Previously we discussed Psalm 18, specifically the first half – or, at least where it covers how we’re encouraged, as David was encouraged, to cry out to the Lord. And to be clear, these were words that David composed AFTER he was delivered from Saul…
…but considering all I’m going through, I draw encouragement here and now, even before I see any deliverance on the horizon.
For see, I have reason to believe that it is in these moments of uncertainty and heightened tensions, anxieties, paired with happenings that invoke regret, remorse and self-pity, where we see God’s goodness – through the Holy Spirit, to be precise.
It’s precisely in these times that this same Holy Spirit does as Christ says He would do – That is, convict us of our righteousness and our right-standing with God. Even if we have not seen Christ, we love Him completely, for the Spirit brings us to the knowledge and resultant confidence of our absolute reconciliation with God, so absolute, in fact, that we can call Him our Father.
And He is our great Father, indeed! In our distress, we cry out as David cried out, to our Rock in whom we take refuge; We cry out to our Fortress, and our Deliverer, our Shield, our Stronghold, and the Horn of our salvation.
We cry out to our Father, not holding anything back, fully acknowledging all the details of our plights, all that we know within our limited perspectives; Fully entrusting our full being to Him, knowing that He would respond with such power and might, so as to bend the fabric of reality as we know it!
And, as we keep on reading, we would have an idea of just how comprehensive of a response He would give us, when we cry out to Him:
He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
Our infinite and eternal Creator who loves us with an everlasting love took me and drew me out of ‘many waters’ – ‘many’, insinuating I’ve been in the thick of it, or in the deep more than just once.
In the ‘day of my calamity’, when ‘my strong enemy’ and ‘those who hated me’ who were ‘too mighty for me’ confronted me, He was my Support; delighting in me, He rescued me from them.
The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.
I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.
So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
Before we go any further I’d like to point out 1 Samuel 16:13: Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
Friends, I’m led to believe that David was in a unique situation considering the Old Testament, and what we call the Old Covenant.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that the presence of the Lord was only in the Holy of Holies, at the temple, or in this case, at the Tabernacle; I imagine that at the time of David it was unheard of, even blasphemous, for just anyone to say that we have the presence of the Lord, or we are in His presence, much more to say that He is with us / in us.
But here we see that the Spirit of the Lord, or God’s manifest presence, RUSHED upon David when he was anointed by Samuel… and I bring this up only to say that it is only by the Holy Spirit WITH David, that he could say that his is righteous.
For us, in our present day, we could look back at this part of Psalm 18, two ways:
First, we could claim we are righteous and clean through our works; we can say we have ‘kept the ways of the LORD’, ‘not wickedly departed from… God’, ‘kept (ourselves) from guilt’, etc. based on our own performance… (good luck with that)
Or, we can say that Christ did not put away God’s rules and statutes before Him; We could say that Christ kept God’s ways, and Christ’s righteousness has now become our righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).
We can say that through Christ we are confident that the same Spirit that rushed upon David has been poured down upon us, like tongues of fire upon the apostles in the upper room (Acts 2), and the LORD deals with us and rewards us according to this righteousness.
Thanks be to God for Christ, for by His finished work we have been made righteous, and we therefore have been rescued!
Now, you may be wondering, or asking – How could God rescue me in my specific situations right now? Are we to say that He has guaranteed our rescue from all situations?
To this, I respond: He does not rescue us based on our expectations, but He has ALREADY rescued us through our salvation.
What do I mean by this? Let’s go back to the following Scripture:
He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
We acknowledge Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who stepped down from eternity to be born within our reality, sent from on high.
Through His death on the cross, not only has he ‘taken me’, but He became sin for us to be His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21 again); Through this He drew me out of many waters, taking my place in the depths, so I would be saved.
Because I was made righteous through Christ, I have been saved from the condemnation (Romans 8:1) of this strong enemy and from those who hated me, even if they were too mighty for me;
We can also look at that from Christ’s point of view, for even if the enemy and those who hated Him had the upper hand resulting in His death on the cross, God raised Him from the dead; They confronted (Him) in (His) calamity, but the LORD was (His) Support.
In all our circumstances and in all situations that cause us anxiety and bring us to fear, we can take heart, because through Christ the enemy of enemies has been defeated, and by His finished work we have already been rescued from sin and death, the sickness of all sicknesses, the tragedy of all tragedies.
Because God delights in Christ, so He delights in us; And because God rescued Christ, so He rescued us…
…and as Christ has been brought into a broad place, we also have been taken from the many waters, into a broad place.
What is this broad place?
Earlier in Psalm 18 we read that in response to David’s cry, God responded from the heavens to the earth, moving creation and bending this reality.
Because of Christ, God’s expression of everlasting love, we have been rescued from this dying reality, and have been seated in the heavenly places.
My own afflictions, frustrations, struggles and anxieties ultimately serve as opportunities for the Holy Spirit to keep reminding me of Christ and His finished work.
I’ve had to rely on Claude AI to help me out in concluding this time we spent in Psalm 18:
We can see that Psalm 18, viewed through the lens of Christ’s work, offers profound encouragement for believers today. David’s cry for help and God’s mighty response foreshadow the ultimate rescue mission accomplished through Jesus Christ.
In our daily struggles, anxieties, and fears, we can take comfort in knowing that our greatest rescue has already been accomplished. Through Christ, we have been drawn out of the “many waters” of sin and death, and placed in the “broad place” of God’s presence and eternal life.
As we face life’s challenges, let us remember that these difficulties are temporary, but our salvation is eternal. Each struggle becomes an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to remind us of our secure position in Christ. We are righteous in God’s sight, not because of our own efforts, but because of Christ’s finished work.
So, like David, let us cry out to God in our times of need, confident in His love and deliverance. And let us also join David in praise, grateful for the rescue that has already been accomplished through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I’m not sure if I want to continue with the last part of Psalm 18… I probably will, but I just have to say that what we drew from this session of reflection has already been such a wonderful revelation.
Until the next post, God bless us all.
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