Psalm 18
Bible Passage: Psalm 18
When David wrote this Psalm, he must have been filled with relief; he must have been overjoyed. After so many years of persecution and constant fear, God had finally delivered him from his enemies.
Deliverance and the fulfillment of God’s promise to make him king – this is what David had been waiting for; this is what must have been the main content of his prayers.
But how did David manage to pass through all these years of waiting?
“In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried out to my God;”
(Ps 18:6)
David’s earnest prayers were the source of his strength.
“For You will light my lamp;
The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.”
(Ps 18:28, 32)
Today, are we praying earnestly to God, and if yes, have we put effort into each and every single prayer? Or do we easily become discouraged and slack after a while?
Although David prayed earnestly, God would not have listened to his prayers, if he had not been righteous in the Lord’s eyes:
“He delivered me because He delighted in me.
The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.”
(Ps 18:19-22)
Whenever we are in trouble, we will naturally turn to God and ask for His help. Quite often we take it for granted that God should deliver us and solve our problems. But how many of us have examined ourselves? Have we kept God’s word? Have our lives been shining for Jesus and been pleasing to Him?
Although God is a merciful and loving God, we must not forget that He is also just; He will repay us according our deeds (Ps 18:24-27). For this reason, we need to strive to sow deeds of kindness, holiness and righteousness.
Finally, how did God eventually deliver David from his enemies?
From this Psalm we learn that the Lord gave David strength to fight against his enemies and to eventually win the victory.
In the same way, God gives us strength and wisdom to overcome our problems and spiritual enemies. But we must also make use of this strength and do our part to fight (cf. Ps 18:28-36).
David did his part – he thoroughly destroyed his enemies, so that they could not rise up against him anymore (Ps 18:37-42) – What about us?
Have we tried to solve our problems? Or have we been passively waiting for God to help us? Have we fought against our spiritual enemies – our selfishness, pride, lust, desires, bad habits? Have we thoroughly cleansed our hearts from all these?
Sometimes we may grow weary; we may feel that this battle is too hard to fight. But let us remember:
God will surely give us the victory, if only we continue in earnest prayer and rely on Him to do our part.
“The LORD lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.”
(Ps 18:46)