Fixed Hearts and Public Conquests
Introduction: The Treason of the Wobblers
We live in an age of wobblers. Our convictions are fluid, our commitments are temporary, and our worship is gauged by the fickle thermometer of our feelings. The modern evangelical mind is often a quivering mass of sentimentality, tossed to and fro by every new worship song, political panic, or self-help fad. We want a faith that is comfortable, a God who is manageable, and a victory that requires no fight. But the faith of our fathers, the faith of the Scriptures, is made of sterner stuff. It is a faith of fixed hearts, of resolute wills, and of blood-earnest praise that precedes the battle.
This psalm, Psalm 108, is a marvelous example of this rugged faith. It is what you might call a divinely sanctioned mashup. The first part of the psalm is taken from Psalm 57, and the second part is taken from Psalm 60. This is not David being unoriginal; this is the Holy Spirit teaching us how to use the arsenal of Scripture. David is taking two tested and proven blades, reforging them into a new weapon for a new occasion. He is modeling for us how to take the established truths of God and apply them to the present crisis. The Word of God is not a museum piece to be admired from a distance. It is a sword to be drawn, a song to be sung, and a prayer to be prayed in the teeth of the enemy.
The central lesson here is the unbreakable link between private worship and public warfare. What happens in the secret place with a fixed heart determines what happens on the public battlefield. If your heart is not fixed on the character of God before the sun comes up, you will be routed by the enemy before lunch. This psalm teaches us that true worship is the essential preparation for spiritual conquest. It is the declaration of God's infinite worth, which then becomes the basis for our petition for earthly victory.
The Text
My heart is set, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my glory. Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn! I will give thanks to You, O Yahweh, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens, And Your truth reaches to the skies. Be exalted above the heavens, O God, And Your glory above all the earth. That Your beloved may be rescued, Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
(Psalm 108:1-6 LSB)
The Unshakeable Foundation (v. 1)
The entire psalm, and indeed the entire life of faith, is built upon the resolution of the first verse.
"My heart is set, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my glory." (Psalm 108:1)
The Hebrew for "my heart is set" means it is fixed, established, steadfast. This is not a description of a fleeting emotion. It is a declaration of a settled will. David is not saying, "I feel like singing today." He is saying, "I have made up my mind. Regardless of my circumstances, regardless of the threats I face, my heart is anchored." Where is it anchored? It is anchored in God. This is the first act of spiritual warfare: to take your wavering, distractible heart and, by an act of sheer will empowered by grace, to nail it to the floor. The Christian life is not for drifters. It is for those whose hearts are set.
And what is the immediate result of a fixed heart? Song. "I will sing, I will sing praises." A fixed heart is a singing heart. But notice how he sings: "even with my glory." What is his glory? It is his tongue, the faculty of articulate speech. James tells us the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. But redeemed by God, the tongue becomes man's glory, his unique capacity to render intelligent, coherent, doctrinal praise back to the God who made him. This is not mindless chanting. This is theology set to music. He is engaging his whole being, his glory, in the praise of God. This is the opposite of the detached, ironic posture of our age. This is all in.
Pre-Emptive Praise (v. 2)
This fixed-hearted worship is not passive. It is aggressive. It takes the initiative.
"Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn!" (Psalm 108:2 LSB)
David commands his instruments. He is the master of his worship, not a slave to his moods. He doesn't wait for the worship leader to stir him up. He stirs himself up. He takes up his instruments and commands them to join him. This is disciplined, intentional worship.
Then comes that magnificent phrase: "I will awaken the dawn!" This is not the arrogant claim that he controls the rotation of the earth. It is the zealous boast of a man who cannot wait to praise his God. He is saying, "My praise for God will begin before the sun has any thought of rising. The day will not set the agenda for my worship; my worship will set the agenda for the day." This is a profound rebuke to our lazy, convenient Christianity. We fit God in when we have a moment. David gets up to praise God in the dark, and by doing so, he frames the entire day that follows. The battle for the day is won or lost in these pre-dawn moments.
Global Ambitions (v. 3)
This intensely personal worship is not meant to remain private. It has global, missional ambitions.
"I will give thanks to You, O Yahweh, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations." (Psalm 108:3 LSB)
The praise that starts in the dark before the dawn is destined for the public square. It is meant to be heard by the "peoples" and the "nations," that is, the Gentiles, the pagans. David's worship is evangelistic. It is an instrument of spiritual conquest. He understands that the praises of Yahweh are a declaration of war against all false gods and all rebellious nations. He is not singing in a sound-proofed room. He is singing on the world stage, with the intention of seeing the nations bow the knee to the God of Israel.
This is the Old Testament root of the Great Commission. The goal has always been the discipleship of the nations. And how does it begin? It begins with the public, unapologetic, joyful praise of the people of God. When the world sees a people whose hearts are so fixed on their God that they sing His praises in the face of trouble, they are confronted with a power they cannot understand and cannot defeat.
The Unfailing Theme (v. 4)
What is the content of this world-conquering song? What makes his heart so fixed? The character of God.
"For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens, And Your truth reaches to the skies." (Psalm 108:4 LSB)
Here are the two pillars that hold up the universe: God's lovingkindness and His truth. The word for lovingkindness is hesed, that rich, covenantal term that means steadfast love, loyal love, mercy that will not let go. The word for truth is emet, which means faithfulness, reliability, firmness. David's heart is not fixed on his own resolve. It is fixed on the objective reality of God's character.
And look at the scale of it. God's hesed is "great above the heavens." His emet "reaches to the skies." His covenant loyalty and faithfulness are more vast, more permanent, and more real than the physical cosmos. This is why he can be so confident. He has anchored his soul to attributes that are infinite and unchanging. Our worship is so often flimsy because it is about us: our needs, our feelings, our experiences. David's worship is rock-solid because it is about God: His love, His truth, His greatness.
The Ultimate Goal (v. 5)
This leads to the central petition of the psalm, which is not a petition for himself, but for God.
"Be exalted above the heavens, O God, And Your glory above all the earth." (Psalm 108:5 LSB)
This is the goal of all creation, all of history, and all of our worship. It is the prayer that God's name be hallowed, that His kingdom come, that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The ultimate desire of a fixed heart is not its own comfort or safety, but the exaltation of God's name and the manifestation of His glory over every square inch of the planet. This is a prayer for the success of the gospel. It is a prayer that God would be seen and acknowledged for who He truly is, not just in the heavens where the angels praise Him, but here, on earth, in our cities, our governments, our schools, and our homes.
The Confident Request (v. 6)
Only after establishing this great, God-centered foundation does David turn to his own need. And he does so with stunning confidence.
"That Your beloved may be rescued, Save with Your right hand, and answer me!" (Psalm 108:6 LSB)
Notice the logic. "Be exalted, O God... so that Your beloved may be rescued." Our deliverance is not the ultimate end. God's glory is the ultimate end, and our deliverance is a means to that end. When God saves His people, He glorifies His name. He shows the world that He is a God who keeps His promises to those He loves.
He appeals to his status as God's "beloved." He is not appealing to his own merit, but to God's elective love. He is one of God's chosen, and he knows it. And on that basis, he asks for God to act. "Save with Your right hand." The right hand is the hand of power and action. This is not a vague plea for spiritual comfort. It is a request for a real, tangible, historical intervention. He is asking God to do something.
This is the pattern for every Christian. We begin by fixing our hearts on who God is. We praise Him for His cosmic hesed and emet. We align our ultimate desire with His, which is His own glory. And from that high ground of worship, we can then boldly ask Him to intervene in our lives, to rescue us from our troubles, to save us with His mighty right hand, all for the sake of His great name. A fixed heart leads to bold prayers, and bold prayers lead to great victories.