October 23, 2009
My Help Comes from the Lord
Psalm 108
Bobby Silva
Central Truth
Our ultimate source for wisdom, understanding, direction, and safety is from Christ, not from man's ways or what this world has to offer.
Key Verse | Psalm 108:12
Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile.
(Psalm 108:12)
Psalm 108
With God We Shall Do Valiantly
A Song. A Psalm of David.
1
My heart is steadfast, O God!
I will sing and make melody with all my being!
1
108:1
Hebrew with my glory
2
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
3
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
4
For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6
That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
7
God has promised in his holiness:
2
108:7
Or sanctuary
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
8
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah my scepter.
9
Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10
Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11
Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
12
Oh grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
13
With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Dive Deeper | Psalm 108
This psalm of David reminds me how David was steadfast in his dependence on the Lord in times of need and did not seek after his own counsel or worldly solutions to his circumstances. He first set the tone in the psalm by praising God in song. In verse 6, he clearly acknowledged that it is the Lord who delivers by His power and answers our prayers so that the ones He loves may be safe.
How often in my daily walk when I encounter trials of many kinds my first reaction is to try to solve the problem in my own strength or through the ways of this world. That is my “Lone Ranger” approach to life. In my rush to put out the fire, it does not seem practical to stop and praise God with song (verse 2), give Him thanks for all that He has done (verse 3), give Him all the glory (verses 4-5), remember all that He has done in the past (verses 7-10), and finally desperately seek the Lord for His answer. I need to stop and remind myself that the only way I can battle the enemy is to take the time to seek God's counsel and will.
David points out in verse 12 how futile is any help that man might offer and how I can spin my wheels when I respond out of my own strength or worldly pressures. Jesus Himself tells us that He is the vine, and we are the branches, and without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). None of us want our efforts to be futile, yet that is exactly what my efforts are, unless I seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) in all of my decisions.
Today, I am encouraged to seek the Lord in His Word, in prayer, and through our community so I can love God and those He has placed around me.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you praise the Lord when you awake in the morning? (Verses 2-3)
2. Do you sing His praises to others who don't know him? (Verse 3)
3. In what areas of your life do you need to be asking God for help instead of relying on men's futile help? (Verse 12)