I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. ( vv 1 – 3 )
Such effusive praise is easily expressed in our moments of gratitude and joy as we revel in the grace that God has granted us in life. What of the more challenging times? Are we as able as David to continue to bless the Lord when it seems as though His hand has been withdrawn? The psalmist challenges our modern travails as he recounts his long running struggle with Saul.
There are three divisions to Psalm 18 and in the first David recounts the blessing of deliverance that God granted him from the hands of his enemies. He found himself as close to death as a human can be;
The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. (vv 4-5)
but still his reaction, born of spiritual strength was to seek his redeemer;
In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before his ears. (v 6)
Yahweh’s thunderous response is not measured and meek; he storms from heaven on the wings of the cherubim and whirling of the wind. Accompanied by lightning and the quaking of the mountains, God reaches down with his fist and scatters the enemies of His king. That same hand reaches out and pulls His beloved from the depths of his despair.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. (vv 16 – 19)
You and I must trust that God would rush across the heavens to preserve us as well. This is one of the great challenges that we face but to continue to soak our souls in these words develops our David like confidence.
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 