“In the Law and the Prophets, God reaches out to man. The initiative is His. The message is His. He communicates, we receive. Our God-given free will allows us to be receptive, to be accepting, to turn a deaf ear, to reject.

In the Psalms, human beings reach out to God. The initiative is human. The language is human. We make an effort to communicate. He receives; He chooses to respond or not, according to His inscrutable wisdom. He gives his assent or withholds it.

In the Psalms the human soul extends itself beyond its confining, sheltering, impermanent house of clay. It strives for contact with the Ultimate Source of all life. It gropes for an experience of the divine Presence. The biblical Psalms are essentially a record of the human quest for God.”

— From On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel, by Nahum M. Sarna.

One Psalm Sung Two Times

Psalm 18 was probably written early in David’s life. The heading for it in the book of Psalms says he wrote it when he was delivered from the hand of King Saul. It was a song of gratitude and awe for God who saved him from fierce and surprising enemies. David never expected a king and his army to come after him, but it happened and God rescued him.

David sang this Psalm again when he was an old man. His heart was heavy with grief over his sons Amnon and Absalom; his household was in turmoil and he was wary of his oldest friends. David reflected upon his relationship with God and this early Psalm came back to his mind. It’s a love letter to the Lord.

“I love you, Lord, my strength.” Psalm 18:1

The Rock

“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. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.” Psalm 18:2-3

Why did David use these metaphors – rock, refuge, shield, stronghold – to describe God? He was a shepherd and shepherds lived in open spaces, pasturing their sheep. The last thing a shepherd wanted was to have a lot of sheep wandering among rocks.

But David was no longer a shepherd when he wrote these words. He was a fugitive hiding in a cave who had discovered the value of rocks as hiding places. In his stone stronghold he could see and not be seen. It was a refuge that shielded him and became his salvation.

Reaching for an apt description of what the Lord meant to him, David compared God to the rock that had become his home.

God to the Rescue

David was in peril. He felt death wrapping itself around him and pulling him down. Like a drowning man David cried for help.

“In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.” Psalm 18:4

And God heard! Not only did God hear, he moved heaven and earth to reach David and save him. David gives a vivid description of what it was like to be rescued by almighty God.

“The earth trembled and quaked . . . Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth . . . He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet . . . he soared on the wings of the wind . . . out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven . . . He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare . . . He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me.” Psalm 18:6-17

The Lord was Delighted with David

The Lord rescued David because he had a strong relationship with him.

“They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” Psalm 18:18-19

David was confident that the Lord rescued him “because he delighted in me.” What an amazing thing to be able to say about his relationship with the Lord! Why was God delighted with David?

David believed God was delighted in him because he did things that pleased the Lord.

“For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I am not guilty of turning from my God. All his laws are before me; I have not turned from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands.” Psalm 18:21-24

Was David Really Blameless?

It was one thing for David to say he was blameless as an innocent young man, aspiring to live a righteous life. But it’s another for him to say it again, years after his sin with Bathsheba. How could David still say that he was blameless and clean as an old man?

David never claimed to be sinless; he claimed to be righteous. A righteous man recognizes his sin and repents. Keeping the ways of the Lord meant acknowledging sin and seeking forgiveness. Once God forgave David, he was restored to his clean and blameless condition before the Lord.

David knew God would forgive a person who humbly turned from his sins. God loved that kind of faithfulness. It was unrepentant people that God dealt harshly with.

“To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.” Psalm 18:25-27

Because David was sure of his standing with God he could say,

“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop, with my God I can scale a wall.” Psalm 18:28-29

David’s Love for God

In the next part of the Psalm David shows us why he loved the Lord so much. The Lord was perfect to David, his word was flawless, and he was a refuge to him. He armed David with strength and kept his way secure. He trained him for battle and God’s help made David into a great man.

In Psalm 18:37-45 David describes what it was like to win in battle with the Lord’s help. He was a whirlwind of power, overtaking, destroying, crushing and trampling his enemies. He came back from war victorious and unscathed over and over again.

“You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations.” Psalm 18:43

David did everything in the power the Lord supplied and he found the Lord to be perfect, flawless and a refuge of strength. He closes his Psalm with a shout of praise, as if he can’t say it loudly or joyfully enough.

“The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!

He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.” Psalm 18:46, 50

The Quest for God

David’s whole life was a quest for God. Before he met Samuel the prophet David was already in love with the Lord. When he faced trouble it was the most natural thing in the world for him to pray. The Lord was nearer to David than his loyal company of mighty men. God’s love was richer to him than the love of his closest friends, his dearest wife or his favorite son. It was God that David longed for with all of his being.

In the Psalms people reach out to God. Psalm 18 is a great example of that. David speaks to God and he speaks about God, and he finishes with a trumpet blast of praise that we can join.

The Lord lives! Praise be to our Rock! Exalted be God our Savior!