A Song. A Psalm of David.
1 My heart is steadfast, O God!
I will sing and make melody with all my being!
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
4 For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
7 God has promised in his holiness:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah my scepter.
9 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
12 Oh grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
13 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes. – Psalm 108:1-13 ESV
David is ready. He is prepared to face anything because he is strong and confident. But this psalm is not a boastful display of self-reliance but a confession of his hope and trust in God. He knows that with God's assistance, he can face any situation with confidence and peace.
With God’s help we will do mighty things,
for he will trample down our foes. – Psalm 108:13 NLT
There is no enemy too powerful or problem too big for God. David has learned that fear is futile and pointless when God is on your side. Trying to take matters into your own hands is absurd when you have the God of the universe fighting for you. David's awareness of this fact causes him to sing God's praises. He can't help but express gratefulness for God's unfailing love and faithfulness.
My heart is confident in you, O God;
no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! – Psalm 1-8:1 NLT
He has witnessed God's deliverance in the past, and he is confident that he will see it in the future, all because of God's unchanging nature. God has promised to rescue His people "by His holiness" (Psalm 108:7 NLT). His very character assures that He will do what He has promised to do. He will come through. He will answer. David would have been very familiar with the words of Balaan recorded in the Book of Numbers.
God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? – Numbers 23:19 NLT
But when the storms of life rage, it is easy to forget that God is faithful. When you find yourself surrounded by trouble, doubting that God will keep His promises can be tempting. Like David, we can question God’s presence and power.
Have you rejected us, O God?
Will you no longer march with our armies? – Psalm 108:11 NLT
During those times of doubt and despair, we must remind ourselves that God is faithful. He rescues. He restores. He may not do it according to our schedule or how we would like it done, but He will act. In those moments when God appears inactive or unresponsive, we can be tempted to turn to someone or something else for help. I
Often, we are tempted to trust ourselves to come up with the solution we're looking for, despite our abysmal track record. But David knew better. In his experience, he had found all human help to be useless (Psalm 108:12b NLT). He had learned from painful experience that anything he turned to as a substitute for God eventually failed. But with God's help, he could do the impossible.
As king, David was responsible for protecting the people of Israel from their enemies. He was the warrior king who led the troops of Israel into battle against the Philistines, Moabites, and Edomites. David recites God's promise to defeat these perennial enemies of Israel.
“Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant,
and I will wipe my feet on Edom
and shout in triumph over Philistia.” – Psalm 108:9 NLT
Long before Israel began their conquest of the land of Canaan, Moses assured the Israelites that their efforts would be successful.
“When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy.” – Deuteronomy 7:1-2 NLT
Hundreds of years later, David continued what Joshua and the Israelites had begun, and he was still trusting in the LORD for His success.
Now rescue your beloved people.
Answer and save us by your power.
God has promised this by his holiness:
“I will divide up Shechem with joy.
I will measure out the valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine,
and Manasseh, too.
Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors,
and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings. – Psalm 108:6-8 NLT
The land was theirs. Each of the tribes had received its allotment of territory but the enemies of Israel remained. This was not because God had failed to keep His word but because the people of Israel had failed to do what He had commanded. Moses had made God's expectations clear.
“…you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.” – Deuteronomy 7:2-4 NLT
But the Book of Judges reveals the truth about Israel's compliance with God's command.
…the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. – Judges 1:21 NLT
When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. – Judges 1:28 NLT
Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. – Judges 1:29 NLT
Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them… – Judges 1:30 NLT
And the list goes on and on. By the time David ascended the throne of Israel, the 12 tribes had begun to intermarry with the surrounding nations, making treaties and alliances that directly defied God's command. But David remained committed to carrying out the LORD's divine mandate. Yet, he knew he could not do it in his own strength or without the LORD's assistance.
This is a lesson only learned through experience. It can be taught, but it is rarely caught until we are forced to experience it firsthand. Relying on God takes guts. When everything in you says to take matters into your own hands, trusting takes faith. But as our understanding of His character grows, we become increasingly more confident and quick to place our trust in Him and Him alone. Then we can sing along with David, “My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens” (Psalm 108:1-4 NLT).
Father, continue to teach me to trust You. Thank You that my heart is more confident in You today than it has ever been. I still have a long way to go, but You have never given me a reason to doubt You. The enemies of life remain. The threats against Your people are real. But You are always faithful and true. Your strength has not diminished. Your promise to fight for Your people has not been reneged or removed in any way. So, help me to trust You when times are tough. Keep me from turning to other sources of help and hope that can't deliver. Prevent me from relying on myself and trying to play god because my efforts are useless without You. Amen
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.