Psalm 18

Psalm eighteen was written by David after he had been delivered from the hands of King Saul. King Saul hated David, because he knew God had rejected him and had chosen David to be the new king to succeed him.  Hence, Saul was trying to kill David.  God protected David, however, and David eventually became king.  Psalm eighteen is a psalm of praise from David to God for his deliverance from Saul.  It is a beautiful psalm of praise which we can utter to the Lord also!

David said in Psalm 18:1. "I love You, O Lord, my strength."  This verse reveals David's intimate and passionate relationship with the Lord.  The Lord delights in our expressions of love to Him as well. We need to always be expressing our love for the Lord through our prayers and our lives.

When we truly love someone we also trust them.  This kind of trust for his Lord was expressed by David in Psalm 18:2-3a.  David said, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise."

The Lord is our "rock" or foundation also.  When we are resting on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ our lives are meaningful, and every moment of our lives are under the Lord's direction and control.  We need to fear nothing!  The Lord is our "fortress" or place of shelter and safety.  When the difficulties or trials of life come we can run to the Lord.  The Lord is our "deliverer."  How often we try every human resource before we turn to the Lord.  We must run to the Lord first.  He is our only true source of deliverance and our only "shield" of protection. The Lord is the one who will protect us and give us the grace and strength we need in those difficult times in our lives.  The Lord is our "horn" of salvation and our "stronghold."  He is the strength and glory of our lives for time and for eternity!  If we truly love and trust the Lord, we must call upon the Lord with our every need.  We can trust the Lord to meet our every need in His perfect timing.  Hence, we must also not forget to praise our awesome and faithful Lord; for He is indeed "worthy of praise!"

Even though David went through a difficult experience when he was being pursued by King Saul, the Lord was with David and protected him in a mighty way.  David said of God in Psalm 18:16, "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters."  Later in Psalm 18:18b-19 David said, "The Lord was my support.  He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me."

The Lord rescues and helps us also in times of difficulty.  The writer of this devotional has lived long enough to see that the Lord has always been faithful to her in her life.  Sometimes the difficult things that occur in this life seem hard to accept and understand, but we can trust with absolute confidence that the Lord is faithful. Often only through difficult times can the Lord shape us into the kind of of people He wants us to become.  This is because during trials in our lives we tend to lean more heavily on the Lord.

After the trials the Lord often draws us "out of deep waters," and He brings us "into a spacious place."  The writer of this devotional has also seen that in her life.  The Lord will always bless us through and in the trials, and then He will bring us out of trials "into a spacious place" unconfined by dangers and threats  and protected by His love!  This will always happen either in this life or ultimately in eternity!  The Lord is faithful to His own!  The Lord delights in His children who love, trust, and obey Him!  Psalm 18:46 says, "The Lord lives!  Praise be to my Rock!  Exalted be God my Savior!"