| For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: Praise 1 I love you, Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. 1. Davids Cry and God's Reply 4 The waves of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 6 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 him, into his ears. 7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. 10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. 12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. 13 The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. 14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. 15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils. 16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. 19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. 2. God's Reply, the Reason Why 20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. 21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I am not guilty of turning from my God. 22 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. 23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. 24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. 25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, 26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. 27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. 28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. 29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. 30 As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. 3. On Him you can Rely 31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. 34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. 36 You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. 37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. 38 I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. 39 You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me. 40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. 41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the Lord, but he did not answer. 42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust; I trampled them like mud in the streets. 43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me, 44 foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. 45 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. Closing Praise 46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! 47 He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, 48 who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me. 49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. 50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing love to his anointed, to David and to his descendants forever. |
This Psalm is set somewhere between the end of 2 Samuel 8 when David had established his kingdom and 2 Samuel 11, the Bathsheba incident. King Saul and his sons have died at the Battle of Gilboa. After being on the run for 10 years, David has come out of exile, become King of Judah at Hebron, defeated the Amalekites , the Philistines, Moab, and the Syrians, and after some major political wrangling become King over all Israel. The epigram at the beginning of the Psalm says David wrote this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies. The linear narrative of David's story finishes at the end of 2 Samuel 20 where there is a list of the Government Officers in David's Kingdom. The rest of the book of 2 Samuel is taken up with 6 flashback scenes that appear in a Chiastic pattern (reverse parallel). A - 2 Samuel 21:1-14 Difficult Decision Early On B - 2 Samuel 21:15-22 Early Exploits of David's Might Men. C - 2 Samuel 22:1-51 - Poem near start of David's reign. C - 2 Samuel 23:1-7 - Poem near end of David's reign. B - 2 Samuel 23:8-38 Later exploits of David's Mighty Men. A - 2 Samuel 24 - Difficult Decision later on. Difficult Decision 1 in 2 Samuel 21:1-14 relates to the story of the 3 year famine. David enquires of God and finds it is because King Saul broke the promise Joshua made to the Gibeonites to spare them. David has to give them 7 members of Saul's family to be killed for revenge. He cannot give them Mephiboseth, Jonathan's son because of an oath he swore to look after him. Which only left Armoni and Mephiboseth, King Saul's children by Rizpah, the concubine and the 5 step-children of Michal, Saul's daughter and David's 1st wife. During the time David was in exile, Michal was married off to Adriel before returning to David, she bore no children. This would not have made him popular with his wife. In Psalm 15, one of the 10 conditions of gaining access to God was to keep your word, even if it hurt - this incident shows David understood this one very well. Early Exploits of David's Mighty Men in 2 Samuel 21:15-22 tells of battles with the Philistines with 4 descendants of Goliath the Giant. The poem in 2 Samuel 22:1-51 near the start of David's reign is, in fact, Psalm 18 with a few minor changes. Psalm 18 is another 3 part Psalm, with a small opening and closing praise section.
The opening praise show David's relationship with God is real and personal and close. David repeats the word my to emphasise this close relationship. I love you, Lord, my strength, my rock, my fortress; my deliverer; my rock; my shield; my salvation; my stronghold. David describes God using strong, solid word with a military or wilderness feel to them. David learnt his military skills fighting in the desert caves. 1. Davids Cry and God's Reply The fast pace of David's cry builds the tension. Trouble comes in waves and torrents and then cords and snares trapping him. 4 The waves of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. Then David cries for help and God hears him. God responds with phenomanal cosmic power. The earth trembled and quaked, mountains shook; God shows he is stronger than the solid earth and mountains. dark clouds were under his feet with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. with great bolts of lightning he routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed the foundations of the earth laid bare God goes on to show that the earlier waves and torrents are also no match for him. He controls the clouds, the rain, the hail and lightening. And He can expose the seabed, pushing the raging torrents away, with His rebuke. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. God reaches down and rescues David. This imagery is reminiscent of the time when Moses and all of Israel stood at the bottom of Mt Sinai to meet God and establish their covenant with him in Exodus 19: 16-19. There was thunder and lightning, thick cloud, very loud trumpet blasts, smoke, fire and the whole mountain trembled violently.  2. God's Reply, the Reason Why Here we see why God responds to David. David has been faithful. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I am not guilty of turning from my God. All his laws are before me; 3. On Him you can Rely Here David list many of the ways God has helped him by gifting him with skills, and circumstances that train and hone those skills. God arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. your help has made me great. You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations. Closing Praise David has declared his love for God throughout this Psalm. And perhaps the most significant part in the Psalm..... The love is reciprocal. God loves David right back. he rescued me because he delighted in me. he shows unfailing love to his anointed |
Tuesday 4 November 2014
Psalm 18 - Phenomenal Cosmic Power
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