There was already so much to draw from the Psalm 18 verses we’ve gone through.
First, we established how uncontainable, how incomparable (cue Chris Tomlin’s intro for Indescribable) our God is – Creator above Creation, infinitely superior, impossibly glorious according to our limited senses…
I mean, we’ve gone through that countless times here in this site, but one thing that stood out, literally shining above all we’ve known what David said – that God is just as present in the darkness as He is in the light. Behind the darkness and the clouds, forks of lightning shoot forth.
And in our last post, we’ve also seen how, in our day and age, we can be in the peace ‘beyond understanding’ (Philippians 4:7) no matter how deep our anxieties go, no matter how hopeless our situations are… because while we may see no rescue in our temporary circumstances, the Holy Spirit is faithful to remind us, to convict us that through Christ, we are righteous.
What does this mean? No matter what we’re going through, no matter how great the pain or how complicated the issue, Christ paid such a great price to guarantee that we have been reconciled to the Creator of the Universe, much so that we call Him our Father…
We endure the temporal because Christ has rescued us into the eternal.
See? Wonderful stuff. But I feel as if we shouldn’t leave the remaining verses of Psalm 18 hanging. Let’s keep at it.
With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
For the first three statements I could easily go ahead and say that it’s the reverse for us now in the New Covenant – That is, through Christ we have seen God’s mercy, blamelessness and purity, and are therefore able to project/overflow mercy, blamelessness and purity as well.
But I don’t think that’s all we can draw from what was written. See, while the English translation seems ‘parallel’, as in mercy for mercy, blamelessness for blamelessness, etc., a quick look at eSword and the actual Hebrew words gives us an opportunity to derive more value from this part of Scripture.
Take the first statement, ‘With the merciful you show yourself merciful’.
The first ‘merciful’ is châsı̂yd / khaw-seed’ / From H2616; properly kind, that is, (religiously) pious (a saint): – godly (man), good, holy (one), merciful, saint, [un-] godly.
The second ‘merciful’ is châsad / khaw-sad’ / A primitive root; properly perhaps to bow (the neck only (compare H2603) in courtesy to an equal), that is, to be kind; also (by euphemism (compare H1288), but rarely) to reprove: – shew self merciful, put to shame.
In other words, to the good, holy, merciful saint, God is kind and shows Himself merciful.
Considering how we see these parts of Scripture through the finished work of Christ, it gives me (1) an insight as to who we are as new creations – that is, we are not mere saints, but it is our nature to show mercy from our being holy (or, set apart); it also gives me (2) confirmation of what may be already obvious – that mercy is not without kindness.
Dare I keep going?
Why not?
‘Blameless’ is actually ‘upright’ in the KJV, and the first ‘upright’ in the statement is tâmı̂ym / taw-meem’ / From H8552; entire (literally, figuratively or morally); also (as noun) integrity, truth: – without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright (-ly), whole.
The second ‘upright’ is tâmam / taw-mam’ / A primitive root; to complete, in a good or a bad sense, literally or figuratively, transitively or intransitively: – accomplish, cease, be clean [pass-] ed, consume, have done, (come to an, make an) end, fail, come to the full, be all gone, X be all here, be (make) perfect, be spent, sum, be (shew self) upright, be wasted, whole.
We have been renewed as without spot and without blemish (just as we have been made holy), full and perfect (just as we have been made good), and sincerely sound and upright (as we have been made merciful).
As such, God wholly and fully comes to us and is ‘all here’; And I understand all this to make this assumption: Through the righteousness of Christ we have been all of God with us, as we are fully with Him, all the time.
The first and second ‘pure’ are the same word: bârar / baw-rar’ / A primitive root; to clarify (that is, brighten), examine, select: – make bright, choice, chosen, cleanse (be clean), clearly, polished, (shew self) pure (-ify), purge (out).
Kind of stuck here but I’ll just follow the pattern: Through Christ’s finished work we have apparently been presented before our God brightened, cleansed, polished and pure – as it is part of our reconciliation.
But what about that fourth statement? “…With the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.”
In the KJV, ‘crooked’ and ‘tortuous’ are the same word ‘froward’, but as the first and second statements, they are different words in the Hebrew:
The first ‘froward’ is ‛iqqêsh / ik-kashe’ / From H6140; distorted; hence false: – crooked, froward, perverse.
The second ‘froward’ is pâthal / paw-thal’ / A primitive root; to twine, that is, (literally) to struggle or (figuratively) be (morally) tortuous: – (shew self) froward, shew self unsavoury, wrestle.
We’re seeing that God wrestles and struggles with the crooked and perverse, being tortuous, or being ‘full of twists and turns’ / ‘excessively lengthy and complex’, which to me is the complete opposite of His response to the bright and pure, being bright and pure Himself…
…Meaning He is clear to us whom He made clear, but when we find ourselves along the crooked, or even back into our perversity… well, are we to say that in those times, He wrestles and struggles with us?
Take note that I wasn’t quick to say that we aren’t crooked or perverse – I still acknowledge that we are fully reconciled to God, yet still in this tortuous reality.. and I must say that I think I see another facet or perspective to the love God has for us, in that He does not push us away so quickly; rather, I take it that He intentionally wrestles and struggles with us, all out of love.
For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.
Gosh, I really hope I’m making SOME sense out of all of this, beyond what we’re expected to learn. If anything, it is humbling… and God cleanse me of haughtiness as I keep on going.
For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? — the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.
You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed.
I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.
For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.
They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
In our walk with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we may ask ourselves: Is God rescuing us, or does He empower us to rescue ourselves?
Here we see that our God is able to do BOTH – and David is very detailed in this portion of his composition. For we read that in empowering us, He guides us (For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness, (He) made my way blameless)…
And not only does He guide us, but He strengthens us to do great things (For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall, (He) equipped me with strength)
Not only does He strengthen us, but He also trains us (He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.) and supports us as a firm Foundation (He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights, (He) gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip)
See how, whether God rescues us by fighting for us or empowering us to fight for ourselves, our enemies (or, the ‘strong enemy and… those who hated me… too mighty for me’) end up the same: scattered, routed, overtaken, consumed, unable to rise, fallen under our feet, sunken under us, destroyed, unsaved, unanswered, beaten and cast out.
You delivered me from strife with the people; you made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.
As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me.
Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.
We see here that when God empowered David to fight, he would win with a victory so great that people ‘whom (he) had not known’ and foreigners would come ‘cringing’ to him, obeying him and serving him.
How would he respond? How would we respond? Naturally, we would give glory to the One who deserves it – the One who saves us is the One who gives us the victory!
The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation — the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me, who rescued me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from the man of violence.
For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name.
Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.
Asking ClaudeAI to help me wrap all of this up:
In conclusion, Psalm 18 presents a magnificent tapestry of God’s character, power, and love. From David’s initial cry for help to his final praise, we witness a journey that mirrors our own spiritual walk in many ways.
We’ve seen how God responds to our distress with awe-inspiring power, bending the very fabric of creation to come to our aid. Yet, this same God who shakes the earth also intimately knows us, showing Himself merciful to the merciful, blameless to the blameless, and pure to the pure. Even in our moments of crookedness, He doesn’t abandon us but wrestles with us, demonstrating a love that persists through our imperfections.
Through Christ, we now understand this Psalm in an even deeper light. The righteousness David speaks of is fully realized in Jesus, and through Him, we too can claim this right standing with God. The victory over enemies that David celebrated foreshadows our ultimate victory over sin and death through Christ’s finished work.
Moreover, we’ve seen how God not only rescues us but also empowers us. He lights our path, trains our hands for battle, and sets our feet on secure heights. In our daily struggles, we can take comfort in knowing that the God who equipped David is the same God who equips us today.
Ultimately, Psalm 18 reminds us that all victory, all strength, and all salvation come from God alone. Like David, our response should be one of praise and gratitude, acknowledging that it is God’s steadfast love that sustains us.
As we face our own battles, may we, like David, cry out to our Rock and our Fortress. May we trust in His power to save and His strength to empower. And may we always remember to give Him the glory, for great is the salvation He brings to His people, now and forevermore.
And, amen to that. I know, I should probably be doing my own conclusions, but I need to finish something else here.
Back to the book of Romans, I go.
Until then, God bless us all!
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