Thursday, November 14, 2013

Reflections on Psalms 18

 Psalms 18(Contemporary English Version)
  1. (For the music leader. A psalm by David, the LORD's servant. David sang this to the LORD after the LORD had rescued him from his enemies, but especially from Saul.) I love you, LORD God, and you make me strong.
  2. You are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector, the rock where I am safe, my shield, my powerful weapon, and my place of shelter.
  3. I praise you, LORD! I prayed, and you rescued me from my enemies.
  4. Death had wrapped its ropes around me, and I was almost swallowed by its flooding waters.
  5. Ropes from the world of the dead had coiled around me, and death had set a trap in my path.
  6. I was in terrible trouble when I called out to you, but from your temple you heard me and answered my prayer.
  7. The earth shook and shivered, and the mountains trembled down to their roots. You were angry
  8. and breathed out smoke. Scorching heat and fiery flames spewed from your mouth.
  9. You opened the heavens like curtains, and you came down with storm clouds under your feet.
  10. You rode on the backs of flying creatures and swooped down with the wind as wings.
  11. Darkness was your robe; thunderclouds filled the sky, hiding you from sight.
  12. Hailstones and fiery coals lit up the sky in front of you.
  13. LORD Most High, your voice thundered from the heavens, as hailstones and fiery coals poured down like rain.
  14. You scattered your enemies with arrows of lightning.
  15. You roared at the sea, and its deepest channels could be seen. You snorted, and the earth shook to its foundations.
  16. You reached down from heaven, and you lifted me from deep in the ocean.
  17. You rescued me from enemies, who were hateful and too powerful for me.
  18. On the day disaster struck, they came and attacked, but you defended me.
  19. When I was fenced in, you freed and rescued me because you love me.
  20. You are good to me, LORD, because I do right, and you reward me because I am innocent.
  21. I do what you want and never turn to do evil.
  22. I keep your laws in mind and never look away from your teachings.
  23. I obey you completely and guard against sin.
  24. You have been good to me because I do right; you have rewarded me for being innocent by your standards.
  25. You are always loyal to your loyal people, and you are faithful to the faithful.
  26. With all who are sincere, you are sincere, but you treat the unfaithful as their deeds deserve.
  27. You rescue the humble, but you put down all who are proud.
  28. You, the LORD God, keep my lamp burning and turn darkness to light.
  29. You help me defeat armies and capture cities.
  30. Your way is perfect, LORD, and your word is correct. You are a shield for those who run to you for help.
  31. You alone are God! Only you are a mighty rock.
  32. You give me strength and guide me right.
  33. You make my feet run as fast as those of a deer, and you help me stand on the mountains.
  34. You teach my hands to fight and my arms to use a bow of bronze.
  35. You alone are my shield. Your right hand supports me, and by coming to help me, you have made me famous.
  36. You clear the way for me, and now I won't stumble.
  37. I kept chasing my enemies, until I caught them and destroyed them.
  38. I stuck my sword through my enemies, and they were crushed under my feet.
  39. You helped me win victories, and you forced my attackers to fall victim to me.
  40. You made my enemies run, and I killed them.
  41. They cried out for help, but no one saved them; they called out to you, but there was no answer.
  42. I ground them to dust blown by the wind, and I poured them out like mud in the streets.
  43. You rescued me from stubborn people, and you made me the leader of foreign nations, who are now my slaves.
  44. They obey and come crawling.
  45. They have lost all courage, and from their fortresses, they come trembling.
  46. You are the living LORD! I will praise you. You are a mighty rock. I will honor you for keeping me safe.
  47. You took revenge for me, and you put nations in my power.
  48. You protected me from violent enemies and made me much greater than all of them.
  49. I will praise you, LORD, and I will honor you among the nations.
  50. You give glorious victories to your chosen king. Your faithful love for David and for his descendants will never end.

This Psalm is said to have been composed by David following his rescue from Saul and other enemies. It was not written immediately following Saul's death but came much later after David had been through several skirmishes with his enemies and was reflecting on God's deliverance from numerous circumstances over a period of time. The Psalm is given in this context in 2 Samuel 22.

The Psalm begins with praise to the Lord and ends with another section of praise. In between are three sections. In two of them David described the Lord's deliverance poetically, using metaphor. Sandwiched between these two sections is one in which David upholds his own integrity as the reason for God's deliverance.

In David's opening praise to the Lord, he describes the Lord as his rock and fortress and also as his mountain where he sought refuge and again as his shield and the horn of his salvation and yet again as his stronghold. All powerful images of the Lord's refuge for His people.

Then David launched into the first section, starting in verse 4, poetically describing his plight and the Lord's deliverance. "The ropes of death were wrapped around me," he said. He also described his plight as torrents of destruction that terrified him and ropes of Sheol that entangled him. His point being that he had no escape from his plight without divine deliverance. This deliverance is portrayed in dramatic fashion. When David cried out for help the Lord heard him from within His temple. When the Lord responded, the earth shook and quaked, the foundations of the mountains trembled as the Lord burned with anger at David's enemies. These descriptions continued on through verse 19. David's deliverance, by this account, was due completely to the Lord's intervention.

In the next section, verses 20-28, David upholds his own integrity as the reason for God's intervention. "The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness," he states. (18:20) He continued saying, "For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not turned from my God to wickedness." (18:21) After other similar statements he then commended the Lord as the rescuer of the afflicted. In verses 25 and 26 he says, "With the faithful You prove Yourself faithful; with the blameless man You prove Yourself blameless; with the pure You prove Yourself pure, but with the crooked You prove Yourself shrewd." In essence, the Lord reponds to us in kind. To those who are faithful, He is faithful. To those who are blameless, He is blameless, etc. However, to the crooked, the Lord is shrewd, thus thwarting them. David concludes this section by saying of the Lord, "You light my lamp," and He "illuminates my darkness."

Then comes another section portraying the Lord's deliverance. Whereas the first such section portrayed the Lord acting totally through divine intervention, this section portrays Him enabling David to overcome his enemies in battle. He opens the section saying, "With You I can attack a barrier, and with my God I can leap over a wall." (18:29) Elsewhere he says, "He trains my hands for war; my arms can bend a bow of bronze." (18:34) Because the Lord gave him such ability and strength, he was able to "pulverize them like dust before the wind; I trample them like mud in the streets." (18:42) Though he crushed his enemies by his own hand, he credited it all to the Lord who made him able. It was the Lord who delivered him and not he himself.

In the closing section of praise, David returned to his description of God as his rock saying, "may my rock be praised!" (18:46) The Lord's deliverance should not be kept silent. Instead, David said, "Therefore I will praise You, LORD, among the nations; I will sing about Your name." (18:49) God delivers us not only for our sake but also as a witness to others of what He will do for them. They need to know this and we are God's voice to tell them.

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