BE THOU EXALTED, O GOD, ABOVE THE HEAVENS

Psalm 108  The Message (MSG)

A David Prayer

108 1-2 I’m ready, God, so ready,

    ready from head to toe.

Ready to sing,

    ready to raise a God-song:

“Wake, soul! Wake, lute!

    Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!”

3-6 I’m thanking you, God, out in the streets,

    singing your praises in town and country.

The deeper your love, the higher it goes;

    every cloud’s a flag to your faithfulness.

Soar high in the skies, O God!

    Cover the whole earth with your glory!

And for the sake of the one you love so much,

    reach down and help me—answer me!

7-9 That’s when God spoke in holy splendor:

    “Brimming over with joy,

I make a present of Shechem,

    I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift.

Gilead’s in my pocket,

    to say nothing of Manasseh.

Ephraim’s my hard hat,

    Judah my hammer.

Moab’s a scrub bucket—

    I mop the floor with Moab,

Spit on Edom,

    rain fireworks all over Philistia.”

10-11 Who will take me to the thick of the fight?

    Who’ll show me the road to Edom?

You aren’t giving up on us, are you, God?

    refusing to go out with our troops?

12-13 Give us help for the hard task;

    human help is worthless.

In God we’ll do our very best;

    he’ll flatten the opposition for good.