January 3
“I will love You, O Lord, my Strength. The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in whom I will trust; my Shield and the Horn of my Salvation, my Stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies,” Psalm 18:1-3.
David, the psalmist, begins this psalm with titles and names that direct your thinking to the one almighty God – Lord, Strength, Rock, Fortress, Deliverer, God, Shield, Horn of Salvation, and Stronghold! Each of these expressions direct you to Him who has an unlimited amount of strength. He is the almighty God!
David needed the reassurance that he was chosen by God to be the king of the people of Israel. As such, he had a lot of enemies, among whom his predecessor, King Saul, was chief. King Saul was rejected as king by God because he did not follow what the Lord commanded him to do. The man whom God chose to be Saul’s successor was David, and Saul was very envious of him.
Over an extended period of time, Saul attempted to kill David, and David fled for the sake of his life. David had a number of opportunities to kill Saul, but he refused to do so. He said, “The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed,” 1 Samuel 26:11. God had chosen Saul to be king, and as far as David was concerned, God would remove Saul from that office at His own appointed time. He said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish,” 1 Samuel 26:10.
In view of his many enemies, David needed the assurance that he was being protected by the almighty God. His faith and confidence in God’s promises was clearly expressed: “I will love You, O Lord.” In God, “I will trust.” “I will call upon the Lord.” “So shall I be saved from my enemies.” David was sure that God would hear and answer his prayers.
Throughout the psalm, he uses words to express God’s greatness and the majestic ways in which He can deal with both the ungodly and the God-fearing people. David would say, “Let there be no doubt about it: ‘Who is God, except the Lord? And who is a Rock, except our God?’” Psalm 18:31.
Repeatedly throughout the psalm, emphasis is placed upon the importance of thanking and praising God and giving all glory to Him for His blessings and mercy. David would never have given an ear to anyone who might suggest that “God is dead!” His response would read, “The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted . . . I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing praises to Your name,” Psalm 18:46, 49.
Let us, as Christians, proclaim our trust in the God of our salvation. Let us thank Him and sing praises to His name for sending us a Savior who loved us and who suffered, died, and rose again to redeem us. In the glorious Gospel, we are assured that Jesus washed away our sins with His holy, precious blood. We hear Him say clearly and personally, “I love you! Your sins are all forgiven!” Now, “We love Him because He first loved us,” 1 John 4:19.
Do you have any doubts and fears? Then, like David, love and trust in the Lord, your Strength, your Rock, your Fortress, your Deliverer, your God, your Shield, your Horn of Salvation, and your Stronghold.
“All that I was, my sin, my guilt,
My death, was all mine own;
All that I am I owe to Thee,
My gracious God, alone.” Amen.