Praise the LORD God

Songs For Our Heart  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  1:02:52
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Introduction

There is a tendency to cling to God in trouble and to ignore God in the victory. Praise is an exercise that we must do in the victory to protect and guard our heart from turning from the Lord and forgetting what He has done for us.
This Psalm tonight is a long Psalm - the longest we have looked at so far, and one of the four longest Psalms in the book of Psalms. Only Psalm 78,89, and 119 are longer. The title matches the length of the Psalm with only one besting that - Psalm 60. The Psalm is thought to be written around 1015 BC and it is entitled to the Choir Director. We read that it is of the servant of the LORD, David, who spoke the words of this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the power of Saul. David sings this song on the day the LORD rescued him perhaps even the same day as he becomes king finally.
This Psalm is a revision of 2 Samuel 22:1-51 prepared for public worship from an expression of David’s gratitude to God for all his deliverances becoming king and especially the deliverance from Saul. All his trials and troubles behind him now He glorifies God.
Psalm 18:1–3 CSB
1 I love you, Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.
Psalm 18:4–6 CSB
4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me; the torrents of destruction terrified me. 5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 6 I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
Psalm 18:7–9 CSB
7 Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the mountains trembled; they shook because he burned with anger. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils, and consuming fire came from his mouth; coals were set ablaze by it. 9 He bent the heavens and came down, total darkness beneath his feet.
Psalm 18:10–12 CSB
10 He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his hiding place, dark storm clouds his canopy around him. 12 From the radiance of his presence, his clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
Psalm 18:13–15 CSB
13 The Lord thundered from heaven; the Most High made his voice heard. 14 He shot his arrows and scattered them; he hurled lightning bolts and routed them. 15 The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed, at your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
Psalm 18:16–18 CSB
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he pulled me out of deep water. 17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy and 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.
Psalm 18:19–21 CSB
19 He brought me out to a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. 20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; he repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands. 21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
Psalm 18:22–24 CSB
22 Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me and have not disregarded his statutes. 23 I was blameless toward him and kept myself from my iniquity. 24 So the Lord repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
Psalm 18:25–27 CSB
25 With the faithful you prove yourself faithful, with the blameless you prove yourself blameless, 26 with the pure you prove yourself pure, but with the crooked you prove yourself shrewd. 27 For you rescue an oppressed people, but you humble those with haughty eyes.
Psalm 18:28–30 CSB
28 Lord, you light my lamp; my God illuminates my darkness. 29 With you I can attack a barricade, and with my God I can leap over a wall. 30 God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 18:31–33 CSB
31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock? Only our God. 32 God—he clothes me with strength and makes my way perfect. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me securely on the heights.
Psalm 18:34–36 CSB
34 He trains my hands for war; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have given me the shield of your salvation; your right hand upholds me, and your humility exalts me. 36 You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.
Psalm 18:37–39 CSB
37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them; I do not turn back until they are wiped out. 38 I crush them, and they cannot get up; they fall beneath my feet. 39 You have clothed me with strength for battle; you subdue my adversaries beneath me.
Psalm 18:40–42 CSB
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I annihilate those who hate me. 41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save them— they cry to the Lord, but he does not answer them. 42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind; I trample them like mud in the streets.
Psalm 18:43–45 CSB
43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people; you have appointed me the head of nations; a people I had not known serve me. 44 Foreigners submit to me cringing; as soon as they hear they obey me. 45 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.
Psalm 18:46–48 CSB
46 The Lord lives—blessed be my rock! The God of my salvation is exalted. 47 God—he grants me vengeance and subdues peoples under me. 48 He frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my adversaries; you rescue me from violent men.
Psalm 18:49–50 CSB
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord; I will sing praises about your name. 50 He gives great victories to his king; he shows loyalty to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

Praise Coming From Knowing Him Personally

Psalm 18:1–3 CSB
1 I love you, Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.
David began this Psalm of praise with a declaration of his love for the LORD. A triumphant declaration made in a time of great victory and triumph. David had already decided to love the Lord previously when he was younger - desiring to be a servant of the Lord. Now in his deliverance David was overwhelmed and almost compelled to love the LORD in his deliverance.
David was taken at a young age from the sheepfold and anointed the future king of Israel. Then living 20 or more years as a fugitive and as a man who had lost everything. David had lost so much - his safety, his youth, his family, his rights, his comforts, his connection with the people of God.
Despite all this David remained steadfast and faithful to the Lord. God had now delivered David and fulfilled His promise of anointing.
David says “I love you” to the God who delivered him. Not only for rescuing him and saving him out of that trial, but for all he recognized God had done through the trials to mold him and shape him. David says I love you God because he isnt bitter towards God for the trials. David says I love you instead of saying its about time.
David has nine terms of adoration and praise in respect towards God as opposed to what I have heard referred to as “the poor me’s”. David indeed cried out in despair in previous Psalms, but praise keeps from remaining within the perspective of despair and hopelessness
My strength - enduring strength - not one time, but over the long haul
My rock - not a small but a gigantic rock, solid hard a symbol of strength and anchoring power
My fortress - together with the rock is pictured a high place of refuge
My deliverer
My God
My rock - where I seek refuge - refuge in the Lord is better than any man made fortress or protection
My shield
the horn of My salvation - horn speaks of authority and power - God is the authority and power of his salvation.
My stronghold
A whole long list of accumulating loving and dear names. These names means David not only knew God but has experienced God as well.
David praised and called out to the Lord not only in the midst of troubles but also when his troubles ended. He recognized that it was God who brought him through to this point, to this victory in his life. Has God taken you into some hard, long-lasting trials? As He has brought you out are you praising or complaining? Praise from the heart for God prevents bitterness in the heart towards God. It is all a song of praise for David.
“To be saved singing is to be saved indeed. Many are saved mourning and doubting...”

Praise Because He HAS Delivered and WILL Deliver

Psalm 18:4–6 CSB
4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me; the torrents of destruction terrified me. 5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 6 I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
David describes his place of being surrounded in fear. The ropes or cords of death wrapped around him and torrents or floods and streams of destruction - morally objectionable behavior - evil wickedness. terrified him. He continues on the ropes and cords of Sheol entangle me and the snares of death confront me. Sometimes we only see David as the warrior and here we get a glimpse of David as a sensitive soul troubled by the wicked deeds of the world and the ungodly. Though a battle tested warrior David had fears and was fearful. Fear is not a problem, the problem comes from what we do with our fear. Do we in our fear turn back from God? Fear of losing a job, fear of losing even our life?
David says I called to the LORD in my distress (oppressive state of physical, mental social or economic adversity) and I cried to my God for help. When we are afraid we must as David did, turn to God. When we are afraid and fear is upon us we must turn to the LORD and look to Him. No matter how tough you think you are - no one is ready, and no one want to invite death or be confronted by it.
From His temple He heard my voice and my cry to Him reached His ears. David standing where he is in victory now - is looking back and declaring that when he cried out - God in heaven heard. The temple wasnt built yet - Solomon hadnt done that. David is referring to the holy heavenly temple. God hears from His heavenly temple no matter who is calling out and delivers.
Psalm 18:7–9 CSB
7 Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the mountains trembled; they shook because he burned with anger. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils, and consuming fire came from his mouth; coals were set ablaze by it. 9 He bent the heavens and came down, total darkness beneath his feet.
Psalm 18:10–12 CSB
10 He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his hiding place, dark storm clouds his canopy around him. 12 From the radiance of his presence, his clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
Psalm 18:13–15 CSB
13 The Lord thundered from heaven; the Most High made his voice heard. 14 He shot his arrows and scattered them; he hurled lightning bolts and routed them. 15 The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed, at your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
David now describes the fury and anger with which the Lord delivered him from his enemies. The earth shook and quaked. The very foundations of the mountains trembled and shook because of the Lord’s anger. Smoke rose from his nostrils and consuming fire came from His mouth and coals were set ablaze by it.
David says God bent the heavens and came down, He rode on a cherub and flew soaring on the wings of the wind. Quickly is the idea, the quickness with which God moved to take care of the enemies. David might not have thought it was quick at the time or even quick enough, sometimes we wont either. Out of that place of despair and how quickly it changes speaks to how suddenly and quickly God delivered David and delivers us as well.
Bending the heavens is hyperbole to say that God moved the world to come to David’s aid. He thundered from heaven and made His voice heard. He shot His arrows and scattered them and hurled lightning bolts and routed them. God does not passively deliver us, God actively delivers us.
Psalm 18:16–17 CSB
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he pulled me out of deep water. 17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
Psalm 18:18–19 CSB
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. 19 He brought me out to a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
David praises the LORD and describes Him reaching down from on high. Taking hold of him and pulling him out of deep water. Literally extracted him from the deep end where the torrents and waves were overpowering and he was drowning in trouble. God took hold of him and rescued him from his powerful enemy and those who hated him. David declares they were too strong for him. David learned and we should learn also our strength is limited and we will have enemies and troubles that are beyond our strength. Enemies and troubles beyond our strength are not beyond God’s; no matter how powerful your enemy God is more powerful - ALWAYS!
They confronted me in the day of my calamity but the Lord was my support. The Lord was all the support David needed also. The LORD is all the support we need also. The Lord found David in verse 6 in distress (a tight place - cornered even) and when He delivered him He brought him out to a spacious place. From a tight spot to a place of space, and freedom. The hand of God is strong to not only pull us from the floodwaters, but also to place us in complete safety.
David gives the reason for God rescuing him also. We think we have to earn God’s ear but the simple truth is that those who are the Lord’s are a delight to Him. David says the Lord rescued him because the LORD delights in him. This is true in two senses. The LORD chose him and anointed set His marvelous lovingkindness upon David. The Lord delighted in David also because David lived righteously. The Lord delights in us because He has chosen us in Christ and in Christ we live righteously.

Praise For His Faithfulness

Psalm 18:20–22 CSB
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; he repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands. 21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not turned from my God to wickedness. 22 Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me and have not disregarded his statutes.
Psalm 18:23–24 CSB
23 I was blameless toward him and kept myself from my iniquity. 24 So the Lord repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
David praises the Lord for His faithfulness in being a God who rewards accordingly. God is faithful and true that he is a rewarder of righteousness. David says he has been repaid according the cleanness of his hands. He has kept the ways of the Lord and has not turned from God to wickedness. David declares that the ordinances of God guide him and he has not disregarded His statutes.
During His long season of affliction under Saul David was challenged in how he would respond to being treated unfairly and unrighteously. The temptation from wrongful treatment to is to respond unrighteously in like kind. Our righteousness isnt displayed by how we are treated, but by how we respond. What will guide us our feelings or God’s statutes and ordinances
David says I was blameless toward him and kept myself from iniquity
This section here brings doubt again of how David could write this. David was far from perfect; just as Uriah or the thousands who died in a plague because of David’s census.
David says the LORD repaid me according to my righteousness. Righteousness herecomes with two ideas behind it - righteous or forgiven. David had blown it, but he had also repented and sought forgiveness by the Lord. These verses go along with 25 through 29. It is really all about God’s faithfulness and the fact that those who love God are loved by Him. As a Christian, your righteousness doesn’t come from your obedience; it comes from your relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Psalm 18:25–27 CSB
25 With the faithful you prove yourself faithful, with the blameless you prove yourself blameless, 26 with the pure you prove yourself pure, but with the crooked you prove yourself shrewd. 27 For you rescue an oppressed people, but you humble those with haughty eyes.
David also understood the nature of the LORD that He rewards people according to the character of their heart.
Translators have had trouble with the second half of Psalm 18:26, because it communicates a difficult concept. It’s easy say that if a man is pure towards God then God will be pure to him. But you can’t say that if a man is wicked towards God then God will be wicked towards him, because God can’t do wickedness. So, “David expresses the second half of the parallel by a somewhat ambiguous word, the root meaning of which is ‘twisted.’ The verse actually says, ‘To the twisted (or crooked) you will show yourself twisted (or crooked)’ … The idea seems to be that if a person insists in going devious ways in his dealings with God, God will outwit him, as that man deserves.” (James Montgomery Boice)
Rescuing oppressed people and humbling those with haughty eyes
God loves to give grace to the humble, and likewise resists the proud (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).
i. Humble people: “These are the under-dogs, who meet us frequently in the Psalms, not only as the ‘humble’ (here), but translated better as ‘the poor’ (e.g. Psalm 10:2, ‘the afflicted’ (e.g. Psalm 22:24), ‘the weak’ (Psalm 35:10) and ‘the needy’ (Psalm 68:10).”
Psalm 18:28–29 CSB
28 Lord, you light my lamp; my God illuminates my darkness. 29 With you I can attack a barricade, and with my God I can leap over a wall.
Psalm 18:30–31 CSB
30 God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him. 31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock? Only our God.
God sets right the affairs of man. David says the Lord lights his lamp - is the source of his life. God gives meaning and purpose and illuminates the darkness. With God’s help barricades and walls are no longer obstacles. God can be trusted for safety and salvation. Only our God!

Praise As The True Source of Our Achievement

Psalm 18:32–34 CSB
32 God—he clothes me with strength and makes my way perfect. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me securely on the heights. 34 He trains my hands for war; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Psalm 18:35–36 CSB
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation; your right hand upholds me, and your humility exalts me. 36 You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.
In victory David praises God as the true source of his victory and any achievement really. God clothes me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet quick and sure and set me securely on the heights. He trains my hands for war and gives strength in my arms to bend a bow of bronze.
David was keenly aware his victory did not come from his own ability and strength. His success to this point was because of Yahweh! The perfect steps of those who seek to do His will and are committed to Him. In the Lord and His ways our feet are stable despite the condition of the pathway.
Psalm 18:37–38 CSB
37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them; I do not turn back until they are wiped out. 38 I crush them, and they cannot get up; they fall beneath my feet.
Psalm 18:39–40 CSB
39 You have clothed me with strength for battle; you subdue my adversaries beneath me. 40 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I annihilate those who hate me.
Psalm 18:41–42 CSB
41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save them— they cry to the Lord, but he does not answer them. 42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind; I trample them like mud in the streets.
David again recognizes it is God who clothes him - with strength. God who subdues the enemies, because of God enemies retreat. David recognizes that it is because of God. In our victory who do we recognize? Who do we acknolwedge for our strengths our skills and abilities?
Psalm 18:43–45 CSB
43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people; you have appointed me the head of nations; a people I had not known serve me. 44 Foreigners submit to me cringing; as soon as they hear they obey me. 45 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.
Praising God in victory reminds us God is the true source for our victory.

Praise the LORD God

Psalm 18:46–48 CSB
46 The Lord lives—blessed be my rock! The God of my salvation is exalted. 47 God—he grants me vengeance and subdues peoples under me. 48 He frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my adversaries; you rescue me from violent men.
Psalm 18:49–50 CSB
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord; I will sing praises about your name. 50 He gives great victories to his king; he shows loyalty to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
Gods deliverance moves David to sing (unsurprisingly) and to praise and reminds me of Romans 8:35-37.
Romans 8:35–37 CSB
35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
No matter what enemy or trouble we face because of God’s love for us and that He delights in us we are more than conquerors - we are more than victorious. Like David what more can we do but sing praise when we look back on God’s gracious provision and ministry in our lives?

Conclusion

Psalm 18 is a victor’s song of praise to God for all that had been accomplished.
This song was composed early in David’s life and repeated again towards the end of his life.
We believe this Psalm—twice recorded in Scripture, with minor variations, both here and at 2 Samuel 22—actually speaks from two contexts. Here, according to the title, it was sung first from David’s victory over Saul and receiving of the throne of Israel. In 2 Samuel 22 David sung it as a grateful retrospect over his entire life. He can say “I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God” in both contexts, but with somewhat different meaning. It meant one thing to say it before his sin with Bathsheba and against Uriah; it was another thing to say it after that sin.
You can trust in the righteousness God gives! David relied upon His clean heart before the Lord and in Christ we can rely on a clean heart before the Lord - we dont need to fool around wondering if we are good enough for God to care about us. You are because Jesus is good and He has given His goodness to you.
God does His strongest work when we are at our weakest. David was in a bad place in the deep and going under. A place of weakness means a place where we must rely on something other than ourselves. Dont just cry because you are overwhelmed - but cry out for help and reliance in God because He will hear and will answer you. We must like David see God as our strength - be strong in the Lord and the power of His might - Ephesians 6:10.
God is moved by your plight. The imagery from verse 7-19 is strong. The picture is God sneaking undetected into the situation and then springing forth explosively in victory. Sometimes it can seem as if God isnt even in the vicinity when we are in our worst trouble. God’s victories dont come or look as we would expect, but they are victories just the same!
There is no battle too tough, no opponent too strong, no circumstance too difficult or problem too large or even situation too hopeless that the Holy Spirit who is working in you cannot accomplish exactly what God wants to do in the situation. Put Your Hope in the ROCK!
see many pictures of Jesus and His work in this Psalm:
• Psalm 18:1–6 suggests His death (the pangs of death encompassed me … the sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me).
• Psalm 18:7–18 suggests His resurrection (the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken … He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy).
• Psalm 18:19–27 suggests His exaltation (I have kept the ways of the Lord … I was also blameless before Him … Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness).
• Psalm 18:28–42 suggests His victory (For by You I can run against a troop … I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them). Jesus was strong enough to run against a troop and be victorious; the enemies against us were strong and disciplined; yet Jesus confronted them and defeated them. Jesus was great enough to jump over a wall; the wall of God’s holy law that separated us from Him. He didn’t destroy the wall; instead with His holy life He jumped over it and fulfilled the law on our behalf.
• Psalm 18:43–50 suggests His kingdom (You have made me the head of the nations … The foreigners submit to me … You also lift me up above those who rise against me … Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles).
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