Psalm 108:1-13 NKJV
108 O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
2 Awake, lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.
3 I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your mercy is great above the [a]heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth;
6 That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and [b]hear me.
7 God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will rejoice;
I will divide Shechem
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [c]helmet for My head;
Judah is My lawgiver.
9 Moab is My washpot;
Over Edom I will cast My shoe;
Over Philistia I will triumph.”
10 Who will bring me into the strong city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Is it not You, O God, who cast us off?
And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies?
12 Give us help from trouble,
For the help of man is useless.
13 Through God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
In today’s psalm King David is overjoyed and extremely thankful to God for many reasons: His mercy, His truth, His glory, His help from trouble, and that He will tread down David’s enemies.
Luther puts it this way: “The 108th psalm is a psalm of thanks, with words almost like Psalm 60, in which the psalmist gives thanks for god’s kingdom. Already in the first verse, the psalm exalts the kingdom of Christ and prays that God will establish His kingdom in all the world and accordingly bring David’s kingdom to its proper, final, and full station” (Reading the Psalms with Luther, page 262).
In v. 1, David’s heart “is steadfast,” not, of course, of its own power or abilities, but because David knows and believes in the God who has shown wonders, has created the world, and in whom David trusts for his very life and livelihood. In vv. 3-4 David givers specific examples as to why he praises God – “His mercy is great above the heavens,” and His “glory [is] above all the earth.” David recognizes God’s creative authority over all things and trusts Him implicitly to do what is best for him. This specific praise is vastly better than the vacuous and non-specific praise spoken of in all too many modern “praise songs.” Our God is awesome for a great many reasons, so we should always mention His works to all who would hear.
In vv. 12-13 David teaches us that “the help of man is useless.” We turn in faith only to our good and gracious God in all times of trouble, calamity, and fear, because He is the only God who can help. We pray with David that God “shall tread down our enemies…” and he HAS by Christ’s atoning sacrifice for our sins on His cross and by His victorious resurrection from the dead that defeated even death and the devil himself.
Trust in God, dear Saint, and not in man. Trust in the God/Man Jesus Who paid for your sins and gives you Himself in his Word and Sacraments for your strength and endurance until He calls you Home.
Let us pray: Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your sacrifice which paid for my sins. Keep me steadfast in the one true faith. Amen.