Psalms · psalm 108 of 150
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Psalm 108 is a song of David that begins with a steadfast heart that wants to sing and awaken the dawn and give thanks to the Lord among the nations, because his steadfast love is higher than the heavens. It then asks for help against the enemy, recalls God's promise over the land of Israel and its neighbors, and concludes with the confidence that with God we shall do valiantly and he will tread down our foes.
The title presents this psalm as a song and a psalm of David. It is special because it is made of two fragments of other psalms: verses 1-5 repeat Psalm 57:7-11 and verses 6-13 repeat Psalm 60:5-12. It joins them in a new prayer, perhaps for a new situation. It is the second psalm of Book V (Psalms 107-150).
The psalm opens with the voice of someone whose heart is steadfast and who wants to sing and make melody. He awakens the harp and the lyre and resolves to awaken the dawn. He will give thanks to the Lord among the peoples and sing to him among the nations. The reason is that his steadfast love is great, higher than the heavens, and his faithfulness reaches to the clouds. He asks that God be exalted above the heavens and his glory over all the earth.
From verse 6 the prayer becomes petition: that your beloved ones may be delivered, save with your right hand and answer us. Then God's voice is heard, who in his holiness promises to divide up Shechem and portion out the Valley of Succoth. Gilead and Manasseh are his, Ephraim is his helmet and Judah his scepter. Moab is his washbasin, over Edom he casts his sandal, and over Philistia he shouts in triumph.
The psalmist asks who will bring him to the fortified city and who will lead him to Edom. He wonders whether God has rejected them and no longer goes out with their armies. Give us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man. The psalm ends with a certainty: with God we shall do valiantly, and he will tread down our foes.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The psalmist has a steadfast heart and resolves to sing and awaken the dawn with music. Determined praise starts before the sun rises, and the heart's steadiness springs from trust in God.
The Lord's steadfast love is higher than the heavens and his faithfulness reaches to the clouds. The measure of his love and faithfulness is not exhausted by what is visible; it surpasses every human height.
Help is asked against the foe because human help is worthless. Acknowledging the limits of human strength is the step toward trusting God's strength.
With God we shall do valiantly, and he will tread down our foes. Victory is not achieved by our own army but by God's action with his people.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Steadfast, and so he wants to sing and make melody. — Psalm 108:1
Answer: The harp, the lyre and the dawn. — Psalm 108:2
Answer: Higher than the heavens, and his faithfulness reaches to the clouds. — Psalm 108:4
Answer: That Ephraim is his helmet and Judah his scepter. — Psalm 108:8
Answer: That it is vain. — Psalm 108:12
Answer: That with God we shall do valiantly and he will tread down our foes. — Psalm 108:13
Psalm 108 offers a model of prayer that joins praise and petition. It begins by affirming the steadiness of the heart and the greatness of God, and only then presents the need. A small group can learn to order its prayers this way, worship first and then petition, so that the request begins not with worry but with trust.
It also teaches us to reuse Scripture. This psalm takes fragments of other psalms and applies them to a new situation. When we face a new difficulty, we can pray with passages that others prayed before and that have proved faithful. And it recalls the humility of admitting that human help is not enough and that victory comes from God.
Psalm 108 ends with the confidence that God will do valiantly with his people. Psalm 109 is a very different prayer, from a man falsely accused who cries to God against his adversaries and asks him to stand by his side.
Verses 1-5 come from Psalm 57:7-11 and verses 6-13 from Psalm 60:5-12. The text does not explain why they were joined, but it shows that psalms were reused in worship and that an ancient prayer could serve a new occasion.
They are places and peoples of the region of Israel. Shechem and Succoth are in Israelite territory on either side of the Jordan; Moab, Edom and Philistia were neighbors. The image of the washbasin and the sandal shows that God owns them all and brings them under his will.