Day 1092: The gentle Saviour - Psalm 18 vs 18 - 36

18-21 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 22-24 For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me. I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt. So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25-29 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. 30-32 This God - his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? The God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.

33-34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. 36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. Psalm 18:18-34 English Standard Version

What struck you as you read this Psalm?

I was struck by the fact that David wrote this Psalm towards his life’s close, and thus long after he fell into the sins we read of in 2 Samuel 11 where he took another man's wife, and then had her husband killed in battle. So verses 18-24 are the words of someone who has experienced the Lord's mercy.

He develops this further in vs 25-29, and brings out that his deliverance was from God! He describes how God's strength enabled him to fight against a troop and to jump over walls! He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. But David adds that it was God who gave him strength and made his way blameless. So, at this stage of his life, David realized that it was God's grace that had brought him thus far.

Who is God for and against, according to vs 25-29?

God is for the merciful, blameless, and pure of heart - and He is against the crooked and proud. Jesus said “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”, and the apostle Paul said: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” (Titus 1:15)

Verses 33-34 are warlike expressions of God's enabling of his servant. God gave David firm footholds against his adversaries, and enabled him to bend a bronze bow. He uses two expressions in vs 35 that sum up all that God had done for him. He had given David 'the shield of His salvation', and 'God's gentleness' had made David great. Such is the way of God's grace. Jesus said “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)

It was the apostle Paul who, at the end of his life, could say to Timothy: “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Like David, the apostle Paul believed in the God who is able to save the worst of sinners. His gentleness has made them great.