Psalm 108:12-13: Where Do You Look for Salvation?

"Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes." Psalm 108:12-13

Have you ever struggled with self-atonement, that is, trying to gain your own salvation? The message of the Gospel is that salvation is fully by grace through faith in the person of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:1-10). Thus, the antithesis of the Gospel would be man trying to save himself apart from the works of Christ on their behalf. Yet, so often we do try so hard to save ourselves...why?

We find that answer to that question in Psalm 108. In this Psalm, David speaks for the first ten verses of the great promises that God has made to the people of Israel. He states that God's steadfast love is with them always (4) and that he would overcome Israel's enemies (7-9). Yet, in verse 11, David states the problem, that even though God has made these great promises, it seems right now that God is not fighting on behalf of his people. "Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go out, O God, with our armies." Yet, instead of being led to despair and hopelessness in this situation, David cries out for God to help him, because he knows that men cannot help themselves: "Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes."

What David is showing us here is the pattern of our salvation. As we looked at in the story of David and Goliath a few weeks back, salvation does not come from ourselves, but rather through God's Messiah. Just as David struck down Goliath with a stone on behalf of the Israelites, so does Jesus bear the cross, conquering death on our behalf. Likewise, in this Psalm we see the same principle: that we cannot save ourselves, and we need someone else to do it for us. This Psalm encourages us, then, to realize our own inadequacy to save ourselves, and to call upon the one who actually can, which is the pattern of our salvation.

I began this devotional with a question: why are we so often tempted to save ourselves? Answer, based on Psalm 108: because we so often trust in the salvation of man. Although this Psalm tells us that the salvation of men is "vain," that is, "empty" or "weightless," we are so often tempted to trust in ourselves for deliverance. Nevertheless, this is not the pattern of the Gospel, rather, it is the opposite. Self-atonement says "I will gain the victory for myself"; the Gospel says "vain is the salvation of man," but "with God we shall gain the victory" (NIV).

So, how have you trusted in yourself to save this week? What actions have you done to try to buy your own merit? Scripture tells us that the greatest of our deeds are like filthy rags before the Lord (Is. 64:6). Realize this morning, dear Christian, that you cannot save yourself. If this was not God's pattern when he brought you your initial salvation, why would it be God's pattern now?