David Sings About The Power of the LORD's Deliverance
Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
This is from a Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, written for the chief Musician. David sang to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him from all his enemies and from the devouring hand of Saul.
You could say that this was a song of triumph!
He felt victory over those who wished to do him wrong!
We could compare his situation with allot of things that we experience in our lives today. Maybe it's getting free from an abusive relationship. Maybe it's when you went to court and the final decision was finally in your favor. Or it could be finally getting a new job where your boss is friendly and respectful towards you. Maybe you've been bullied by someone that you couldn't avoid or someone trying to control every decision you make and suddenly they moved away from you altogether. This can also happen in ministry sometimes too!
Hopefully you haven't found yourself in the shoes of the one abusing others; the aggressor; the unfair boss or the controller in the examples I mentioned, but if you have and you wish that you didn't act like this; you ought to look at making some serious changes in your behavior by first of all searching your heart.
We have all worked for people who have not been fair and they may even be reading this message today. If so, you might find it offensive, but remember, it is you who can look into our own heart and see the person you really are. Only you can make a difference in your heart and actions. God holds us responsible for our actions and other people have to live with the consequences of your wrong behavior.
If we all depended on the LORD as David did in the battles that we face, we would find ourselves not loosing our cool in the heat of the battles we face in our lives.
David had found all he needed and he proclaimed it in this song to his LORD! Just the name that he used for "God" in verse two tells us so much about David. He said, "The LORD" which in the Hebrew means "(the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah".
Then he says that the LORD is his "rock" which means "literally or figuratively (a fortress): - (ragged) rock, stone (-ny), strong hold".
Next, David calls the LORD his "fortress" meaning in the Hebrew "a fastness: - castle, defence, fort (-ress), (strong) hold, be hunted, net, snare, strong place."He follows this with "my deliverer" which refers to his escaping from the enemies capture. The Hebrew for this is "to deliver: - calve, carry away safe, deliver, (cause to) escape."
Then David addresses the LORD with a different title when he seems to pause for minute and meditate on how majestic his LORD really is. He says, "my God".
Many times we say this in prayer but do we really take the time to meditate on it's literal meaning and feel the power as we call out to "God"? The literal Hebrew meaning for the title of God used here is as follows;
The Hebrew word is 'êlIt is pronounced ale
It's meaning is strength; as adjective mighty; especially the Almighty (but used also of any deity): - God (god), X goodly, X great, idol, might (-y one), power, strong. Compare names in “-el.”
David starts again with more declaration of the what God means in his life as he sings out, "my strength, in whom I will trust".
The literal Hebrew would sound like this, "my refuge which is solid as a rock who I can run to and confide in when things seem hopeless". That reminds me of the song that was so popular years ago about someones love being "solid as a rock". It meant that it was unmovable; unbreakable through the ups and downs. A love that would not change! That is the message David is singing out in this Psalm. Let us rejoice with him as he praises our God Almighty!
Then David goes on to say that his Almighty is his "buckler" meaning a shield or figuratively a protector and is compared to the hide of the crocodile. David was covered from head to toe with the protection of his God!
Next David says that his God is "the horn of his salvation" and this is a bit confusing at first until we look into the Hebrew translation. The word horn is used figuratively in this Psalm meaning power. The word salvation is referring to "liberty,deliverance,prosperity: -safety,salvation,saving."
So when we put this together we get "qeren yesha"; "and the power of my deliverance". That is how David was able to remain a free man of God! It was through the Power of his God Almighty; not his own. David knew this all too well!
The last of his expressions in this verse are expressed "and my high tower". I'm just going to quote for you the literal Hebrew definition because I would probably mess it up if I tried to say anything else about this part of the verse.
The word in the Hebrew is miśgâb
It is pronounced mis-gawb'
Properly a cliff (or other lofty or inaccessible place); abstractly altitude; figuratively a refuge; misgab; a place in Moab: - defence, high fort (tower), refuge. H4869; Misgab, a place in Moab: - Misgab.
David had truly grown in his relationship with God through all of the trials and tribulations he had been through. Some of the psalms he wrote sounded as if he was in total despair, but now he is claiming the faith in his Lord that he had gained by experience.
It is so amazing how much more we realize when the storm passes, isn't it? Then we see how it was not by our power, but by our LORD God Almighty's Power that we were delivered and protected in His fortress high upon the cliffs, unreachable by the enemy. It is then that we realize we are coated with a hide like the crocodile that withstands the enemy's attack. We can see how when we felt as though we were defenceless, God was busy capturing those who meant us no good.
Our God is victorious and He calls us to run to him and confide in Him with ALL of our problems.
Many times I reminded other superintendents on projects, "There are no problems; only solutions!" What I meant by that was that we could solve every problem if we tried hard enough. The thing that I began to realize over the years was that I was only making my life more stressful and difficult when I believed I could do it all myself.
I believe we have abilities, but I also believe that as a believer in Christ, we can take everything to God in prayer. Do you believe that God can make a difference in everything you do? Can you say that out loud and believe it yourself? If you answer yes to this question, then say it out loud right now.
If your answer was no, then I encourage you to just try it and see what happens. David was not always so brave and seemed to be panicking at times, but he kept coming back to God for his help. Each step that he took in faith helped David's faith to develope a little bit more.
Remember this principle, faith developes as we step out. Not huge steps or ten steps all at once, but little steps one at a time and each time God works in us to build our faith stronger and stronger every day.
David didn't go out there to fight Goliath as his first step of faith to show God that he trusted in Him! David had been growing in faith as he protected his family's sheep. God had protected David when he killed the lion and David's faith developed a little more. Then God protected David when he fought and killed the bear and his faith developed a little more. You see, we don't have to prove ourselves to God; God wants to prove Himself to us!
I encourage you to write this verse down on a piece of paper and put it on your refrigerator or mirror where you can quote it each morning. This will remind you of just how much your LORD cares for you and to see what He is doing for you each day.
Let's say this verse together from the Hebrew translation,
"The self Existent and eternal Jehovah is my fortress and my defence, and my deliverer; my Almighty God, my refuge and strength who I will confide in and find hope; my sheild and defence, and the power of my liberty and safety, and my high fort that is in a high and inaccessible place. I will call upon the self Existent LORD, who is worthy to be celebrated and praised above all others, so will I be free from those who are hating me and wish to do me wrong!"
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