Psalm 18:31-50
Dear RTB’ers,
Psalm 18, the rest of the Psalm – David’s enemies are defeated, he is king!
When psalms are long and broken down into smaller sections, it is often good to read through the whole psalm to get the full picture. [Except for Psalm 119…!!] Psalm 18 is like that. Just reading yesterday, we saw that the Lord had delivered David from his enemies – and that was true. But reading today we see that David was not only delivered (as he had been when he escaped from Saul), plucked from danger, as it were, but that God has given him a mighty victory over those enemies: I pursued my enemies and overtook them…(v. 37a); …those who hated me I destroyed (v. 40b); …they cried to the LORD, but He did not answer them (v. 41b); I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet. (v. 38)
Not only is David’s military victory complete, but he is exalted as king. …You made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.(v. 43b) We get the sense that this Psalm is not just about David escaping from Saul, but more likely about his victory over Absalom and his kingship over a united Israel. But David knows that it’s not the might of his army that has won the battle, but the Lord delivering him: …God who … subdued peoples under me, Who rescued me from my enemies; yes, You exalted me above those who rose against me; You delivered me… (vv. 47-48a). And for this, David is thankful and God is worthy of his praise, For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name. (v. 49) David, his army, his faith, his God. And who’s on our team…?
Blessings!