Bird's-eye view
This latter portion of Psalm 108 is a triumphant declaration of God's sovereign ownership and intention to subdue all His and His people's enemies. It is a divine warrior hymn. Having fixed his heart on praise in the first half of the psalm, David now rehearses the certain promises of God. The voice shifts from David's praise to God's own declaration of victory. This is not wishful thinking; it is a faith-filled recitation of what God has spoken "in His holiness." The geography mentioned is not arbitrary; it systematically lays claim to the entire promised land and then extends that dominion over the surrounding pagan nations. These nations are not just defeated, they are utterly subjugated and put to menial use, pictured with the striking and earthy metaphors of a washbowl and a shoe rack.
The psalm then pivots to a cry of dependence. Despite the certainty of God's promise, the battle must still be fought. The "well-defended city" still stands, and the question of "who will bring me?" is a genuine recognition of human inadequacy. The apparent contradiction of God having "rejected us" is a common feature of the psalms of lament, acknowledging the present reality of struggle while clinging to the ultimate reality of God's promise. The conclusion is a magnificent summary of the Christian life of faith and warfare: salvation from man is worthless, but through God, we will act valiantly, for He is the one who secures the victory. It is a powerful reminder that God's sovereign decree does not eliminate our dependent struggle, but rather grounds it in certain hope.
Outline
- 1. The Divine Warrior's Declaration (Ps 108:7-9)
- a. The Holy Foundation of the Promise (Ps 108:7a)
- b. The Sovereign Apportioning of Israel (Ps 108:7b-8)
- c. The Contemptuous Subjugation of the Nations (Ps 108:9)
- 2. The Dependent Warrior's Cry (Ps 108:10-13)
- a. The Humanly Impossible Task (Ps 108:10)
- b. The Painful Reality of Divine Hiddenness (Ps 108:11)
- c. The Worthlessness of Human Help (Ps 108:12)
- d. The God-Given Certainty of Victory (Ps 108:13)
Context In The Psalter
Psalm 108 is a fascinating composition, a "miktam" of David that is actually a composite of two other psalms. Verses 1-5 are nearly identical to Psalm 57:7-11, and verses 6-13 are drawn directly from Psalm 60:5-12. This is not plagiarism; it is inspired compilation. The Holy Spirit has taken two previous songs, born out of different circumstances, and stitched them together to create a new anthem for a new situation. Psalm 57 was a song from a time of distress (when David fled from Saul in the cave), while Psalm 60 was a lament over a military setback. By combining the fixed-hearted praise of Psalm 57 with the martial declarations and dependencies of Psalm 60, this new psalm becomes a powerful expression of settled faith that is gearing up for war. It moves from a heart fixed on worship to a hand prepared for battle, showing that the foundation for all successful spiritual warfare is a heart that is first and foremost established in the praise of God.
Key Issues
- God's Holy Speech
- The Geography of Dominion
- Imprecatory Language and Subjugation
- Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility in Warfare
- The Nature of "Salvation by Man"
- Doing Valiantly Through God
God Speaks, and It Is So
The pivot point of this whole passage is verse 7: "God has spoken in His holiness." Everything that follows is an unpacking of this foundational reality. When God speaks, He does not merely convey information. He creates reality. His speech is performative. When He said, "Let there be light," there was light. And so here, when He speaks of portioning out Shechem or making Moab His washbowl, this is not a statement of ambition but a declaration of settled fact. It may not have been fully realized in historical time from David's perspective, but in the council of God, it is a done deal.
And notice the basis of this speech: His holiness. This means His speech is utterly reliable because it flows from His character, which is set apart, unique, and absolutely pure. He is not a man, that He should lie. His holiness is the guarantee that what He promises, He will perform. This is why David can take these words, this divine oracle, and go to war with them. He is not fighting on the basis of his own strength or military strategy, but on the basis of a holy, immutable, and creative word from the living God. This is the bedrock of all Christian confidence. We stand, we live, and we fight on the promises of a God who has spoken in His holiness.
Verse by Verse Commentary
7 God has spoken in His holiness: “I will exult, I will portion out Shechem And measure out the valley of Succoth.
The psalmist is now quoting God directly. This is a divine oracle. And God's speech begins with His own exultation. God rejoices in His sovereign plan to establish His kingdom. He is not a reluctant king. He delights in His own rule. The first acts of this rule are to "portion out" and "measure out" His own land. Shechem was a significant place in the heart of the promised land, west of the Jordan, where God first appeared to Abraham. Succoth was on the east side of the Jordan. By naming these two places, God is laying sovereign claim to the entire breadth of His inheritance, from east to west. This is the act of a conqueror surveying and distributing the spoils. The land belongs to Him, and He will parcel it out as He sees fit.
8 Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet of My head; Judah is My scepter.
God continues His inventory of His possessions. Gilead and Manasseh were tribal territories on the east side of the Jordan, reinforcing His claim over the whole land. He then moves to the key tribes. Ephraim, a large and powerful tribe in the north, is described as the "helmet of My head." This is military language; Ephraim is God's defensive strength, His protection. Judah, the tribe of David from which the Messiah would come, is His "scepter." The scepter is the symbol of royal authority and rule. So, God is saying that the military might of His people (Ephraim) and their kingly authority (Judah) are not their own, but are instruments that belong to Him and serve His purposes. He is the true King, and they are His armor and His royal insignia.
9 Moab is My washbowl; Over Edom I shall throw My shoe; Over Philistia I will make a loud shout.”
Having established ownership of His own people, God now turns His attention to the surrounding hostile nations. And the language is one of utter contempt and subjugation. Moab, a perennial enemy, is demoted to the status of a washbowl, a common, dirty pot used for washing feet. This is a profound insult. Edom, another ancestral enemy, will have a shoe thrown over it. This has a double meaning: it signifies taking possession of property, like throwing a shoe onto a piece of land to claim it, and it also signifies the master returning home and tossing his dusty sandals to a slave for cleaning. Philistia, the great coastal foe, will be the object of a triumphant shout of victory. These are not nations to be negotiated with; they are to be conquered and put to menial, servile use in the kingdom of God. This is the language of holy war, where the enemies of God are put in their place, which is under the feet of His anointed king.
10 Who will bring me into the well-defended city? Who will lead me to Edom?
After the soaring divine oracle, the psalmist's human voice returns, and the mood shifts. The promise is certain, but the fulfillment is hard. There is a "well-defended city" to be taken, likely Petra in Edom, a fortress carved out of rock. The question "Who will bring me?" is a frank admission of human weakness. David, the great warrior, knows that he cannot conquer such a stronghold on his own. The promises of God do not lead to presumption, but rather to a sober assessment of our own inadequacy and a desperate search for a divine champion.
11 Have You, O God, not rejected us? And will You, O God, not go forth with our armies?
This is the cry of faith in the midst of struggle. It appears contradictory, but it is the essence of biblical lament. On the one hand, from the perspective of current circumstances, it feels as though God has "rejected us." Perhaps there has been a recent defeat, or the siege is dragging on, or the enemy looks too strong. This is honest prayer; it doesn't pretend that things don't look bad. But in the very next breath, he asks, "will You, O God, not go forth with our armies?" This is the appeal to God's covenant character over and against the immediate circumstances. It is saying, "Lord, it feels like you have left us, but we know you are a God who goes forth with your people, so act according to your name and not according to our feelings or our present predicament."
12 Oh give us help against the adversary, For salvation by man is worthless.
The prayer becomes a direct plea for aid. The struggle has clarified the situation entirely. There are only two options for help: God or man. And the psalmist has come to the firm conclusion that help, or "salvation," from any human source is worthless. The Hebrew word means "vanity" or "emptiness." Alliances with other nations, clever military strategies, the strength of horses and chariots, it is all a puff of smoke. It cannot deliver. The only real help, the only true salvation, must come from God Himself. This is a foundational biblical truth. Until we are convinced of the utter bankruptcy of human solutions, we will not cry out for divine help with the desperation that is required.
13 Through God we shall do valiantly, And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.
The psalm ends on a triumphant crescendo of faith. The conclusion is not that we sit back and wait for God to do everything. No, "through God we shall do valiantly." God's help empowers our action; it does not eliminate it. We are the ones who will fight bravely, who will act with courage and strength. But the source of that valor is not within us; it is "through God." And while we are the ones fighting, it is ultimately "He who will tread down our adversaries." This is the perfect synthesis of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God works through His people. We fight, He gives the victory. We act, He accomplishes His purpose. The final outcome is not in doubt, because the one who tramples the enemy is God Almighty.
Application
This psalm is a manual for the church militant. We too have been given great and precious promises about the victory of the kingdom of Christ. Jesus has declared that He will build His church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. The nations have been given to Him as His inheritance. These things have been spoken "in His holiness." Our task is to believe them.
And in believing them, we are called to fight. We face well-defended cities of unbelief, secularism, and moral rebellion. We look at our own resources and rightly ask, "Who will bring us in?" The salvation offered by man, political solutions, educational reforms, therapeutic techniques, is worthless to solve the fundamental problem of sin. At times, it feels as though God has hidden His face, that the church is losing and has been rejected. In those moments, we must do what David did. We must cry out for help, confessing the vanity of human strength, and then get back to our posts. Through God, we will do valiantly. We will preach the gospel, disciple the nations, build faithful families, and fight injustice. We will do the work, and we will do it with courage. But we do it all with the rock-solid confidence that it is not our cleverness or strength that will win the day. It is God, working through us, who will tread down His adversaries and bring His kingdom to its glorious consummation.