Psalm Category: Psalm of Thanksgiving

Central Thought: Psalm 18 reminds us that God alone wins the victory for His people. It calls us to cry out in thanksgiving, “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!” (v. 46)

Key Word: Hepes (v. 19). Hepes is translated as “delighted” in verse 19. This word expresses the idea that God favored David and that He found emotional pleasure in extending this favor to him. The Bible tells us that God is delighted (hepes) when we keep His Sabbath (Isa. 56:4) and when we promote truth (Ps. 51:8)

Psalm 18

In October 1991, the Andrea Gail sailed from Gloucester, Mass. Two weeks into its voyage, it encountered a massive storm that meteorologists called a “perfect storm.” The Andrea Gail and its crew were lost. Psalm 18 portrays God as a storm who comes, not to destroy, but to deliver those in peril.

Setting the Stage (vv. 1-6): The superscription ofthis psalm tells us that David is under attack by his enemies, particularly Saul. His life is at risk. He feels the “cords of death” tightening around him. This leads him to cry out to the Lord (v. 6) who is his “strength,” “horn,” “rock,” “fortress,” “stronghold,” “deliverer,” and “shield” (vv. 1-2). David beckons to his only hope, God the divine warrior

The Storm Cometh (vv. 7-19): Verses 7-15 are simply beautiful. This is Hebrew poetry at its best. God is described as riding the clouds like a stallion as He swoops down to deliver David. His coming is fierce, and He is angry. David, employing anthropomorphisms, describes God as having smoke flowing from His nostrils and blazing coals coming from His mouth. Our God is a consuming fire!

Why does this great cloud rider descend to deliver David out of the waters of his distress? Verse 19 informs us it is because God delights in him. Does this amaze you? This entire cosmic drama occurs because God loves His servant David. People of God, this love is not just for David, it is for all of His children. God so loved us that He came down in Jesus Christ to die for us, the ungodly, when we were powerless (Rom. 5: 6).

Equipping His Saints (vv. 46-50): Part of God’s deliverance of David includes equipping him for battle. He makes David’s feet agile, trains his hands for battle, and gives him the shield of victory (vv. 33-35). Isn’t the same true for us? Doesn’t God prepare us for spiritual battle? In Ephesians 6, Paul describes the armor God gives to His people to prepare them for their struggle against “the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). People of God, do not fashion your own weapons, but rather trust in the armor of God.

In verses 37-42, we see the result of God’s training. David wins an incredible victory. He crushes his enemies under his feet; they are beaten like pottery into dust and they flee in fear from their strongholds. By God’s intervention, David has moved from being near death to experiencing utter victory. God promises us that through Jesus we too shall experience this decisive victory over our enemies. They will all be put under His feet (I Cor. 15:25).

The Coming Storm (vv. 46-50): Verse 50 tells us that it is God who “gives his king great victories” and that this promise extends not only to David, but also to his” descendants.” This psalm, and the victory it describes, cannot be fully understood without looking forward in redemptive history to David’s descendant and Lord. There was a greater king to come. There was a greater warrior to come. There was a greater victory to come (Isa. 59: 16-20).

The New Testament tells us that God intruded into history through Jesus Christ in the incarnation. It tells us that Jesus won a victory on the cross and made a public spectacle of His enemies (Col. 2:15). And it tells us that He is coming again like a storm. Matthew tells us that the cloud rider will return to deliver His people and consummate the final victory. “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30). Now that’s a perfect storm!

—Anthony T. Selvaggio