Focal Passage: Psalm 18:16-29
Psalm 18 begins with David’s declaration of love for the Lord whom he described as his strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold. Did you notice the military significance of most of those words?
As an experienced warrior, David knew that without God’s power he was as helpless as an unarmed man exposed in battle! A couple of centuries later, the prophet Jonah prayed part of this Psalm (vv. 4-6) as he lay in the belly of the great fish (Jonah 2:1-10) desperate for God’s intervention.
Although David was the greatest of Israel’s kings, his greatness came not from his military might but from his desire to be a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). David, whose enemies were many, knew that his deliverance “out of deep water” (Psalm 18:16b) came only from the Lord because they were too strong for him to defeat (Psalm 18:17).
How do we reconcile David’s humble dependence on God with his claim (Psalm 18:20, 24) that God rewarded him according to his righteousness and cleanness?
A memorable television commercial that debuted in 1968 featured a young girl in the kitchen who proclaimed, “It’s Shake ‘N Bake, and I helped!” Some people read these verses with a similar attitude that congratulates themselves for the righteousness they think their goodness earned.
Certain Christians have become so afraid of being branded as legalists that they have disregarded the biblical call to holiness. This clear call is not a call to achieve salvation but to demonstrate it.
In other words, if you have been made a new person in Christ Jesus you should act like it. As Peter declared, “But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (I Peter 1:15-16).
John explained the connection between love for God and obedience to His Word: “For this is what love for God is: to keep His commandments” (I John 5:3). He had heard Jesus point out the inconsistency between some people’s words and actions: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46).
David simply affirmed that God rewards the obedience of His children as they prove faithful, blameless, and pure (Psalm 18:25-26). He certainly did not mean that the grace of God is limited by our degree of faithfulness.
Paul reminded Timothy, from what may have been part of an early hymn, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (II Timothy 2:13). David’s example reminds us that although our faith at times may be weak, it must never be absent.
He continued to own his full dependence on God by singing (remember the Psalms are all songs) of his need for God to be light in his darkness and his strength in battle (Psalm 18:28-29). David may have been a professional warrior, but he knew he would be no more than a professional failure without God’s deliverance. B&R