The Book of Psalms

Word Study

"my heart is fixed," Hebrew nakhon libbi (נָכוֹן לִבִּי), steadfast, firm, established. The secret of this whole psalm is in its first three words. A divided, wavering heart cannot truly worship; it is pulled a dozen ways and cannot give itself wholly to God. The steadied heart is the singing heart.

"even with my glory," af-kevodi (אַף־כְּבוֹדִי). Out of a fixed heart the singer can say without hesitation, "I will sing and give praise, even with my glory", with everything I am. Nothing of himself is held back from the song.

"I myself will awake early," a'irah shachar (אָעִירָה שָּׁחַר), I will wake the dawn. The Hebrew is more striking than the English. The psalmist rises before the sun, so that his praise wakes the morning rather than the morning waking him. God is his first thought, his earliest word.

"great above the heavens," gadol me'al-shamayim (גָדוֹל מֵעַל־שָׁמָיִם). The praise is not kept private but sung "among the nations," and this is why: God's mercy overtops the sky itself, "and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds." A mercy that large cannot be sung to one people only.

"be thou exalted," rumah (רוּמָה). The aim of it all is not the singer's comfort but God's exaltation: "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth." A fixed heart, an early song, and God lifted high, this is worship as it was meant to be.

Explanation

The secret of this whole psalm is in its first three words: "my heart is fixed." The word means steadfast, firm, established, a heart that is settled and will not be shaken. And notice how confident praise flows straight out of a fixed heart. A divided, wavering heart cannot truly worship; it is pulled a dozen ways and cannot give itself wholly to God. But a heart that is fixed on God can say without hesitation, "I will sing and give praise, even with my glory", with everything I am. The steadied heart is the singing heart. And out of that settled heart comes an eagerness that will not wait: "Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early." The Hebrew is even more striking, "I will wake the dawn", the psalmist rises before the sun, so that his praise wakes the morning rather than the morning waking him. God is his first thought, his earliest word. And this praise is not kept private; it reaches outward, "I will sing praises unto thee among the nations," for God's mercy is "great above the heavens." The aim of it all is not the singer's comfort but God's exaltation: "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens." A fixed heart, an early song, and God lifted high, this is worship as it was meant to be.

Gospel Focus

"I will sing praises unto thee among the nations", this reaching of praise beyond Israel to all peoples is fulfilled in the gospel, for Paul cites the like words of David to show that Christ came "that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy," so that "I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name" (Romans 15:9). The mercy "great above the heavens" is the boundless mercy shown in Jesus Christ, and the prayer "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens" is answered in Him, for God "ascended up far above all heavens" (Ephesians 4:10) and "hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:9). So let the gospel fix your heart. When it rests settled on Christ and His mercy, praise will flow of itself, waking the dawn, reaching the nations, and lifting the exalted Lord Jesus higher still.

Word Study

"thy beloved," Hebrew yedidekha (יְדִידֶיךָ). The prayer is made on the ground of God's affection, not the petitioner's merit: "That thy beloved may be delivered." Those God loves have a claim on His rescuing hand.

"save with thy right hand," hoshi'ah yeminkha (הוֹשִׁיעָה יְמִינְךָ). The right hand is the hand of strength, and it is God's own, not the psalmist's. The deliverance asked for is to be worked by God Himself.

"God hath spoken in his holiness," Elohim dibber beqodsho (אֱלֹהִים דִּבֶּר בְּקָדְשׁוֹ). Here is the hinge of the section and the ground of all its confidence. God has given His word, sworn by His own holiness, and that changes everything. This is how faith talks: it speaks of what God has promised as though it were already accomplished, saying of unconquered territory, "Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine."

"Moab is my washpot," Mo'av sir rachtzi (מוֹאָב סִיר רַחְצִי). Notice how the once-fearsome enemies are reduced. A washpot is the lowly basin a man washes his feet in; the proud nation that terrified Israel becomes, in the light of God's word, no more than a servant's basin.

"cast out my shoe," ashlikh na'ali (אַשְׁלִיךְ נַעֲלִי). The gesture is one of taking possession, as a master claims what is his. Edom becomes a place to set down a sandal. When God has spoken, the greatest enemy is cut down to size.

Explanation

The hinge of this section, and the ground of all its confidence, is one short sentence: "God hath spoken in his holiness." God has given His word, sworn by His own holiness, and that changes everything. Watch what the psalmist does once he knows God has spoken: he begins to speak of the promised territories as already his. "I will divide Shechem... Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver." The battles are not yet fought, the land not yet fully held, and still he says "mine", because God has promised it, and God's word is as good as done. This is how faith talks: it speaks of what God has promised as though it were already accomplished, resting the whole weight of its confidence on the fact that "God hath spoken." And notice how the once-fearsome enemies are reduced: "Moab is my washpot", the lowly basin a man washes his feet in; "over Edom will I cast out my shoe", a gesture of taking possession, as a master claims what is his. The proud nations that terrified Israel become, in the light of God's word, no more than a servant's basin and a place to set down a sandal. When God has spoken, the greatest enemy is cut down to size, and the believer may rejoice in a victory that is certain because God cannot lie.

Gospel Focus

"That thy beloved may be delivered", the Beloved in the fullest sense is the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the Father declared, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17), and in whom His people are "accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). Because we are in the Beloved, His deliverance is ours. And the confidence that rests on "God hath spoken" is the confidence of every believer, for "he is faithful that promised" (Hebrews 10:23), and every promise of God is sure in Christ. The enemies reduced to a washpot and a footstool foreshadow the total victory of Christ, who "must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet" (1 Corinthians 15:25). So learn to talk as faith talks: on the strength of God's spoken word, count the promised victory as already won, for the God who has spoken in His holiness will surely do it, in Jesus Christ.

Word Study

"the strong city," Hebrew ir mivtzar (עִיר מִבְצָר). A fortified place, not to be taken by ordinary means. The psalmist asks, "Who will bring me into the strong city?", and the question is real: no human answer will serve.

"vain is the help of man," shav teshu'at adam (שָׁוְא תְּשׁוּעַת אָדָם). First comes the honest admission of human weakness. The psalmist has come to the end of trusting in armies, alliances, cleverness, his own ability; he has seen that the help of man, when the real trouble comes, is empty, worthless, a broken reed.

"through God we shall do valiantly," belohim na'aseh chayil (בֵּאלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה חָיִל). Notice the exact wording. It does not say, "we shall do valiantly, and God will help a little"; the valour itself is through God, the strength, the courage, the victory, all flowing from Him.

"he it is that shall tread down our enemies," hu yavus tzareinu (הוּא יָבוּס צָרֵינוּ). The final line takes even the fighting out of our hands. We do not win the battle and thank God for assistance; God wins it, and we share in His triumph.

Explanation

The psalm closes with a lesson every believer must learn, and it learns it in the right order. First comes the honest admission of human weakness: "Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man." The psalmist has come to the end of trusting in human strength, in armies, alliances, cleverness, his own ability; he has seen that the help of man, when the real trouble comes, is empty, worthless, a broken reed. That is a hard confession, but a necessary one. Only when we have given up on the arm of flesh are we ready for the second half: "Through God we shall do valiantly." Notice the exact wording. It does not say, "we shall do valiantly, and God will help a little"; it says the valour itself is "through God", the strength, the courage, the victory, all flow from Him. And the final line takes even the fighting out of our hands: "for he it is that shall tread down our enemies." We do not win the battle and thank God for assistance; God wins it, and we share in His triumph. This is the whole secret of the Christian's warfare, held in these two lines: first empty yourself of confidence in man, then be filled with confidence in God, and you will do valiantly, not because you are strong, but because He is.

Gospel Focus

"Through God we shall do valiantly", this is the very confession of the Christian life, for the believer's strength is never his own but always Christ's: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13). We are not conquerors by our own power, but "more than conquerors through him that loved us" (Romans 8:37). And the promise that "he it is that shall tread down our enemies" is fulfilled supremely in the Lord Jesus, who at the cross defeated the powers that held us, "having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15), and who will at last put every enemy, sin, death, and Satan, beneath His feet. So do not lean on the vain help of man, nor on your own strength. Empty yourself, and lean wholly on Christ; then, and only then, will you do valiantly, for the victory is His, and He shares it with all who are His.