Psalms 108:1-13 (NLT)
1 A song. A psalm of David. My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
2 Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.
3 I will thank you, LORD, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations.
4 For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.
6 Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power.
7 God has promised this by his holiness: “I will divide up Shechem with joy. I will measure out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh, too. Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors, and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.
9 But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant, and I will wipe my feet on Edom and shout in triumph over Philistia.”
10 Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will bring me victory over Edom?
11 Have you rejected us, O God? Will you no longer march with our armies?
12 Oh, please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless.
13 With God’s help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.
Many of David’s psalms begin by acknowledging difficulty and then shift into praise. In Psalm 108, however, we see the opposite pattern: inspiring praise comes first, followed by consideration of the challenges facing his people. It is as if David is demonstrating the reality of praising God in the middle of difficulty, not only after deliverance.
Though he was surely aware of the seriousness of their predicament and may already have been wondering where God was in it, David begins immediately with unrestrained song about the greatness of God and His mercies. This initial, lifted praise allows him to acknowledge the circumstance from a place of confidence in God rather than fear of the situation. By declaring the saving nature of God first, the praise becomes focused on what God is going to do, not merely on what is happening.
God is greatly to be praised, regardless of circumstance. Especially in times of difficulty, it is often most powerful to lead with exuberant praise and inspired worship. Exalting God’s power and faithful mercies reframes the need for salvation: what once felt like an overwhelming challenge becomes an opposition already placed under God’s care and authority.