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Passage Research

Psalm 138 — Sermon Preparation

Below is a research summary for Psalm 138, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.

8
verses
76 / 58
Hebrew words / lemmas
11
classic sermon excerpts
5
preachers & commentators

Psalm 138 in the Hebrew

Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.

Hebrew Transliteration Strong's Count Glosses
יָדָה yâdâh H3034 3 throw, revere
חֶסֶד cheçed H2617 2 kindness, piety
שֵׁם shêm H8034 2 appellation, honor
יָד yâd H3027 2 hand, open
רָהַב râhab H7292 1 urge, importune
גָּמַר gâmar H1584 1 end
מֶרְחָק merchâq H4801 1 remoteness, distant

How preachers through history handled this text

11 public-domain excerpts on Psalm 138, from the church fathers to the Puritans.

Spurgeon 4 Matthew Henry 3 Gregory the Great 2 Alexander MacLaren 1 John Wesley 1

“It does not appear, nor is it material to enquire, upon what occasion David penned this psalm; but in it, I. He looks back with thankfulness upon the experiences he had had of God's goodness to him, ver. 1-3. II. He looks forward with comfort, in hopes, 1. That others would go on to praise God like him, ver. 4, 5. 2. That God would go on to do good to him, ver. 6-8. In singing this psalm we must in like manner devote ourselves to God's praise and glory and repose ourselves in his power and goodness. Grateful Praise. A psalm of David. …”

— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 3 (Job to Song of Solomon), on Psalm 138:1–30 (Public Domain)

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