Impossible possibility
The coming of God’s kingdom has always been impossible, humanly speaking. Our part in that venture often seems impossible too. This psalm joyfully tackles that problem head-on.
1 My heart is set, God—
I won’t be stopped.
I’m going to sing and make music.
2 Wake up, my soul!
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn!
3 I’ll celebrate you among the nations, my Lord
sing your praises to everyone everywhere.
4 For so vast is your unfailing love
that it reaches the heavens
and so great is your faithfulness
that it touches the clouds.
5 Rise up high above the heavens, O God!
Reign in glory over all the earth!
6 Stretch out your mighty hand and help us
so your beloved people are rescued.
7 God has spoken in his holiness:
“In triumph I will parcel out Shechem
and measure off the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine and Manasseh mine too.
Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter!
9 Moab is my washbasin
onto Edom I toss my shoes
and over Philistia shout triumphant!”
10 Who will take me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom
11 if not you who have abandoned us, God
and no longer march out with our armies?
12 Help us fight against our foes
since human help is worthless.
13 With God’s help we’ll fight courageously.
Yes, he’s the one
who will crush our oppressors!
This psalmist here seamlessly joins selections from two David psalms (Psa. 57:7-11 and 60:5-12). Some scholars think this makes the psalm unoriginal, but that’s far from true: the psalmist makes the words her own, giving both selections new meaning by combining them in their new post-exilic context.*
Restored to their land, the Israelites joyfully celebrate God’s lovingkindness before the nations. But now they’re starting from scratch, with Jerusalem’s destruction a living memory. The Edomites, the Israelites’ relatives through Esau, played a pivotal role in that catastrophe. Remembering how it played out deeply pains the Israelites since they hadn’t been aggressive toward the Edomites. This leads the psalmist to reflect on the Israelites’ current situation, what brought them to this point, and where they’re to go from here.
God assures them that nothing has really changed from David’s day: God is just as committed as ever to Israel—to both Judah and Ephraim, divided Israel’s northern kingdom—and he’s still sovereign over the surrounding nations that threaten them. In its heyday, under Solomon, Israel wasn’t threatened by any of the nations named here. And the psalmist believes God’s kingdom will yet cover the earth, but God’s people have suffered major setbacks and, with neither Joshua nor David to lead them, they don’t know how to proceed.
Despite God’s having brought them back home, their extreme hardship and vulnerability in the land call his restoration of them into question. Since human help is unreliable at best and the Israelites’ challenges far exceed the realm of human help, the psalmist knows only God can establish his kingdom on earth. She seems to be looking forward to and longing for the Messiah God would send to deliver his people from their foes. Besides asking for God’s help, she commits to partnering courageously with him and celebrating his victory over evil long before it happens.
Prayer:
Thank you, Jesus, that your faithfulness reaches to the clouds, but I feel very vulnerable to attack, and the way ahead is unclear. Lead me against my foes, grant me your help, and give me courage. I know human help is worthless in such a fight as this. May your kingdom come, I pray. Amen.
In your free moments today, pray this prayer:
Stretch out your mighty hand and help us
so your beloved children are rescued.
* I imagine the psalmist here as a woman of faith, like Miriam, Deborah, Hanna, or the Virgin Mary (see further, my answer to the question: Who wrote the psalms?).
