THE LORD IS MY ROCK AND MY FORTRESS
TEXT: Psalm 18:1-50
Psalms 18:1-3 (KJV) To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. [2] The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. [3] I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. . .
I. INTRODUCTION—ROCK OF AGES
-One of the greatest hymns of the church is one written by August Toplady who was a pastor in England in 1763. Toplady was traveling in a deep gorge of Burrington Combe in Mendip Hills when a ferocious storm settled in on him.
-He managed to find a spot that was just a shelf under a very large rock but it provided him shelter for the evening as the storm raged about him. He wrote the song, “Rock of Ages”:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.
Not the labour of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die!
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
-David gives this kind of expression when he affirms that the Lord is a Rock that he can put all of his trust in. David knew what it was like to find a safe place among the rocks as he fled from Saul and the Philistines and a host of other enemies. In fact, it would be to the rocks that he bolted when Absalom, his own son, wanted to hunt him down and kill him as well.
II. PSALM 18
-There is another rendering of this psalm that is almost word-for-word in 2 Samuel 22. There are some other matters are unique to this psalm:
• It was designed for public worship for deliverance over multiple enemies including Saul (superscription notes this).
• It is the fourth largest psalm. It is the longest one to this point in the Psalter.
• It has a common theme of gratitude for deliverance and victory scattered through it.
• It is also a psalm of kingship of the work of the Messiah.
• It falls into the category as one of the thanksgiving psalms along with many others that are too numerous to list.
Steven Lawson—In every soul testing trial, the believer must find strength in a refuge greater than himself.
III. THE EXPOSITION OF PSALM 18
-For this psalm, I found from The Outline Bible by Harold Wilmington a helpful outline to help me to be able to see the different divisions. We can see David’s delight, his distress, his deliverance, and his descendants through the course of this psalm.
A. Psalm 18:1-3—David’s Delight
Psalms 18:1-3 (KJV) To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. [2] The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. [3] I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
-David starts the whole matter of worship of the Lord by saying that he loves the Lord. This expression is found only one other time in the Psalms (116:1) and a very unusual word for love is used. It is related to a deep-seated compassion. When David began to understand the work of God in his life as a deliverer and a rock, it added to his devotion.
-One matter of worship is to look back at the victories and deliverances the Lord has already brought us to at this point. From this point in David’s life, he was now the king, but he counted it a higher honor to be a servant of the Lord than to be a reigning king.
-His description of the Lord betrays his having been a warrior on the battlefield because he will point out seven military terms in describing who the Lord is to him.
• My Rock—A place of stability
• My Fortress—A high place of safety
• My Deliverer—A savior in an evil day
• My Strength—A strong defense
• My Buckler (Shield)—A piece of armor to deflect the arrows and swords
• Horn of My Salvation—A description of the power that is depended on in the battle
• My Hightower—This is God’s care for his servant
-All of these are protections in the matters of war that David had been involved in. What often escapes our mind in our walk with the Lord is that if we are going to see His protection and deliverance in our lives, there will be some enemies that will engage us to attempt to destroy us.
-Fear not. . . What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. . . on and on we could go with those Scriptural expressions but we have to be in places of danger to see the mighty hand of the Lord.
-His call to the Lord is simply an expression of David’s prayers. Whether it is a king or a saint of God, we cannot ever forget the necessity of calling on the Lord. Notice that David made sure that his praise was mixed with his prayer. We can never come to the place where our praise becomes more important that our prayer.
B. Psalm 18:4-6—David’s Distress
Psalms 18:4-6 (KJV) The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. [5] The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. [6] In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
-Beginning in verse 4, David starts a long explanation of the reasons that he will praise the Lord for being his Rock.
-The sorrows of death had made an effort to drown David. He is noting factually that the very bands of death were on him. Ungodly men had made sure that he was going to be destroyed. These knaves were from three places:
• Saul and his men
• The enemies of Israel—the Philistines, Moabites, Arameans of Damascus, and the Edomites
• Absalom, his son
-These enemies were from outside of Israel, from inside of Israel, and even from his own family. We can rehearse in our own lives that we probably have had enemies who came from all of these spots of life and yet God delivered us.
-Very few of us will have to face the physical pursuit of enemies like David had to. His enemies were intent on either bringing great physical harm to him or killing him and our lives are far removed from that. But all have been in pressure filled situations of life where we felt like an enemy was about to take us and then to feel the release that came when the Lord delivered us from the maw of the lion.
Nikolaus Selnecker—The cords of death are every trick and deceit by which some want to ensnare the pious, like what Saul and Absalom did to David, just as we lay out snares and booby traps for birds and game. All such things must be thwarted and the pious must remain safe. Therefore, he says, “My fear is indeed great, but I call on the Lord—beside him there is no comfort. To hope in human beings will accomplish northing; to hope in God accomplishes everything. He answers me, although my heart says nothing but no. I do not respect what my flesh and blood say to me, but instead what I heart in his temple. And I respect his Word, to which I adhere and by which I abide. I experience what I am unable to lack anything, no matter what my reason or the world, enemies, heretics or fanatics may say. Everything depends on his Word. On it I trust and will not be put to shame. God be praised. Amen.
C. Psalm 18:7-49—David’s Deliverance
-We pass from David’s delight, to his distress, and now to his deliverance.
a. The Lord Arrives—18:7-15
-The first matter of the David’s deliverance is the Lord arrives. When we look to this place of the Lord’s arrival there is a similar description that we find when the Lord descended and Moses received the Law. Moses trembled with fear (Heb. 12:18-21).
i. His appearance—vv. 8-11
Psalms 18:8-11 (KJV) There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. [9] He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. [10] And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. [11] He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
-This passage has two elements of the prophetic to it. Some of this took place when the Lord was crucified and the world was thrown into spasms at his death. Read through the accounts in the Gospels as to what took place when the Lord died on the Cross. The response of the centurion . . . Truly this man was the Son of God (Matt. 27:54; Mark 14:39). . . But David is writing prophetically about it when he is speaking of the Lord but there is also a hint at it in the Revelation of John as well.
-On the other hand, David is also speaking of his situation in the past tense and he saw the Lord working against his enemies in the same manner. Leave your enemies to the Lord and let Him deal with them. . .
-David saw it as smoke, fire, coals, the heavens being rended, the Lord appearing like lightning, and smothering darkness. But it really did not play out in the way. . . .
• Saul lost his mind in his rebellion against God and his mental faculties collapsed on him.
• The battlefield became a place that David and his armies were empowered with supernatural strength.
• Absalom realized the futility of fighting against God’s anointed way too late in the game and he lost his life.
-The Lord is our Rock in far more ways than we can imagine!
ii. His actions—vv. 7, 12-15
Psalms 18:7 (KJV) Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Psalms 18:12-15 (KJV) At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. [13] The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. [14] Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. [15] Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
-The falling hailstones resemble the intervention of God into the battles of Joshua (Joshua 10) when he was fighting against five kings who were intent on destroying him. Not only is David reminding himself of this intervention of God with Joshua, he retreats even further back in vv. 14-15 when he recounts the parting of the Red Sea.
-What David is really pressing on is the fact that the God of Moses, Joshua, and the Judges is David’s God as well.
b. The Lord Assists—18:16-49
-When the Psalmist comes to verse 16, David will spend all the way through verse 49 showing us how the Lord assisted him—by rescuing him and by rewarding him.
i. He rescues him—vv. 16-19, 43-49
-We have to pull from two sections of this psalm to see how the Lord assists David. First is in vv. 16-19 and then it moves down to vv. 43-49.
Psalms 18:16-19 (KJV) He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. [17] He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. [18] They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. [19] He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
Psalms 18:43-49 (KJV) Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. [44] As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. [45] The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. [46] The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. [47] It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. [48] He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. [49] Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
-There is another re-visiting of a previous word from all of the Psalms to this point. . . Verse 46, “Leave your enemies alone!” Let God deal with them!
-If we decide that we are going to go after our enemies and we push through to avenge ourselves then we are literally usurping the position of God in the matter. It is rash, irreverent, and injurious for a child of God to retaliate for the injuries that have been inflicted on them.
-Some may ask, “What about kings, magistrates, presidents, and world leaders who have done wrong against the masses?” God will render to them according to their deeds and we need to never forget that there will come a time when all accounts will be settled!
-What is your response? It is in v. 49, “Give thanks to the Lord in the middle of the heathen!”
ii. He rewards him—vv. 20-28
Psalms 18:20-28 (KJV) The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. [21] For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. [22] For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. [23] I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. [24] Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. [25] With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; [26] With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. [27] For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. [28] For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
-This psalm was written late in David’s life as a reflection in looking back at how the Lord had delivered him. But when we come to vv. 20-24 there is a huge difficulty it would seem that we would have about David.
• Rewarded me according to my righteousness
• Cleanness of my hands
• Kept the ways of the Lord
• Have not wickedly departed
• Did not put away his statutes
• Upright and kept myself from iniquity
• My righteousness. . . my cleanness
-All of these are bold ascriptions that David applies to himself. How can that be when he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and then turned around and murdered her husband?
-There is an answer to that dilemma. David is not implying that there are people who do right all of the time but rather he is putting forward the thought that when we do make great efforts to live in the ways of the Lord that generally patterns of holiness emerge from that. In fact, I am of the strong belief that if you do not have a desire for holiness and fellowship with God, I would seriously give consideration to the idea that you really haven’t even been converted.
-On the other hand there are people who will go their own way and bring great misery and destruction on their lives. David is simply saying that God cared for him and blessed him as he tried to do what God really desired for him to do the majority of his life.
-There are further principles that come to mind in vv. 25-28 and we would do well to frequently call them to our mind:
• God deals with every man the way that man deals with God.
• If a man keeps faith with God, God will keep faith with that man.
• If a man’s conduct is blameless, he will have little to blame God for.
• If a man is pure and sincere then God will turn that same treatment toward him.
-The same principle holds true for those who are bad in their conduct or have constant evil tendencies about them.
iii. He revives him—vv. 29-42
Psalms 18:29-42 (KJV) For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. [30] As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. [31] For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? [32] It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. [33] He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. [34] He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. [35] Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. [36] Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. [37] I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. [38] I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet. [39] For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. [40] Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. [41] They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not. [42] Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
-David finds a reviving touch of the Lord again. This whole passage is a repeat of the earlier section of this psalm. The difference now is that instead of looking at it from God’s perspective, we now can see it from David’s perspective.
-All of the strength that God had provided for him has now become personal to him. This is the nitty-gritty of the Christian life. We can speak of how God has worked for others and so forth but there has to be a place where we can say. . . This is what God has done for me!
-David can say. . .
• 18:33—He has made my feet as secure as a deer standing in the mountain heights.
• 18:34—He has trained my hands for war.
• 18:34—He has reinforced my arms to pull the bow.
• 18:36—He has fixed my feet in a strong place to stand.
-If the Lord had provided that in David’s training, how is my own training going in my own battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil? How am I holding up all of the weapons of warfare that Paul brought to me in Ephesians 6:10-18?
-Then in 18:37-42, David becomes pretty graphic when he tells of the extent of the battles and how they have worked in his behalf. We may not need all of these weapons in our life but we do need:
• Wisdom—James 1:5
• Peace—John 14:27
• The Fruit of the Spirit—Gal. 5:22-23
-This psalm should cause us to grasp the fact that God has the ability to pull us through every dilemma that life tosses at us!
D. Psalm 18:50—David’s Descendants
Psalms 18:50 (KJV) Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
-A child of God has an everlasting covenant with the Lord and it will be extended to his seed for evermore! That means it is eternal!
IV. CONCLUSION
-D. L. Moody, the great evangelist from a by-gone era, once preached a message from Deuteronomy 32:31 where it states that their rock is not like our Rock. He preached that there were times when unbelievers trusted in things that failed them.
-He specifically noted that in their hour of death that they could not turn to their atheism or humanism or their accomplishments but would often seek for a pastor or a good saint to pray for them.
-He said that he had never known an atheist to do down to his grave happily. How different it is for a child of God who can confidently face death. We do not live perfect lives and there are times that we stumble terribly and make a huge mess of things. But when we come to the end of our life, we can do as David did, we confess that whatever failings we may have had. . . God has NEVER failed us! He is our Rock and there is none like Him!
Philip Harrelson
December 18, 2015
