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Psalm 18 Verses 1-3 Who is God? God Described by Some of His Names

6/8/2015

Psalm 18 Verses 1-3

These verses of David’s praise to The Lord God are so full of encouragement and inspiration for His people. They read,

“I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.”

David identifies God or describes Him in several ways here. Let’s look at them.

The Lord is my strength. He is not just strong. He is not only mighty. He is our strength, without Him we are weak. Without Him we are not able, but with Him, because of Him, and through Him we can. He is The Lord God Almighty, El, I Am.

Trying to do anything under our own power doesn’t glorify God. He used Moses, a man who didn’t like to speak, to lead a nation to freedom, give them His law, and be their judge. He used Peter an impulsive man who lived by his emotions to be the rock of the church and lead the Apostles. Those accomplishments were not because of their strength, but God’s.

The Lord is my rock. He is our unchanging firm foundation. The ground of our being. The word used is sela. It means a mountain, a cliff or a crag. It is a place of high safety, unreachable by the enemy. In Him we take refuge.

Refuge is protective confidence, a sanctuary a shelter or a harbor. It is safety.

The Lord is my God. He is our Almighty Supreme Sovereign Divine Holy Deity. He is All encompassing, all powerful, never changing, immortal God and Creator.

The Lord is my fortress. A fortress is a place inaccessible to the enemy, a large fortified building or city made for fighting but impenetrable to those outside. God is not susceptible to change or disturbance. In Him we are untouchable, we cannot be harmed.

The Lord is my deliverer. He carries us off from the enemy. He rescues and preserves us. He is our Savior, our Messiah. He delivered us from sin, from Satan’s lordship to the freedom of salvation.

The Lord is my shield. A shield is protective but also a movable defense. It is held with one arm while the other normally holds a weapon like a sword. The Hebrew word here, ganan not only means small shield, but it refers to the protective scaly hide of a crocodile. The crocodile is covered by many small shields fit together so that nothing can penetrate the hide and hurt the soft body. Today, I imagine body armor, like a bullet proof vest that covers the heart and lungs of the soldier. God is our shield, our body armor who will not let the arrows or bullets of the enemy penetrate us.

The Lord is my horn of salvation. The horn, such as the horn of an ox or a ram is a sign of strength, of royalty, and of kingship. The rays or radiance of the Lord we associate with his holiness is the same word as the horn of an ox. (Habakkuk). Many times throughout the Bible the word denotes kings, in Daniel and 1 Kings. The Horn of Salvation is the Mighty King of Deliverance, Jesus Christ. And when Jesus returns, He will announce His Salvation with trumpets, the blowing of the ram’s horn.

The Lord is my stronghold. Similar to a fortress, even a synonym for fortress, a stronghold is a high inaccessible place, a high fort, a fortified castle or garrison. The enemy can’t get to the stronghold. Those within it fight or their beliefs and their cause. We are God’s cause and He is ours. He fights for us, and we are protected within his safety.

Verse 3 sums up God described in verses 1-2.

“I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.”

We can depend on God, call on Him and praise Him because He is all the things David said He is. He is our rock, fortress, deliverer, God, refuge, shield, the horn of our salvation, and our stronghold. He saves us from everything, anything, and anyone which is against us.

Praise the Lord! Praise Him indeed!

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Psalm 18 What Does Salvation Mean? What Does Salvation Involve?

6/7/2015

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Psalm 18

David wrote this psalm to commemorate the day The Lord saved him from Saul. Saul who had once loved David had become paranoid to the point of such fear, hate, and resentment that he actively sought to destroy him. Saul and his army had become an enemy so strong that David was not sure he would survive, except for the promise of God that he would be king and His supernatural protection and deliverance of him.

Taking the time to acknowledge and praise God for the great and good things He does for you is important and often through those prayers, praises, and songs The Lord will give you a prophetic word, a promise, or an encouragement. He spoke prophetically through David’s praise to encourage and lead us today.

Verses 1-3 are the kind of eloquent and pure praise I wish would flow from my mouth to my Lord’s heart.

“I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.”

Look at those depictions and understand each one was true for David and is true for us. God is our foundation, the place we go to fight and remain safe from the enemy, He is our deliverer, our protection, our strong and saving King, and a protection that can’t be trespassed by the enemy. No matter what the enemy does to us or how he tries to hurt us, God will not allow him to destroy us. We will not be devastated, not because we are so strong and good and faithful, but because God is Mighty, Righteous, and Steadfast. We can’t fight the enemy on our own, but God has already defeated him. Just as Saul pursued David in order to keep him from being the king who God had anointed him to be, the enemy wants to keep us from inheriting the Kingdom. Verses 4-6 describe David’s predicament when Saul tried to kill him.

“The cords of death encompassed me;
    the torrents of destruction assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry to him reached his ears.”

But The LORD loved David and wouldn’t let it happen. He doesn’t like it when anyone tries to harm His children. He avenged David and He will also avenge us. The enemy will not escape retribution. David described God’s judgement on Saul as he prophetically describes God’s justice for us on The Day of Reckoning. Verses 7-9 paint the picture.

“Then the earth reeled and rocked;
    the foundations also of the mountains trembled
    and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
    and devouring fire from his mouth;
    glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down;
    thick darkness was under his feet.”

Verses 10-12 describe Jesus Christ leading the Heaven’s army.

“He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
    thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
    hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.”

God loves us so intensely that He will not curb His anger that day. Verses 13-15 read,

“The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
    and the Most High uttered his voice,
    hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
    he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
    and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
    at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.”

In His wrath, we are not forgotten. He is our stronghold and He will gather us to Him. Verses 16-18 say,

“He sent from on high, he took me;
    he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
    and from those who hated me,
    for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
    but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
    he rescued me, because he delighted in me.”

On that Day, payment will come due. God will look at us and He won’t see our sin, our shortcomings, nor our mistakes, He will see Jesus’ righteousness as our righteousness. He will see our love, faith, kindness, and patience. Can you imagine? I know I too often see all the worst of myself, but God doesn’t. He sees all the goodness of Jesus. He sees His cherished, valued, esteemed precious child. His love is so extravagant that He not only sees the best of us, He makes us to be the best.

Each person will be judged by the standard he followed, either by the law or by Jesus blood.

Verses 24-28 read,

“So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
    with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure;
    and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save a humble people,
    but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my lamp;”

David knew he couldn’t be righteous on his own. He knew he couldn’t fight his enemy on his own. He depended on God for his salvation. So do we. It is our Lord who saves. It is our Lord who makes us righteous. It is our Lord who enables us to do good. It is our Lord who empowers us against the enemy. It is our Lord who makes us like Him. Verses 31-36 read,

“For who is God, but the Lord?
    And who is a rock, except our God?--
32 the God who equipped me with strength
    and made my way blameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your right hand supported me,
    and your gentleness made me great.
36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet did not slip.”

Look at all the awesome things God enables us to do. He endows us with strength. He gives us authority to defeat the enemy with Him. (Verses 37-45). And God makes us kings with Him. He crowns us with His glory, life, righteousness, untouchable salvation, and rejoicing. Verses 46-48 read,

“The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be the God of my salvation--
47 the God who gave me vengeance
    and subdued peoples under me,
48 who delivered me from my enemies;
    yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
    you rescued me from the man of violence.”

So praise the Lord for all He does for you. Exalt Him and he will lift you up too. As you consider all the awesomeness of God with you, He encourages, edifies, and extends you. If you think God hasn’t done anything for you, just think of all your salvation encompasses. The miracle of salvation is massive. Praise Him for that amazing gift and let the lost know how wonderful He is. Verses 49-50 read,

“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
    and sing to your name.
50 Great salvation he brings to his king,
    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
    to David and his offspring forever.”

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Psalm 18 Verses 1-3 Who is God? God Described by Some of His Names

Psalm 18 What Does Salvation Mean? What Does Salvation Involve?

Donna Campbell

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