Psalms 108:1-13 King James Version (KJV)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Psalms 108:1-13 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

¹ [[A Song ^H7892 or Psalm ^H4210 of David.]] ^H1732 O God, ^H430 my heart ^H3820 is fixed; ^H3559 I will sing ^H7891 and give praise, ^H2167 even with my glory. ^H3519

² Awake, ^H5782 psaltery ^H5035 and harp: ^H3658 I myself will awake ^H5782 early. ^H7837

³ I will praise ^H3034 thee, O LORD, ^H3068 among the people: ^H5971 and I will sing praises ^H2167 unto thee among the nations. ^H3816

⁴ For thy mercy ^H2617 is great ^H1419 above the heavens: ^H8064 and thy truth ^H571 reacheth unto the clouds. ^H7834

⁵ Be thou exalted, ^H7311 O God, ^H430 above the heavens: ^H8064 and thy glory ^H3519 above all the earth; ^H776

⁶ That thy beloved ^H3039 may be delivered: ^H2502 save ^H3467 with thy right hand, ^H3225 and answer ^H6030 me.

⁷ God ^H430 hath spoken ^H1696 in his holiness; ^H6944 I will rejoice, ^H5937 I will divide ^H2505 Shechem, ^H7927 and mete out ^H4058 the valley ^H6010 of Succoth. ^H5523

⁸ Gilead ^H1568 is mine; Manasseh ^H4519 is mine; Ephraim ^H669 also is the strength ^H4581 of mine head; ^H7218 Judah ^H3063 is my lawgiver; ^H2710

⁹ Moab ^H4124 is my washpot; ^H7366 ^H5518 over Edom ^H123 will I cast out ^H7993 my shoe; ^H5275 over Philistia ^H6429 will I triumph. ^H7321

¹⁰ Who will bring ^H2986 me into the strong ^H4013 city? ^H5892 who will lead ^H5148 me into Edom? ^H123

¹¹ Wilt not thou, O God, ^H430 who hast cast us off? ^H2186 and wilt not thou, O God, ^H430 go forth ^H3318 with our hosts? ^H6635

¹² Give ^H3051 us help ^H5833 from trouble: ^H6862 for vain ^H7723 is the help ^H8668 of man. ^H120

¹³ Through God ^H430 we shall do ^H6213 valiantly: ^H2428 for he it is that shall tread down ^H947 our enemies. ^H6862

Psalms 108:1-13 American Standard (ASV)

¹ My heart is fixed, O God; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises, even with my glory.

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

³ I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah, among the peoples; And I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

⁴ For thy lovingkindness is great above the heavens; And thy truth `reacheth' unto the skies.

⁵ Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, And thy glory above all the earth.

⁶ That thy beloved may be delivered, Save with thy right hand, and answer us.

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

⁸ Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the defence of my head; Judah is my sceptre.

⁹ Moab is my washpot; Upon Edom will I cast my shoe; Over Philistia will I shout.

¹⁰ Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who hath led me unto Edom?

¹¹ Hast not thou cast us off, O God? And thou goest not forth, O God, with our hosts.

¹² Give us help against the adversary; For vain is the help of man.

¹³ Through God we shall do valiantly: For he it is that will tread down our adversaries. Psalm 109 For the Chief Musicion. A Psalm of David.

Psalms 108:1-13 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

¹ A Song, a Psalm of David. Prepared is my heart, O God, I sing, yea, I sing praise, also my honour.

² Awake, psaltery and harp, I awake the dawn.

³ I thank Thee among peoples, O Jehovah, And I praise Thee among the nations.

⁴ For great above the heavens `is' Thy kindness, And unto the clouds Thy truth.

⁵ Be Thou exalted above the heavens, O God, And above all the earth Thy honour.

⁶ That Thy beloved ones may be delivered, Save `with' Thy right hand, and answer us.

⁷ God hath spoken in His holiness: I exult, I apportion Shechem, And the valley of Succoth I measure,

⁸ Mine `is' Gilead, mine `is' Manasseh, And Ephraim `is' the strength of my head, Judah `is' my lawgiver,

⁹ Moab `is' a pot for my washing, Upon Edom I cast my shoe, Over Philistia I shout habitually.

¹⁰ Who doth bring me in to the fenced city? Who hath led me unto Edom?

¹¹ Hast not Thou, O God, cast us off? And Thou goest not out, O God, with our hosts!

¹² Give to us help from adversity, And vain is the salvation of man.

¹³ In God we do mightily, And He doth tread down our adversaries!

Psalms 108:1-13 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

¹ {A Song, a Psalm of David.} My heart is fixed, O God: I will sing, yea, I will sing psalms, even [with] my glory.

² Awake, lute and harp: I will wake the dawn.

³ I will give thee thanks among the peoples, O Jehovah; of thee will I sing psalms among the nations:

⁴ For thy loving-kindness is great above the heavens, and thy truth is unto the clouds.

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

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

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

⁸ Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the strength of my head; Judah is my law-giver;

⁹ Moab is my wash-pot; upon Edom will I cast my sandal; over Philistia will I shout aloud.

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

¹¹ [Wilt] not [thou], O God, who didst cast us off? and didst not go forth, O God, with our armies?

¹² Give us help from trouble; for vain is man's deliverance.

¹³ Through God we shall do valiantly; and he it is that will tread down our adversaries.

Psalms 108:1-13 World English Bible (WEB)

¹ > My heart is steadfast, God. I will sing and I will make music with my soul.

² Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn.

³ I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations. I will sing praises to you among the peoples.

⁴ For your loving kindness is great above the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

⁵ Be exalted, God, above the heavens, Let your glory be over all the earth.

⁶ That your beloved may be delivered, Save with your right hand, and answer us.

⁷ God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph, I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth.

⁸ Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is my helmet. Judah is my scepter.

⁹ Moab is my wash pot. I will toss my sandal on Edom. I will shout over Philistia."

¹⁰ Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who has led me to Edom?

¹¹ Haven't you rejected us, God? You don't go forth, God, with our armies.

¹² Give us help against the enemy, For the help of man is vain.

¹³ Through God, we will do valiantly. For it is he who will tread down our enemies.

Psalms 108:1-13 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

¹ <A Song. A Psalm. Of David.> O God, my heart is fixed; I will make songs and melody, even with my glory.

² Give out your sounds, O corded instruments: the dawn will be awaking with my song.

³ I will give you praise, O Lord, among the peoples; I will make melody to you among the nations.

⁴ For your mercy is higher than the heavens: and your unchanging faith than the clouds.

⁵ Be lifted up, O God, higher than the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

⁶ Let your right hand be stretched out for salvation, and give me an answer, so that your loved ones may be safe from danger.

⁷ This is the word of the holy God: I will be glad; I will make Shechem a heritage, measuring out the valley of Succoth.

⁸ Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is the strength of my head; Judah is my law-giver;

⁹ Moab is my washpot; on Edom is the resting-place of my shoe; over Philistia will I send out a glad cry.

¹⁰ Who will take me into the strong town? who will be my guide into Edom?

¹¹ Have you not sent us away from you, O God? and you go not out with our armies.

¹² Give us help in our trouble; for there is no help in man.

¹³ With God we will do great things; for by him will our haters be crushed underfoot.

Commentary on Psalms 108 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill Keil & Delitzsch Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Psalm 108

This psalm begins with praise and concludes with prayer, and faith is at work in both.

I. David here gives thanks to God for mercies to himself (v. 1-5).
II. He prays to God for mercies for the land, pleading the promises of God and putting them in suit (v. 6-13).

The former part it taken out of Ps. 57:7, etc., the latter out of Ps. 60:5, etc., and both with very little variation, to teach us that we may in prayer use the same words that we have formerly used, provided it be with new affections. It intimates likewise that it is not only allowable, but sometimes convenient, to gather some verses out of one psalm and some out of another, and to put them together, to be sung to the glory of God. In singing this psalm we must give glory to God and take comfort to ourselves.

A song or psalm of David.

Psa 108:1-5

We may here learn how to praise God from the example of one who was master of the art.

1. We must praise God with fixedness of heart. Our heart must be employed in the duty (else we make nothing of it) and engaged to the duty (v. 1): O God! my heart is fixed, and then I will sing and give praise. Wandering straggling thoughts must be gathered in, and kept close to the business; for they must be told that here is work enough for them all.
2. We must praise God with freeness of expression: I will praise him with my glory, that is, with my tongue. Our tongue is our glory, and never more so than when it is employed in praising God. When the heart is inditing this good matter our tongue must be as the pen of a ready writer, Ps. 45:1. David's skill in music was his glory, it made him famous, and this should be consecrated to the praise of God; and therefore it follows, Awake my psaltery and harp. Whatever gift we excel in we must praise God with.
3. We must praise God with fervency of affection, and must stir up ourselves to do it, that it may be done in a lively manner and not carelessly (v. 2): Awake, psaltery and harp; let it not be done with a dull and sleepy tune, but let the airs be all lively. I myself will awake early to do it, with all that is within me, and all little enough. Warm devotions honour God.
4. We must praise God publicly, as those that are not ashamed to own our obligations to him and our thankful sense of his favours, but desire that others also may be in like manner affected with the divine goodness (v. 3): I will praise thee among the people of the Jews; nay, I will sing to thee among the nations of the earth. Whatever company we are in we must take all occasions to speak well of God; and we must not be shy of singing psalms, though our neighbours hear us, for it looks like being ashamed of our Master.
5. We must, in our praises, magnify the mercy and truth of God in a special manner (v. 4), mercy in promising, truth in performing. The heavens are vast, but the mercy of God is more capacious; the skies are high and bright, but the truth of God is more eminent, more illustrious. We cannot see further than the heavens and clouds; whatever we see of God's mercy and truth there is still more to be seen, more reserved to be seen, in the other world.
6. Since we find ourselves so, defective in glorifying God, we must beg of him to glorify himself, to do all, to dispose all, to his own glory, to get himself honour and make himself a name (v. 5): Be thou exalted, O God! above the heavens, higher than the angels themselves can exalt thee with their praises, and let thy glory be spread over all the earth. Father, glorify thy own name. Thou hast glorified it; glorify it again. It is to be our first petition, Hallowed be thy name.

Psa 108:6-13

We may here learn how to pray as well as praise.

1. We must be public-spirited in prayer, and bear upon our hearts, at the throne of grace, the concerns of the church of God, v. 6. It is God's beloved, and therefore must be ours; and therefore we must pray for its deliverance, and reckon that we are answered if God grant what we ask for his church, though he delay to give us what we ask for ourselves. "Save thy church, and thou answerest me; I have what I would have.' Let the earth be filled with God's glory, and the prayers of David are ended (Ps. 72:19, 20); he desires no more.
2. We must, in prayer, act faith upon the power and promise of God-upon his power (Save with thy right hand, which is mighty to save), and upon his promise: God has spoken in his holiness, in his holy word, to which he has sworn by his holiness, and therefore I will rejoice, v. 7. What he has promised he will perform, for it is the word both of his truth and of his power. An active faith can rejoice in what God has said, though it be not yet done; for with him saying and doing are not two things, whatever they are with us.
3. We must, in prayer, take the comfort of what God has secured to us and settled upon us, though we are not yet put in possession of it. God had promised David to give him,
- (1.) The hearts of his subjects; and therefore he surveys the several parts of the country as his own already: "Shechem and Succoth, Gilead and Manasseh, Ephraim and Judah, are all my own,' v. 8. With such assurance as this we may speak of the performance of what God has promised to the Son of David; he will, without fail, give him the heathen for his inheritance and the utmost parts of the earth for his possession, for so has he spoken in his holiness; nay, of all the particular persons that were given him he will lose none; he also, as David, shall have the hearts of his subjects, Jn. 6:37. And,
- (2.) The necks of his enemies. These are promised, and therefore David looks upon Moab, and Edom, and Philistia, as his own already (v. 9): Over Philistia will I triumph, which explains Ps. 60:8, Philistia, triumph thou because of me, which some think should be read, O my soul! triumph thou over Philistia. Thus the exalted Redeemer is set down at God's right hand, in a full assurance that all his enemies shall in due time be made his footstool, though all things are not yet put under him, Heb. 2:8.
4. We must take encouragement from the beginnings of mercy to pray and hope for the perfecting of it (v. 10, 11): "Who will bring me into the strong cities that are yet unconquered? Who will make me master of the country of Edom, which is yet unsubdued?' The question was probably to be debated in his privy council, or a council of war, what methods they should take to subdue the Edomites and to reduce that country; but he brings it into his prayers, and leaves it in God's hands: Wilt not thou, O God? Certainly thou wilt. It is probable that he spoke with the more assurance concerning the conquest of Edom because of the ancient oracle concerning Jacob and Esau, that the elder should serve the younger, and the blessing of Jacob, by which he was made Esau's lord, Gen. 27:37.
5. We must not be discouraged in prayer, nor beaten off from our hold of God, though Providence has in some instances frowned upon us: "Though thou hast cast us off, yet thou wilt now go forth with our hosts, v. 11. Thou wilt comfort us again after the time that thou hast afflicted us.' Adverse events are sometimes intended for the trial of the constancy of our faith and prayer, which we ought to persevere in whatever difficulties we meet with, and not to faint.
6. We must seek help from God, renouncing all confidence in the creature (v. 12): "Lord, give us help from trouble, prosper our designs, and defeat the designs of our enemies against us.' It is not unseasonable to talk of trouble at the same time that we talk of triumphs, especially when it is to quicken prayer for help from heaven; and it is a good plea, Vain is the help of man. "It is really so, and therefore we are undone if thou do not help us; we apprehend it to be so, and therefore depend upon thee for help and have the more reason to expect it.'
7. We must depend entirely upon the favour and grace of God, both for strength and success in our work and warfare, v. 13.
- (1.) We must do our part, but we can do nothing of ourselves; it is only through God that we shall do valiantly. Blessed Paul will own that even he can do nothing, nothing to purpose, but through Christ strengthening him, Phil. 4:13.
- (2.) When we have acquitted ourselves ever so well, yet we cannot speed by any merit or might of our own; it is God himself that treads down our enemies, else we with all our valour cannot do it. Whatever we do, whatever we gain, God must have all the glory.

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