The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever--do not abandon the works of Your hands. The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me.This phrase emphasizes God's sovereignty and faithfulness in completing His divine plan for each individual. The concept of God having a purpose for each person is echoed in Jeremiah 29:11, where God declares His plans for welfare and hope. The assurance that God will fulfill His purpose is rooted in His omnipotence and omniscience, as seen throughout Scripture. The life of Joseph in Genesis is a testament to God's ability to bring His purposes to fruition despite human opposition. This phrase also reflects the personal relationship between the believer and God, highlighting trust in His divine will. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever—
The enduring nature of God's loving devotion, or "hesed" in Hebrew, is a central theme in the Old Testament. This covenantal love is steadfast and unwavering, as seen in God's relationship with Israel. The phrase underscores the eternal aspect of God's love, which is not contingent on human actions. This is further illustrated in Lamentations 3:22-23, where God's mercies are described as new every morning. The concept of eternal loving devotion is fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus Christ, whose sacrificial love offers eternal life to believers. do not abandon the works of Your hands.
This plea for God not to abandon His creation reflects a deep reliance on His continued presence and guidance. The "works of Your hands" can be understood as both the individual believer and the broader creation. In Genesis, God is depicted as the Creator who intimately forms humanity. The request for God not to abandon His works is a call for His sustaining grace and protection. This echoes the promise in Philippians 1:6, where Paul assures believers that God will complete the good work He began in them. The phrase also resonates with the assurance of God's faithfulness in Psalm 121, where He is described as the keeper of Israel who neither slumbers nor sleeps. Persons / Places / Events 1. DavidTraditionally attributed as the author of Psalm 138, David is expressing his trust in God's enduring love and purpose for his life. 2. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal faithfulness and commitment to His people. 3. The Works of Your HandsRefers to God's creation and His ongoing work in the lives of His people, highlighting His role as Creator and Sustainer. Teaching Points God's Purpose is Personal and IntentionalGod has a specific purpose for each of His children, and He is committed to fulfilling it. Believers can trust that their lives are not random but are part of God's divine plan. Enduring Loving DevotionThe Hebrew word for "loving devotion" (chesed) signifies steadfast love and mercy. God's love is unwavering and eternal, providing a foundation of security for believers. Trust in God's FaithfulnessEven when circumstances seem uncertain, believers can rely on God's faithfulness. He will not abandon the work He has started in their lives. Active Participation in God's WorkWhile God is the one who fulfills His purpose, believers are called to actively participate in His work, aligning their lives with His will and purposes. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding God's purpose for your life influence your daily decisions and priorities? 2. In what ways can you actively participate in the "works of God's hands" in your community or church? 3. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's enduring loving devotion. How did it impact your faith journey? 4. How can the assurance of God's faithfulness in Psalm 138:8 help you navigate challenging times? 5. Compare Psalm 138:8 with Philippians 1:6. How do both scriptures encourage you to trust in God's ongoing work in your life? Connections to Other Scriptures Philippians 1:6This verse echoes the assurance that God, who began a good work in believers, will carry it on to completion, similar to the promise in Psalm 138:8. Jeremiah 29:11This passage speaks of God's plans for His people, plans to prosper and not to harm, aligning with the theme of God fulfilling His purpose. Ephesians 2:10This verse describes believers as God's workmanship, created for good works, which ties into the idea of God not abandoning the works of His hands. People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Abandon, Accomplish, Age, Chief, Complete, Concerneth, Concerns, David, Endures, Endureth, Eternal, Everlasting, Fall, Forever, Forsake, Fulfil, Fulfill, Hands, Kindness, Love, Loving, Lovingkindness, Loving-kindness, Mercy, Musician, O, Perfect, Psalm, Purpose, Steadfast, WorksDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 138:8 6708 predestination
8125 guidance, promise
8441 goals Psalm 138:7-8 1265 hand of God Library Faith in Perfection
In the opening, I must remark that this is not the heritage of all mankind. The word, "me," in the text, cannot be appropriated by any man, unless he, in some respects, resembles the character of David, who penned this psalm. The text, however, itself, is its own guard. If you look at it, you will see that there is in its bowels a full description of a true Christian. I will ask you three questions suggested by the words themselves, and according to your answer to these three questions, shall be …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859Question of the Contemplative Life
I. Is the Contemplative Life wholly confined to the Intellect, or does the Will enter into it? S. Thomas, On the Beatific Vision, I., xii. 7 ad 3m II. Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life? S. Augustine, Of the City of God, xix. 19 III. Does the Contemplative Life comprise many Acts? S. Augustine, Of the Perfection of Human Righteousness, viii. 18 " Ep., cxxx. ad probam IV. Does the Contemplative Life consist solely in the Contemplation of God, or in the Consideration …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life Epistle Xlvii. To Dominicus, Bishop.
To Dominicus, Bishop. Gregory to Dominicus, Bishop of Carthage [1454] . We have received with the utmost gratification the letters of your Fraternity, which have reached us somewhat late by the hands of Donatus and Quodvultdeus, our most reverend brethren and fellow-bishops, and also Victor the deacon with Agilegius the notary. And though we thought that we had suffered loss from the tardiness of their coming, yet we find gain from their more abundant charity; seeing that from this delay in point …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great The Coming Revival
"Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"--PS. lxxxv. 6. "O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years."--HAB. iii. 2. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thy right hand shall save me."--PS. cxxxviii. 7. "I dwell with him that is of a humble and contrite heart, to revive the heart of the contrite ones."--ISA. lvii. 15. "Come, and let us return to the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us. He will revive us."--HOS. vi. 1, 2. The Coming …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession Forasmuch as Each Man is a Part of the Human Race...
1. Forasmuch as each man is a part of the human race, and human nature is something social, and hath for a great and natural good, the power also of friendship; on this account God willed to create all men out of one, in order that they might be held in their society not only by likeness of kind, but also by bond of kindred. Therefore the first natural bond of human society is man and wife. Nor did God create these each by himself, and join them together as alien by birth: but He created the one …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage Prayer Out of the Deep.
Hear my prayer, O God; and hide not Thyself from my petition. Take heed unto me and hear me; how I mourn in my prayer and am vexed.--Psalm iv. 1, 2. In my trouble I will call upon the Lord, and complain unto my God; so shall He hear my voice out of His holy temple, and my complaint shall come before Him; it shall enter even into His ears.--Ps. xviii. 5, 6. The Lord is nigh unto them that call upon Him; He also will hear their cry, and will help them.--Psalm cxlv. 18, 19. In the day when I cried …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep Wherefore a Few Witnesses, which the Lord Deigns to Suggest to My Mind...
32. Wherefore a few witnesses, which the Lord deigns to suggest to my mind, I proceed to mention, from out the teaching of Christ concerning humility, such as perhaps may be enough for my purpose. His discourse, the first which He delivered to His disciples at greater length, began from this. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." [2105] And these without all controversy we take to be humble. The faith of that Centurion He on this account chiefly praised, and said …
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity. Letter Xliii a Consolatory Letter to the Parents of Geoffrey.
A Consolatory Letter to the Parents of Geoffrey. There is no reason to mourn a son as lost who is a religious, still less to fear for his delicacy of constitution. 1. If God makes your son His son also, what do you lose or what does he himself lose? Being rich he becomes richer; being already high born, of still nobler lineage; being illustrious, he gains greater renown; and--what is more than all--once a sinner he is now a saint. He must be prepared for the Kingdom that has been prepared for him …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux That the Ruler Should be Always Chief in Action.
The ruler should always be chief in action, that by his living he may point out the way of life to those that are put under him, and that the flock, which follows the voice and manners of the shepherd, may learn how to walk better through example than through words. For he who is required by the necessity of his position to speak the highest things is compelled by the same necessity to exhibit the highest things. For that voice more readily penetrates the hearer's heart, which the speaker's life …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great How those that are at Variance and those that are at Peace are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 23.) Differently to be admonished are those that are at variance and those that are at peace. For those that are at variance are to be admonished to know most certainly that, in whatever virtues they may abound, they can by no means become spiritual if they neglect becoming united to their neighbours by concord. For it is written, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (Gal. v. 22). He then that has no care to keep peace refuses to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Hence Paul …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Sense in Which, and End for which all Things were Delivered to the Incarnate Son.
For whereas man sinned, and is fallen, and by his fall all things are in confusion: death prevailed from Adam to Moses (cf. Rom. v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. Ps. xlix. 12), while the devil was exulting against us;--then God, in His loving-kindness, not willing man made in His own image to perish, said, Whom shall I send, and who will go?' (Isa. vi. 8). But while all held their peace, the Son [441] said, …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius Covenant Duties.
It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. The proposals of that Covenant include its promises and its duties. The former are made and fulfilled by its glorious Originator; the latter are enjoined and obligatory on man. The duties of that Covenant are God's law; and the demands of the law are all made …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Introduction. Chapter i. --The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers.
St. Hilary of Poitiers is one of the greatest, yet least studied, of the Fathers of the Western Church. He has suffered thus, partly from a certain obscurity in his style of writing, partly from the difficulty of the thoughts which he attempted to convey. But there are other reasons for the comparative neglect into which he has fallen. He learnt his theology, as we shall see, from Eastern authorities, and was not content to carry on and develop the traditional teaching of the West; and the disciple …
St. Hilary of Poitiers—The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 138:8 NIVPsalm 138:8 NLTPsalm 138:8 ESVPsalm 138:8 NASBPsalm 138:8 KJV
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