Psalm 18 is attributed to King David and was written at a high point in his life while he was King. David had been on the run from King Saul for a few years, living most of his life, following the anointing as king, in Caves and the wilderness. Many of those words are also reiterated within the narrative of David’s life story in 2 Samuel 22.
So many things happen in David’s life which are hard to clarify and hard to thrust back. His life is fraught with danger, threat, death, and fear. I could fully understand it if David were to have found following God hard. I’m sure most of us would have struggled when God’s plans seemed as if they’d never flourish, or worse still, His plans seemed as if they’d never actually occur.
Yet, despite all of the stories we read and struggle to fathom in our humanity, David stuck near God, and even when he sinned, he turned back to God. At the top of his life, God calls David a person after his (God’s) own heart.
But here in Psalm 18, following the death of his enemies and the victory over the Philistines in battle, David begins to have fun. He speaks from his place of victory and responds that he praises God.
I actually have written on Psalm 18 before and feel this have to be addressed again. The opening lines of Psalm 18 read:
“For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and the hand of Saul.”
Interestingly, Saul just isn’t lumped in with David’s enemies. Saul just isn’t counted as an enemy, as he just isn’t listed among the many enemies but beside. It is interesting to notice that not everyone who appears to be against us is our enemy.
Nonetheless, David wrote this Psalm to sing to the Lord. The Lord was the main focus and the audience. The intent was to sing praise for the deliverance God provided to him. In multiple place, we see people praising God for his deliverance, and I like that concept from scripture—easy folk praising God and acknowledging that He is their deliverer in life’s battles.
The verse we’ll take a look at today is verse two, which reads:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
However, the query we now have today is why God is defined or described as a “Rock”?
If we read the Psalms, we’ll see that God is described as a Rock twenty times in those 150 chapters. Two words listed here are utilized in Hebrew to talk of the Rock: Sela and Tsur. These words have similar meanings in denoting the thought of a big rock or boulder. Fundamentally, they’re describing something immovable, secure, and secure.
When we describe God as a rock, we’re saying He is each the strength and the refuge for us, his children, and His people.
We see many places in scripture where rocks are used to maintain someone secure within the midst of danger. The Benjamites kept themselves secure for 4 months within the rocks at Rimmon after the battle of Gibeah (Judges 20). Moses was hidden within the cleft of a rock to maintain Him secure when God revealed himself to him (Exodus 33). Even David frolicked hiding in Caves and rocks, including the occasion he was contained in the Cave at Adullam (1 Samuel 22-28).
In many places in scripture, we see Rocks getting used to explain secure, reliable, and powerful things. I feel just like the last piece of Psalm 18 verse 2 explains David’s considering further as he says:
“in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
God is David’s rock because he offers him protection. That protection is available in the shape of a shield that covers him from attack and allows his body to be secure from danger. David is singing and declaring that the battles he just fought weren’t fought or won in his own strength but within the protection of God. He places honor where it’s due on the immovable rock on whom His feet are firmly planted.
This protection also is available in the shape of the horn of salvation. A Horn on an animal is used for the animal’s protection, but what does the Horn of Salvation denote? In Exodus chapter 27, we read of horns that were placed on the corner of the altar. Then, in 1 Kings 1:50, these same horns offered sanctuary or refuge to a fugitive or foreigner who held to them. These horns, when touched, welcomed all.
Again, we see God making room for all, not only the Jews but for individuals who were from other nations, and making a way for them to be welcomed also. God protects us by offering a spot for us to seek out refuge. We needn’t stand by in attacks, but we are able to find somewhere secure to cling to. Of course, we live within the era after Jesus’ death and resurrection, which is opposite to the lifetime of David, who lived awaiting the Messiah. We not have to cling to horns on altars because Jesus is now, as described by Zechariah, “the horn of Salvation for us” (Luke 1 verse 69). It is a good looking image that anyone who clings to Jesus is welcomed and secure, with salvation offered.
Calling God a rock signifies that He is all we want in life because he protects us and is a firm and secure place to rest in battle.
The New Testament takes this imagery further as we read in Matthew 7, verse 24:
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will probably be like a clever man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods got here, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it surely didn’t fall, since it had been founded on the rock.”
The clever man builds his house on the rock; on this case, the rock is God. When our feet are upon him, the wind can blow, the rain can fall, however the house is not going to come down. God is our protection, and He will keep us secure. After following and trusting God through among the hardest seasons, David knew this truth. Through dark times, through grief, joy, love, and fear. I think David knew that while relationships with others may come and God, God is at all times present with us fighting our battles, and He is not going to ever allow us to down.
If you have no idea Jesus, may I urge you to read a bible and speak to someone who can let you know more about Him? Because I promise you this: being a Christian just isn’t a magic trick that makes all of your problems disappear. David’s life is proof of that. But even within the hard times, God is present with us as an immovable, unshakable rock who will allow you to balance when the wind blows and protect you when fire-drenched arrows come your way. Standing on the rock and trusting God to be present with you is value it.
Photo Credit: ©Pixabay/Pete Linforth
LISTEN: How to Have “Inexpressible Joy” Even While You’re Suffering
1 Peter is a book of the Bible all about enduring suffering and trials, and even finding joy within the midst of them. This joy is intriguing since it’s mentioned within the context of suffering and trials, difficult us to know how we are able to experience such profound joy amidst difficulties. Let’s dive into 1 Peter with Nicole Unice, host of the How to Study the Bible podcast, and learn learn how to clutch inexpressible joy, irrespective of what you are facing.
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