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Psalms 18

Thursday Evening Bible Study

October 22, 2015

Introduction

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid to die?  Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Target 3300 words   Video = 75 wpm

The English word psalm comes from a Greek word that means “a poem sung to musical accompaniment”, or in particular, “stringed instruments”.

The Hebrew name is tehillim, which means “praises.”

The book of Psalms is the hymnbook of God’s people.

It’s also the “Him” book as well.  It’s all about Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 40:8 when he writes,

(Hebrews 10:7 NKJV) Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”
The author was talking about Jesus. 
We’re going to see a lot of Jesus in the Psalms.

Soul Music

Music touches the soul.  It’s “soulish” in nature.  It touches the emotions.

We’re going to find every kind of emotion possible expressed in the Psalms.

For every sigh there is a Psalm.

For most of us, this is what makes the Psalms so wonderful.  We can identify.  We can relate.
If we were honest, even darkest most depressing Psalms describe the very things we go through day by day.

It is my prayer that as we continue on this journey through the Psalms, we won’t just look at these songs academically, with our mind, but that we may also grow as worshippers.

Psalm 18

: To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David The Servant of the Lord, Who Spoke to the Lord The Words of This Song on the Day that the Lord Delivered Him from the Hand of All His Enemies and from the Hand of Saul. And He Said:

on the Day that the Lord Delivered Him

This Psalm is also found in 2Sam. 22:1-51 with only a few changes. 

2Samuel 22 is at the end of David’s life, as we are given various ways of summing up David’s life.
It is possible that this song was sung at various times during David’s life when he recognized how God had saved him from his enemies.

18:1-3 God delivers us

:1 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

:2 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.

:2 in whom I will trust

The writer of the Hebrews (Heb. 2:13) pulls this short little phrase out and tells us that this is Jesus speaking

(Hebrews 2:13 NKJV) And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”

:3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.

:3 So shall I be saved from my enemies

If this song was written towards the end of David’s life, then these words carry some extra weight to them.

David saw prayer as the key to deliverance from his enemies.

Over and over again, whenever David was faced with enemies, he found that when he prayed, God answered.

Illustration

Charles H.  Spurgeon once told of a pastor who was sent to see an old lady and while he was there thought he would give her some precious promises from the Word of God.  Taking her Bible and turning to a passage, he saw written in the margin “P” and he asked, “What does this mean?” “That means precious, sir,” she replied. Further down he saw “T and P” and he asked what those letters meant. “That,” she said, “Means tried and proved, for I have tried and proved it.”

18:4-6 Troubles and Prayers

:4 The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

:5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

:6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

:6 He heard my voice from His temple

Lesson

God hears prayer

Sometimes we can wonder how God could possibly be listening to all the prayers of the people of this world.
The problem is not with God, the problem is with our understanding.
My computer can multitask.  It can be editing a video while I am working my Bible Study, get my email, remind me of appointments, and all at the same time.

And that’s just a silly laptop.

Don’t bring God down to your level, as if God operates at the same intelligence level that you operate at.
God hears our prayers.
The Bible says that our prayers are like incense rising before God’s throne.
(Revelation 8:3–4 NKJV) —3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.
As incense burns, the smoke rises, filling the room.  Our prayers rise before God and are pleasing to Him.
I wonder sometimes if the issue that we are concerned about isn’t represented as a bowl in heaven.  As we pray, the bowl for our concern is gradually filled with incense.  When the bowl is filled with incense, the incense is poured out before God and He answers.

Some bowls are big, while some bowls are little.  Some needs only take a single prayer.  Some take fifty years of praying.

David was convinced that God heard his prayers and responded to them:
(Psalm 34:4 NKJV) I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
Don’t think that your prayers don’t count.  God hears your prayers.  He responds.

How often do we actually cry out to the Lord in our trouble?

I want to get to the point where I am faced with a need, and I immediately bring it to the Lord instead of waiting for a few days or a week.

Here’s an example of how God answered one of David’s prayers…

18:7-19 God’s deliverance

:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.

:8 Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it.

:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet.

:10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.

:10 He rode upon a cherub

cherubkeruwb – cherub, cherubim (pl); an angelic being

The cherubim are the angelic “living beings” that are around the thrown of God.

Ezekiel even describes God riding something like a chariot accompanied by cherubim (Eze. 1,10)

The cherubim first appear in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were expelled by God (Gen. 3:24)

(Genesis 3:24 NKJV) So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Two of these angelic beings were molded onto the Mercy Seat, the lid of the Ark of the Covenant

(Exodus 25:18 NKJV) And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.

These are the “living creatures” that are around the throne of God described by John in his Revelation.

Ezekiel describes God riding something like a chariot accompanied by cherubim. (Eze. 1, 10)

:11 He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies.

:12 From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

:13 The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

:14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.

:14 He sent out His arrows

This time, when God answered David’s cry for help from his enemies, the answer seems to have come in the shape of a storm.

God’s “arrows” are lightning strikes hitting the earth.

Even today God sometimes answers prayer with lightning (cover your ears)

Video:  Biola lightning strike

:15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At Your rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

:16 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

:17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.

:18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support.

:19 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.

:19 He also brought me out into a broad place

broad placemerchab – broad or roomy place

fromrachab – to be or grow wide, be or grow large

When Isaac was trying to dig wells for his flocks he kept running into conflicts with the other shepherds in the land.  Finally they dug a well that nobody fought with them over and they gave it a name.

(Genesis 26:22 NKJV) And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
God bringing you to a “broad” place is a good thing.  It’s a place of abundance, a peaceful place.

18:20-28 David’s Righteousness

:20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

:21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God.

:22 For all His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.

:23 I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.

:24 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

:20 rewarded me according to my righteousness

The following verses can be a little confusing.

Some have chosen to look at these prophetically, as if Jesus is speaking.  He is perfectly righteous.
There is a sense in which this is true.  Jesus is in this Psalm.
Some have seen this as almost hypocritical of David – David was a sinner like all of us.
Some have chosen to see this as David standing in the righteousness of Christ, how God would look at him.  David wasn’t perfect, but when he sinned he also confessed his sin and received God’s forgiveness.

:25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

:26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

:25-26 merciful … blameless … pure … devious

Lesson

He responds to me

How God deals with you depends upon who you are.
I think I want to be careful that I myself am
Merciful

Jesus said,

(Matthew 7:2 NKJV) For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

If you are merciful to others, God will be merciful to you.

James wrote,

(James 2:13 NKJV) For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Blameless

This is not just about learning to have victory over sin in your life, it’s learning to rest on the cleansing forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Keep short accounts with God.

When you blow it, don’t run from God, run to Him and ask for His mercy.

(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Pure

There is a lot of horrible stuff in the world that can and will pollute our minds if we continually expose ourselves to them.

Some people see a dirty joke or innuendo in just about everything.

May you never get the joke.

I don’t want to be devious
Some people have some very bad ideas about God.

Could it be that the root of their bad ideas actually comes from inside of them?

:27 For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks.

:28 For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

18:29-45 Deliverance and Future Victory

:29 For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall.

:29 by You I can run against a troop

David saw his battle victories as coming from the strength that God gave him.

Lesson

God gives strength

What David experienced wasn’t just some sort of emotional high.  God gave him real physical strength.
He was able to do more than he thought possible with God’s help.
I think God can take us further than we think we can go.
Paul wrote about the difficulty of learning to be content in all circumstances, including financial difficulty.  He said,
(Philippians 4:13 NKJV) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

:30 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

:30 The word of the Lord is proven

Again, at the end of his life, David could say that He had tried God’s Word and proved it to be true.

:31 For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?

:32 It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect.

:33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.

:33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer

Ein Gedi is one of my favorite places in Israel. 

It's where David saw God deliver him from Saul.

Video:  Ein Gedi map

It’s located right off the Dead Sea, in the middle of a desert.  As you hike up the canyon, you are following a little stream.  It’s an oasis. The name of the place means “spring of the young goats” because of the mountain goats that populate the area.

Video:  Ein Gedi water and goats

The picture is that of God helping David through dangerous places, helping him navigate without slipping and falling.

One of my favorite books as a young Christian was “Hinds Feet on High Places” by Hannah Hurnand

It was an allegorical story like Pilgrim’s Progress.  The story was about a small frail crippled creature called “Much Afraid” and her journey to meet the Shepherd on the “High Places”.
During the journey she learned to embrace friends like “pain” and “suffering”, which made her stronger.

:34 He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

:35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.

:35 Your gentleness has made me great

gentleness ‘anvah – humility, meekness; condescension

It is amazing that the eternal God who created the heavens and the earth would dare to humble Himself to help us.
Maybe that’s a lesson we could learn from God – to learn to be gentle with others.

:36 You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip.

:37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.

:38 I have wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet.

:39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

:40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me.

:41 They cried out, but there was none to save; Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.

:42 Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind; I cast them out like dirt in the streets.

:37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them

Lesson

Fighting the enemy

We have talked about this before and will continue to remind ourselves of how to deal with enemies through the Psalms.
Who our enemy is affects how we deal with them.
Real people
Sometimes our enemy is a real human person.  Our rules are different than those that David lived under.

(Matthew 5:44 NKJV) But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

We need to be careful to love our enemies.

Spiritual enemies
Sometimes the enemy is a spiritual one.
Paul wrote,

(Ephesians 6:12 NKJV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

We need to be sure to take up spiritual weapons for a spiritual foe.

(Ephesians 6:13 NKJV) Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

God has given us spiritual weapons to learn to use.

Our armor includes things like truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, and salvation.

Our weapons include things like the Word of God, prayer, the blood of Jesus, and our testimony.

Me
Sometimes the enemy is me.  I’m my own worst enemy at times.

(Romans 7:18 NKJV) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

Paul said that he was learning how to deal with his flesh by learning to “die” to it.

(Galatians 2:20 NKJV) I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

This is actually a daily, continual battle we face, learning to do as David said to “beat it as fine dust”.

:43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; You have made me the head of the nations; A people I have not known shall serve me.

:43 A people I have not known shall serve me

I think this is a prophetic passage, with Jesus doing the speaking.

Paul talks about the truth that the Gentiles will one day serve God as a “secret” or a “mystery”, something in the Scriptures, but hidden from the eyes of the Jews (Col. 1:26-27

(Colossians 1:26–27 NKJV) —26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Here is one of the many passages that hint that one day the Gentiles (“a people I have not known”) will serve the Messiah, Jesus.

:44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me; The foreigners submit to me.

:45 The foreigners fade away, And come frightened from their hideouts.

18:46-50 Thanksgiving

:46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

:47 It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me;

:48 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.

:49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.

:50 Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.

:49 give thanks … among the Gentiles

Paul quotes this verse as part of his reasoning to say that God had promised to be merciful to the Gentiles as well as Jews:

(Romans 15:8–9 NKJV) —8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.”

 

I Will Call      Ps.18:3

 

       D

I will call  (echo)

       Em

On the Lord  (echo)

       F#m

Who is worthy  (echo)

      G

To be praised  (echo)

 

(repeat)

 

(together)

         F#m  G

So shall I be saved

         F#m  G      A

So shall I be saved

        D      G D G A 

From my enemies

 

 

I Will Call      Ps.18:3/ Words & Music by Victor Rubbo / © 1982 Mercy Publishing / IWillCal.doc

 

 

I Will Call Upon The Lord (Ps. 18:3,46)

 

Tran: C F

 

C      F             C   F

I will call upon the Lord

C      F            C    F

Who is worthy to be praised

C        F    C             F

So shall I be saved from my enemies

C      F             C    F

I will call upon the Lord

 

    C    /E         F              C

The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock

            F            C          G 

And let the God of my salvation be exalted

    C    /E         F              C

The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock

            F            C          G   C  F

And let the God of my salvation be exalted

 

 

Words & Music by Michael O'Shields

©1981 Universal Music