Read
(For the music leader. A psalm by David, the Lord's servant. David sang this to the Lord after the Lord had rescued him from his enemies, but especially from Saul.)
David's Song of Thanks
1I love you, Lord God,
and you make me strong.
2You are my mighty rock,
my fortress, my protector,
the rock where I am safe,
my shield, my powerful weapon,
and my place of shelter.
3I praise you, Lord!
I prayed, and you rescued me
from my enemies.
4Death had wrapped
its ropes around me,
and I was almost swallowed
by its flooding waters.
5Ropes from the world
of the dead
had coiled around me,
and death had set a trap
in my path.
6I was in terrible trouble
when I called out to you,
but from your temple
you heard me
and answered my prayer.
7The earth shook and shivered,
and the mountains trembled
down to their roots.
You were angry
8and breathed out smoke.
Scorching heat and fiery flames
spewed from your mouth.
9You opened the heavens
like curtains,
and you came down
with storm clouds
under your feet.
10You rode on the backs
of flying creatures
and swooped down
with the wind as wings.
11Darkness was your robe;
thunderclouds filled the sky,
hiding you from sight.
12Hailstones and fiery coals
lit up the sky
in front of you.
13Lord Most High, your voice
thundered from the heavens,
as hailstones and fiery coals
poured down like rain.
14You scattered your enemies
with arrows of lightning.
15You roared at the sea,
and its deepest channels
could be seen.
You snorted,
and the earth shook
to its foundations.
16You reached down from heaven,
and you lifted me
from deep in the ocean.
17You rescued me from enemies,
who were hateful
and too powerful for me.
18On the day disaster struck,
they came and attacked,
but you defended me.
19When I was fenced in,
you freed and rescued me
because you love me.
20You are good to me, Lord,
because I do right,
and you reward me
because I am innocent.
21I do what you want
and never turn to do evil.
22I keep your laws in mind
and never look away
from your teachings.
23I obey you completely
and guard against sin.
24You have been good to me
because I do right;
you have rewarded me
for being innocent
by your standards.
25You are always loyal
to your loyal people,
and you are faithful
to the faithful.
26With all who are sincere,
you are sincere,
but you treat the unfaithful
as their deeds deserve.
27You rescue the humble,
but you put down all
who are proud.
28You, the Lord God,
keep my lamp burning
and turn darkness to light.
29You help me defeat armies
and capture cities.
30Your way is perfect, Lord,
and your word is correct.
You are a shield for those
who run to you for help.
31You alone are God!
Only you are a mighty rock.
32You give me strength
and guide me right.
33 You make my feet run as fast
as those of a deer,
and you help me stand
on the mountains.
34You teach my hands to fight
and my arms to use
a bow of bronze.
35You alone are my shield.
Your right hand supports me,
and by coming to help me,
you have made me famous.
36You clear the way for me,
and now I won't stumble.
37I kept chasing my enemies,
until I caught them
and destroyed them.
38I stuck my sword
through my enemies,
and they were crushed
under my feet.
39You helped me win victories,
and you forced my attackers
to fall victim to me.
40You made my enemies run,
and I killed them.
41They cried out for help,
but no one saved them;
they called out to you,
but there was no answer.
42I ground them to dust
blown by the wind,
and I poured them out
like mud in the streets.
43You rescued me
from stubborn people,
and you made me the leader
of foreign nations,
who are now my slaves.
44They obey and come crawling.
45They have lost all courage,
and from their fortresses,
they come trembling.
46You are the living Lord!
I will praise you.
You are a mighty rock.
I will honor you
for keeping me safe.
47You took revenge for me,
and you put nations
in my power.
48You protected me
from violent enemies
and made me much greater
than all of them.
49 I will praise you, Lord,
and I will honor you
among the nations.
50You give glorious victories
to your chosen king.
Your faithful love for David
and for his descendants
will never end.
Reflect
It was dusk as I was sitting on a large boulder in a random village in northern Ethiopia. Weeping and praying that God would look upon me, see how hard I have been working, how diligent I had been in the local ministry work, and then deliver me from the pain. I had just gone through a horrible experience with a local non-profit where my entire personal account was wiped clean.
I was so angry at what had happened and at the same time horrified, thinking about how I would continue the ministry I felt God had brought me there to do. I’m sure you have had experiences of sadness and anger, and have even questioned God in the process. In Psalm 18, David seems to be reacting the same way to the things he is facing from his enemies.
I am sure while David was in the midst of these trials he didn’t see the finish line. He didn’t see who God was and what he would be doing in his life. David seems to pause right in the middle of the psalm to ask one very important question: “For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?” (v 31 ESV). David of course is speaking to himself because he goes on to answer his own question. David shows us in verse 32 that it is “God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.”
Though we face trials and frustrations in our lives, we can hold fast to knowing that God is the Lord and he is our rock. We can proclaim this knowledge because he has offered a way for us to be blameless through the cross of Christ. Then, like David, we can go from weeping and pleading with God in prayer to praising him for his answers.
Respond
Lord, You are our God and our rock. Help us to turn to you in our time of need and never stop proclaiming your goodness to the world around us, even in the midst of the storm.
J. R. Bucklew
J.R. Bucklew is a visionary with ideas that are quickly becoming the standard in other parts of the world. Born a hearing child of deaf parents (CODA), his first language growing up was American Sign Language (ASL), and he still considers ASL his heart language. He has a strong desire for the Deaf community to know and understand the Word of God. This has allowed him to travel to many parts of the world, both ministering to and being an advocate for the Deaf. Prior to coming to Albuquerque, NM, JR and his wife ministered to the Deaf in Ethiopia. They started a Deaf church and opened a café that exclusively employed Deaf people. They also formed two sign language centers and helped train others to work with the Deaf. JR’s journey with Deaf Bible began in 2012 and is now President and visionary-lead of the Deaf Bible Society. JR also serves on the boards of several other Deaf ministries in the United States.