“Saved From My Enemies" (Ps 18:1-19)

“I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies” (vs3).

What will you do about it? It is normal Christianity to have fear and trouble, but where will you turn in the hour of need?

We can play the hypocrite and pretend as if everything is OK, we can take matters into our own hands, and we can cower, surrendering to our fears. Or, we can by faith, like the Lord Jesus, take our problems to God, relying on Him (vs1-6). This is what the Psalmist did. He said, “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I will trust”.

Put your faith in God, call upon Him, and go to Him in the hour of need. Don't say, “God is sovereign”, unless you say it to Him. Don't assume things will work out, but go to Him in prayer. The Psalms teach us our access to God, and God has ordained that prayer be the means whereby He gives us what we need, even as He's ordained work to be how we eat.

Be afraid of nothing, but bring your fears to the Almighty who can change you and defeat your foes. Do not walk as if you're alone.

Secondly, when God comes, the enemy is defeated (vs7-18). We read, “The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice, hailstones and coals of fire. He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.” We look like puny nothings, like people who couldn't scare a flea, but when God comes, the earth shakes, the enemies are burned to nothing, and we're set at freedom. Fear leaves, sin is conquered, and those who oppose us see their schemes swallowed up by the loving salvation of God. What a hope. God is your strength, and when He comes, you're strong as the result, and your soul is at peace. God's power is yours, and He is READY to save. Call His name and taste His deliverance.

Finally, God comes to us because we are righteous, doing His righteous will (vs19). We read, “He also brought me out into a broad place [liberty]; He delivered me because He delighted in me”. Do not think, “I'm only a sinner”. Do not think that your fears have made you unpleasing to God. He is pleased with you eternally in Christ, choosing you in the Beloved to everlasting life. He's pleased with you by the blood the Lord shed on your behalf, dying for sin. He's pleased by the sanctification of the Spirit, giving you newness of life. And, He's pleased with your faith, delighting in your dependence on Him (Heb 11:6).

The psalmist David did not lean upon himself. He was chosen as king, and yet he took nothing into his own hands to get the throne. When opportunity came, he refused to kill his wicked rival, Saul, because he knew that God would enthrone him. The Lord Himself took nothing into His hands, dying upon the cursed tree, trusting in God to raise Him from the dead. Likewise, you and I don't save ourselves in wickedness, we don't take matters into our own hands. We wait, look to God, and He loves to help us. He is pleased with faith. You please God by seeking His power to do His will, by seeking Him to save you in a holy salvation.