Jehovah will perfect what concerneth me thy loving-kindness, O Jehovah, [endureth] for ever; forsake not the works of thine own hands.
Psalm 138 ends with confidence spoken from inside trouble: a certainty, a reason, and a prayer in one verse. Commentators read it as David's own assurance, and also as the hope of God's people in a coming day.
What the confidence rests on
One writer traces this confidence back to its ground: God's word.
Psalm 138 gives the ground of faith — God's word. Now the godly person turns to acknowledge that word in worship. When that word reaches the kings of the earth, they will turn and praise Jehovah and sing in His ways. But His truth is not all there is. High as He is, He cares for the lowly. He revives, protects, and perfects everything that concerns the believing righteous. "His mercy endures forever."
God keeps His word. So past experience becomes a guarantee for the future — and not only David's.
Spoken while the trouble is still there
This is not a victory speech after the danger has passed. The trouble and the enemies are still there.
Psalm 138 — The temple and the kingdom now come faintly into view in the middle of the trouble. In David's day the temple was not yet built. But for faith the temple was wherever the ark stood, or the altar on the threshing floor of Araunah. So the scene suits the restored remnant, whether returning from exile in Babylon or in a later day. Trouble is there, and the anger of enemies; but Jehovah will perfect what concerns him. Jehovah is high; but He looks upon the lowly, and will not forsake the works of His own hands.
More than rescue
"Fulfill his purpose" reaches further than getting a believer out of danger. One commentator sees God carrying the whole situation through to a finished state.
But he not only saves: He brings the entire circumstances of the redeemed into a perfect state, so that they will adore Him for His enduring mercy, they being the work of His own wise and capable hands (v. 8).
The one who perfects
Older translations read "perfect what concerns me" where the ESV has "fulfill his purpose for me." One writer points to Christ, who has already finished His own course and gone on high.
Why the prayer is safe to pray
The closing request — that God would not abandon the work of His hands — is not a nervous one. It leans on the clause just before it.
In the end the Lord will perfect that which concerns the godly. The trouble will pass, the enemies will be judged, and the godly will be blessed, for the mercy of the Lord endures for ever, and the Lord cannot forsake His own.
The line into Psalm 139
The next psalm picks up the same thought about God's hands and turns it inward.
The previous psalm had struck the keynote: "your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands." Holding that thought, praise can rise even in the searching light of God's presence: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
Summary
- Ground. The confidence starts with God's word, which He has magnified above all His name — faith stands there before it stands anywhere else.
- Proof. He answered when David called. God's character does not change, so one believer's past answers give every believer reason to trust Him to the end.
- Care. He is high, yet He looks on the lowly; He revives, protects, and perfects all that concerns the believing righteous.
- Guarantee. Christ has run His course and gone on high, so His people will finish theirs. He is the Alpha and Omega of all He takes up.
- Result. His love endures forever, so He will not forsake the work of His own hands — and praise can rise even while the trouble lasts.