https://literalword.com/esv?q=Psalm+138;+Jeremiah+46
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 23 August 2026:
Psalm 138:1-3 — I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.
David’s thanksgiving begins with an undivided heart. He does not merely thank God; he gives thanks “with my whole heart.” Half-hearted worship reveals a divided heart, but true worship increasingly gathers every affection, ambition, fear, and desire around God. Jesus identified this as the greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). David can praise God openly because he has personally experienced God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. When he called, God answered, not necessarily by immediately changing every circumstance, but by increasing his “strength of soul.” Sometimes God’s greatest answer to prayer is not removing the burden but strengthening us to carry it. Paul learned this when Christ answered his plea by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
This reaches its fullest expression in Christ. Jesus loved and obeyed the Father with a perfectly undivided heart, even when obedience led through Gethsemane to the cross (John 6:38; 14:31). Through His death and resurrection, He not only forgives our divided loyalties but gives us His Spirit, who increasingly turns our hearts from self toward God. Union with Christ therefore changes worship from something we perform into the response of a life being transformed by His grace. Is your worship flowing from your whole heart, or are there parts of your life you are still withholding from God? When you pray for God to change your circumstances, are you equally willing for Him to change and strengthen you?
Psalm 138:4-6 — All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth, and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD. For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.
David looks beyond his own experience to a day when earthly rulers will recognize the glory of the true King. God’s purpose has always extended beyond one person or nation. His Word is ultimately intended to reach every people and authority, anticipating the gospel command to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). The God whom earthly kings will worship is infinitely exalted, yet remarkably “he regards the lowly.” His greatness does not make Him inaccessible; His greatness is displayed partly in His willingness to stoop toward those who know they need Him.
The contrast is striking: “the haughty he knows from afar.” God is Spirit and therefore is not separated from anyone by physical distance. The distance described here is relational. Pride pushes God away because pride insists upon self-rule, self-sufficiency, and self-exaltation. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Jesus embodied the humility God loves, emptying Himself, taking the form of a servant, and becoming obedient to death on a cross; therefore God highly exalted Him (Philippians 2:5-9). To be united with Christ is therefore to be progressively freed from the exhausting need to exalt ourselves and increasingly shaped into His humility. Where does pride still keep you from depending completely upon God? Where are you protecting your reputation, control, or importance instead of taking the low place with Christ?
Psalm 138:7-8 — Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
David’s confidence is not that he will avoid trouble but that God will preserve him through it. He expects to “walk in the midst of trouble,” yet he also knows that trouble cannot overturn God’s purposes. His confidence reaches its climax in one of Scripture’s great declarations of trust: “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me.” David does not place his confidence in his ability to manage his future but in God’s steadfast love. What God begins, God faithfully brings toward the end He intends. Paul echoes this confidence when he says that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
That promise does not mean every plan we make will succeed or every hardship will disappear. God’s purpose is greater than our preferred circumstances. For those united with Christ, His ultimate purpose is to conform us “to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). That means even suffering becomes material in the hands of God for producing Christlikeness. The cross proves this beyond dispute: what appeared to be Christ’s defeat was the very means through which God accomplished redemption. The resurrection assures us that nothing entrusted to the Father is ultimately lost. Whatever you are facing, you can trust that the God who gave His Son for you has not abandoned His work in you. An intentionally repeated question in this walk through the Bible: Are you measuring God’s faithfulness by today’s circumstances, or interpreting today’s circumstances through what God has already demonstrated at the cross? Can you trust Him enough to obey today without knowing how He intends to complete the story?
Jeremiah 46:1-6 — The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “Prepare buckler and shield, and advance for battle! Harness the horses; mount, O horsemen! Take your stations with your helmets, polish your spears, put on your armor! Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and have turned backward. Their warriors are beaten down and have fled in haste; they look not back—terror on every side! declares the LORD. The swift cannot flee away, nor the warrior escape; in the north by the river Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen.”
Jeremiah now turns from Judah to the surrounding nations, beginning with Egypt and its catastrophic defeat by Babylon at Carchemish in 605 BC. Egypt had been one of the great powers of the ancient world, and its military preparations sound impressive: shields, horses, cavalry, helmets, spears, and armor. Yet suddenly Jeremiah’s description changes. The warriors are fleeing, the mighty cannot escape, and the army collapses. The point is larger than military history. Nations may possess enormous power, wealth, technology, and influence, but none operates outside the sovereignty of God. “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1). Egypt looked formidable to men; before God, it could fall in a day.
That truth matters personally because we build smaller versions of Egypt for ourselves. We look for security in money, influence, competence, relationships, health, institutions, or our own ability to control outcomes. These things may be legitimate gifts, but they become idols when we expect from them what only God can provide. Christ calls His disciples to a fundamentally different security: “Abide in me” (John 15:4). Union with Christ moves the center of our confidence from what we possess or control to the One to whom we belong. What are you presently trusting to make you secure? If God removed it tomorrow, would your confidence in Him remain?
Jeremiah 46:7-12 — “Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge? Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge. He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth, I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’ Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow. That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have used many medicines; there is no healing for you. The nations have heard of your shame, and the earth is full of your cry; for warrior has stumbled against warrior; they have both fallen together.”
Egypt’s arrogance is captured in its boast: “I will rise, I will cover the earth.” Like the Nile overflowing its banks, Pharaoh imagined his power spreading irresistibly across the nations. But the very army that believed itself unstoppable becomes the sacrifice of the Lord. What Egypt viewed as its campaign of conquest, God describes as “the day of the Lord GOD of hosts.” Human pride imagines itself directing history while God remains sovereign over every ruler and every outcome.
God’s judgment exposes pride for the lie it always was. Egypt’s shame becomes known among the nations, and even her celebrated remedies cannot heal the wound God has inflicted. Pride tells us that we are stronger, wiser, and more independent than we actually are; God’s mercy sometimes allows those illusions to collapse so that we will finally seek Him. Jesus warned that “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). At the cross we see both the seriousness of God’s judgment and the astonishing provision of His grace. There the sinless Christ received the judgment proud sinners deserve so that everyone who humbles himself, repents, and trusts Him may be reconciled to God. Are you willing to let God expose the places where confidence has quietly become self-confidence? When He humbles you, do you resent Him or recognize His mercy calling you back to dependence upon Christ?
Jeremiah 46:13-19 — The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt: “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol; proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes; say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared, for the sword shall devour around you.’ Why are your mighty ones face down? They do not stand because the LORD thrust them down. He made many stumble, and they fell, and they said one to another, ‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people and to the land of our birth, because of the sword of the oppressor.’ Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’ As I live, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come. Prepare yourselves baggage for exile, O inhabitants of Egypt! For Memphis shall become a waste, a ruin, without inhabitant.”
The reason Egypt’s warriors cannot stand is stated plainly: “the LORD thrust them down.” Nebuchadnezzar may be the instrument, but God is sovereign over the judgment. Pharaoh receives a humiliating name: “Noisy one who lets the hour go by.” He made great claims but could not deliver when the decisive moment came. This is the recurring tragedy of false saviors. They promise what they cannot finally provide.
Christ stands in absolute contrast. He does not merely make promises; He possesses the authority to fulfill them. He declared, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Egypt’s strength fails at the critical hour; Christ’s strength is revealed precisely at the hour for which He came (John 12:27). He goes willingly to the cross, finishes the work the Father gave Him, rises victorious, and now holds His people securely. Every false refuge eventually fails; Jesus never does. What voice in your life makes impressive promises but cannot deliver what your soul ultimately needs? Are you looking to Christ as one source of security among many, or as your only Savior and Lord?
Jeremiah 46:20-26 — “A beautiful heifer is Egypt, but a biting fly from the north has come upon her. Even her hired soldiers in her midst are like fattened calves; yes, they have turned and fled together; they did not stand, for the day of their calamity has come upon them, the time of their punishment…. The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame; she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.” The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the LORD.”
The judgment reaches beyond Pharaoh to “those who trust in him.” That phrase exposes the deeper spiritual issue. Egypt was not merely a nation; for Judah it had repeatedly become an alternative to trusting God. Isaiah had earlier pronounced woe upon those who went down to Egypt for help because they trusted horses and chariots instead of looking to the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 31:1). Now God demonstrates why such trust is foolish. Pharaoh, Egypt’s gods, its armies, and everyone depending upon them fall together.
Yet judgment is not God’s final word even for Egypt: “Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old.” God’s sovereign justice does not negate His mercy. Scripture later gives an even greater vision in which Egypt itself shares in the blessing of the Lord (Isaiah 19:23-25). The gospel fulfills this outward movement of grace as Christ gathers people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). The God who tears down idols also saves idolaters. That is our story as Christians. We were not rescued because our trust had always been rightly placed; we were rescued because Christ sought us, bore our sins, and brought us back to God (1 Peter 3:18). What substitute for God might He need to tear down in your life so that your trust becomes more completely centered upon Christ?
Jeremiah 46:27-28 — “But fear not, O Jacob my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
The chapter closes with a remarkable change of tone. Egypt will fall, but God’s covenant people hear, “Fear not… for I am with you.” Their security does not rest in avoiding judgment altogether, because God explicitly says, “I will discipline you in just measure.” God’s presence does not mean the absence of discipline. In fact, His discipline can be evidence of His fatherly commitment to us. “The Lord disciplines the one he loves” (Hebrews 12:6). God refuses both to abandon His children and to leave them unchanged.
That distinction becomes even clearer through the gospel. For those in Christ, God’s condemnation has been exhausted at the cross: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Yet the Father continues to discipline His children because His purpose is not merely to forgive us but to conform us to His Son. We therefore do not need to fear God’s discipline as though He were casting us away. His correcting hand and His preserving hand belong to the same Father. The Christian can face even painful correction knowing, “I am with you.” Christ Himself promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Psalm 138 and Jeremiah 46 therefore meet at the same fundamental truth: God opposes proud self-sufficiency but faithfully completes His work in those who humbly trust Him. Egypt boasts, “I will rise,” and falls; David bows before God and confidently says, “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me.” One heart tries to control its future; the other entrusts its future to God. In Christ we have the ultimate reason to choose David’s way. The Father who gave His Son for us is committed not merely to preserving us but to transforming us into His likeness. He may strengthen us in trouble, humble our pride, expose false refuges, or discipline us painfully, but His steadfast love remains unchanged. He has not promised an easy road; He has promised His presence and the completion of His purpose. Where are you still saying, in effect, “I will rise,” rather than “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me”? What would trusting and obeying Christ with your whole heart look like today?
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 23 August 2026: Identify one area today where you are trying to control an outcome or relying upon something other than God for security. Write down Psalm 138:8, surrender that specific matter to God in prayer, and take one concrete act of obedience you already know Christ requires, leaving the outcome to Him.
Pray: “Father, You are high and holy, yet You regard the lowly. Forgive my pride, divided heart, and tendency to trust what I can see and control rather than You. Thank You for giving Christ to save me and for joining me to Him by grace. Strengthen my soul when I walk through trouble, humble me when I become self-reliant, and help me receive Your discipline as the loving work of my Father. I trust You to fulfill Your purpose for me. Make me more like Christ and teach me to obey You today with my whole heart. Amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 