Psalm 108
by Pastor David Groendyk
The lowest of low points in the Psalms is at the end of Psalm 88 where the psalmist says, “Darkness has become my only companion” (v. 18). From chapter 88 until chapter 150, though, the trajectory of the psalms only goes up. The repeated refrain in Book Four (chs. 90–106) is, “The Lord reigns!” The repeated refrain in Book Five (chs. 107–150) is, “Praise the Lord!” That, in and of itself, is a soothing prescription for the troubled heart. As we work our way through Book Five of the psalms, pay attention to the big themes of thanksgiving, praise, and obedience.
In Psalm 108, verses 1–6 are permeated with confident expectation and anticipation. David anticipates God’s salvation and is confident that he and the rest of the people will give thanks despite the fact that the peoples and nations around them are a present threat. Even the very anticipation of deliverance leads to David’s heart being steadfast and the people praising God. Why is David so confident in God’s deliverance? Because God’s steadfast love and faithfulness to his people are unmatched by anyone or anything in all of human history. God is good and compassionate toward his children. A good lesson for Christians is that the church will always face threats, and individual Christians will always face trials, yet we praise God anyway, even while we’re being threatened, because we know our God loves us. The heart that steadfastly loves God seeks his glory over and against self-glory at all times. Would you be able to proclaim verse 5 even when your own personal safety is at stake? What things often keep us from steadfastly fixing our hearts on God?
Verses 7–13 are focused mainly on God’s sovereignty. In fact, these verses explain why David has such great confidence in God in the first place: God owns all the nations. Despite our very bleak outlook on how the world looks and what kind of state the church is in, we must base our lives on God’s promises and proclamations rather than our own limited human perspective. Notice all the locations in verses 7–8 are part of Israel’s land, whereas the locations in verse 9 are neighbors to Israel. God is the owner of each one, and he has a plan for them. He will conquer them with his people and valiantly tread them down! However, it’s not in the way we would normally expect. One of the songs we’ve sung a lot lately on Sunday mornings is O Church Arise. Have you noticed the strange juxtapositions in that song?
“An army bold, whose battle cry is love, reaching out to those in darkness”
“Our call to war, to love the captive soul”
“And with the sword that makes the wounded whole”
The church loves and desires to make the wounded whole. Not what you expect from an army! God conquers nations through the proclamation of his gospel, not military might. God’s plan from the time of Abraham was to bless all the nations of the world through his people, and he has promised that that will be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit working through his church. God’s gospel is going out, his church is growing, and his people have unlimited hope in a loving and powerful God. No wonder David is able to express such confidence despite the imminent threats around him. In what ways are you prone to despair when you see the world around you? How will God’s sovereignty give you hope and confidence today?