God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
108 My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my [a]soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.
6 That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!7 God has spoken in His [b]holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem
And measure out the valley of Succoth.
8 “Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [c]helmet of My head;
Judah is My [d]scepter.
9 “Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”10 Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who [e]will lead me to Edom?
11 Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?
12 Oh give us help against the adversary,
For deliverance [f]by man is in vain.
13 [g]Through God we will do valiantly,
And it is He who shall tread down our adversaries.
This whole psalm describes the greatness of God, of His lovingkindness, truth, and glory. The psalmist tells us that God’s love goes beyond the heavens, and His truth reaches to the sky. But really, they don’t… because the heavens are too small to compare the greatness of God. Yet if we need a word picture, that’s about as good as we can get.
How high are the heavens, and how tall is the sky? It is indeed a picture of immensity, especially if you’ve ever watched a space shuttle launch, or seen anything else launched into space, or even to the limits of our atmosphere. Keep going though, because God is bigger than that, more powerful, His truth, unchangeable, and unassailable–despite man’s best efforts.
And so the psalmist rightly concludes with a thought that is especially appropriate today, “For deliverance by man is in vain.” If God isn’t in something, it isn’t going anywhere. So many look to leaders, in many spaces, but especially in our government, to rescue them. They want someone to swoop down and make their life better. Sadly, they are in for disappointment, if that is where they put their hope.
Where do you put your hope, where do I put my hope? Is it in a presidential candidate? Whichever side you support, they will not deliver you, and the man that God wants in that office will be there. Our current president is there because God said so… Let that sink in a moment, especially if you aren’t terribly happy with how that’s been going.
Even if things go your way politically (or not), remember the One who is the only one who can rescue you. And remember what He has entrusted you with. God doesn’t want us to sit back and wait for a president, or congress, or a mayor, or anyone else. He has given you tools for action. Put your hope and trust in Him, and get out and do what He has equipped you to do. “Through God we will do valiantly…” and any “treading down” of adversaries will be taken care of by God alone. Let Him be God in your life, and honor Him with what you are doing each and every day.