Psalm 18 - Speaking About God

Psalm 18
1“I love You, O Lord, my strength.”
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Message: Speaking About God

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

Psalm 18 encompasses 50 verses which is a lot of verses to study here in this lesson. The thrust of the lesson today from Tabletalk is how we speak about God and the language that we use. At the beginning of this passage - Psalm 18 - a Psalm of David written about the Lord delivering David from the hand of all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul - David here uses a work in an analogical way. To speak analogically is to use the same word to describe two different things. Traditionally, it is said that human language about God is analogical language. It is taking a word that might mean one thing to a human and then using it to describe God which then takes on a different meaning. For instance, yesterday I saw that when we say God is great, that greatness of God is the apex of who he is and so describing a person like an athlete as being great or a athletic play might
mean that the person achieved something spectacular at that moment, but God is entirely great for all time.

The Lord is my rock - doesn't mean that Yahweh is literally a rock, but the Lord is instead firm and unshakable. Rock is also thought to be more of a cliff. The rock was a place that people would go to find refuge. It does not move.

David goes on to describe God as his fortress. The fortress is a mountain castle. It is a resident constructed on a hill, a place so strengthened that an enemy couldn't approach it. And this is how David describes God as with God by his side he because a fortress that no one could touch.

My deliverer - We enjoy so much stories of people getting caught by an enemy and then being delivered or rescued from the hands of an enemy. The picture of being rescued from the hands of someone holding a person against their will is what God is to us all too often. In redeeming mankind, we are delivered from the hands of the devil.

The Lord is My God. God is now personal with David. God is not far and away, high and above, but God is near. a Protector, Helper, Friend, Father, Saviour. This word for God is always personal.

This translation says, My God, my rock, but the word while still rock conveys the idea of God being my strength. Earlier, rock is more of a shelter and now God is my strength. He is my rock. He is not simply an object that is immovable and impersonal but again David is getting personal with his language and saying that God becomes his very strength.

in whom I take refuge - He is now the one I take refuge in. God is my refuge. This make me think of my 2nd cousin, who is not yet 1 and she was down on the ground with people all around her and in that moment she wanted to be held by her father. He reached down and picked her up and with him next to her she felt safe and secure. She had her refuge. And this is how God is to us, He is our refuge and with Him near we are safe. We can embrace the world and all that it may offer.

My shield - without a shield I am dead. In video games, the shield keeps my guy from dying. I throw the shield on me and I am protected.

the horn of my salvation - The horns of an animal is their defense. The horn is connected to the animal and part of their body. God is my horn. He is connected to me. When I use the horn as my defense it delivers me. It is interesting to me because in these words horn is something I must decide to you. I must turn my horn into my enemy. God wants to be my deliverer, but will I allow him to deliver.

my stronghold or my high tower means that He is high above the crowd.

As I read these words that David used to describe God as his deliverer and sustenance and all that He needs, I'm reminded that in my life I don't find that my words go to God first to express deliverance. But this is what David did. I might say this to a fellow Christian or while I am in church but then when I walk outside and start mingling with people that are not of faith and we talk about different events in life that we have been rescued from I don't think I respond that God delivered me. Maybe it is because it isn't a deliverance from death or being caught by an enemy against my will. Most of my deliverance is avoiding car accidents or falls. But there is also bodily accidents I avoid or illnesses.

At times, you will hear an athlete thank God after he has won a game or a musical artist thank God after winning an award. When this happens I often think of the person that lost and wonder if they are also thanking God. Maybe this is my problem often with these events is that I think of the person on the other side and wonder if they then think God is not on their side because they have not come out on top.

Whether out loud or to myself, I need to do this. I need to give glory to God more in my life. That is clear. I don't need to look for an excuse or give myself or anyone else glory. I need to thank God more. That is clear.

Promise: As I read God's word and hear God referred to as a rock, a light, a shepherd and many other metaphors, I pray that it would help enrich my life to realize how God is like all of these things and that it will help me pray and thank Him and worship Him.

Prayer: Lord, I love You. O Lord, my strength. You Lord are my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. You are my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge. You are my shield and the horn of my salvation and my stronghold. You God are all of these things and more. Help me to remember this God throughout my days. Lord, I need to clear my mind and realize that you are near and You have got these things of my life in order and in control. Forgive me for taking the credit all too often and not acknowledging you.


Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.