1 <A Song. A Psalm. Of David.> O God, my heart is fixed; I will make songs and melody, even with my glory.
2 Give out your sounds, O corded instruments: the dawn will be awaking with my song.
3 I will give you praise, O Lord, among the peoples; I will make melody to you among the nations.
4 For your mercy is higher than the heavens: and your unchanging faith than the clouds.
5 Be lifted up, O God, higher than the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
6 Let your right hand be stretched out for salvation, and give me an answer, so that your loved ones may be safe from danger.
7 This is the word of the holy God: I will be glad; I will make Shechem a heritage, measuring out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is the strength of my head; Judah is my law-giver;
9 Moab is my washpot; on Edom is the resting-place of my shoe; over Philistia will I send out a glad cry.
10 Who will take me into the strong town? who will be my guide into Edom?
11 Have you not sent us away from you, O God? and you go not out with our armies.
12 Give us help in our trouble; for there is no help in man.
13 With God we will do great things; for by him will our haters be crushed underfoot.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 108
Commentary on Psalms 108 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Two Elohimic Fragments Brought Together
The אודך in Psalms 108:4 and the whole contents of this Psalm is the echo to the הודוּ of the preceding Psalm. It is inscribed a Psalm-song by David , but only because it is compiled out of ancient Davidic materials. The fact of the absence of the למנצח makes it natural to suppose that it is of later origin. Two Davidic Psalm-pieces in the Elohimic style are here, with trifling variations, just put together, not soldered together, and taken out of their original historical connection.
That a poet like David would thus compile a third out of two of his own songs (Hengstenberg) is not conceivable.
This first half is taken from Ps. 57:8-12. The repetition of confident is my heart in Psalms 57:1-11 is here omitted; and in place of it the “my glory” of the exclamation, awake my glory , is taken up to “I will sing and will harp” as a more minute definition of the subject (vid., on Psalms 3:5): He will do it, yea,his soul with all its godlike powers shall do it. Jahve in Psalms 108:4 is transformed out of the Adonaj ; and Waw copul . is inserted both before Psalms 108:4 and Psalms 108:6 , contrary to Psalms 57:1-11. מעל , Psalms 108:5 (as in Esther 3:1), would be a pleasing change for עד if Psalms 108:5 followed Psalms 108:5 and the definition of magnitude did not retrograde instead of heightening. Moreover Psalms 36:6; Jeremiah 51:9 (cf. על in Psalms 113:4; Psalms 148:13) favour עד in opposition to מעל .
Ps. 60:7-14 forms this second half. The clause expressing the purpose with למען , as in its original, has the following הושׁיעה for its principal clause upon which it depends. Instead of ועננוּ , which one might have expected, the expression used here is וענני without any interchange of the mode of writing and of reading it; many printed copies have ועננו here also; Baer, following Norzi, correctly has וענני . Instead of ולי ... לי , Psalms 60:9, we here read לי ... לי , which is less soaring. And instead of Cry aloud concerning me, O Philistia do I shout for joy (the triumphant cry of the victor); in accordance with which Hupfeld wishes to take התרועעי in the former as infinitive: “over ( עלי instead of עלי ) Philistia is my shouting for joy” ( התרועעי instead of התרועעי , since the infinitive does not admit of this pausal form of the imperative). For עיר מצור we have here the more usual form of expression עיר מבצר . Psalms 108:12 is weakened by the omission of the אתּה ( הלא ).