¹My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul. ²Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn! ³I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations.

We believe, from a NT perspective, that, “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom. 8:31b). But what if God is against us? David, the man of God who wrote Psalm 108, bares his soul as he wrestles with feelings of abandonment by God. Nevertheless, in faith, he reaches out to God in praise and thanksgiving. Yes, he doubts, but ultimately, faith wins over doubt because of what he knows of the Lord.

Who of us has not wrestled in the honesty of our soul as David did when he wrote, “Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us? And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?” (Ps. 108:11). Our feelings and faith don’t always line up. David is thinking about a specific military setback and interprets the situation as God’s rejection of them. Indeed, sometimes God brings adversity to correct us and to make us see the error of our ways. This was true of Israel when God sometimes brought military defeats due to their wayward actions.

Regardless of the cause, David realizes God was, in fact, for Israel and not against them. So, our adversities are not a sign that God has abandoned us but that He is using them to draw us back to thanksgiving and praise.

David recognizes that only divine intervention can get him and the people out of their mess, and he believes that God will listen to his prayer for rescue:

Oh give us help against the adversary, for deliverance by man is in vain. Through God we will do valiantly, and it is He who shall tread down our adversaries. (Ps. 108:12–13)

It is against this situation that the psalm asserts faith and loyalty to the Lord. The first three verses begin the psalm with a strong proclamation of praise and thanksgiving. One might think David has ulterior motives in praising God for personal gain. A modern-day lobbies a politician by wining and dining him, with the goal of getting a political favor. Or an athlete publicly thanks and praises God to secure a victory in a sporting competition. But David knew better than to try manipulating God with ulterior motives.

This man of God’s life was so intertwined with God and His people that there was no separation between the Lord’s glory and the nation’s victories; they were all of the same cloth. So, his proclamation of gratitude and praise overlayed the military struggles he faced against the nations that opposed God. They were not an attempt to coerce God for His favor but a manifestation of his faith in who God was and is and what He has promised.

While our battles today may not be physical, the military motif is commonly used to picture our spiritual battles. For example, the apostle Paul wrote:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. (2 Cor. 10:3–4)

Yet, just as the psalmist falls back on God’s character, we can echo his thoughts: “For your lovingkindness is great above the heavens, and Your truth reaches to the skies” (vs. 4). We have the same God with the same characteristics. Therefore, we ought to have the same desire that God be exalted and glorified in our lives, not only “above the heavens” but also “above all the earth” (vs. 5). The angelic realm is observing, and our victories showcase God’s lovingkindness to us, mere mortals. So, we can rightly ask for God’s deliverance from our struggles, for this will reflect His glory. We must not let our benefit become the primary focus but see it as a means to shine the light on God’s greatness.

Notice that David’s request lines up with what He knows to be true about God. We don’t know from where he is quoting, but what he rehearses here lines up with the promises to preserve Israel and to establish David’s kingship forever, as reflected in an earlier psalm:

“Once I [the Lord] have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. His descendants shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before Me.” (Ps. 89:35–36)

When David says, “God has spoken in His holiness,” the term “holiness” means to set apart something for God’s unique purposes. Israel was not just another nation on earth; they were God’s people chosen for His special purpose. So, David reflects on the geographical land of promise that was given to Israel (vs. 7), four of the key areas of Israel after they were established in the land, all belonging to God (vs. 8), and then God’s attitude toward the primary enemies who harassed Israel (vs. 9). All this was because God had a distinctive and unique plan for the nation. And David knew that God would fulfill His purpose for Israel. Therefore, his request of God for victory lines up with God’s will.

Through the NT lens we read this psalm in light of what the apostle John affirmed is a godly prayer:

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14)

Therefore, our prayer for help should always be saturated with a desire for God’s glory and a thankful spirit for all He has done and will do. While unbelievers do not have this assurance, we know the Lord is gracious in His lovingkindness toward those He has redeemed. Like David, our prayer is not rooted in any merit or faithfulness on our part. Instead, our hope rests in God and His promises.

How can we pray as confidently as David did? How can we move beyond presenting our personal wish list and instead align our requests with God’s will and desires? We learn from David, the inspired man of God, that a person whose heart is aligned with the Lord’s heart desires to live in God’s will as a way of life. Prayer, then, will be simply a reflection of that alignment. As we grow in the knowledge of God and His lovingkindness, our desires will begin to conform to His desires. And our prayer life will increasingly reflect a spiritual partnership with God, reflecting the mind of our Lord Jesus, who prayed, “Not my will be done, but thine.”

Lord, I join David in proclaiming my thanksgiving and singing Your praises. Today, I will tell someone how great You are!