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Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 108

Psalm 108: a fixed heart sings, then asks who will lead into Edom

General context

The speaker says his heart is fixed and he will sing and give praise, calling psaltery and harp to awake because he will awake early. He will praise the Lord among the people and nations, for his mercy is great above the heavens and his truth reaches the clouds. He asks God to be exalted above the heavens and his glory above the earth, so that his beloved may be delivered, and to save with his right hand and answer him. God hath spoken in his holiness, and the speaker will rejoice: he will divide Shechem and mete out the valley of Succoth; Gilead and Manasseh are his, Ephraim the strength of his head and Judah his lawgiver; Moab is his washpot, over Edom he will cast out his shoe and over Philistia triumph. He asks who will bring him into the strong city and lead him into Edom, and whether God, who has cast them off, will not go forth with their hosts. He asks for help from trouble, for vain is the help of man, and ends: through God we shall do valiantly, for he shall tread down our enemies.

Cited passages: Psalms 108:1, Psalms 108:2, Psalms 108:3, Psalms 108:4, Psalms 108:5, Psalms 108:6, Psalms 108:7, Psalms 108:8, Psalms 108:9, Psalms 108:10, Psalms 108:11, Psalms 108:12, Psalms 108:13

Psalms 108 (KJV)

1O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

2Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

3I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

4For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

5Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;

6That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.

7God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.

8Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;

9Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.

10Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?

11Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?

12Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.

13Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

This source prints no superscription; the psalm begins with O God, my heart is fixed. The speaker is I in verses 1 to 10 and we and our hosts from verse 11. Verses 7 to 9 are introduced by God hath spoken in his holiness, and the I of those verses claims Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim and Judah and treats Moab, Edom and Philistia as subject; the text does not mark where God's speech ends and the speaker's resumes. Nine place and tribe names appear, and the strong city of verse 10 is not named, though the same verse asks about Edom. Verse 11 states both that God has cast us off and asks whether he will not go forth with our hosts, and no battle is described or dated. The psalm does not report an answer. There is no Selah. Verses 1 to 5 share their wording with Psalm 57:7 to 11, and verses 6 to 13 with Psalm 60:5 to 12, with small differences; Psalm 60:10 reads which hadst cast us off, and which didst not go out with our armies.

Cited passages: Psalms 108:1, Psalms 108:11, Psalms 108:7, Psalms 108:8, Psalms 108:9, Psalms 108:10, Psalms 108:12, Psalms 57:7, Psalms 57:11, Psalms 60:6, Psalms 60:10, Psalms 60:12

Literary context

The psalm has two halves in different moods. The first is song: a fixed heart, instruments told to awake, praise among nations, mercy above the heavens. The second is a claim and a question: a list of tribes and lands held as mine, three enemies treated as a washpot, a shoe and a triumph, then who will lead me, and the answer turned back on God as a double question, wilt not thou. Above the heavens is said twice, of God's mercy and of God's exaltation, so the praise and the plea share one measure. The pronouns shift from my heart and my glory to our hosts and our enemies, as if the singer becomes an army. The last line answers the question of verse 10 without naming a leader; it says only through God.

Cited passages: Psalms 108:2, Psalms 108:4, Psalms 108:5, Psalms 108:9, Psalms 108:11, Psalms 108:1, Psalms 108:13

Key moments

  1. My heart is fixed (Psalms 108:1). The speaker resolves to sing and give praise.
  2. Awake, psaltery and harp (Psalms 108:2). Instruments are told to awake, and the speaker will rise early.
  3. God hath spoken (Psalms 108:7). A speech in God's holiness divides Shechem and metes out Succoth.
  4. Edom and the shoe (Psalms 108:9). Moab, Edom and Philistia are named as subjected.
  5. Who will lead me into Edom? (Psalms 108:10). The speaker asks who will bring him into the strong city.
  6. Through God, valiantly (Psalms 108:13). The psalm ends with confidence that God will tread down the enemies.

For reflection

The speaker asks God, who hast cast us off, to go out with the hosts. What does it take to address a request to the one blamed for the trouble, and does the psalm expect an answer?

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