NOTES for Psa 138

If we read the psalm attentively, the thought expressed here that the Lord has exalted His word above every name of His may at first puzzle us. We have already learned that through His name the Lord reveals Himself to us, while through His word He makes His will known. But if we reason in our usual way, a question arises: how can that through which His will is proclaimed be higher than the One from whom it comes?

Here we have evidence of the psalmist drawing near to an important mystery, already partly revealed, but to be formulated later, when the evangelist begins his account with the words ‘In the beginning was the Word’. Yet long before that, the conclusion already suggested itself that if the Lord created the world by His word, this means that the word is one with Him. And if the word is one with the Speaker, then those who listen to the Lord and do His will enter into union with Him. It is therefore not enough to acknowledge God's existence as a piece of information: we need to follow the Lord and live according to His commandments.

When rereading words written through inspiration from above, it is often difficult to grasp their full meaning at once. Those who received such inspiration touched depths they could not have reached through human reason. What, for instance, is the full meaning even of the words ‘You will revive me’? They can be understood figuratively as an expression of hope for the strength and courage the Lord gives in the face of enemies, or we can see in them the psalmist's confidence that the Lord will not let him perish in battle. But if we take these words literally, they can be understood as an expression of faith in the resurrection.