Psalm 018

Psalm 18   Open Gate Christian Fellowship

This psalm is first seen in 2 Samuel 22, when David was at the end of his life. Thinking about how God had given him victory over Saul, the rebellion of Absalom, and enemies on every side, David sings of God’s faithfulness. In 2 Samuel, this psalm appears as a record of history.

Here, it provides a picture of prophecy, for Paul would apply it to Jesus Christ (see verse 49 and Romans 15:9). In verse 50, we read of the “anointed one.” There were three groups of people who received the anointing of oil: prophets, priests, and kings. Jesus is, of course, the King of kings, our Great High Priest, and the perfect Prophet. In this single psalm, we see the rejected Prophet in verses 1 through 19, the reigning Priest in verses 20 through 31, and, finally, the returning King in verses 32 through 50.  This is another “Messianic Psalm!!” …  Quoted in the N.T.  (Rom. 15:9)!!

Psalm 18:1-3
1To 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.
2The 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.
3I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Here, we see Jesus trusting in His Father before we will see Him travail upon the Cross. “You are My high tower,” He says. “I’m safe in You. I get perspective from You.” And the same is available to us.

Can you hear Jesus in the Garden of Gesheminie finishing His prayer after the 3 rd…  “Not my will but thy will be done”…  with these words???

We might be surrounded by confusion and questions, but when we get away and seek the Lord, suddenly we see things are all in God’s hands, the one who loves us deeply…

Psalm 18:4-6
4The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
5The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
6In 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.

Here, we sense the heart, the tension, the distress of Jesus as He cried out to His Father from the Cross. Surrounded by the hordes of hell, spat upon by men of the earth, Jesus endured the agony for you and me.  Enveloped by ALL the Sin of Mankind…  for you and for me!   “He Himself”…  our “Advocate”, our “Propitiation”( 1 Jn)

Psalm 18:7-8
7Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.
8Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it.

As Jesus hung on the Cross, all of nature convulsed when it saw mankind murder its Maker. The earth quaked. The rocks split. The graves opened.

Matthew 27:52-53
52and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Psalm 18:9-11
9He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet.
10And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies.

As Jesus hung on the Cross, the sky became frighteningly dark as the Father came down. Did He come to save His Son? No, He came to smite Him. Why? For my sins. Jesus didn’t just die for the sins of the world generically. No, He died for each of my sins individually and specifically. Thus, the suffering of our Lord far exceeds anything we can understand this side of heaven.

Psalm 18:12-15
12From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
13The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.
14He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15Then 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.

The God we serve is majestic, awesome, and more powerful than we can possibly imagine. Sometimes I think we subconsciously think of God as being so busy with other people or situations that we get lost in the shuffle, or so old from being around since eternity past that He’s no longer able to handle the situation we face.

I encourage you to reconsider your God as you read this psalm.

Psalm 18:16-19
16He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
17He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.
18They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support.
19He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.

John 16:8-11
8And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Hebrews 4:15
15For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Psalm 18:20-24
20The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22For all His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.
24Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

Here, we see the reigning Priest’s authority, proved by His resurrection from the dead…

Once each year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest would exchange his splendid robes, mitre, and breastplate for plain linen garments. Then he would go into the temple, through the veil, into the Holy of Holies, where the ark of the covenant stood. After sprinkling blood from a previously offered sacrifice on the mercy seat, which was covered by two cherubim, he would emerge from the Holy of Holies to the crowd anxiously awaiting outside and proclaim that they were forgiven. This would be followed by a glorious celebration.

Sometimes, however, the priest himself was not worthy to enter the Holy of Holies. He was not cleansed properly, not as prepared as he ought to have been. According to historian Alfred Edersheim, on four occasions, the priest died in the Holy of Holies. For this reason, the high priest would attach a rope to his ankle so that, if he died, the people could pull him out without risking their own lives.

The stage is set. The Great High Priest has died on the Cross. He’s in the holy place, behind a veil of sorts, a tomb for a curtain. He’s lying on a blood-splattered slab of a “mercy seat,” wrapped in linen, surrounded by two angels. The question is: Did His offering take? Was Jesus acceptable? Did His work satisfy the Father? For three days, the question remained unanswered to His followers, until Easter morning when He would emerge.

Yes, the offering took. Yes, His work was acceptable. And we are forgiven—eternal praise be to Him!

Hebrews 9:11-12
11But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
12Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Psalm 18:25-27
25With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
26With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
27For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks.

I believe the conversation we’re listening in on here is between the Father and the Son. After seeing our Great High Priest’s authority, we see His activity, for here He intercedes for you and me.

Psalm 18:28-31
28For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall.
30As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
31For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?

Here, we see our Great High Priest’s ability. Philippians 2 tells us that when He came to earth, Jesus became like you and me yet without sin. This means that the miracles He did were all done in the power of the Holy Spirit as He depended on His Father. In so doing, He is our example, for He shows us how our own lives would look if we chose to be empowered by the Spirit and dependent upon the Father.

Psalm 18:32-42
32It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect.
33He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.
34He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.
36You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip.
37I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
38I have wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet.
39For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me.
41They cried out, but there was none to save; Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
42Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind; I cast them out like dirt in the streets.

Here, we see the Lord coming—not as the Suffering Servant but as the conquering King. When He comes again, He’ll come as a Man of war…

Revelation 19:11-16
11Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
15Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

The Lord is coming not only to conquer the enemy but to establish His kingdom. Things will be right. There will be justice and equity, peace and prosperity. And not only will He reclaim the kingdom for His Father, but He will rule with His Father…

Psalm 18:43-48
43You 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.
44As soon as they hear of me they obey me; The foreigners submit to me.
45The foreigners fade away, And come frightened from their hideouts.
46The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me;
48He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.

After reclaiming the kingdom for God, here we see Jesus reigning with God.

Psalm 18:49-50
49Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.
50Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.

Paul quotes this passage in Romans 15:9.

The rejoicing will take place in the kingdom on that day. The King of kings will be ruling. He’s on the way!

Psalm 107:1-2
1Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
2Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

We don’t need “So – So” Christians….  We need “Say – So” Christians!!   2Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!!!