Embrace the Word for Friday, January 30, 2026
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Psalm 18, which is the third longest Psalm in the Psalter, is a Psalm of praise. Psalm 18 is David’s elaborate, exuberant exclamation of praise to the Lord. Psalm 18 parallels 2 Samuel 22:1-51, which is the writer of Samuel recording what David wrote here in Psalm 18 and placing it as something of David’s concluding statement. The superscription for Psalm 18, which is the second longest superscription in the Psalter, reads: “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.” Psalm 18 is David’s recounting of all the great things that the Lord had done for him, as well as his response to the Lord. David identifies as “the servant of the Lord.” This expression has previously been used only of Moses and Joshua, which is fitting as we will soon see that the language of the exodus and the conquest is used in this Psalm. The only other time that this expression is used will be by Isaiah as he prophesies of “the servant of the Lord” (See Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). David wrote Psalm 18 for the occasion of celebrating how the Lord had delivered him from Saul, who hated him, hunted him, and haunted him. But those days are done, and David puts that extended, troubled period of his life to a song of praise.
Before David begins his praise to the Lord, he simply says: "I love you, O LORD, my strength” (18:1). And from there David goes into the longest stream of descriptive terms for God found in the Psalter: “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (18:2). That’s how love normally operates. What we talk up, brag on, rejoice in, and promote reveals where our deepest affections lie. To paraphrase the episode of Jesus in Simon the pharisees’ house—the one delivered out of much, loves much (See Luke 7:47). The Lord is David’s strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, another rock, place of refuge, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold. Of course, the Lord is not literally these things, but David is saying that he has relied on the Lord the way that others in distress have relied on what they perceived to be advantageous, whether that is their own strength, powerful alliances, impregnable walls, the high ground in battle, or superior weaponry. David has much more than those things; David has the Lord: “I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies” (18:3).
David recounts his peril: “The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me” (18:4-5). David does not describe his peril in literal historic terms; he speaks in spiritual and metaphorical terms. David grasps that spiritual forces of evil were at work in and through the human enemies that he faced. David was threatened by the very powers of death and hell. No human strength, man-made weapons or fortresses, or natural hideouts could withstand what was coming at David. So David turned to the Lord: “In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears” (18:6). And the Lord responded with all His might: “Then the earth reeled and rocked…Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth…He bowed the heavens and came down…He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water…The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them” (18:7-14). David depicts the Lord’s actions in his own life with the language from Israel’s life during the period of the Exodus and the journey to Mt. Sinai. David interprets what unfolded in his life, “Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils” (18:15); with what occurred at the Red Sea: “At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea” (See Exodus 15:8). The Lord did for David, “He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters” (18:16); what he did for Moses: “She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water” (See Exodus 2:10). David can’t, or more likely, won’t just say God delivered him; he had to go over the top—in a good and appropriate way by saying, “it was just like God did for and through Moses!” David wants to awe us with a God we mustn’t forget.
What David describes in the next segment of Psalm 18 is possibly a snag for us. As we have seen before, David speaks of his righteousness: “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” (18:20-24). David’s highlighting his righteousness as well as the cleanness of his hands brackets these verses. These claims seem far too immodest to us today. But should they? Must we assume that David is expressing something of a pompous self-righteousness? Must we conclude that David is boasting of any absolute, comprehensive righteousness? Notice, as we read on, to whom David gives credit: “For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. 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” (18:27-30). David admits that only the humble experience God’s saving work. David acknowledges that the Lord must impart light in order to live properly. David appreciates that the Lord supplies strength to run and leap. David accepts that only God’s Word reveals what is good and true. David is aware of the fact that the Lord has protected him.
David is not done—he continues giving credit to the Lord: “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” (18:31-35). David confesses that is was the Lord’s might that made his way blameless. David concedes that it was the Lord’s ability so that he might run and leap. David concurs that his actions in battle are of the Lord. David is conscious of the Lord’s constant protection and support throughout his life. These hardly sound like the words of the self-righteous. It should not be an anomaly for God’s people to be righteous, for the Lord has given righteousness to His people. Jesus is perfectly, absolutely, and completely righteous; and He graciously shares His righteousness with His people. First by imputing righteousness on behalf of His believing people so that we have a righteous standing before God that is unalterable. But second, by imparting righteousness in His believing people, by His Spirit, so that we have source for producing righteousness in us, which at times vacillates, but is unstoppable. David is bragging on himself no more than Paul was when he said: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day” (See 2 Timothy 4:7). Paul is expectant of a crown of righteousness because of the life he lived. Yet this is the same Paul who earlier said: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (See 1 Timothy 1:15). Are we sinners? The worst of them! Should we seek to lay claim to living righteously? God saves us to that end: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (See Philippians 3:12).
Thus empowered, David determines to chase down his enemies and crush them: “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” (18:36-39). Once again, David interprets what he is doing in light of what previous Scriptures have said. Whereas verse 38 speaks of David being able to “thrust then through,” the verb for “crush” is used and therefore harkens back to God’s earliest promise of the Messiah—God’s deliverer who would crush the head of the serpent (See Genesis 3:15). David is also reminiscent of the promises made through Jacob to Judah, the line through which David would emerge as king. David’s self-description is of subjugating his enemies (See Genesis 49:8). All the rebel forces that have joined against David, the Lord’s anointed, would be defeated (See Psalm 2:1-3); life chaff before the wind (See Psalm 1:4), so David, “beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets” (18:42).
In the first part of Psalm 18, David declared that the Lord, “is worthy to be praised” (18:3). Now David returns to this praise: “For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name” (18:49). David starts the final segment of Psalm 18 with a bold declaration: “The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation” (18:46). David is euphoric and he explains his euphoria by summarizing what God had done both negatively and positively. God has defeated David’s enemies for him, neutralizing their threat: “the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me” (18:47). The Lord enacted His vengeance upon David’s enemies (See Deuteronomy 32:35). God has also delivered David and elevated him over his enemies: “who rescued me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from the man of violence” (18:48). David’s “man of violence” that the Lord delivered him from is most likely Saul. David testifies to the victorious conquest that the Lord has given him as king. But David has an awareness that whatever conquest and victory that the Lord has given him, the Lord will grant as well to the seed promised to David: "Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever” (18:50). Notice, like Galatians 3:26-29 does in reference to the “seed” of Abraham, the future kingdom does not lay in the offsprings of David, but his “offspring.” In both cases, the choice of singular is intentional, and in each case, the referent is Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham, and the offspring of David. Truly, when King Jesus comes again, the victorious conquest of God’s Kingdom will be final and forever: “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (See Revelation 11:15).
As we reflect on Psalm 18, I want to touch on the Apostle Paul’s usage of Psalm 18:49 and how this verse that is found in the closing remarks of David concerning the victorious conquest that the Lord has provided, is applied to the mission of the church in our day: “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name” (See Romans 15:8-9). Paul attributes Psalm 18 to Christ, who through His church, leads in singing the praises of God to the nations, as His church proclaims the message of the Risen Lord to the ends of the earth. As the church proclaims Christ, they announce that a victorious conquest is on the horizon. David’s offspring will return and bring it to pass. But in the meantime, His church offers the opportunity for the people of the world to submit to Christ. Those who refuse to submit to Christ will be subjugated when He returns (See Philippians 2:9-11). Christ is Lord, one way or another.
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, January 30, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, February 2, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalms 19.