I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
² I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

³ When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before your presence.
⁴ For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

⁵ You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
⁶ The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.

⁷ But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
⁸ and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.

1) According to verses 1-2, what are five ways David praises God?
David gives thanks, recounts His deeds, is glad in Him, exults in Him, and sings praise to His name. Giving thanks, singing, and recounting the things God has done are fairly common, but what exactly does David mean by being glad and exulting in God? The word “exult” comes from a root word that means “to jump for joy,” and means “to rejoice, triumph.” Be glad just means to be glad (no hidden meaning there!). We are given the example by David of praising God by rejoicing in Him.

2) What does the phrase “with my whole heart” mean?
Just as it does today, the heart represented the center of emotions to the ancient Hebrews. David praised God with his whole heart—that is, with the emotions to go along with the actions of praise. He didn’t simply go through the motions, but his inner self was involved in worship, as well.

3) What is the main theme of the “deeds” that the Psalmist recounts in verses 3-8? What does this tell us about God?
David tells of God’s righteous judgment, that He has made the wicked perish, that his enemies have stumbled in God’s presence. These describe the justice of God. Verse 8 tells us that God judges with righteousness and uprightness. God is a good judge. He always deals with evil in His time. David was speaking for his current day enemies being defeated, but his words hit at the final battle between Christ and Satan where the Enemy truly will come to an “everlasting ruin”. Satan’s destruction will be final in that last judgement where the righteousness of God will supremely reign!

1) According to verses 1-2, what are five ways David praises God?
These five ways to praise are given to us as an example. Honestly examine your own praise of God. Do you breeze through a few things you’re thankful for or do you sit and contemplate the gracious goodness of God with David’s 5 steps? Spend some time today praising God by giving thanks, recounting His deeds, being glad in Him, rejoicing (exulting) in Him and His character, and singing praise to Him.

2) What does the phrase “with my whole heart” mean?
It is all too easy for us to be caught up in the pressure of what needs to be done next. We can so easily make prayer, Bible study, church attendance, worship simply one more thing to check off our to-do list. But God wants our whole hearts! Pray and confess your sin of “going through the motions,” and think of one tangible thing you can do to prepare your heart for your next opportunity with God. While our “whole heart” includes our emotions, we don’t always “feel” like praising God, but if we truly set aside intentional time to honestly worship God, the feelings will most definitely follow. Try David’s 5 steps to get you going and see what you discover along the way!

3) What is the main theme of the “deeds” that the Psalmist recounts in verses 3-8? What does this tell us about God?
God’s justice is perfect! This is such a wonderful and terrifying truth. When we are on the right side of His justice (by being saved by grace through faith), we have nothing to fear, and we can trust that He will deal with our offenders and be a righteous judge on our behalf. But when we consider God’s justice from the perspective of the sinners that we are, a righteous judge is frightening. We deserve punishment for our sins. Praise God that He sent His Son to take our punishment, so that justice could be satisfied without destroying us! If you have not yet trusted in Christ to take away the debt of justice that you owe for your sins, please do not delay!

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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