Single lesson
Psalm 108: Israel’s Kingdom Blessing
Psalms 108:1–13
Psalm 108 begins with strong praise to God and ends with a request for help. In this lesson, children trace how the speaker moves from singing and thanks to asking God to save and help.
Before you teach
In Psalms 108:1–13, the speaker addresses God directly, praises his loving kindness and faithfulness, then asks for deliverance. The psalm includes God’s words about places and peoples, and finishes by saying human help is vain while confidence should be placed in God.
Students will identify the psalm’s movement from praise to prayer for help and explain, using the text, why the speaker trusts God.
Welcome: Hear the mood of the psalm
4 minInvite children to listen for feeling words and action words. Read Psalms 108:1–2 aloud slowly. Ask them what the speaker is ready to do. Point out the words steadfast, sing, make music and wake up. The psalm opens with a heart that is fixed on praising God.
Psalms 108:1, Psalms 108:2
Read and explain: Praise that reaches wide and high
7 minRead Psalms 108:3–5. Explain that the speaker praises God among the nations and peoples, so the praise is public and wide. Notice the picture words above the heavens and to the skies. The reason for praise is God’s loving kindness, faithfulness and glory.
Psalms 108:3, Psalms 108:4, Psalms 108:5
Discuss: The psalm turns into a request
6 minRead Psalms 108:6–9. Show that the prayer changes from praise to asking: save, answer and deliver. Then notice that God has spoken and names places like Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim, Judah, Moab, Edom and Philistia. Children do not need to map every place, but they should see that God speaks with authority over them.
Psalms 108:6, Psalms 108:7, Psalms 108:8, Psalms 108:9
Make and respond: Picture the movement of the prayer
8 minChildren make a simple folded card with three panels labelled Praise, Ask, Trust. In the first panel, they draw music or thanksgiving using words from the opening praise. In the second, they add words like save and answer. In the third, they write that human help is vain and that through God we will do valiantly.
Psalms 108:1, Psalms 108:3, Psalms 108:4, Psalms 108:5, Psalms 108:6, Psalms 108:12, Psalms 108:13
Closing: Trusting God for help
5 minRead Psalms 108:10–13. Ask children to hear the hard part: the speaker feels rejected and says God has not gone out with their armies. Then hear the confidence: help from people is vain, but through God we will do valiantly. Finish by summarising the whole movement of the psalm together.
Psalms 108:10, Psalms 108:11, Psalms 108:12, Psalms 108:13
Questions to explore
What words in the opening show that the speaker is ready to praise God?
Look for the describing word about the heart and the action words about singing, making music and waking the dawn.
Psalms 108:1, Psalms 108:2
Why does the speaker praise God so highly in the middle of the psalm?
Find the lines that give the reason: God’s loving kindness is great above the heavens and his faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Psalms 108:4, Psalms 108:5
What does the ending teach about where help should come from?
Compare the line about the help of man being vain with the line that says through God we will do valiantly.
Psalms 108:12, Psalms 108:13
Make, think or respond
Praise, Ask, Trust Card
What you’ll need
- paper or thin card
- pencils or crayons
- marker
- optional ruler
Try it together
- Fold one sheet into three panels.
- Label the panels Praise, Ask and Trust.
- In the Praise panel, draw or write words from Psalms 108:1, Psalms 108:3, Psalms 108:4 or Psalms 108:5.
- In the Ask panel, add a short prayer line using words from Psalms 108:6.
- In the Trust panel, write a sentence from Psalms 108:12 or Psalms 108:13 about where true help comes from.
This activity helps children see the psalm’s movement from praise, to request, to trust in God.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, give the three panel labels already written and let them draw simple symbols such as a music note, praying hands and a shield.
- For older children, ask them to include one exact phrase from each section of the psalm and explain why it fits Praise, Ask or Trust.
An optional closing prayer
You might pray: Dear God, thank you for your loving kindness and faithfulness. Please help us trust you, bring our needs to you, and praise you with steady hearts. Amen.
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Psalms 108
1 My heart is steadfast, God. I will sing and I will make music with my soul.
2 Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn.
3 I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations. I will sing praises to you among the peoples.
4 For your loving kindness is great above the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
5 Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth.
6 That your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us.
7 God has spoken from his sanctuary: “In triumph, I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is my helmet. Judah is my scepter.
9 Moab is my wash pot. I will toss my sandal on Edom. I will shout over Philistia.”
10 Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Haven’t you rejected us, God? You don’t go out, God, with our armies.
12 Give us help against the enemy, for the help of man is vain.
13 Through God, we will do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our enemies.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.