Psalm 108
With God We Shall Do Valiantly
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 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.
ESV

Psalm 108 is titled: Assurance of God’s Victory over Enemies (NKJV), God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory (NASB), A Prayer for Victory (ICB), and above in the ESV, With God We Shall Do Valiantly.

The author of this song is King David, and interestingly, it is a repetition of Psalm 57 and Psalm 60. Psalm 57 was written when David was on the run from King Saul. Psalm 60 was written upon Saul’s death and David’s kingship. When David put both of these songs together for Psalm 108, he proclaims God’s victory and His faithfulness from the time that David ran and hid for his life, to the time that he was finally crowned king.

Psalm 108 is David’s testimony, a story of God’s faithfulness.

Maybe something new has come up for the people of Israel, and therefore, the words need to be repeated.

The Holy Spirit is not so short of expressions that he needs to repeat himself, and the repetition cannot be meant merely to fill the book; there must be some intention in the arrangement of two former divine utterances in a new connection; whether we can discover that intent is another matter. It is at least ours to endeavor to do so, and we may expect divine assistance therein.

Charles Spurgeon, English preacher, 1834-1892

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. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.
Psalm 108:1-5 NLT

We have before us The Warrior’s Morning Song, with which he adores his God and strengthens his heart before entering upon the conflicts of the day.

Charles Spurgeon, English preacher, 1834-1892

David begins Psalm 108 with praise to the Lord. And this song clearly is a glorious way to start the day. David sings to God in the morning. He starts the morning with a reflection upon the greatness and faithfulness of his God.

David also vows to proclaim God’s goodness to all the people, among the nations. Why? Because God’s greatness is higher than the heavens, beyond the clouds, and covers the whole earth with His glory.

What a beautiful way to start the day. A Warrior’s Song. A believer’s weapon. Praise the Lord. Psalm 108 is a good reminder to meet each day with praise for the Lord. Thank Him for His faithfulness; praise Him for His mighty works. Remember who He is and what He has done for you. There is no better way to begin the day, to refocus upon Him who gives us strength. The One who loves us when all others fail. The One who walks beside us, who strengthens and provides. Praise the Lord.

Now Psalm 108 goes on to what David needs:

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. But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant, and I will wipe my feet on Edom and shout in triumph over Philistia."

Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will bring me victory over Edom?
Have you rejected us, O God? Will you no longer march with our armies?
Oh, please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless.
With God's help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.
Psalm 108:6-13 NLT

David begins his prayer with praise, calling upon God’s faithfulness. He knows God will provide and God will save, but he speaks it. Possibly to strengthen his own soul; possibly to calm his own heart. David even speaks a promise that God made to him.

David speaks words that God gave him. We know that David had a relationship with God. We know this through the words he wrote that are recorded in the Old Testament, and we know this through the testimony of others. God Himself, called David, “a man after His own heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22).

David spoke with God daily. In the morning. He began his day speaking with His Father in heaven.

Here is God’s promise as recorded in this psalm and Psalm 60:

That's when God spoke in holy splendor:
"Brimming over with joy, I make a present of Shechem. I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift. Gilead's in my pocket, to say nothing of Manasseh. Ephraim's my hard hat, Judah my hammer. Moab's a scrub bucket- I mop the floor with Moab, Spit on Edom, rain fireworks over Philistia."
Psalm 108:7-9 the Message

Here God speaks of the Promised Land and the tribes that live there. Commentators point out Shechem (a city) and the Succoth Valley (a region) were on the west side of the Jordan river and were both areas of the Israelite people. God then speaks of Gilead and Manasseh, regions on the east side of the Jordan river. Judah and Ephraim were central tribes of the Israelite people, and Ephraim being the largest tribe, according to commentators. These two tribes probably would have provided the most soldiers for these battles that are listed in Psalm 108, “Ephraim my helmet will produce my warriors (NLT).” Judah was David’s tribe, “Judah my scepter will produce my kings (NLT).”

The tribe of Judah will also lead to Jesus, the Messiah.

Through David, God then speaks of His dominion over all the earth, all the tribes, all the nations. God speaks of three neighboring nations. In 2 Samuel 8, David conquered Moab, “But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant (NLT).” In 2 Samuel 8 as well, David overthrew Edom, “I will wipe my feet on Edom (NLT).” And after a long time, God provided justice for David with the conquering of the Philistines, “shout in triumph over Philistia (NLT).”

David battled the Philistines as a teenager, and he conquered them as a king. Charles Spurgeon uses this to remind all believers of life as a follower of God:

The enemies with whom we battled in our youth are yet alive, and we shall have more brushes with them before we die, but, blessed be God, we are by no means dismayed at the prospect, for we expect to triumph over them even more easily than aforetime.

Charles Spurgeon, English preacher, 1834-1892

Who will bring me to the strong, walled city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
Psalm 108:10 ICB

Bible commentators believe that David speaks of the great rock city of Petra, the fortified city of the Edomites. There is no record of David attacking Petra, which doesn’t mean that he didn’t, it just isn’t recorded in the Bible. Possibly David uses Petra as an analogy, to speak of the strength of God, that if God called him to conquer Petra, He would provide.

This is an important and eternal principle: that which seems unconquerable can be overcome by the power of God.

Pastor David Guzik, http://www.enduringword.com

In Psalm 108, it seems that David was preparing for battle, and he called upon God to go before him.

God, surely you have rejected us. You do not go out with our armies.
Help us fight the enemy. Human help is useless.
But we can win with God's help. He will defeat our enemies.
Psalm 108:11-13 ICB

David knew that God was their strength. God would go before them to win the battle. God was victor. It is best, that when we prepare for battle, that we seek the Lord first.

You can get the horses ready for battle. But it is the Lord who gives the victory.
Proverbs 21:31 ICB

Father in heaven, we thank you for this song. We praise you today. You are good and faithful and merciful. You are all that we need. We know that we can make all the plans that we want, but your will be done. Strengthen us today to love those around us. We love you. Amen.

He xoxo