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.

Vindicate me, Lord!

Despite all our technological advances, not much has changed since ancient times when it comes to how the strong treat the weak. Thankfully, God is as committed as ever to righting all wrongs.

A prayer of David.

¹ Hear my plea for vindication, YHWH.
Listen to my appeal.
Pay attention to my prayer
uttered without a word of a lie.
² It’s your verdict I await
for you see what’s right.

³ If you examine my heart
catching me unawares at night
you’ll find nothing amiss.
I’ve determined not to sin
in anything I say.
⁴ Despite what others do
I’ve obeyed your word
resolutely avoiding the plunderer’s path.
⁵ My steps have held to your path—
my feet haven’t faltered.

⁶ I call on you, God
for you will answer me.
Bend down and hear the words I pray.
⁷ Reveal the wonder of your lovingkindness
you who powerfully deliver
all who seek refuge from their enemies in you.
⁸ Guard me like the apple of your eye
hide me in the shadow of your wings.
⁹ Protect me from the wicked who ravage me
these brutal enemies surrounding me.
¹⁰ They’ve become rebellious
and speak arrogantly.
¹¹ Having tracked me down
they now hem me in
and look for a way to hurl me to the ground
¹² like a lion eager to rip me apart
a powerful lion crouching in ambush.

¹³ Rise up, YHWH!
Attack them and take them down!
Wield your sword to save me from the wicked.
¹⁴ Rescue me by your strong hand, YHWH.
Destroy those who look to this world
for their reward.
Give them their bellies-full
of what you’ve stored up for them—
enough so their kids all get plenty
and their grandkids get in on the leftovers.
¹⁵ When you vindicate me
I’ll behold your face.
I’ll be satisfied when I awaken
to the sight of your glorious face.

Behind this plea for justice is the idea of mutual obligation seen in the previous psalm and going right back to God’s covenant with Abraham, where God promised to bless and care for those who obey him. Formidable enemies have accused David of crimes that would cost him his life, such as treason against King Saul. Like a powerful lion, they want to devour him.

David appeals to heaven’s high court because he’s not guilty, and he’s clearly not finding justice down here. Thankfully, God, who is just and compassionate, sees all. And his verdict is final. So David asks God to examine him thoroughly—even to surprise him, examine him when impression management is out of the question. He wants just one thing to come out: the truth.

Then in language that evokes the Exodus, David prays for vindication, deliverance, and judgment on his enemies. As with Israel at the Red Sea, powerful enemies have tracked him down, cornered him, and are about to destroy him. His only hope is the God who delivers all the oppressed who seek shelter in him. David cries out to him, fully convinced that—as in the Exodus—God’s face will shine on him at the break of day and YHWH will prove to be all he needs and more.

Prayer:

Jesus, you don’t tolerate slander or oppressive lies because they destroy not just the weak, but the strong too. You suffered the brunt of such falsehood so that you could vindicate, deliver, and richly bless your poor and judge their enemies. Smile on us, I pray. Amen.

During your free moments today, meditate on these words:

When you vindicate me
I’ll behold your face.
I’ll be satisfied when I awaken
to the sight of your glorious face.

You are my everything!

We so easily fall prey to the gods of our age: materialism, sensualism, hedonism. But as in David’s day, nothing compares with the joy of knowing God.

A David psalm.

¹ Watch over me, God
for I’ve taken refuge in you.
² I’ve said to YHWH
“You are my master.
I have nothing good in this world
apart from you.”
³ Those in the land who live wholly for you
they are my heroes, my delight.
⁴ Those who run after other gods
are asking for nothing but trouble.
I won’t offer their gods blood libations—
my lips won’t even utter their names!

⁵ YHWH, you are my inheritance
my bountiful cup.
You hold my future in your hands.
⁶ The land you’ve marked out for me
is pleasant, a rich inheritance.
⁷ I bless YHWH who counsels me
enabling my spirit to teach me by night.
⁸ I’ve made YHWH my sole focus.
With him beside me
I won’t be shaken.
⁹ So my heart is glad
my soul is joyful
and my body rests easy.
¹⁰ For you won’t abandon my soul in Sheol
or let your holy one rot in the grave.
¹¹ You show me the path of life.
In your presence is joy unbounded
at your right hand pleasures unending.

In ancient Israel, servants owed their masters absolute loyalty, while masters were bound to protect and provide for their servants. David begins this psalm, like many others, seeking God’s protection. Then he professes his devotion to YHWH and recounts his divine master’s bountiful provision for him.

Just like many Christians today, the ancient Israelites often served other gods along with God. The main difference is that their gods came with physical idols, while our seductive gods—materialism, sensualism, and hedonism—do not. David knows worshipping other gods ultimately leads to disaster. Inspired by his heroes, those fully devoted to YHWH, David totally renounces all false gods.

What draws us to other gods is thinking they’ll meet needs we can’t trust God to meet. David says YHWH meets all his needs and more besides—and God holds David’s destiny in his hands. David acknowledges the goodness of God’s many gifts: where he’s put him, his constant guidance, and his unfailing support. With so loving and gracious a master, David is determined to look to him always and trust that he’ll keep him from falling. David lives in the confidence that, far from abandoning him to death, God will show him the pathway to endless life in his bountiful care.

But David doesn’t have everything going his way. He isn’t free from suffering: he’s clearly facing opposition and the threat of death. For David, as for us, suffering and glory often go together. And David’s abundance and security aren’t the result of his having achieved all his goals, but rather of his entrusting his whole life to God.

David goes far beyond just talking about God’s sure protection and generous provision. He speaks about his beloved as a lover does. He savors the joy of being in God’s company since God himself is his sustenance and his life. Living in God’s presence is in itself his reward.

Prayer:

Like every addiction, Lord, materialism, sensualism, and hedonism demand ever more and more while giving me less and less. By contrast, you truly offer me a life without lack. Keep me loving you always, entrusting my life to you, confident that your love and care will never fail. Amen.

During your free moments, pray these words:

You show me the path of life.
In your presence is joy unbounded
at your right hand pleasures unending.

Welcomed at God’s table

Many people think God’s primary concern for us is rule-keeping when it’s really our personal character: the kind of values we live by and the kind of people we’re becoming.

 A David psalm.

¹ What kind of person do you welcome
to stay in your tent, YHWH?
Who may live on your holy hill?

² A person of integrity
who does what’s right
and speaks truth from the heart.
³ Who doesn’t slander
harm their neighbor
or hurt their reputation.
⁴ Who loathes depraved people
and honors God-fearers.
Who keeps their oaths—no matter what—
refusing to go back on their word.
⁵ Who lends to the poor
without charging interest
and refuses to rob the innocent of justice
for a bribe.

The person who lives like this
will never be shaken.

In the ancient world, entrance liturgies listed the external rites required for admission to the god’s sanctuary and ended with a threat if the conditions weren’t met. By contrast, David’s focus is on the moral character and behavior needed for inclusion in God’s household. And David ends with a promise, not a threat.

The tabernacle wasn’t just the tent devoted to God’s worship. It was also his royal residence. Every Israelite was called to be God’s servant, and kings in the ancient world included their devoted servants in their household, as Saul included David in his. Inclusion in a royal household promised face-to-face encounters with the king, whose bounty could be life changing. So, asking what kind of servant God looks for is vital.

Broadly, God seeks those who live to please him and, implicitly, ask his forgiveness when they fall short. After all, the tabernacle is where God forgives sins. While his standards are high, God doesn’t demand perfection and knows we can’t love our neighbor in our own strength.

What specific qualities does God look for? David alternates between positive and negative characteristics, they being equally important. Positively, God welcomes those who have integrity, do right, speak honestly, loathe the loathsome, honor the God-fearing, and keep their word. Negatively, they don’t slander, harm others, gossip, take advantage of the poor, or take bribes to pervert justice. God welcomes at his table only those who seek to live by his values.

David’s underlying point is that we can know what to expect of YHWH, who doesn’t cut deals with evildoers or withdraw his welcome from those who, by his grace, live as the psalm describes. Because of his own brokenness, Saul withdrew his welcome from David, making David flee for his life. Canaan’s gods were equally capricious. But not YHWH. Whoever loves him and their neighbor like this will never fall from his favor.[1]

Prayer:

Lord, you ask me to present myself a living sacrifice, even as Jesus did. Help me to see as he saw, love as he loved, hate as he hated, and please you in all I do. Make me holy as you are holy, so I may know the joy of serving in your kingdom and feasting at your table. Amen.

In your free moments today, meditate on these words:

The person who lives like this
will never be shaken.

[1] David’s promise completes the Psalter’s progression from the threat of being shaken in Psalm 13:6 and the observation that God sides with those who seek him in Psalm 14:5.