Psalm 138:7 NKJV
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
Walking Through the Fire
My Notes
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me.” — Psalm 138:7 (NKJV)
Ever feel like you aren’t just facing trouble, but you’re actually submerged in it? Like you’ve wandered into the center of a “dark continent,” and the exit is nowhere in sight? David knew that feeling intimately. In Psalm 138:7, he gives us a masterclass on how to keep our feet moving when the walls are closing in.
He doesn’t pray for the trouble to vanish instantly; he prays for the strength to walk right through the center of it.
The Steady Pace of Faith
Notice the word “walk.” David isn’t running in a panic, and he isn’t paralyzed by fear. Walking implies a steady, quiet pace. It suggests that even in the “midst” of the mess—the very center of the storm—there is progress being made. Trouble is a path, not a destination. As Spurgeon pointed out, we often penetrate into the “center of that dark continent,” but because we are walking, we know the journey has an end. You might be in the thick of it today, but you aren’t staying there.
Life in the Dead Zone
David says, “You will revive me.” In the original language, this means to “cause to live” or to provide “fresh vigor.”
Think about the three Hebrew youths in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3). They didn’t just survive the fire; they walked in the midst of it, and they had the best company imaginable. Sometimes, God uses our darkest hours to “quicken” us—to make us more spiritually alive than we’ve ever been. If the trouble forces you to rely on His life instead of your own, the trouble hasn’t harmed you; it has actually fueled you.
The Restraining Hand
There’s a beautiful detail here: God stretches out His hand “against the wrath” of the enemies. He doesn’t just deal with the people bothering you; He deals with the spirit behind the attack. He sets a boundary on their anger. He says, “You can go this far, but no further.”
And then comes the “Right Hand.” In scripture, the Right Hand is the hand of ultimate power, authority, and skill. Many commentators see this as a pointer to Christ, the “Man of His Right Hand.” God has one hand to hold back the enemy and another hand to pull you to safety. You are double-guarded.
Key Takeaways
- Progress Over Panic: Walking in trouble means trusting God’s pace. You don’t have to sprint to escape; you just have to keep moving with Him.
- Revival is Internal: God might not change the “midst of trouble” immediately, but He will change the “midst of you” by pouring in fresh life.
- Boundaries on Bitterness: God restrains the wrath of your situation. The fire can only get as hot as He allows, and it cannot consume you.
- The Ultimate Savior: The “Right Hand” of God (Christ) is personally involved in your rescue. You aren’t being saved by a “system,” but by a Person.
Cross References (NKJV)
Psalm 23:4
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
Isaiah 41:10
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Daniel 3:25
“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
Psalm 71:20
“You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth.”
Prayer
Abba, right now it feels like I am standing in the very center of the fire. The exit feels far away and the ‘wrath’ of my circumstances feels loud. But I thank You that I am only walking through this—I am not stuck here. Revive my heart. Pour Your fresh life into my spirit so that I have the vigor to keep moving. Thank You for holding back the enemy with one hand and holding me tight with Your right hand. I trust Your saving strength today. I thank You for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Things to Think About:
- Identify the “midst” of your trouble right now. What does it look like to “walk” (move at a steady, trusting pace) instead of “running” (acting out of panic)?
- How have you seen God “restrain the wrath” of a situation lately—stopping things from getting as bad as they potentially could have been?
- In what way do you need the “Right Hand” of God to save you today? Is it a mental rescue from anxiety, or a physical rescue from a circumstance?
Proverb for Today
The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish, But He casts away the desire of the wicked. Proverbs 10:3 NKJV
Daily Scripture
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:20-21 NKJV
Bill
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Summary of Commentaries:
David’s “walk” through the “dark continent” of sorrow is sustained by divine revival—fresh vigor poured into a fainting soul. Commentators note a strategic defense: God’s hand restrains the enemy’s wrath while His skillful “right hand” (Christ) secures our rescue. You aren’t just surviving the fire; you’re walking through it with the “Best Company.” God’s grace ensures that trouble, though surrounding you, cannot stop your progress.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me.” If I am walking there now, or shall be doing so in years to come, I have no cause for fear; for God is with me, and will give me new life. When we are somewhat in trouble it is bad enough, but it is worse to penetrate into the centre of that dark continent and traverse its midst: yet in such a case the believer makes progress, for he walks; he keeps to a quiet pace, for he does no more than walk; and he is not without the best of company, for his God is near to pour fresh life into him. It is a happy circumstance that, if God be away at any other time, yet he is pledged to be with us in trying hours: “when thou passest through the rivers I will be with thee.” He is in a blessed condition who can confidently use the language of David, “thou wilt revive me.” He shall not make his boast of God in vain: he shall be kept alive, and made more alive than ever. How often has the Lord quickened us by our sorrows! Are they not his readiest means of exciting to fullness of energy the holy life which dwells within us? If we receive reviving, we need not regret affliction. When God revives us, trouble will never harm us.
“Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.” This is the fact which would revive fainting David. Our foes fall when the Lord comes to deal with them; he makes short work of the enemies of his people, with one hand he routs them. His wrath soon quenches their wrath; his hand stays their hand. Adversaries may be many, and malicious, and mighty; but our glorious Defender has only to stretch out his arm, and their armies vanish. The sweet singer rehearses his assurance of salvation and sings of it in the ears of the Lord, addressing him with this confident language. He will be saved—saved dexterously, decidedly, divinely; he has no doubt about it. God’s right hand cannot forget its cunning; Jerusalem is his chief joy, and he will defend his own elect.
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Enduring Word
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me: As David considered the greatness of God and His kindness to the humble (Psalm 138:4-6), it gave him confidence that God would revive him in his present trouble. Understanding God’s greatness and kindness builds our faith. (Guzik)
Your right hand will save me: When God’s help came, it would come with all His skill and strength (Your right hand). God would defend David against the wrath of his enemies. (Guzik)
i. “Thou shall strike them with thy left hand, and save me with thy right.” (Trapp)
ii. “Adversaries may be many, and malicious, and mighty; but our glorious Defender has only to stretch out his arm, and their armies vanish.” (Spurgeon)
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Albert Barnes
Though I walk in the midst of trouble – Though I am in the low vale of sorrow, I shall not be overlooked or forgotten. This implies that the writer was then in trouble, and it expresses the conviction that whenever he should be in trouble, God would remember him and give him life and strength.
Thou wilt revive me – Thou wilt cause me to live; thou wilt give me life. Psalms 30:3. Compare the notes at Psalms 71:20. The meaning is, Thou wilt give me life – vigor – strength – to bear the trouble.
Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand – As one does when he is about to inflict a blow.
Against the wrath of mine enemies … – In reference to all their attempts to destroy me. Thou wilt meet their wrath by thy power, and I shall be safe.
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John Gill
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,…. Trouble attends the best of men; both outward and inward trouble, from sin, Satan, and the world; yea, they are in the midst of it, surrounded with it; and it is a way in which they walk through this world, and enter the kingdom of heaven; it is continued unto them; it is a long walk, and yet will have an end; see Psalm 23:4;
thou wilt revive me; preserve his life amidst all his troubles, support him under them, make him cheerful and fearless; revive his work of grace in him, quicken him to the lively exercise of grace, and fervent discharge of duty: this the Lord does by his gracious presence, by the discoveries of his love, and by the application of precious promises;
thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies; to stop and restrain it; which he can easily do, when most violent and outrageous, Psalm 76:10. Or, “against the nose of mine enemies”; strike them on the nose, as men do unruly horses to stop them: or give a slap on their face with the left hand, as Arama observes, the right being after mentioned;
and thy right hand shall save me; for that has saving strength in it, Psalm 20:6. This may be understood of Christ, who is not only the man of his right hand, but is the right hand of his righteousness; by whom he saves his people with a spiritual and eternal salvation, as well as with a temporal one, Isaiah 41:10.
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Matthew Henry
The care God takes of his afflicted, oppressed people, v. 7. David, though a great and good man, expects to walk in the midst of trouble, but encourages himself with hope,
1. That God would comfort him: “When my spirit is ready to sink and fail, thou shalt revive me, and make me easy and cheerful under my troubles.” Divine consolations have enough in them to revive us even when we walk in the midst of troubles and are ready to die away for fear.
2. That he would protect him, and plead his cause: “Thou shalt stretch forth thy hand, though not against my enemies to destroy them, yet against the wrath of my enemies, to restrain that and set bounds to it.”
3. That he would in due time work deliverance for him: Thy right hand shall save me. As he has one hand to stretch out against his enemies, so he has another to save his own people. Christ is the right hand of the Lord, that shall save all those who serve him.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“Though a walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me.” So as to the three youths in the fiery furnace, their persecutor, Nebuchadnezzar, said, “Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
—Andrew Robert Fausset.
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