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Psalm 138

1  I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; ♦︎
   before the gods will I sing praise to you.
2  I will bow down towards your holy temple and praise your name,
      because of your love and faithfulness; ♦︎
   for you have glorified your name
      and your word above all things.
3  In the day that I called to you, you answered me; ♦︎
   you put new strength in my soul.
4  All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord, ♦︎
   for they have heard the words of your mouth.
5  They shall sing of the ways of the Lord, ♦︎
   that great is the glory of the Lord.
6  Though the Lord be high, he watches over the lowly; ♦︎
   as for the proud, he regards them from afar.
7  Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
      you will preserve me; ♦︎
   you will stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies;
      your right hand will save me.
8  The Lord shall make good his purpose for me; ♦︎
   your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever;
      forsake not the work of your hands.

Invasion from the East

20After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,^* came against Jehoshaphat for battle. ²Messengers^* came and told Jehoshaphat, ‘A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,^* from beyond the sea; already they are at Hazazon-tamar’ (that is, En-gedi). ³Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer and Victory

5 Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, ⁶and said, ‘O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you. ⁷Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it for ever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? ⁸They have lived in it, and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, ⁹“If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgement,^* or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save.” ¹⁰See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— ¹¹they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit. ¹²O our God, will you not execute judgement upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.’

13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly. ¹⁵He said, ‘Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you: “Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s. ¹⁶Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.” Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.’

18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. ¹⁹And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets.’ ²¹When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy splendour, as they went before the army, saying,
‘Give thanks to the Lord,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.’
²²As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. ²³For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.

The Jews and the Law

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relation to God ¹⁸and know his will and determine what is best because you are instructed in the law, ¹⁹and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, ²¹you, then, that teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²²You that forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You that abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³You that boast in the law, do you dishonour God by breaking the law? ²⁴For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’

25 Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶So, if those who are uncircumcised keep the requirements of the law, will not their uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? ²⁷Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you that have the written code and circumcision but break the law. ²⁸For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. ²⁹Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.