Daily Devotional • October 4
Psalm 108:1-6
1 My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed;
I will sing and make melody.
2 Wake up, my spirit;
awake, lute and harp;
I myself will waken the dawn.
3 I will confess you among the peoples, O LORD;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
4 For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God,
and your glory over all the earth.
6 So that those who are dear to you may be delivered,
save with your right hand and answer me.
Meditation
The opening portion of Psalm 108 is marked by a resolve to praise and request for victory.
The psalmist calls his heart, his soul, his musical instruments to worship. This resolve illustrates the formative power of the spiritual practice of speaking to oneself: “I will sing and make melody. Awake, my soul!” This is different than our modern self-talk which encourages affirmations like “I am confident” or “All I need is within me.” Though self-help affirmations can have some value, they ultimately lock us in on ourselves rather than opening us up to the freedom and confidence that come from communion with God.
The psalmist’s resolve is firmly rooted in God, whose faithfulness exceeds measure and whose steadfast love is otherworldly. It’s believed St. Augustine once said to sing is to pray twice. God’s steadfast love launches us into this double joy of song, the resolve to praise God for all he has done, in redemptive history and our personal histories.
If your resolve to praise God feels non-existent, will you answer the call of this psalm to consider his faithfulness and steadfast love and to inch your way—to call your inner being—to praise?
The resolve to praise shifts in verses 5-6 to a request for victory. The psalmist wants the Lord’s glory to cover the earth. What began as a prayer for the historical conquest of the Promised Land has become a plea for God’s gracious, kingdom rule to embrace the whole earth by deposing the reign of death, sin, and destruction. The nations are no longer our foes but fellow pilgrims ready to be caught up in God’s steadfast love.
In light of Christ, who is at the right hand of the Father, this cry for victory is answered. It is his triumph that demonstrates the steadfast love and faithfulness of God. Christ puts this portion of the Psalm in reverse. The victory has come by his cross and resurrection which leads us into a resolved life of praise.
Claude Atcho is the pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is the author of Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, West Palm Beach, Florida
The Diocese of Pacong – Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan
