God leads us! - Psalm 18:1-6, 16-21, 32-36
God leads us! - Psalm 18:1-6, 16-21, 32-36
May 21, 2017
By Pastor Lee Hemen
When life smacks you in the head what do you do, to whom do you go to for advice, or for comfort? For some of us it is family, others it is a good friend, and yet as believers we are to first and foremost go to the Lord who is our help in times of trouble. It is during these times that God leads us.
David was not favored by God because he served him but David served him because God had appointed David in his sovereign mercy. After David praises and tells of his confidence in God for the future, David gives a beautiful description of God’s deliverance, which he described as an illustration of God’s justice to the innocent. God’s own might and success are celebrated as the results of divine aid and the confidence it will continue. Let’s learn how through our lives God leads us!
READ: Psalm 18:1-6, 16-21, 32-36
David knew about trouble in life. He had been given the kingdom of Israel while the still sitting king Saul was alive and now sought to kill him. In his struggle as he ran from Saul there were times David had felt pathetic yet now he reminds us that…
I. God is where we go when we are weak! (Vv. 1-6)
I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
1. David had an intimate relationship with God and was unafraid to declare it to anyone who would listen, “I love you, O LORD” he cries out! David then continues by making a list of names by which he had come to know God. He was “my strength” or help. David knew God as his “rock” which was a lofty place to hide. He knew God as his “fortress” or we would say castle, and his “deliverer” meaning a way to escape, and again David emphasizes God being his “rock” or boulder in this case. However also being a fighting man David also knew God as his “shield” and his “horn of… salvation”. Therefore David could “call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise”, and know that “I am saved from my enemies.” As grand as all of this sounds David had also experienced and faced his own death at the hands of his enemies and so he relates “The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary states that “Being in the cords of death means that he was in such difficult distress that without divine intervention he would have died. Destruction overwhelmed him like a flood (torrents). The trappings of death were before him, and he was without human resources to save him.” I do not know about you but there have been times in my life when I felt just like David! Rather than being stuck between a rock and a hard place, David goes directly to his rock and hard place – God! David rejoices, “From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” We must never despair at life’s trouble or when we feel like giving up; God is where we go when we are weak!
EXAMPLE: One of the concerns for senior adults is maintaining muscle mass as they get older. This is why diets that are high in protein and getting active are very important. Muscle mass degenerates as we get older and is why senior adults become weaker with age. In order to maintain good spiritual muscles we must maintain a good diet and exercise program as well. Daily prayer and reading the Bible are important in order to strengthen spiritually atrophied muscles. The great news in what David teaches us in the fact that God is where we go when we are weak!
With all the flooding go on back East it seems someone is getting rescued from rising water all the time! Life can begins to seem like it is a flood ready to engulf us however David teaches us that…
II. God is the one who rescues us! (Vv. 16-21)
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
1. For many people even in our day and age God is a spiritual construct we have made up, a mythos to live by, but certainly he isn’t personal. Their argument at first seems logical: “If God were real why hasn’t he done something about the evil that exists in the world?” Yet what this fails to understand is the fact he did do something; he gave us himself in Jesus! David knew God personally and this is why he could write “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.” God had personally “rescued” David from a “powerful enemy, from foes, who were to strong” for him to face alone. These ungodly folks, king Saul being the chief one, had “confronted” him in David’s “day of disaster” yet even then the “Lord was my support” David boldly declares. David had felt that he had been drowning in his troubles, but God reached down and pulled him out of the “deep waters” and placed him “out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” As a Hebrew David hated open water like the ocean, most could not swim, and as a military man he would want to be able to defend himself in the open and not in some enclosed space. For the ancient Jew their relationship with God was kind of a tit-for-tat kind of thing. If you stayed within God’s gracious will you were safe and yet if you did not you suffered from your choices. However, David could gladly sing that “The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.” Like David we should know that “God is the one who rescues us!”
EXAMPLE: Growing up during the Cold War era I find it kind of humorous that so many millennials are concerned about North Korea. Don’t get me wrong, nuclear weapons in the hands of a madman are a dangerous thing. But it seems as if only now with a real threat are people once again worried about what to do in case of a nuclear attack. It also proves the point that even if we got rid of our entire nuclear arsenal; the crazies of the world are not about to. Isn’t it therefore good to know that in times of crisis God is the one who rescues us!
With the cold wet winter we have had and the good days of sunshine ahead authorities are worried that too many people will go swimming in water that is not just ice-cold but way higher and faster than normal. The rivers may look easy to navigate but it is easy to be swept away. Is a spiritual climate where folks are easily swept away into things they should not be David teaches us anew that…
III. God enables us to stand in him! (Vv. 32-36)
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
1. Unlike a lot of his compatriots of his day David knew that “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” Many do not recognize that it is God who has given them everything in life. God had removed every impediment and obstacle out of David’s way, and made it plain and easy; David’s success was because of God! If only the world would acknowledge him God would delight to show them just as he did David! In fact when it felt like he could not get a foothold in life David related “He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.” The Prophet Habakkuk would write, “The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:19 NIV) Now we see David singing that God gave him the higher ground in battle and David acknowledged “He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” A bronze bow depicts strength. We may be feeble but God is mighty and David acknowledges this fact. In fact he sings, “You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.” It was under the cover of God’s own shield that David found victory and it was God alone who sustained him. How wonderful to know that God still hold us in the palms of his hands and he lifts us up! And having been a shepherd who had to scramble over many a rocky crag to try to find the hoof prints of lost sheep David rejoiced in that it was God who “broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.” The main idea throughout this Psalm is that David recognized every ability and victory of his to the Lord. Everything he had done and everything he now enjoyed was due to God. God enables us to stand in him!
EXAMPLE: I enjoy hiking and going places. One of my favorite places to explore is the Ape Caves outside of Cougar, WA. It is the longest lava tube yet discovered in North America. Now admittedly with my age I can no longer scramble over some of the rack falls inside the cave. And in fact some of the track on the “easy” side is difficult to stand in because of the way the lava flowed and left behind sharp ridges like train tracks. When our lives become tough and it can get hard to stand alone in the trials that come our way, David teaches us that God enables us to stand in him!
Conclusion:
God is where we go when we are weak! God is the one who rescues us! God enables us to stand in him!
----
This article is copyrighted © 2017 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
May 21, 2017
By Pastor Lee Hemen
When life smacks you in the head what do you do, to whom do you go to for advice, or for comfort? For some of us it is family, others it is a good friend, and yet as believers we are to first and foremost go to the Lord who is our help in times of trouble. It is during these times that God leads us.
David was not favored by God because he served him but David served him because God had appointed David in his sovereign mercy. After David praises and tells of his confidence in God for the future, David gives a beautiful description of God’s deliverance, which he described as an illustration of God’s justice to the innocent. God’s own might and success are celebrated as the results of divine aid and the confidence it will continue. Let’s learn how through our lives God leads us!
READ: Psalm 18:1-6, 16-21, 32-36
David knew about trouble in life. He had been given the kingdom of Israel while the still sitting king Saul was alive and now sought to kill him. In his struggle as he ran from Saul there were times David had felt pathetic yet now he reminds us that…
I. God is where we go when we are weak! (Vv. 1-6)
I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
1. David had an intimate relationship with God and was unafraid to declare it to anyone who would listen, “I love you, O LORD” he cries out! David then continues by making a list of names by which he had come to know God. He was “my strength” or help. David knew God as his “rock” which was a lofty place to hide. He knew God as his “fortress” or we would say castle, and his “deliverer” meaning a way to escape, and again David emphasizes God being his “rock” or boulder in this case. However also being a fighting man David also knew God as his “shield” and his “horn of… salvation”. Therefore David could “call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise”, and know that “I am saved from my enemies.” As grand as all of this sounds David had also experienced and faced his own death at the hands of his enemies and so he relates “The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary states that “Being in the cords of death means that he was in such difficult distress that without divine intervention he would have died. Destruction overwhelmed him like a flood (torrents). The trappings of death were before him, and he was without human resources to save him.” I do not know about you but there have been times in my life when I felt just like David! Rather than being stuck between a rock and a hard place, David goes directly to his rock and hard place – God! David rejoices, “From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” We must never despair at life’s trouble or when we feel like giving up; God is where we go when we are weak!
EXAMPLE: One of the concerns for senior adults is maintaining muscle mass as they get older. This is why diets that are high in protein and getting active are very important. Muscle mass degenerates as we get older and is why senior adults become weaker with age. In order to maintain good spiritual muscles we must maintain a good diet and exercise program as well. Daily prayer and reading the Bible are important in order to strengthen spiritually atrophied muscles. The great news in what David teaches us in the fact that God is where we go when we are weak!
With all the flooding go on back East it seems someone is getting rescued from rising water all the time! Life can begins to seem like it is a flood ready to engulf us however David teaches us that…
II. God is the one who rescues us! (Vv. 16-21)
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
1. For many people even in our day and age God is a spiritual construct we have made up, a mythos to live by, but certainly he isn’t personal. Their argument at first seems logical: “If God were real why hasn’t he done something about the evil that exists in the world?” Yet what this fails to understand is the fact he did do something; he gave us himself in Jesus! David knew God personally and this is why he could write “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.” God had personally “rescued” David from a “powerful enemy, from foes, who were to strong” for him to face alone. These ungodly folks, king Saul being the chief one, had “confronted” him in David’s “day of disaster” yet even then the “Lord was my support” David boldly declares. David had felt that he had been drowning in his troubles, but God reached down and pulled him out of the “deep waters” and placed him “out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” As a Hebrew David hated open water like the ocean, most could not swim, and as a military man he would want to be able to defend himself in the open and not in some enclosed space. For the ancient Jew their relationship with God was kind of a tit-for-tat kind of thing. If you stayed within God’s gracious will you were safe and yet if you did not you suffered from your choices. However, David could gladly sing that “The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.” Like David we should know that “God is the one who rescues us!”
EXAMPLE: Growing up during the Cold War era I find it kind of humorous that so many millennials are concerned about North Korea. Don’t get me wrong, nuclear weapons in the hands of a madman are a dangerous thing. But it seems as if only now with a real threat are people once again worried about what to do in case of a nuclear attack. It also proves the point that even if we got rid of our entire nuclear arsenal; the crazies of the world are not about to. Isn’t it therefore good to know that in times of crisis God is the one who rescues us!
With the cold wet winter we have had and the good days of sunshine ahead authorities are worried that too many people will go swimming in water that is not just ice-cold but way higher and faster than normal. The rivers may look easy to navigate but it is easy to be swept away. Is a spiritual climate where folks are easily swept away into things they should not be David teaches us anew that…
III. God enables us to stand in him! (Vv. 32-36)
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
1. Unlike a lot of his compatriots of his day David knew that “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” Many do not recognize that it is God who has given them everything in life. God had removed every impediment and obstacle out of David’s way, and made it plain and easy; David’s success was because of God! If only the world would acknowledge him God would delight to show them just as he did David! In fact when it felt like he could not get a foothold in life David related “He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.” The Prophet Habakkuk would write, “The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:19 NIV) Now we see David singing that God gave him the higher ground in battle and David acknowledged “He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” A bronze bow depicts strength. We may be feeble but God is mighty and David acknowledges this fact. In fact he sings, “You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.” It was under the cover of God’s own shield that David found victory and it was God alone who sustained him. How wonderful to know that God still hold us in the palms of his hands and he lifts us up! And having been a shepherd who had to scramble over many a rocky crag to try to find the hoof prints of lost sheep David rejoiced in that it was God who “broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.” The main idea throughout this Psalm is that David recognized every ability and victory of his to the Lord. Everything he had done and everything he now enjoyed was due to God. God enables us to stand in him!
EXAMPLE: I enjoy hiking and going places. One of my favorite places to explore is the Ape Caves outside of Cougar, WA. It is the longest lava tube yet discovered in North America. Now admittedly with my age I can no longer scramble over some of the rack falls inside the cave. And in fact some of the track on the “easy” side is difficult to stand in because of the way the lava flowed and left behind sharp ridges like train tracks. When our lives become tough and it can get hard to stand alone in the trials that come our way, David teaches us that God enables us to stand in him!
Conclusion:
God is where we go when we are weak! God is the one who rescues us! God enables us to stand in him!
----
This article is copyrighted © 2017 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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