Psalm 108--With God We Shall Do Valiantly

Psalm 108
English Standard Version

With God We Shall Do Valiantly
A Song. A Psalm of David.
108 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 will 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.

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"If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31b).  This seems to be the starting place of David's psalm--God is for us, His people.  This brings a song and music to our hearts so that we rejoice and sing and play music all the day long.  We worship because His steadfast love is great!  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is the measure of the Father's love for us!

You may recognize the chorus, "Be exalted O God, above the heavens!  Let thy glory be over all the earth!" (If not, I'll post it for you).  Why?  Because we want the LORD to deliver His people with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, just like He has done before.  We want salvation for all His people, but David personalizes his request and says, "Give salvation by your right hand and answer me!"  While this sounds demanding, God does not mind when we cry out to Him like this in our desperation--in fact, He wants it.

The Land and the Twelve Tribes belong to the LORD.  He does with them as He pleases.  He even has promised that the surrounding nations of Edom and Philistia that continue to antagonize the people of Israel will one day be no more, and they too will belong to the people of Israel.

Philistia had fortified cities and Edom had the mountain fortress of Petra, but the name of the LORD is a strong tower that the righteous run into, and they are safe.  David fears that the LORD has turned away from His people and has stopped blessing them (perhaps because of his sin).  The LORD is a mighty warrior that would go out in front of His people in battle and strike down their enemies.  He would fight for His people so that all the glory would go to Him.  However, David says that the LORD has not gone out to battle with His people and if left to fight in their own strength, they will certainly fail.  However, with the LORD's help, they will certainly be victorious, for who can stand against the LORD?  No one!  "With God, we shall do valiantly! It is He who will tread down all our foes!"  Amen, and amen! The Lord has defeated sin, flesh and the devil at the cross and will one day return to defeat all of his mortal enemies that have chosen to side with the devil and the antichrist.  He will reign victorious as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to the glory of God the Father!