What Does Psalm 138:2 Mean in the King James?
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
God’s spoken word is magnified above every name: the utterance stands higher than all the ways God’s nature is named.
THE MEANING
You bow toward the temple and praise God’s nature through faithful love and truth. Then the verse places God’s utterance above every name, giving what God says a place beyond any title or description. The name is known through love and truth, while the word is lifted above the whole name.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A name or title can contain the fullness of God’s nature; here, God’s utterance is magnified above every name.
THE ROOT
אִמְרָתֶךָ
imratekha
GROWS FROM
אמר
To say, speak, or utter.
The Hebrew word is imrah, an utterance from amar, to speak. The verse says God’s spoken word is made great above every name, so the utterance rises beyond any title that names God’s nature.
ALSO GROWS
omer: Utterance or speech.
אֹמֶר
It shows that this root names spoken expression, the kind of utterance this verse raises above every name.
ma’amar: A saying or decree.
מַאֲמָר
A saying can carry authority and force, adding weight to the verse’s exaltation of God’s utterance.
חַסְדְּךָ
chasdekha
GROWS FROM
חסד
Faithful kindness or loyal love.
“lovingkindness” in this verse is chasdekha. Chesed is loyal love enacted over time, not a passing feeling. Joined to emet, it shows that the nature praised here is both faithful and firm.
ALSO GROWS
chasid: A faithful or devoted person.
חָסִיד
The branch carries chesed into the character of a person whose life is marked by loyalty.
chasad: To act with kindness or loyalty.
חָסַד
This verb shows chesed as something enacted, illuminating the faithful love for which the name is praised.
אֲמִתֶּךָ
amittekha
GROWS FROM
אמן
To be firm, steady, or reliable.
The Hebrew word for truth comes from the seed of firmness: what holds steady and can be trusted. Paired with chesed, it shows the nature behind the name as faithful love joined to reliability.
ALSO GROWS
emunah: Steadiness, trust, or reliability.
אֱמוּנָה
This branch shows truth as something a person can lean their full weight on.
amen: Firmly; truly; let it stand.
אָמֵן
Amen carries the same sense of firmness, echoing the verse’s picture of truth as dependable.
THE PATTERN
God’s name is made known through faithful love and truth, while God’s spoken word carries that nature into action.
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.THE THREAD
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,The Hebrew words translated goodness and truth here are chesed and emet, the same pair praised in Psalm 138:2. Exodus names God through faithful love and truth; the psalm then says God’s utterance is magnified above every name.
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