Psalm of the Month: Psalm 18
The title of this Psalm alerts us to the context — King David is being pursued by his rival, Saul, and an army of enemies. In some Psalms David is quite literal. He tells us about the events, locations, and methods of attack he endured from his enemies. But not this Psalm. Here, David doesn’t care to tell us what was happening on the surface. He wants us to see beneath the surface, to his heart’s confidence in the Lord to deliver him.
Because it’s a long Psalm (50 verses), breaking it into five sections should help us get a grip on it.
1-6 — David’s Danger and Deliverer. David expresses two kinds of danger: physical harm and emotional distress. In both cases he cried to God, his Rock and Shield, and God heard him.
7-19 — God’s Defense of David. This section draws on two older stories: the Exodus and Israel’s arrival at Sinai. David pulls language from those stories and applies it to his current situation. His point is that God is consistent: if He delivered His people from suffering in the past, He will continue to do so in the same way today. He’s a reliable God, worthy of the name “Rock and Shield.”
20-30 — God’s Perfect Way. If you read this section quickly, you’d get the impression David is bragging. “God rewarded my righteousness.” “I have not done wickedly.” But it’s actually the opposite — David is marveling at how dependent he is upon God’s Word to know right from wrong. The farther you read, the more you see how God’s own character is the blueprint for David’s mature handling of his suffering. “It is You who light my lamp…this God — His way is perfect. The Word of the Lord proves true.” It’s as if David is saying: “If I didn’t have God’s Word, I wouldn’t keep it together under the thread of death; I wouldn’t remain blameless when I’m treated unfairly.” But God’s way is perfect and available, and we can model it in distress.
31-45 — David’s Victory. This section moves from moral victory to military victory. Just as God gave David the strength to remain virtuous under attack in verses 20-30, here God gave David the strength to overcome his enemies in battle. “For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.” This doesn’t mean that the most God-honoring military always wins in war. David’s situation was unique as God’s covenant king. Instead it shapes our confidence in spiritual battle. Ephesians 6:12 says we battle not against flesh and blood, but against the darkness of this world. 1 Peter 2:11 instructs us to abstain from sin, which is at war with our souls. In that battle, we should depend on God like David: “He set me secure on the heights; You gave me the shield of salvation; You made my enemies turn back.”
46-50 — David’s Praise. In response to God’s work, “I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to Your Name.”
Psalm 18 is a blueprint for trusting God in times of distress. Though we won’t always be delivered from our suffering in the here and now, we can always count on three things: (1) God is always for us even though evil is against us. (2) We can have good moral character even when we suffer, because God’s Word is a lamp to our feet. (3) God will always deliver us from our greatest threat, which is sin and death itself.