THE SOURCE OF OUR VICTORY

Psalm 18:1-3

THE SOURCE OF OUR VICTORY

Intro: I read the inscription which precedes this Psalm because it gives us some insight into the background for these verses.  As the inscription states, this Psalm was originally a song that was written to glorify the Lord and to honor Him for delivering David from King Saul and from all his enemies.  This Psalm was created when all David’s foes lay vanquished at his feet.  David had been given absolute victory and he wanted to express his gratitude to the Lord for His glorious provision.  You see, during the time David was running from Saul, he was in constant danger of death.  Now, he has been delivered from his all enemies and he lifts his voice in praise to the Lord God Who has given him the victory.  This is David’s song, but you and I have a song of victory to sing as well.

      When we were saved by the Lord, He gave us the victory over all our enemies also, 1 Corinthians 15:57 “57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 4:17 “17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”

Romans 8:37 “37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

Now, we who were hounded by Hell and in danger of dying without Jesus Christ, have been eternally saved, through His grace.  Since we have been saved and delivered from the snare of the enemy, we also have a reason to praise the Lord.  There isn’t enough time to consider this entire Psalm this morning.  After all, it is the fourth largest in the Book of Psalms.  However, I would like to spend a few minutes in these first three verses and preach for a while on The Source Of Our Victory.

      As we spend our time in these verses, let’s allow the Lord’s Word to remind us of Who He is and what He has done, and can do, for us.  Let us learn where to find The Source Of Our Victory. 

Of course, the ultimate and foundational source of our victory is the Lord Himself.  Still, what we do and how we live before the Lord has much to do with the level of victory we enjoy in the Lord.

I. OUR VICTORY LIES IN A FOCUSED WILL-VS. 1

A.  At the very beginning, the Psalmist makes 2 great and profound declarations.  He bears his heart and tells us what he has determined to do.  First, he declares his love for the Lord.  Second, he declares his absolute dependence upon the Lord.  He seems to be indicating that he will live his life with these 2 great themes ever before him. 

B.  Let’s examine these 2 themes a little more closely and see what they mean for us tonight.

1.   I Will Love The Lord-vs. 1

The word translated “love” here is a word that means “to love deeply.”  It carries the idea of a mother’s love for an infant child.  It has the idea of loving one so much, you just want to hug them all the time!  If it doesn’t sound too irreverent, the Psalmist is saying that “he is so filled with love for the Lord that he just wants to slide up real close to the Lord and hug him.”

(Ill. We’ve all felt this way about someone we love.  How many have just felt their heart fill up with love for a child or a mate and just for no reason we want to reach out an hug them.  This is the emotion felt by Mary Magdalene when she encountered the risen Christ, John 20:17, and by the Disciples when they saw Him also, Matt. 28:9.  Considering all that the Lord has done for us and how He loves us and has made a way for us to be saved, our hearts should also be filled with that same kind of love for Him, 1 John 4:19.)

1 John 4:19 KJV 1900

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

2.  I Will Look To The Lord

He calls God “My Strength” - 9 times in the first 2 verses, David uses the personal possessive pronoun “my”.  Did you realize that “my” is the first pronoun learned by most children?  They say things like “my toys”, “my house”, “my room”, etc.  This is just their childish way of stating that they know what is theirs. 

      What David is doing is expressing simple, childlike faith in his relationship with the Lord.  He is telling us that he is totally dependent upon the Lord for everything.  Every ounce of his strength came from the Lord.

(Ill. Paul - 1 Cor. 15:10) (Ill. What we can do without Him - John 15:5, and what we can do with him, Phil. 4:13.)

David’s plan is to live for the Lord, to love the Lord and to depend upon the Lord for everything he needs, does and is in life. 

I think that is a worthy goal for every believer!  He deserves nothing less and nothing less will be blessed by the Lord.

Our Victory lies in a focused Will

 II. OUR VICTORY LIES IN A FOCUSED WORSHIP-VS. 2

(Ill. David allows us to see a heart of worship engaged in the praise of the object of its love: God!)

A.  There Is Praise For A Personal God

Ill. The usage of “my” again.  Folks, the most important thing in life is knowing that you are right with God.  Be sure, above everything else, that you are saved by grace.  It isn’t enough to be good or religious, to go to church or to stop doing some things that are wrong, to join the church or to be baptized.  To be saved, there must be a time when you turn to Jesus Christ in absolute faith for salvation.  Nothing else will work for anyone ever,

Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Acts 16:31 “31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Romans 10:9 “9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Romans 10:13 “13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

B.  There is Praise For A Powerful God

In God and in his relationship with Him, David finds all the strength that he needs to make it through life.  Notice these 8 metaphors that David uses to describe God and His power in our lives.

1.  God Is Our Stability

David describes God as a Rock.  When everything else in the world is being tossed and twisted, God forever remains the same.  He is always stable,

Malachi 3:6 “6 For I am the Lord, I change not; Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” ;

Hebrews 13:8 “8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

We are on the Rock, Psalm 40:2 “2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”

2.  God Is Our Safety

David says that God is like a fortress.  This surely has reference to the lofty mountain citadels to which he fled when he was running from Saul.  David reminds us that the Lord is a place of safety to which the saint can flee in times of adversity and trial, Psa. 57:1.  (Ill. Satan is like a roaring lion, 1 Pet. 5:8.  However, the saint has a place of safe refuge in the day of attack.  God is our fortress, out place of perfect peace and safety.)

3.  God Is Our Savior

David refers to the Lord as his deliverer.  This word refers to one who saves, one who rescues, one who delivers another from danger.  This is a word that is filled with glory! 

You see, not only has the Lord saved us when we received Him by faith, but He goes on saving us day by day, and when this life is over, we will be ultimately saved when we arrive home in Heaven. 

4.  God Is Our Sovereign

David refers to Him as God.  This is the word “El.”  It refers to God as the Almighty God.  This word pictures God as One Who is over all things and as One Who is in control of all things.  

The saints of God should surely rejoice in the knowledge that everything that happens is in God’s plan and that He is in control of all things, even when we cannot make sense of it, God is still on His throne,

Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Job 23:10 “10 But he knoweth the way that I take: When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

5. God Is Our Strength

David tells us that God is all we need.

None of us knows what we will face as we go through the years of our lives, but we can know that God in Heaven will give us the strength we need to face life’s trials and battle and that He will help us all along the way,

2 Cor. 12:9-10; Isa. 43:2;

Hebrews 4:14–16 “14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Remember that He is an ever present God - Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20; Psa. 46:1.

6. God Is Our Shield

- David calls the Lord a “buckler”.  This simply means a shield, but it is more than just a shield, it is a fence, and enclosure or protection.

When trouble comes into your life and mine, sometimes the Lord will allow those things to come and He will give grace.  However, there are times when the Lord steps between His children and their trials and acts as a shield to stand between His child and the storm that is coming.  I like it when the Lord is my shield!  Only in Heaven will we fully comprehend the times when God in His providence has stepped between us and something awful that was coming our way!

(Ill. West Side Baptist Church in Beatrice, Nebraska exploded on Tuesday evening, March 1, 1950, at 7:36 PM.  When the building exploded, it was totally demolished!  Not a timber or a brick was left standing above ground.  It was a totally devastating explosion.  The choir always met for practice promptly at 7:30 PM on Tuesdays for practice.  However, on one particular Tuesday evening, no one made it to the church on time.  One became ill, several had car trouble, another got a last minute phone call, others were busy with homework, dirty children, and other various problems.  Each of the 40+ choir members, including their leader, was somehow hindered from being at the church at 7:30 on that Tuesday evening.  At 7:36 PM, gas that had been leaking from a ruptured gas line under the church exploded, totally demolishing the church.  Had there been any one there, they would have been killed, but thanks to the providence of God, they were all spared!)

7.  God Is Our Security

Here, the Lord is called a “horn of salvation.”  The horn is the symbol of strength and conquest.  When David calls God the horn of salvation, he is saying that the Lord is the strength of salvation and that in His salvation, we have absolute security.  I believe that we can all rejoice in the knowledge that if we are in the Lord, then we are totally secure in Him, 1 Pet. 1:5!  (Ill. He has never lost one yet, and He isn’t going to start with you!  He didn’t save you to lose you along the way, but He saved you to take you to Heaven, John 6:38-41.)

(Ill. When I read about the “horn of salvation”, I think of the “cornucopia” or the “horn of plenty.”  This was a curved goat’s horn filled to overflowing with fruit and ears of grain.  It is a symbol of overflowing abundance.  This is what the sinner finds when he comes to the Lord.  Many just come to be saved from Hell, but in Jesus they receive so much more than they could ever have imagined.  He is our security, but He is also our source!  When you came to Him, you left with more than you bargained for!)

8.  God Is Our Supply - In this last metaphor, David says that the Lord is our High Tower.  This refers to the great towers that were built around the ancient cities.  From these towers, soldiers could look down on their attackers and send volleys of arrows down on their heads.  These towers were usually stocked with ammunition and supplies.  When the soldiers ran to the high tower, they were above the battle, they were in a place of rest, refreshment and ready supply. 

      God is the same for the child of God.  When the battle rages about us, we can run to Him and be lifted above our battles and find the rest and refreshment we need to be able to fight the battles and win!  Surely we can rejoice in the knowledge that the Lord is ever there for us to run to in the day of battle.  Surely we can remember that the “battle is the LORD’s”, 1 Sam. 17:47.

C.  It’s no wonder that David praised the Lord!  However, we have the very same reasons that he did.  Therefore, let’s praise Him and honor Him and resolve in our hearts that we will worship and serve Him in “spirit and in truth.”

III. OUR VICTORY LIES IN A FOCUSED WALK-VS. 3

A.  In this verse, David makes a pledge to call on God and to trust Him and Him alone for the victories of life.  The idea communicated here is that the Psalmist is aware of the power of this praise worthy God and that he is pledging his life to walk in the awareness of the greatness and power of God.  He pledges to walk by faith and not by sight, Heb. 11:6!  David knew that his faith in the Lord would result in his perpetual victory over his enemies.

(Ill. Surely there had been times when David was on the run that he thought he would be captured and killed by Saul, but God had proven greater than his enemy at every turn.  David knew that if God could do it yesterday, then He could be counted on to do it tomorrow!)

B.  What a lesson for us!  As children of God, we must learn that God is all these things that David said He was.  He will protect you, He will provide for you, He will help you, He will refresh you, He will ever be there for you.  Our duty, then, is to walk by faith and not by sight.  Let us remember who the Lord our God is, and what He has done and let us worship Him, honor Him and praise Him.  Let us live like we believe He is the God of the universe.  Let us pledge to walk by faith, Hab. 2:4.

Conclusion:

What kind of song does your heart sing today? 

Maybe you are like those old drunks on Hee Haw and your heart is singing this song: “Gloom, despair and agony on me.  Deep dark depression, excessive misery.  If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all!  Gloom, Despair and agony on me.” 

Is that the song your heart sings today?  Lots of people sing that song in their hearts, but would never admit it in public! 

If that is your song, I invite you to do what David did and look a little higher than your circumstances and look full in the face of a God Who cares and Who can change you in your situation.

      Others may have this little song reverberating in their hearts: “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.  Because He lives, all fear is gone.  Because I know, He holds the future, and life is worth the living, just because He lives.”  If that is the song you are singing today, then I invite you to get before Him and thank Him for abiding victory in your life.

            Some may even be lost today.  If you are, you need to know that you can be saved if you will come to Jesus by faith tonight.  If there is a need, get to God and get His victory working in your life.