Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 18:2 and following. Indeed, this psalm constitutes a great prophecy embracing the death, resurrection, exaltation, final victory and kingship of the Messiah. Verses 2 to 4 provide the theme that will then be developed at length, namely how “the servant of the Lord” was delivered. The Lord Jesus teaches us, through his own experience, what God is for the one who trusts in him. “The excellent greatness of his power towards us who believe” was demonstrated in Christ’s resurrection, his ascension, the place given to him above all his enemies (Eph. 1:19-21). What God was for Jesus in the hour of his distress, his calamity, it is also for us; and the trials we are going through are opportunities to know Him in a new way. Am I tired, languishing? He is my strength. Is my faith faltering? He is my Rock. Is there a danger? It is my strong place, the high retreat where I find an assured refuge (Ps. 9:8-11). Am I struggling with the Enemy? He is the shield that protects me from his blows. For Jesus, this deliverance was the consequence of his righteousness, while to us it is assured because of our relationship with him.
For the Lord Jesus delights in making us know his God whose way is perfect and whose Word is refined (Pr 30:5-6). Thus, in the first part of the psalm, he taught us by his example to invoke him in our afflictions. Here he teaches us to rely on him for walking and for fighting. Do we know from experience what it’s like to stand in our high places? (Ha 3:16-19). From a culminating point, one enjoys an enlarged and distant view (Esa 33:13-18). Let’s consider the one that is offered to us at the end of this psalm. The eyes are on the future, when God will destroy the enemies of his Son. On the horizon we see the dawn of his reign. He will be established Prince over his people Israel, but also Head of Nations. As a hymn invites us: Let’s contemplate this great King of kings, reigning in power over the whole universe and, by his presence, breaking all irons. It was necessary for the glory of God that the nations praise Him, and all will do so during the Kingdom. But today it is our privilege, drawn as we have been from the midst of nations, to sing hymns to the glory of his name (Rom 15:7-12). Let us not deprive him of it.
Then thispsalm makes the accents of praise of the Messiah heard in response to deliverance – the resurrection, announced at the end of the previous psalm. He celebrates the Lord, like his rock and horn, – symbols of strength and kingship. He recalls his supplications on the day of his distress, and celebrates the wonderful redemption wrought by the hand of Jehovah on his behalf when he brought Him out of the womb of death, and on behalf of his people Israel, when he delivers him from his coalition enemies on the last day. His deliverance is God’s response to His cry. The earth is then shaken, as was the place where believers were gathered in Jerusalem, at the voice of the Church (Acts 4). For the Judge of all the earth will avenge his chosen ones who cry out to him, by the breath of his mouth and the splendor of his apparition (2 Thess 2:8).
For Christ is presented to us in a very striking way in two conditions and in two very different characters: He is both seen as the object of deliverance and as the one who operates deliverance. He is the one who presents this supplication and the one who answers it. All this flows simply and necessarily from his person in whom humanity and divinity are united, and from the fact that he shares the afflictions of his people while being the Lord who saves and blesses them. This is how we see it in Isaiah 8 expecting Jehovah who hid his face from Israel, and in Matthew 23 being himself the Lord who hides his face. David’s deliverance from Saul’s hand illustrates this fact, and the final fulfillment of the deliverance celebrated here by the prophetic Spirit will be realized in the last days at the deliverance of Israel (with whom the Messiah identifies himself here). Reference is made to Israel’s passage through the Red Sea, where the strength of the Pharaoh perished, for this was another deliverance typifying the resurrection.
At the end of the psalm, the one who has been delivered becomes the one who wins the victories and who reigns. The Lord strengthening him, nothing seems to be able to resist him. It is the same hand of God that delivers him, gives him victory, and finally puts him on authority. She makes his lamp glow, and through it, he runs through a troop. So this psalm teaches us, as Paul does in Romans 8, that “those whom he has justified, he has also glorified.” The Lord is not satisfied – and cannot be satisfied – with simply delivering, but He consumes His goodness in the kingdom. The song of Israel in Exodus 15, as well as that of the elders in Rev 5, express the same truth. His counsel being to carry us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, He fulfills it by committing us to the sure and easy path that leads to the lot of the saints in the light (Colossians 1). It completes what concerns us.
But all this is in favor of the righteous; as for others, a well-deserved judgment reaches them. This is the character of the divine ways in this psalm. For deliverance from the hand of the “violent man” is deliverance in righteousness rather than grace. Only by grace, by virtue of the Atonement, is the sinner delivered from the curse of the accuser, the punishment of sin, and the just judgment of the law; and it will soon be the same for God’s Israel on the day of their repentance. But in their fight with the enemy, they will be righteous, as David was to Saul. It is as martyrs or as righteous that these faithful will suffer, and as such that they will be delivered. This just judgment, this retribution of justice and evil characterizes the divine ways in the book of Revelation (Rev 22:11-15), as in this psalm. For 2 Samuel 22 shows us that this psalm was the expression of David’s feelings in an appropriate time: is this passage not proof of the symbolic value of certain historical events? David’s deliverance from Saul’s hand is celebrated here in a style that clearly shows that another and much more wonderful deliverance was being met beyond that of which he had been subjected.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Prayer of a king after victory:
· God our strength
Ps 28:8 The Lord is the strength of His people, He is the rock of the deliverances of His anointed. Ps 46:2 God is for us a refuge and a support, a help that is never lacking in distress. Ps 73:26 My flesh and heart can be consumed: God will always be the rock of my heart and my sharing. Ps 81:2 Sing with joy to God, our strength! Cry out with joy to Jacob’s God!
· Divine Liberator
2 Sam 22:2 He says: The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my liberator. Isaiah 46:4 Until your old age I will be the same, Until your old age I will support you; I did, and I still want to carry you, support you and save you. Dn 6:28 Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius, and during the reign of Cyrus, the Persian. 2 Cor 1:10 It is He who has delivered us and who will deliver us from such a death, He from whom we hope He will deliver us again,
· Power of God, general references
1 Ch 29:12 Wealth and glory come from you, you dominate over everything, strength and power are in your hand, and your hand has the power to enlarge and strengthen all things. Ps 62:12 And the king will rejoice in God; Whoever swears by him will boast of it, for the mouths of liars will be closed. Ps 65:7 He strengthens the mountains by His strength, He is surrounded by power; Rom 16:25 To him who can strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, in accordance with the revelation of the mystery hidden for centuries,
· Thanksgiving, ordained
Ps 50:14 Offer for sacrifice to God thanksgiving, and fulfill your vows to the Most High. Ps 92:2 It is beautiful to praise the Lord, and to celebrate your name, O Most High! Phil 4:6 Worry about anything; but in all things make your needs known to God through prayers and supplications, with thanksgiving. Col 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or in work, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanksgiving to God the Father.
From all of the above, we note thatPs 18 presents to us Christ’s relationship with the whole history of Israel, and in particular Christ entering into the sufferings of death (not, however, into the atoning sufferings; these are presented to us in Ps. 22). This Psalm brings out the connection of Israel’s deliverance and the final judgment performed on its behalf on earth, with Christ’s right to this intervention. No doubt the Atonement was absolutely necessary for the accomplishment of these things, but it is not from this point of view that christ’s sufferings are contemplated here: God takes pleasure in him; He responds to him according to the integrity of his heart, and delivers the suffering residue, with which he has associated himself. Christ, in a word, is the basis of all the deliverances of Israel, the cause of their deliverance from Egypt, and of their complete and final redemption in power in the last days, and their personal liberator as well. He is dependent on The Lord; Jehovah hears it; his sufferings are before us: but in the end he fulfills with the power of Jehovah the deliverance of his people, and is then the faithful witness of God’s mercy towards David his anointed, and towards his seed forever. Mercy here is not only that mercy of which we would speak to sinners, but the favor and grace manifested and tasted, thus becoming the source of piety in man. This mercy is celebrated especially in Ps. 89, where the term ‘holy’ is applied to Christ in whom goodness, piety and mercy are concentrated. This is why the graces granted to Israel in the end (and truly to all who enjoy them) are called “the assured graces of David” (Esa 55:3), confirmed by an eternal covenant, and indeed, as the apostle shows us, assured by the resurrection of Christ (Acts 13:34), thus making clear their connection with the pains of death of which our Psalm speaks. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “help comes from the sanctuary.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.