The psalms are the hymns and prayers of the people of God. They go back to the time of King David and beyond. In fact Psalm 90 is entitled ‘A prayer of Moses the man of God’.

The Psalms show us believers speaking to God, sometimes expressing their faith and praise, sometimes their doubts and fears, sometimes pouring out their concerns and requests. All down the centuries they have been used. They featured in the temple worship in Jerusalem in Old Testament times.

Jesus and his disciples would have used them, and we know that the early church used them; Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians that when they came together in worship they would sing hymns; no doubt in the early church there were new hymns emerging that extolled and praised Jesus, but they would have used the psalms as well. The psalms, as well as the hymns of the church express the reality of a living, dynamic relationship with God.

Psalm 18, a psalm of David makes that clear from the start. ‘I love you O Lord, my strength.’ It reminds us again that God calls us into a relationship of love with himself. The creator God, who is love, calls us to first love him, and then to love our neighbour. David had good reason to love God. He had found in experience the reality that God loved him. God had answered his prayers; God had been faithful to him. ‘The Lord is my rock’ he writes.

That can be true for each one of us. God is faithful. He calls us into faithful relationship with him. David had learned to trust and depend on God. He had put that faith into practice. When a shepherd lad he had found God’s help defending his flock against wild animals. Later he had seen Goliath mocking the people of God, he had decided that something should be done. In God’s strength he had the courage to kill the giant; and so the armies of the Philistines were defeated. David had gone on to become a soldier, and in due course King of Israel.

The Psalms provide us with a resource, they are a part of God’s word that can strengthen and inform our faith, and they teach us the reality of how people relate to God. They show us people struggling with some of the same struggles that we struggle with, and they show us the answers they found, and the ways they coped.

In the first part of Psalm 18, from verses 4-19, David praises God for his delivering mercy. David had been through some problems. He had been anointed by Samuel to one-day become King of Israel. But King Saul had become jealous and had attempted to kill him. In fact it had become an obsession with Saul to get rid of David. David had to run away and live in the wilderness, but even there Saul had taken the army of Israel to pursue and kill him. Saul had by no means been the only enemy out for David’s life.

But David had experienced the reality of God’s help and protection. God had been faithful to David, so he praises him. It’s important to note that God’s help and deliverance had come in response to David’s prayer. ‘ In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.’ There is an important point here. People of faith are people who pray. Some people moan and complain about their problems, but they don’t pray.

If we are believers, then we are very foolish not to pray. God hears and he answers prayer. That’s not to say that we get instant answers. David had to go through a long period as a fugitive; he had to face danger from many enemies. But in the end God answered his prayer and brought him safely through. We probably don’t face the violent hostility that David did, but sometimes very ordinary people like you and I have to face great problems or difficulties, difficulties that can continue for long periods. Never the less, the thing to do is to continually come to God in prayer. God will give us strength to keep the faith. One day God will bring us through.

The language that David uses is rather dramatic. Particularly where it speaks of God’s deliverance. He talks of God coming down from heaven, of smoke, and fire, and darkness and wind. When you actually read the story of David however, you find very little of this sort of dramatic phenomena. What are we to make of it? Is David just a bit too prone to exaggeration?

I believe that David is using pictorial language here. There is nothing wrong in that, as long as it’s used to teach the truth and not to mislead. But what David is also conveying, is that the God who did appear in fire in the burning bush, the God who did send the wind to roll back the waters of the Red Sea, the God who did appear in smoke and darkness and thunder at Mount Sinai to the people of Israel, is the same God who has answered David’s prayer.

The eternal God is always faithful to answer the prayers of his people. He protects, he helps, and he delivers. God is not a god who is not interested and doesn’t care. God is loves and cares. God is involved and active in our world. David rejoices in a God who comes to help and bless his people. But David knew only of God’s interventions in history in the Old Testament story, interventions that were shrouded in mystery, interventions where the rule was that no man could see God. Unlike David we live on the other side of Jesus and his coming into the world. We can praise God that he sent his son into the world.

Jesus expressed God’s anger and judgement on human sin and wrong. But Jesus expressed more fully and clearly God’s grace and forgiveness. Jesus came not only to save us from our enemies, but from ourselves. From our sins and failings and the human weaknesses that spoil our world. We praise God because in Jesus he defeated the power of the devil, and the power of sin and death.   

Then in the second part of the psalm, from verses 20-28 David declares why God has answered his prayer. Why has David been helped and saved? The simple answer is that God helps and blesses those who put their trust in him. David tells us in v 21. ‘I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not done evil by turning from my God.’

Perhaps you have an inclination to be suspicious when someone blows his own trumpet. I confess that I do. I would far rather have someone else tell me how good David was than to hear him tell me himself. But the truth is that God is the one who sets the standards for our world. He is the one who has revealed his moral law. He is the one who has appointed Jesus to be the judge of all. And God protects and helps those who trust and obey him.

That truth doesn’t always go down too well in our world. Human beings are proud. There have always been nations, or movements or political parties or individuals who feel they have a right to define right or wrong. But the eternal reality is that ultimately it is God who determines and reveals what is right. He did this in the Old Testament through the prophets. He has done it for all mankind now through Jesus. Therefore he is faithful to and honours and answers the prayers of those who love him.

Whether God’s blessing or judgement is upon an individual, or a society is dependant to the degree that that individual or society trusts and obeys Jesus. David was a man of prayer and faith. David had a love for God, and to the extent that David walked in God’s paths God blessed him. Of course the bible also tells of David’s darker side, of his sins and failings. The bible tells us that when David displeased God, when he fell into sin he brought trouble on himself. Although when David confessed his sin, God forgave him, yet there were still consequences of his sin that David had to suffer. But the main thrust of David’s life was one of love for God, trust in God and obedience to God. His general experience was of answered prayer, protection and blessing. The same will be true for us. As we trust and obey, as we follow Jesus we will know the reality of his help and grace in our lives.

Then in the third part of the Psalm, from v29 onward David speaks with a confidence regarding the future. God has helped him in the past; God will continue to help him in the future. Sometimes when we think about God as our rock, we only think in terms of God’s protection for us in our weakness. ‘Let me hide myself in thee.’ God is a refuge, but God is also much more than that.

God is a giver of strength. He enables his people to succeed in their endeavours. God is the source of skill. David, who was a soldier King, could extol God as the one who trained his hand for war. God had enabled him to prevail against his enemies. There are some believers, perhaps Christians in the armed forces for which such phrases could have a very literal application.

But for most of us, thank God we don’t have to take up weapons. We follow the Prince of Peace, one who refused to use violence. Jesus knew that you couldn’t win people’s hearts by violence. But Jesus was none the less a person on the offensive. He had a mission to complete and he did not flinch from it. He calls us and he wants to equip us with the skills to share what we have found in Christ.

The application of this last part of the Psalm to us, is not just to look to God as our refuge, but also to look to him as out source of strength and confidence. God has called us as his church to conquer the world, not by armies but by the simple but profound means of making Jesus known. As we read such a bold, confident Psalm as this, may the faith of God’s people of old inspire us to faith and confidence. May we rejoice to see God’s Spirit at work in our midst and people coming to know the reality of God’s love for themselves.

Amen.

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