Psalms 108:1-5

Psalm 108 ¹ 

A song, a psalm of David.

108:1 I am determined, ²  O God!

I will sing and praise you with my whole heart. ³ 

108:2 Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!

I will wake up at dawn! ⁴ 

108:3 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord!

I will sing praises to you before foreigners! ⁵ 

108:4 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky, ⁶ 

and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

108:5 Rise up ⁷  above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth! ⁸ 

[108:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 108. With some minor variations, this psalm is a composite of Ps 57:7-11 (see vv. 1-5) and Ps 60:5-12 (see vv. 6-13).

[108:1]  ² tn Or perhaps “confident”; Heb “my heart is steadfast.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and/or emotions.

[108:1]  ³ tn Heb “also my glory,” but this makes little sense in the context. Some view the term כָּבוֹד (“glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvodiy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 30:12; 57:9; as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 3:93. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”

[108:2]  ⁴ tn BDB 1007 s.v. שַׁחַר takes “dawn” as an adverbial accusative, though others understand it as a personified direct object. “Dawn” is used metaphorically for the time of deliverance and vindication the psalmist anticipates. When salvation “dawns,” the psalmist will “wake up” in praise.

[108:3]  ⁵ tn Or “the peoples.”

[108:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “for great upon the sky [or “heavens”] [is] your loyal love.”

[108:5]  ⁷ tn Or “be exalted.”

[108:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)