Latest / Reformed Thinking / My Heart Is Steadfast, O God (Psalm 108) | Charles Spurgeon

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My Heart Is Steadfast, O God (Psalm 108) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reform Thinking. It is great to have you with us
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today. Whether you are a first time
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listener or you've been around for a while.
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Our mission for this deep dive is very clear.
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We are taking an extensive look at Psalm 108 and we are going to
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do so through the specific lens of Charles Spurgeon's massive
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multi volume work, The Treasury of David.
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Right, it is a massive stack of material.
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It really is. We have all of his explanatory
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notes right here in front of us, along with some fascinating,
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somewhat quaint sayings from various historical theologians
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that he he compiled over decades of study.
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Our goal here is to extract vital theological truths and
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real world applications for you. We are focusing specifically on
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how a robust Reformed understanding of God's
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sovereignty dictates the way we praise Him and the way we fight
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our daily spiritual battles. This isn't about passive
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reading. This is about seeing the
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absolute majesty of God and figuring out how that dictates
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our response when life hits hard.
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That is a brilliant place to start, and the framework we are
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using today relies heavily on the perspective of the
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Protestant Reformation, specifically adhering to the
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theology outlined in the Westminster Confession.
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When we open up the Psalms, and Psalm 108 in particular, we
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aren't just reading a historical diary belonging to King David.
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We are looking at a theological document that reveals the nature
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of God, the condition of humanity, and the way salvation
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and victory are accomplished entirely by divine grace.
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Yeah. That is a crucial distinction to
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make right up front. It is because Charles Spurgeon
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grasped this concept masterfully.
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He spent over 20 years compiling The Treasury of David.
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He gathered the thoughts of Puritans, obscure commentators,
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and massive historical figures to create a comprehensive, multi
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layered view of this text. My role today is to help
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synthesize all of that history for you, to bring those ancient
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insights into the present, and to show how a firm grasp of
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these doctrines provides massive comfort for your own life today.
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I am so ready to get into this. Let's jump right into the first
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major observation about Psalm One O 8, because the very design
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of this text is well, it's fascinating.
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When you open your Bible to Psalm One O 8, you are actually
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reading a compilation. It is a mash up.
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The 1st 5 verses are found almost verbatim in Psalm 57
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verses 7 through 11. Then the remaining verses are
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taken directly from Psalm 60, verses 5 through 12.
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It is basically copied and pasted from those earlier texts.
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Precisely. Now, I know many modern
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commentators look at this and just brush past it.
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They figure we already covered this material in the earlier
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Psalm, so there's nothing new to say.
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But Spurgeon argues something completely different.
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He makes the case that the Holy Spirit does not lack expressions
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and God does not repeat words without a very specific object
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in mind. There is an intentional design
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behind this divine repetition. The words are the exact same,
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but the context has radically shifted.
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Can you break down that context shift for us?
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Gladly, the shift in context is really the key to unlocking the
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whole Psalm. Think about the setting of Psalm
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57, which makes up the first half of our text today.
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David originally sang that song while hiding in The Cave of a
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Dulum. That was a really low point for
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him. Oh.
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Absolutely. To give you some historical
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background, at that time David was a fugitive.
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His faith was just beginning its battles against malicious
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domestic enemies. He was fleeing from the jealous
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wrath of King Saul. First Samuel chapter 22 tells us
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that everyone who was in distress, in debt, or
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discontented gathered to him in that cave.
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It was a dark, damp, terrifying situation.
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The words in Psalm 57 are the result of faith struggling to
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survive in a very hostile, immediate crisis.
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So he is literally singing these words in the dirt, surrounded by
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desperate men. Yes, but when we get to Psalm
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One O 8, the situation is completely altered.
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This is no longer the song of a scared fugitive.
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This is the song of a weathered campaigner, a mature king who
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has overcome his domestic conflicts, secured his throne
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and is now looking forward to vast conquests across foreign
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lands. The circumstances have changed
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drastically, but the words of praise remain the same.
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This shows us something significant about the nature of
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worship. Using the same words twice is
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not vain repetition. If the heart is engaged, God
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deserves the best words. Wait, I want to push back on
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that gently. Just plain devil's advocate for
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a second. When you hear the phrase vain
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repetition, most Christians immediately think of the Sermon
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on the Mount, where Jesus warns against using vain repetitions
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in prayer like the pagans do. How do Spurgeon in these
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Reformed commentators reconcile David repeating entire chunks of
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old Psalms with that clear warning from Jesus?
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That is a phenomenal question. The distinction lies entirely in
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the motivation and the posture of the heart.
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When Jesus condemned the practices of the surrounding
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cultures and the Sermon on the Mount, he was addressing the
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belief that a deity could be manipulated simply by the sheer
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volume or the magical intentation of repeated
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syllables. The pagans believed that if they
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chanted a phrase long enough, they would wear their gods down.
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Like treating prayer as a magic spell.
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Precisely. Spurgeon points out that the
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Lord, who rejects that kind of empty, manipulative repetition,
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is equally weary of vain variations.
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Sometimes we think we need to impress God with our vocabulary,
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constantly inventing new theological prose.
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But if you have words that truly express your dependence on God,
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words that align with scripture and flow from a sincere, engaged
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heart, they are good enough to be used twice or 1000 times.
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The requirement is not novelty of language, the requirement is
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an engaged heart. The Holy Spirit inspired those
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words in The Cave, and their same words were perfectly
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suitable for the throne room. That is a huge relief.
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What a brilliant insight from Spurgeon.
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It takes away the modern pressure we all feel to
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constantly be original. If you have ever felt like your
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daily prayer routines or your meditations are getting stale,
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you might worry that God is bored with you.
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But Spurgeon argues that novelty is entirely overrated in the
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Kingdom of heaven. If you struggle to find novel
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expressions in your own devotion, do not distress
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yourself in the slightest. Utilizing established biblical
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words is highly acceptable to God.
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I think that brings immense comfort to a lot of people.
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It really does. And that brings us perfectly
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into the second section of our discussion, focusing on the 1st
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3 verses of the Psalm where David declares his heart is
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fixed. Verse one begins with a striking
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declaration. Oh God, my heart is fixed.
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I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
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What does it mean for a heart to be fixed, especially in a world
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that feels so chaotic? The concept of a fixed heart is
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crucial, and Reformed theology, which stresses the stability of
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God's eternal decrees and the corresponding stability he
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grants to the believer. To illustrate this, the notes in
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The Treasury of David include an analogy from a 19th century
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writer named GS Bose. He points out the mechanics of
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movement. Oh, I love this analogy.
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It is incredibly vivid. Bose notes that the wheels of a
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chariot revolve rapidly, the sails of a mill move violently
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with the wind, the earth itself is carried around its orbit at
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incredible speed, but the axle tree of the chariot and the
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center of the earth remain completely fixed.
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If the axle of a chariot wobbles, the whole vehicle
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crashes. In the midst of changing scenes,
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shifting fortunes and the chaotic revolutions of life, the
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Christian should be able to say, My heart is fixed.
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Because of your core is wobbling, everything else falls
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apart. Right, and this is not a natural
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human trait. Human thoughts are naturally
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flitting, inconsistent, and easily distracted by the latest
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crisis. This fixedness is a state
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achieved through divine grace and intentional, disciplined
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meditation. It is the axle that holds the
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believer steady when the wheels of life are spinning out of
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control. I really appreciate the quotes
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from Puritan writers Nathaniel Renu and John Wells on this
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subject. They explained that meditation
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is a fixed duty. It is not a cursory glance at
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spiritual things while you are rushing out the door.
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Wells uses the analogy of a master painter.
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When painter looks at a subject they want to capture on canvas,
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they don't just take a quick look and walk away.
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They observe every shade, every line, every nuance of light and
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shadow. They.
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Really study the subject. Yes, they stake their thoughts
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down on the object. That is what David is doing
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here. He is chaining his thoughts down
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upon the reality of who God is. His heart is settled, meaning
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his will and his affections are prepared and firmly directed
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toward God. And because his heart is fixed,
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he says he will sing and give praise even with my glory.
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That is slightly strange phrase for modern years.
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What exactly is his glory in this context?
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It is a beautiful poetic phrase. Commentators suggest this refers
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to the best faculties a human being possesses.
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It is his intellect, his tongue, his poetic faculty, his musical
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ability. It is the glory of a human being
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to be able to speak, to know God rationally, and to be immortal,
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unlike the brute creatures of the field.
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Because animals can't compose poetry or sing hymns.
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Right. An animal can praise God simply
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by existing and doing what it was created to do.
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But a human being can praise God consciously, intelligently, and
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articulately. David is saying that all of
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these highest faculties, the very things that make him
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glorious as a creature made in the image of God, will be
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entirely enlisted in praising Jehovah.
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He isn't giving God his leftover energy.
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He is giving God his highest intellectual and creative
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capacities. That intentionality is brought
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to life in a fantastic story from the Talmud, which the
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German theologian Franz de Lich provides in his commentary
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notes. The story goes that David had a
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Southern, which is a type of ancient stringed instrument,
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like a liar hanging directly above his bed.
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I find this historical detail so fascinating.
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It is amazing. At midnight, the north wind
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would blow through the open window and pass through the
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strengths, causing them to sound on their own, almost like a wind
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chime. Hearing this music in the middle
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of the night, David would immediately arise from his bed
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and busy himself studying the Torah until the dawn finally
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arrived. He literally woke up in the
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middle of the night just to study.
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Exactly. The ancient rabbis noted that
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while the dawn awakes other kings to their earthly duties,
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David's motto was I will awake the dawn.
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He was calling up the morning sun to join him in worship.
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It is such a beautiful image though, I have to admit.
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Basically, David invented the world's most productive,
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spiritually enriching alarm clock while the rest of us are
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just hitting snooze on our phones.
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It is a staggering level of devotion, isn't it?
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We see a similar dedication to consecrating one's highest
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skills in a quote from the great HEM writer Charles Wesley, which
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Spurgeon included in the text. Wesley wrote about taking
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whatever tuneful art or musical skill 1 possesses and devoting
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it entirely to the Lord's will. He viewed musical talent very
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seriously. He did.
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He believed that music and art, when used by a thoroughly
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enraptured soul, become a vehicle for divine praise rather
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than mere earthly entertainment. All too often, people use their
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talents, their intellect, their artistic abilities to draw
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attention to themselves. David and Wesley are arguing for
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the exact opposite approach. Your highest talents are the
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very tools you should use to magnify the creator.
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And David's vision for this praise was absolutely massive.
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It wasn't just a private internal thing.
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He wanted this broadcasted. Verse 3 says, I will praise the
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O Lord among the people, and I will sing praises unto thee
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among the nations. Notice the sheer scope of this.
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This is a cosmopolitan missionary desire.
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Especially for that era in history.
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Yes, we are talking about the Ancient Near East, a time when
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gods were considered strictly local or territorial.
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The Moabites had to marsh, the Philistines had Dagan, and the
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assumption was that a God's jurisdiction ended at the
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national border. But long before the Great
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Commission was formally given by Christ in the New Testament,
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David wanted his praise of Yahweh to ring out globally.
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He refused to keep his faith confined.
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He really did. He wanted the whole race of
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humanity to listen to his joy in God whenever he pushed his
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military conquest outward. The vanquished nations wouldn't
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just hear the battle cries of David's army, they would hear
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the glories of the Lord of Hosts.
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His religion wasn't something he kept confined to his own home or
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his own borders. He carried the praises of the
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Lord with him everywhere he went.
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The motivation for this global praise is found right in the
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next section, verses 4 through 6, where we see the strict
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proportion between God's attributes and the praise he is
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owed. Verse 4 states, For thy mercy is
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great above the heavens, and thy truth reaches unto the clouds.
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The 17th century commentator Henry Jeans points out the
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mathematical proportion here. I love how analytical the
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Puritan writers get with these verses.
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They. Analyze every single word.
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Jeans argues that because God's mercy is vast, literally
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towering above the heavens, our praise must correspond to that
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reality. If God's mercy were small, small
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praise would suffice. But since His mercy is infinite,
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we must attempt to exalt Him above the heavens and our
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worship. Furthermore, the Scottish
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Minister, Andrew A Bonar, adds a brilliant theological connection
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here. What does Bonar say about it?
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He notes that the mercy dropping down from above the heavens in
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this Psalm perfectly aligns with the New Testament reality of
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crisis incarnation. The peace on earth declared by
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the angels in Luke chapter 2 originates as peace in heaven.
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The mercy is coming from the highest possible source down to
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the muddy reality of Earth. That sets up a fascinating shift
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in verse 6, where the tone moves from pure, exalted praise into
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what we might call representative pleading.
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David says that thy beloved may be delivered, save with thy
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right hand and answer me. I want to pause on that phrase.
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Thy beloved. Who exactly is the beloved in
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this context? Looking through a reformed
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theological lens, this seems to carry a lot of weight.
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It carries immense weight in Reformed theology.
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The phrase thy beloved is a clear reference to the church,
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specifically the elect incorporation of believers.
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This isn't just a casual term of endearment.
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It refers to those who were chosen by God before the
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foundation of the world. Those who are loved by God more
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than anything else in all of creation.
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They are the apple of His eye. So David is praying for the
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entire body of believers. Yes.
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Notice the grammatical shift and the heavy responsibility in
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David's position here. He says, Answer me singular, so
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that thy beloved plural may be delivered.
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David understands that his personal cause is inextricably
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bound up with the safety of the chosen people.
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He is acting as a mediator, a representative.
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Think about the solemn reality of representative prayer for a
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moment. Sometimes the fate of an entire
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nation or a local church congregation, or your own family
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might hang on the petitions of one person praying for God's
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beloved. We see this with Moses pleading
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for Israel or historic figures like John Knox praying for
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Scotland. It completely shifts the focus
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of our prayer life. It really does.
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When your prayers aren't selfish but are intricately tied to the
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cause of God and the welfare of His people.
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You can be very bold in your pleading.
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You are essentially saying, Lord answer me, not because I am so
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great, but because your people need deliverance and I am
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fighting for them. It takes the focus off our own
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petty desires and elevates our prayer life to a Kingdom level.
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That boldness and prayer is completely grounded in what God
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has already decreed. Which brings us to verses 7 and
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8. Here we encounter the concept of
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the covenant promise and the sole lawgiver.
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Verse 7 says God has spoken in His Holiness.
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I will rejoice. I will divide Shechem and meet
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out the valley of Sukko Dave. He goes on to claim Gilead,
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Manasseh, Ephraim and Judah. He is claiming a lot of
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territory there. He is now the basis of his joy,
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and his absolute confidence in dividing these lands is simply
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this God has spoken. The commentator James G Murphy
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explains in the notes that these specific territories were
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guaranteed to David's line by immutable divine promises.
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Because God is perfectly holy, he cannot lie.
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His attributes are irrevocably pledged to fulfill His Word.
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So the promise is as good as the fulfillment.
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Precisely, therefore, faith can close its grip on a promise and
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furnish immense joy to the believer long before the actual
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physical performance of it is seen with human eyes.
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That is a staggering truth to hold onto.
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If God has spoken it, it is as good as done.
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David considers these territories as already his
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property, even before they are fully subdued by his armies,
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just like holding the title D to a house you haven't moved into
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yet. But there's a specific phrase in
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verse 8 that requires our close attention.
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David says Judah is my lawgiver. That is a heavily loaded phrase.
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It is, historically speaking, Judah was the tribe where the
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government and the chief courts of justice were seated.
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We know from Genesis 29 that Scepter would not depart from
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Judah, But Spurgeon, keeping with strict Reformed theology,
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bypasses the ancient geopolitics and applies this directly to
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Christ. Jesus sprang from the tribe of
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Judah. Let's unpack that, because in
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the Reformed tradition, particularly as outlined in the
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Westminster Confession, this idea of Christ as the sole king
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and head of the church is a massive theological pillar.
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It is a massive pillar and we have to explain the Westminster
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Confession stance on this to fully grasp Spurgeon's
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commentary. Chapter 25 of the Westminster
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Confession states that there is no other head of the Church but
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the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no human equivalent, no
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earthly vicar who holds that position.
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The reformers were very strict on that point.
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Extremely strict. The notes from Spurgeon are
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quite severe on this application.
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He argues that whenever any earthly entity attempts to usurp
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that authority, the believer must stand firm and reject it.
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Spurgeon specifically mentions Rome and Canterbury in his
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commentary. He states that whenever they or
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any other power, whether it is a state government or a religious
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hierarchy, attempt to set up laws and ordinances for the
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church that go beyond or contradict Scripture, the only
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valid biblical responses. Judah is my lawgiver.
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Yeah, for anyone listening, it is vital to view this through
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the lens of 19th century theology and history.
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We are reporting his viewpoint to explain the historical
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Protestant stance on church governance.
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We are looking at the sources impartially here.
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Spurgeon and his contemporaries were operating in a post
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Reformation world right in the middle of Victorian England
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where the Oxford Movement was happening.
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An lines regarding state church authority were drawn very
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sharply in the sand. So he applies this verse
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directly to the theological institutions of his day.
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That context is very helpful. The core idea he is driving at
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is that the church is governed by the laws of Christ alone as
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revealed in the pages of Scripture.
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This doctrine protects the conscience of the individual
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believer from the inventions, traditions, and political
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maneuverings of men. It asserts that true spiritual
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authority rests exclusively with the Son of David.
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If an earthly leader demands you violate your conscience or add
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to the gospel, you point to Christ and say He is my
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Lawgiver, not you. This absolute confidence in
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God's authority and His promises leads David to use to incredibly
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vivid, even sarcastic imagery when speaking about the enemies
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of God. In verse 9 he says Moab is my
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wash pot over Edom while I cast my shoe over Felicia while I
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triumph. Let's break down this holy
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sarcasm, because these are not polite metaphors.
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Not at all. They are highly insulting to
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those nations. Very much so.
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The Scottish minister and commentator James Anderson
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references the ancient Greek historian Herodotus to explain
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the wash pot imagery. Herodotus tells an amazing
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historical anecdote about King Amassus of Egypt.
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Amassus was a Commodore who became Pharaoh and the Egyptian
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nobles despised him because of his low origins.
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So Amassus took a golden pot that was strictly used for
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washing dirty feet, and he melted it down.
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He completely repurposed it. He did.
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He recast it into an idol, a God, and set it up in the city.
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The nobles immediately fell down and worshipped it.
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Amassus then gathered them and said you were worshipping what
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used to wash your filthy feet. I'm your king now.
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Origins do not determine ultimate status.
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The foot washing pot was the meanest, lowest, most degraded
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utensil in the ancient house. By calling the nation of Moab
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his wash pot, David is expressing the complete servile
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subjection of a nation that continually viewed Israel as a
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detested rival. It is a brilliant, stinging
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insult wrapped in a theological truth.
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The imagery continues with Edom. David says over Edom, will I
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cast my shoe? The scholar William K provides
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the cultural background here. He notes that flinging a shoe
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over a piece of property transferred a prior claim on the
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land. We see that in the book of Ruth,
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right? Yes, we see this custom clearly
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in the Book of Ruth, chapter 4, where taking off the sandals
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seals a transaction regarding an inheritance.
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Furthermore, casting a shoe represents the domestic slave
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standing by in the hallway to receive the master's dirty
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samples before washing his feet. To add to that, the Irish
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missionary and scholar JL Porter gives us the historical context.
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David actually overthrew the Edomite army in a brutal
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conflict in the Valley of Salt, and his military commander Joab
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placed Jewish garrisons throughout all the strongholds
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of Edom. So David isn't just speaking
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hypothetically. No, he is looking at these
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proud, strong, historically aggressive nations and treating
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them with absolute contempt because he knows the Lord has
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guaranteed their defeat. This raises A fascinating
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philosophical question for you, the listener.
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How do you view the forces that oppose the truth?
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How do you view the cultural or spiritual enemies that seem so
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massive and intimidating? Spurgeon uses this first to
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argue that believers often give too much respect to the
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opponents of God. Since God is not with them,
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their wisdom is actually folly, and their impressive strength
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is, in the end just weakness. He applies that principle very
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broadly. He does.
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In his commentary, Spurgeon applies this directly to the
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papacy of his day, referring to the Pope as an incarnation of
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Antichrist. Again, we are reporting his
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words here to show you the intensity of 19th century
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Reformed Baptist thought. We are staying impartial on the
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politics of it. They view these theological
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divides not as minor disagreements, but as stark
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eschatological battles. They saw themselves as fighting
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for the very soul of the Gospel. They took these issues
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incredibly seriously. They really did, yeah.
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The broader take away for us is analyzing David's absolute
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certainty. We shouldn't cower before
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systems, ideologies, or cultural trends that stand against the
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knowledge of God. We should view them through the
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lens of Christ's guaranteed final victory.
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That absolute certainty is severely tested when we face
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obstacles that seem humanly insurmountable.
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Which brings us to the tension in verses 10 through 12.
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David asks A rhetorical question.
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Who will bring me into the strong city?
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Who will lead me into Edom? Now when David mentions the
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strong city, he is talking about Petra.
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Petra is an incredibly famous archaeological site today.
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It is, and the German theologian Augustus F Tholek provides a
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terrifying physical description of Petra to help us understand
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what David was up against militarily.
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Petra, the capital of Edom, is an unapproachable rock city.
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It is literally carved into the stone.
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It is surrounded by sheer cliffs that are 300 feet high.
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That is basically a 30 story building made of solid rock.
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Exactly. The only access point for an
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invading army is a single winding, narrow gorge, the Sikh,
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which is about 12 feet wide in some places.
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From a military standpoint, taking Petra was practically
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impossible for ancient armies. A handful of men throwing rocks
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from the cliffs could destroy an entire regiment in that narrow
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path. The difficulty is plainly
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perceived by the psalmist. He knows his own human strength,
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his own Chariots and his own strategies cannot breach those
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walls. This is where the 19th century
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American theologian William S Plummer brings in a crucial
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point that changes everything. He notes that immense difficulty
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or even human impossibility does not mean you are not called to a
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task. Let that sink in for a second.
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We often look at an impossible situation and assume God is
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closing a door. But if God calls you to take
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Petra, you will take Petra. God's command always carries
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God's enabling grace. But the text also acknowledges
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the emotional reality of feeling abandoned.
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Yes, because verse 11 says Wilt not thou, O God, who has cast us
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off. This is the gritty reality of
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the Christian experience. There are times when Providence
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frowns, when you feel like you are under a cloud and God
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appears to have hidden his face from you.
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Yet David trusts God even in the dark.
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He's essentially saying even though you have disciplined us
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and seem to have cast us off, I'm still looking to you and
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only you to lead our hosts into battle.
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That tension leads directly to the core theological conclusion
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in verse 12. Give us help from trouble, for
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vain is the help of man. This connects directly to the
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Reformed doctrine of total depravity and human inability.
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Let's breakdown what total depravity actually means,
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because it is often misunderstood in popular
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culture. People often think it means we
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are all as bad as we could possibly be.
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Right. But total depravity does not
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mean that human beings are as evil as they could possibly be,
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or that we are literal demons. It means that the corruption of
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sin has infected every single part of our nature, our mind,
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our will, our emotions, and our physical bodies.
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Because of this total infection, we are completely incapable of
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achieving spiritual victory, securing our own salvation, or
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defeating our spiritual enemies in our own strength.
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We cannot save ourselves under any circumstances.
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Precisely true reliance on divine aid only occurs when our
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confidence in mortal flesh is completely abandoned.
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When you realize that the help of man is utterly vain, you are
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finally in the correct posture to receive the help of God.
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You have to quit your confidence in your own human ingenuity,
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your bank account, your political alliances, and your
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own physical strength. So if God does everything and we
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are totally incapable of saving ourselves, do we just sit on the
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couch and wait for heaven? Does trusting God completely
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make us passive? This brings us to our final
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section, verse 13. Through God we shall do
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valiantly, for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
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The answer is a resounding no. Trusting God does not lead to
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inaction. Faith is neither a coward nor a
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sluggard. Faith actually motivates us to
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move forward. It does because we know that God
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is our secret support, and because we know He is the one
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who will in the end, tread down the enemy, we actually arise and
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take valorous action. It is a concept we see in the
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New Testament. Work out your own salvation with
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fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you.
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Our outward deeds of courage are the public outflow of our inward
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reliance on God. We step onto the battlefield
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precisely because the victory is already secured by the
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commander. The Irish clergyman RH Ryland
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notes the prophetic nature of this conclusion.
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While this was historically fulfilled by King David
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conquering his regional neighbors, it points directly to
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the Son of David, the conquering Messiah.
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Christ has finished His travail upon the cross, He has taken to
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Himself His great strength, and He will utterly crush all
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resistance, subduing the entire world to His holy will.
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It points us straight to the victory of Christ, yes.
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When the Church arouses herself to praise God with a fixed
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heart, she can advance into the great spiritual battles of our
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day with absolute confidence, knowing that the Edom of
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unbelief, no matter how intimidating its cliffs may
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seem, will be crushed beneath the feet of the King of Kings.
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A staggering reality to wrap our minds around.
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It shifts our entire perspective from anxiety to triumph.
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And as we conclude this deep dive into Psalm one O 8 or leave
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you with a final thought to Mull over something to take with you
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into your week. In verse 8, we saw David
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claiming ownership of Gilead and Manasseh before the entirety of
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the land was fully secured. He claimed it simply because God
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had spoken. He took God at his word before
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the battle was even over. Exactly.
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So I want you to ask yourself what unconquered areas of your
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own life, or what massive obstacles your own personal
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Petra, should you start viewing as already defeated simply
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because God's Word has guaranteed the final outcome?
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Think about the sins you struggle with, the systemic
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issues you face, the fears that hold you back.
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If God has declared victory over sin and death through Christ,
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how does that change the way you face your Petra tomorrow
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morning? Thank you so much for joining us
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for this extensive look into God's Word.
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We warmly bid you farewell and we look forward to having you
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with us next time on Reformed Thinking.