Summary
Many years ago I used to enjoy spending time in the Tararua Ranges, following tracks which climbed up and crossed the many peaks. Standing on the tops of the local mountains, it was hard not to get a strong sense of the permanence of those rocks jutting up into the sky, compared to my own weakness and transience. Those rocks up high were there before I came, and will be there long after I go.
Psalm 18, a Royal Psalm of David, celebrates the deliverance of God’s people from their enemies, inspired by David’s deliverance from his enemies (1 Samuel 22). The psalm is structured around God as a rock, a refuge for his people. In the first part of Psalm 18 (vv.1-30), God is praised for his deliverance, his saving act described, and his goodness praised.
Our passage explained
v1-5
Psalm 18 begins with praise for the deliverance experienced by God’s hand. God’s acts have driven him to praise and devotion: “I love you, O LORD, my strength” (v.1). God is then described as David’s rock, fortress, and deliverer, a rock “in whom I take refuge”, a shield, the “horn of my salvation” (think: power of a rhinoceros’ horn), and a stronghold (v.2). These words describe God as a permanent, secure hiding place, a powerful warrior, and a protector of his people.
David’s praise of God’s deliverance is explained in verses 3 to 19, where the appearance of God to deliver is described. In verse three, David states that “I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” God is worthy of praise, and when he is called upon, God saves David (and all his people) from their enemies.
v5-20
God’s appearance came because of David’s situation. He describes it as being near to death, where he is entangled by “cords of death/Sheol”, a torrent of destruction, and snares of death confronting him (vv.5-6). David cried out to God in his distress, and God heard “from his temple” as David’s cries “reached his ears” (v.6). Much like Israel’s cries in Egypt (Ex. 2:23-25), God hears the cries of his covenant subjects, and responds.
The response of God is then poetically described in verses eight to nineteen. God’s intervention is described like an earthquake (v.7), an angry divine warrior whose power is like fire (v.8), coming with majesty as he parts the clouds, descending like a storm (vv.9-11). The storm breaks on David’s enemies (v.12), consuming them and sweeping them away (vv.13-14). Even the foundations of the earth are exposed (v.15) as God rescues David, drawing him from the waters and placing him in a broad place because God delighted in him (vv.16-19).
v21-29
The appearance of God to deliver causes David to proclaim the goodness of God in verses twenty to thirty. God delivered David because God is faithful to his promises; that those who seek to live after God’s ways will be delivered. David describes this poetically as having “kept the ways of the LORD” (v.21), having his rules before him (to obey; v.22), being blameless in his dedication to God (not sinless, but seeking to be covenantally faithful; v.23).
God’s goodness to his covenant people is demonstrated in his deeds. He is merciful to those who show mercy, blameless to the blameless, and pure to the pure, saving the humble (vv.25-7). By contrast, the crooked experience God’s wrath like a tortuous road, and the proud are humbled (vv.26-7). It is God who provides light for his people in the darkness, and helps people conquer insurmountable odds (v.v.28-9). God is perfect in his deeds, his word is demonstrated to be true, and he protects those who seek his safety (v.30)
Our passage applied
This psalm reminded God’s Old Testament people that their well-being was tied to the Davidic line. In the first half of Psalm 18, God’s power to save and deliver is demonstrated. Ultimately, this salvation is given to us by God through Jesus, a descendant of David. When Jesus bore our sins on the Cross the sky was darkened; when he returns in glory to finally rescue us and consummate his reign the sky will snap up like a roll and the heavens convulse.
God’s goodness to us, his people, does not change because God does not change. He is like a rock, a permanent fixture. He is a shield behind which we may shelter, a fortress to run to. We do not have to save ourselves, but instead we are freed to praise God for his goodness and for his deliverance.
Other nations rise and fall, strong men come and go. But God is a permanent fixture, a rock, and his anointed king Jesus is our deliverer from our great enemies sin and death. We can shelter in the cleft of our God, our rock, and trust he will protect us because his promises hold true: he protects those who call on him for salvation.
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