I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
Psalms 138:1-8 -David will praise God with his whole heart, for the Lord's wonderful promise exceeding all His earlier deeds, and such as the pagan gods had never fulfilled to their rotaries; this was in answer to prayer (Psalms 138:1-3). All kings shall praise Yahweh, because, though high, He respects the lowly (Psalms 138:4-6); therefore David is assured that Yahweh will revive in trouble, save, and perfect him (Psalms 138:7-8).
A Psalm of David. This is one of the many psalms of David called forth by the promise of the perpetuity of his house and his throne, given by God through the prophet Nathan, (2 Samuel 7:1-29: cf. Psalms 18:1-50; Psalms 21:1-13; Psalms 61:1-8; Psalms 72:1-20; Psalms 101:1-8; Psalms 103:1-22;
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I will praise thee with my whole heart. Ps. 28:49; Psalms 101:1 ascribes praise to God for the same gracious promise, (2 Samuel 7:1-29). The largeness of the benefit called for the praise of the "whole heart," not merely partial praise.
Before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. He virtually challenges the pagan so-called "gods" to verify, if they could, their claim to divinity, by showing any boon like this which they had ever bestowed (cf. Isaiah 43:9; Isaiah 41:20-21). Kimchi explains "gods" as 'the judges' and 'magistrates.' So Chaldaic Targum, Syriac, 'before kings' (cf. Psalms 138:4, "All the king of the earth," Psalms 119:46). So Psalms 82:1; Psalms 82:6, "gods;" see notes there (Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:28). The Septuagint, Vulgate, Arabic, and Ethiopic translate, 'before the angels.' The mention in Psalms 138:2 of God's "holy temple" is thought by Hammond to confirm this, as the cherubim in it answers to the angels here. The angels are present as witnesses of men's worship in the house of God. Compare Ecclesiastes 5:6; 1 Corinthians 11:10; Ephesians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:12. The English version gives good sense: Hengstenberg supports it. Otherwise, 'before judges,' or 'rulers' seems the most probable rendering. But the English version is favoured by 2 Samuel 7:22-23, which, in a similarly triumphant tone, declares, in connection with God's promise to David, the superiority of Yahweh to the pagan gods (cf. Psalms 135:5).