I called to the Lord, Who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.
Psalm 18:3
Are you Distressed? Call Out To The Lord – Psalm 18
1 I love You, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my Rock, in Whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I called to the Lord, Who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 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.
7 The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because He was angry.
8 Smoke rose from His nostrils;
consuming fire came from His mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
9 He parted the Heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under His feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
He soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His covering, His canopy around Him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of His presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13 The Lord thundered from Heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
14 He shot His arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning He routed them.
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of breath from Your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
He drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me.
Are You Distressed? Call Out To the Lord – Psalm 18
There is nothing God will not do for those in whom He delights. He delighted in the psalmist King David who kept His commands and precepts; when he fell down, David was quick to repent. Above all, David trusted in the Lord and surrendered everything to Him. All his hope was in His God, starting his psalm with “I love You, Lord, my strength.” In his time of need, when he was distressed, he did not search the world looking for help. In his wisdom, he knew that he had one option: to cry out to God — the only Person who could save him. What happened? From His most Holy place, the Almighty heard his cry and came to him. Because of David’s faith, the Lord heard him and delivered him from the enemy.
Notice how God, when appealed to from one of His righteous, did not just hear his cry; He saved him … and in a mighty way. The psalmist testified, “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. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because He was angry. Smoke rose from His nostrils; consuming fire came from His mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the Heavens and came down; dark clouds were under His feet.”
Did you catch that? God “came down” from His holy place when His beloved cried out to him; He became angered when an adversary dared to harm one of His beloved children. The same God Who rescued and vindicated King David centuries ago, is the same God Who will rescue and vindicate you today. But you must do your part. Like David, we must keep His commands and precepts; when we fall down, we must be quick to repent. In addition, we must never seek revenge on our own. God alone is our Vindicator. All we have to do is surrender and follow Him. He will take care of the rest. Trust Him.
Psalm for Meditation
I love You, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my Rock, in Whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I called to the Lord, Who is worthy of praise,
and I have been 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.
The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because He was angry.
Smoke rose from His nostrils;
consuming fire came from His mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the Heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under His feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
He soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness His covering, His canopy around Him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of His presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The Lord thundered from Heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot His arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning He routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of breath from Your nostrils.
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.
Prayer
Thank You, Lord, for being my Rock and my fortress; the shield of my salvation, my stronghold, and my vindicator. In You I place all my trust … today and forevermore. In Your Holy Name I pray, Amen.
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