Praise the God who makes us great
Whether or not we have flesh-and-blood enemies, we all have dark powers bent on our destruction. This psalm celebrates the God who powerfully defends us and makes us great.
A song YHWH’s servant David sang to him after he rescued David from the grasp of Saul and all his enemies. He said:
1 I love you, YHWH, my strength.
2 YHWH is my rock
my fortress, my deliverer, my God,
the rock that gives me shelter, my shield,
the horn that saves me, my stronghold.
3 I called on YHWH, worthy of all praise
and he rescued me from my foes.
4 Death’s noose cinched tight around me
deadly torrents overwhelmed me.
5 I was sinking down into a watery grave
with Death my unyielding undertaker.
6 I called out to YHWH in my distress.
I cried out to my God for help.
He heard my voice from his sanctuary—
my plea for help reached his ears.
7 The earth rocked and reeled
his wrath made the mountains shudder and shake.
8 Smoke shot out of his nostrils
and flames from his mouth
setting the earth around him on fire.
9 He burst through the sky and came down
with storm clouds under his feet.
10 He mounted a mighty celestial being
and soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He came under cover of darkness
dark storm clouds surrounding him.
12 Then the light of his presence burst through
with a crash of lightning and hailstones.
13 YHWH thundered from heaven
his voice booming across the sky
with a crash of lightning and hailstones.
14 He let fly his arrows in every direction
great bolts of lightning.
Pandemonium reigned!
15 The ocean floor was laid bare
its deepest trenches exposed
at your rebuke, YHWH
the blast of air when you snorted.
16 He reached down from high above
took hold of me
and pulled me out of the deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my terrifying foes
enemies way too strong for me.
18 They attacked me when I was in distress
but YHWH came to my defense.
19 He brought me out into a wide-open space
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
20 YHWH rewarded me for doing right.
He restored me because of my faithfulness.
21 For I’ve held to YHWH’s ways
and not turned away to follow evil.
22 I’ve kept all his commandments
never disregarding his laws.
23 I’ve lived with integrity before him
and never let down my guard against sin.
24 So YHWH has rewarded me for doing right.
He rescued me because of my devotion.
25 To the faithful you’re always faithful
to the truthful ever truthful.
26 The pure can always count on your purity
and the crooked you always outmaneuver.
27 You rescue the humble
but you humiliate the arrogant.
28 You light my lamp, YHWH my God
flooding the darkness around me with light.
29 For by you I can rush an armed band
by you I can leap over a wall.
30 This God, his way is perfect.
Everything YHWH promises proves true:
he’s a shield to all who put their trust in him.
31 For who is God except YHWH?
And who is a mighty rock except our God?
32 God arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes me as surefooted as a gazelle
walking with ease on the mountain heights.
34 He so trains my hands for battle
that I can bend back a bow of bronze.
35 You’ve given me the shield that saves me
your strong right hand holds me up
your gentleness has made me great.
36 You cleared the path before me
so I could walk without stumbling.
37 I pursued my enemies till I caught them
and I didn’t turn back till I’d destroyed them.
38 I struck them so hard they couldn’t get up
they fell under my feet.
39 You armed me with courage for the battle
and laid my attackers low before my feet.
40 I trampled them underfoot
totally vanquishing those who hated me.
41 They cried for help
but no one saved them.
They cried out to YHWH
but got no answer.
42 I ground them to dust before the wind
and swept them like dirt into the gutter.
43 You saved me when my own people attacked me.
You appointed me ruler over nations—
people I didn’t even know existed now serve me.
44 They surrendered upon hearing of me.
Foreign nations now cower before me.
45 They all lose heart
and come trembling out of their strongholds.
46 YHWH is alive!
May my Rock be praised
and the God who rescues me be exalted!
47 He’s the God who repays those who harm me
who subdues nations under me
48 and rescues me from my foes.
You raise me up
above those who rise up against me.
You save me from violent oppressors.
49 So I’ll praise you among the nations, YHWH
I’ll sing the glories of your name.
50 He’s given great victories to his king.
He shows unfailing love to his anointed
to David and his descendants forever.
With unflagging energy, this psalm—one of the Psalter’s longest—tells how God has rescued David from death and made him great. We glimpse David’s deeply personal relationship with God in each of the psalm’s five sections. Though he writes as God’s anointed king, he effectively invites us into that same kind of intimacy with God.
Evoking the Exodus and Mount Sinai, verses 4-19 detail David’s desperate need and how God delivered him from the dark forces against him. Describing him in superhero terms, David tells how YHWH saved him from certain death, lit up his life, and brought him out into a place of freedom and promise, where he could breathe easy. In view of all this, the love he professes for God and the thanksgiving he offers are hardly extravagant.
YHWH does all this because he’s faithful and good, and David has walked in his ways (vv. 20-30). God blesses those who bless him and resists those who resist him. He bends down to save those who humbly seek him and cuts their arrogant oppressors down.
Utterly unlike the gods of Israel’s neighbors, YHWH cares for the lowly and gently lifts them in his arms. It’s that gentleness that has made David the king that he is (vv. 31-45). Having enabled David to overcome every barrier and defeat his oppressors, the living God has appointed him to rule over nations and has promised to bless his royal line forever. With all that in mind, David wants to honor God by praising and thanking him before the nations.
Prayer:
How amazing, Jesus, that you stooped so low to pull me out of the surging waters and give me hope and a future! How wonderful that your gentleness makes me great, as I learn from you. Help me to trust you, love you, and give you all the glory you so richly deserve. Amen.
In your free moments today, pray these words:
You’ve given me the shield that saves me
your strong right hand holds me up
your gentleness has made me great.
