Psalm 18

Sure Reliance on God

What can people be sure of? What insures that certitude?

This royal psalm can be traced back to the era of the First Temple (known as “Solomon’s Temple”) before the Babylonian exile. The psalm praised YHWH for his appearance and activity in the life of the king, and, by extension, in the life of the nation.

After a brief comment about the authorship, 18:1-3 stated the reason for the psalm in a doxology. The praise of God as rock, savior, strength, etc. set the stage for the victim’s outcry (18:4-7a) for the theophany (7b-16). This divine appearance rivaled creation itself. More than the classic descriptions of divine activity (earthquakes, ominous clouds with lightning and thunder, downpours), this theophany laid bare the structure of creation. With the outcry (18:4-7a) and the rescue (18:17-20) acting as book ends, the full power of God was made manifest in the answer of a prayer. YHWH would tear creation apart to save the king from his enemies (who were evil painted larger than life). Why would the Creator violate his creation for the king (and the people)? Simply put, he made a covenant with them; that covenant was based on his love (18:20).

18:21-31 revealed a belief common in the monarchy and the people that was absent during and after the Exile; the psalm declared the king was a faithful and just ruler. The king in the psalm declared himself “clean” (“kosher”) in his practice of the Law, and prided himself in enforcing the kosher laws on the nation. He was faithful and led a faithful nation. Certitude was rooted in divine intervention and direction; the faithful God could be trusted to lead the king in ways sure.

18:32-46 continued in the theme of certitude, but applied it to warfare. With the Lord, the king would reign victorious over his enemies and even extend the kingdom into an empire (he would be the head over nations). While the king saw himself as a conqueror, the focus of the song is on the direction and assistance of YHWH.

18:47-51 recounts the doxology from 18:1-3. The Rock, the Savior has rescued the king and the nation from their enemies. So, the king (and the people) would praise YHWH above all other gods, for he has shown his kindness.

God is with his people, but we should not presume our will is God’s. We can rely on his help to move heaven and earth to show his love to us. His love and his ways might be mysterious, however. There is one thing that is certain. God will bring us to him in the end.

How does God’s action in your life give you comfort? How can you rely on his love?