Today, Monday November 14
“The LORD Lives”
Psalm 18:46-50
“The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me; 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. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.”
Psalm 18 is a great song of praise and victory! David writes this Psalm after he has finally been delivered from King Saul and been exalted to the throne of Israel as king. In this Psalm David is expressing his love to the LORD and is giving God the glory and praise for all that He has done in making him great! This Psalm is a great worship Psalm and should be read regularly.
Remember David began this Psalm with a doxology: “I will love You, O LORD, my strength. 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. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies” (vv. 1-3). And David ends this worship Psalm with a doxology. “The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted” (v. 46)
David spoke first of his devotion to the Lord, then described his distress in the next few verses, and continued telling of how the Lord delivered him from his enemies (vv. 1-18). David teaches us in this Psalm that God blesses our obedience with His presence and power in our daily lives (vv. 19-27). That God equips us to face our enemies and perform service for Him when we submit to Him (vv. 28-45). And that God is glorified when we worship and praise Him (vv. 46-50).
After looking back at God's gracious ministry to him, what else could David do but praise Him: “The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted” (v. 46). Remember what John the Baptist declared after he met Jesus and baptized Him, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). David also reminds us that he didn't take things into his own hands but allowed the Lord to vindicate him when the time was right: “It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me” (v. 47) (Read 1 Samuel 24:1-7; 26:1-12; and Romans 12:17-21).
David, as a prophet, could also see the future blessings on the Gentiles: “Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name” (v. 49). It is interesting to note that Paul quoted verse 49 in Romans 15:9 and applied it to the Jews praising God among the Gentiles. In Romans 15:10-11, the Jews and Gentiles rejoice together, which was the result of Paul's ministry to the Gentiles. And then in Romans 15:12, Paul announces Jesus Christ reigning over both Jews and Gentiles (see Isa. 11:10).
Paul wrote about this to the church of Ephesus with these words: “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh--who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands-- that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:11-13). It is amazing that David saw this one thousand years before the Messiah was born!
The psalm climaxes with David exalting the Lord for His covenant to him and to his descendants (v. 50; 2 Sam. 7). David used the word "forevermore", so he must have realized that it would be through the promised Messiah that the kingdom promises would be fulfilled. "And he shall reign forever and ever" (Rev. 11:15).
May the Lord help us to daily exalt and worship Him for His mercy to us through the Lord Jesus Christ!
God bless!
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