "angry." AT: "my enemies, who are angry" (See: Abstract Nouns)

your covenant faithfulness, Yahweh, endures forever

The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be translated with an adjective. AT: "you, Yahweh, remain faithful to your covenant forever" (See: Abstract Nouns)

the ones whom your hands have made

This expression probably refers to the nation of Israel.

your hands have made

God is spoken of as if he had physically used hands to create. AT: "you have created" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

walk

life

hand

anger

adversary

right hand

save

eternity

forsake

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.