Ancient Israel was small and surrounded by powerful enemies. Some are listed in this psalm: Edom, Philistia, Moab and more. War was a constant part of life – spring meant time to head out to the battlefield (see 2 Samuel 11:1). The borders of the Promised Land were constantly redrawn.

War is violent and ugly. Each side believes it deserves to win, though often there are only losers. We might find the very idea of God going out with an army (v 11) uncomfortable. If the juxtaposition of worship and warfare here feels a bit awkward to you, it might help to consider two things.

First, before the kingdom of God has fully come on earth, conflict is inescapable. While there is rarely a simple divide of good and evil in war, often there is a moral high ground somewhere. Few would argue that defeating the Nazis in the Second World War was not a worthy reason to fight.

Secondly, in any literal or metaphorical battle, we are more likely to discern the side God is on if we are worshippers, focused on God’s character and committed to exalting his glory.

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to praise God joyfully today.

This psalm consists of two parts, each of which has its duplicate in another psalm. Verses 1–5 derive from Psalm 57:7–11 and verses 6–13 from Psalm 60:5–12. The psalm shows us two ways to worship God: in praise and prayer.

Praise. The psalmist first mentions song: ‘I will sing and make music with all my soul’ so that ‘I will awaken the dawn’ (vs 1,2). As you go to church today, sing with all your heart the praises of our wonderful and awesome God. Next, he moves to words: among the nations and among the peoples. We should share our testimony of God’s goodness with our fellow Christians and outside the church, as we have seen Stephen doing. When I had cancer in 2017, God kept impressing on me daily to go and witness. I shared my confidence in God for healing, even on Facebook. This led to many people all over India and abroad praying for me – and they still do. God cured me with radiation treatment. I praised him: he did the rest. 

Prayer. Prayer should always follow praise. As Paul says, ‘Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus’.¹ This is not an easy teaching to practise, but we need to do it with the power of the Holy Spirit. My favourite verse is ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’.² When things go wrong, I try to see what God is accomplishing. He is in control. As the psalmist says, ‘With God we shall gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies’ (v 13). It is not by our efforts, but by his overruling power. 

Are you facing problems? Ask God to help you to praise him even in the midst of them.

¹ 1 Thess 5:16–18  ² Rom 8:28