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Let’s look at a couple of definitions first:
• Confidence – full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing. Certitude; assurance
• Pride – A high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.
The former is relying on the previous records of a person’s faithfulness and power, but the latter one is relying on his or her own opinion about self which does not include objectivity.
Romans 9:15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
What blows my mind is that our God, who has an absolute sovereignty, chooses to love the people who have caused the death of His only begotten Son.
The love of God is limitless and ever-forgiving. He protects, cares for His people and loves them. In response to His love for us, king David praises the name of the Lord with the excitement that is so contagious.
Psalm 18 - God the Sovereign Savior
The superscription of this psalm indicates that it was written by David after the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies including “Saul.” After reviewing all that the Lord was to him David then recorded his deliverance by the Lord and rejoiced in the mercies shown him.
The psalm is also recorded in 2 Samuel 22 with slight variations.
A. DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER OF GOD
Psalm 18:1-3 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said: I will love You, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.
Within these three verses, we find that David described the Lord as his Strength, his Rock, his Fortress, his Deliverer, his God, his Shield, the horn of his salvation and his Stronghold. These are quite the descriptions. The emphasis is on the pronoun “my”.
It is one thing to talk about the attributes of God and say He is omnipotent, but the important thing is to say, “He is my strength.” It is one thing to say, “He is a shepherd.” David could have said, “The Lord is a Shepherd,” and He is, but it is altogether different to say, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”
Can you call on Him in the same way? Do you have that personal and close relationship which is built from a daily devotion? If you don’t, you are cheating yourself from not having it.
Worship comes from the old Anglo-Saxon word ‘worth’. Worship is that which is extended to the one who is worthy. David sang, “I will call upon the LORD” Why? Because He “is worthy to be praised.”
While we have our daily devotion, we worship Him by listening and talking to Him and commune with Him.
B. DELIVERANCE BY GOD
Psalm 18:4-29 The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears. 7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. 8 Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet. 10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies. 12 From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire. 13 The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. 14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. 15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At Your rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. 16 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. 17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support. 19 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. 20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. 21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God. 22 For all His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me. 23 I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. 24 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. 25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; 26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. 27 For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks. 28 For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. 29 For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall.
In verses 4-19 David reported how God supernaturally delivered him. God had used a huge storm to deliver David from Saul. David was quick to acknowledge that it was the Lord who delivered him.
Sometimes when the Lord uses natural events or other people or seemingly normal processes to help us, we often don’t consider them as God’s work, rather we tend to put them in the category of coincidence. There is no such thing as coincidence. Everything is under the control of God’s hand and His timeline. We should be quick to give Him the credit and glory He deserves.
There are three more things we should note before we move on:
1) The description of God
David wrote as if God has ears, nostrils, a mouth, feet and a right arm. It is anthropomorphic which means a way of describing God who is Spirit, in terms familiar to humankind.
2) In v9-11 David associated the dark storm with God.
However, we find a verse in 1 John that seems contradictive to what David says about the way God comes to rescue.
1John 1:5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
I don’t believe that David is insisting that God has darkness. It was his way to describe what was happening in God’s deliverance through the storm.
3) In v19 we see that the reason why God is delivering David is because He delights in Him.
Why would God delight in him? Because David’s heart is toward Him and seeks Him daily and wants to please Him in everything he does. Can we say that same thing?
C. DELIGHT IN GOD’S BLESSINGS
Psalm 18:30-50 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. 31 For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places. 34 He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. 36 You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip. 37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. 38 I have wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet. 39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. 40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me. 41 They cried out, but there was none to save; Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them. 42 Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind; I cast them out like dirt in the streets. 43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; You have made me the head of the nations; A people I have not known shall serve me. 44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me; The foreigners submit to me. 45 The foreigners fade away, And come frightened from their hideouts. 46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted. 47 It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me; 48 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. 49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. 50 Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.
In this section of praise David rejoiced over God’s character and His benefits to him. God’s way, the psalmist said, is perfect and His Word – proven. God can be trusted for safety and salvation. Consequently David acknowledged the living God and promised to praise Him.
D. APPLICATION
We must acknowledge all the good things that happen to us as His blessings to us and give the Lord glory. At the same time we must thank Him for the trials that He lets come our way to make us more like His Son Jesus.
Psalm 19 - The revelation of God in His creation
God’s revelation to man through His creation is the theme of this psalm. It is amazing that God speaks to us at all. Men and women are sinners and the majority of them have no desire to listen to God, yet He graciously continues to speak. God speaks to us in three ways.
A. GOD SPEAKS IN CREATION
Psalm 19:1-6 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. 6 Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
God’s wisdom, power and glory are seen in His creation. Modern scientists try very hard to leave God out of the nature and the universe, but David looked at the wonders and marvels of heaven and earth and acknowledged His handy work.
Creation speaks a universal language to all nations. It is this fact that Paul used in Rom. 1:20-23 to prove that all people everywhere are under the wrath of God.
Romans 1:20-23 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
The activities of nature, under the hand of God, are vivid object lessons to the hearts of sinners but, many do not want to see or hear. The lost sinner, wherever he or she may be on this globe, stands condemned before the throne of God.
The majestic Creation is evidence of the even more majestic Creator – God.
B. GOD SPEAKS IN THE SCRIPTURES
Psalm 19:7-11 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.
The heavens declare God’s glory, and the Scriptures declare His grace. This law, testimony, commandment, word, of course, is a personal revelation from God.
God is speaking through His creation, but people often choose not to hear Him or cannot understand Him because we don’t pay attention to Him. That is why He speaks to us through the law of the Lord.
| 1) What the Bible is: |
| • Perfect Law | • Sure testimony | • Right Statues |
| • Pure commandment | • Clean fear of the Lord | • True and righteous judgments |
| • Sweeter than honey | | |
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| 2) What the Bible does: |
| • Converts sinners to believers in Jesus Christ | • Makes people wise |
| • Rejoices in the heart of the followers of God | • Enlightens the eyes of seekers |
| • Enriches more than gold | • Endures forever | |
| • Warns of hidden dangers | • Give great rewards | |
C. GOD SPEAKS IN THE SOULS
Psalm 19:12-14 Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. 13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
No person can understand his or her own heart, because it is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. We need the mirror of the Word to reveal our sins to us.
David closes this psalm by asking God to reveal his secret sins to him. The OT law provided room for sins of ignorance. But for sins of open defiance and rebellion, there was no sacrifice. David asks not only to be cleansed of secret sins, but to be restrained from running head-long into open sin.
Meditation is to the inner heart what food digestion is to the body. It is the taking in of the Word of God and making it a part of the inner being. As the heart and mind think on the Word all day long, the Holy Spirit guides the life. This is what it means to walk in the Spirit and to have a spiritual mind.
D. CHALLENGE
Is our Bible all to us that God wants it to be? If not, let it change our lives and let us be transformed to the image of Jesus.
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