To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:
We can learn a lot about David just from the title of this Psalm. David wrote this Psalm to the God, the chief musician. David considers himself to be a servant of the Lord. David wrote and spoke these words on a special day in his life when the Lord delivered him from his enemies and from Saul. The Psalm is almost identical to Psalm sung by David at the end of his life (2 Samuel 22). This seems fitting that David would feel as though he were delivered from his enemies at the end of his life.
1 I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
David begins by singing of his love for the Lord. His love had begun long ago. The Lord brought him from being a humble shepherd boy and guided his life through many incredible adventures. David's love was not a cry of relief in having survived it but a cry of genuine love for his God who was part of his life all the way through.
David declares God to be his Strength, his Rock, his fortress, deliverer, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold. This describes the way that God led David through life. He held him up when he was week, protected him, saved him and provided a hiding place for him. He delivered David from himself, from his sin and from his enemies. David knew all through his life that the Lord was worthy to be praised. Previously he worshiped in faith. Now he worshiped God from his experience. He knew firsthand that the Lord had saved him from his enemies.
4 The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
We know David didn't always have this praise on his lips. He wasn't always sure that God would physically deliver him from his enemies. Many times David felt that death surrounded him and the spiritual enemies were everywhere. He knew what it was to be depressed, scared, lonely, spiritually drained, physically ill and beat down. The pangs of death, floods of ungodliness, sorrows of Sheol all caused distress in David's life.
What David did consistently was call on the name of the Lord. In spite of his circumstances he consistently brought them to God and knew that God heard him.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O LORD,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
These are graphic and amazing. What we have to decide is if this is poetic language that David uses to describe the movements and intervention of the Lord. The earth shakes, there is smoke and fire. He came down with darkness under His feet and rode on the cherub; there was lightning and He hid in the darkness. And then He vanquished them. When God moves and speaks even the channels of the sea are uncovered and the foundations of the world are there for everyone to see.
God moved on behalf of David. God literally moved heaven and earth when he used the earth, sea, wind, heaven and the skies to deliver David. All these movements are epic in proportion and supernatural actions. God moves in biblical proportions.
16 He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the LORD was my support.
19He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
God moved on behalf of David. He sent, He took, He drew and He delivered. David knew he had no ability to be saved from all the enemies that surrounded him in his life. He felt as though God drew him out of the many waters that were drowning him. The Lord supported David when he was confronted in his time of calamity. God pulled David out of danger and put him in a broad (safe) place. He delivered David because He delighted in him. The Lord will delight in any of us who pursue Him and pursue his righteousness. When we are saved and identify with Jesus Christ we are clothed in his righteousness. The Lord delights in us like a doting father loving on his little ones.
20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23 I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
24Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
Were David's hands clean? David wasn't saying that he had never sinned or that he was perfect in any way. David was no different from us in that he had no real righteousness of his own. However, he had kept the ways of the Lord. He didn't act wickedly at the many opportunities that he may have had. David was diligent to guard his ways, his mind and his heart by keeping the statutes and the ways of the Lord always before him. We know there were times that David's hands weren't clean. And David received serious punishment for the sins in his life. These punishments kept him from repeating those same sins.
Our righteousness is found in the grace of our Lord Jesus. We also should guard our heart and mind and keep our eyes on the Lord and walk in His ways.
25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
27 For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.
God often treats men the same way that they treat others. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you (Matthew 7:2). Those who are loving, merciful and full of grace will know a God who is loving, merciful and full of grace. The man that is devious, without mercy and love will feel as though God is devious, without mercy and without love. They will feel that God is harsh and mean. You have to be careful with this section because the wicked man won't make God respond wickedly. Yet, the wicked man may see God in a wicked way because of the judgments against him or the consequences for his sin. God saves the humble and He humbles the haughty.
28 For You will light my lamp;
The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by You I can run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
30As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the LORD is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
God brings light to David's lamp and there is no more darkness. And then David feels physically strengthened by the Lord. God will light the way and give you the strength to accomplish what it is He desires for you. God's word is proven. This means it has been put to the test and is found trustworthy over and over. If we trust in him he will be our shield.
31 For who is God, except the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.
34 He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
36You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.
Who is God? He is the Lord…….What does that mean? We have to come to the complete understanding that He is the Lord of all. He is the creator and sustainer of the universe. David probably had long ago come to that realization but he stated it anyway. This awesome God who is the Lord over all also is very personal. David saw that it was Him who strengthened him and gave him the swiftness of a deer and strength to bend a bow. God also protected David. It was by the right hand of God that David was given the strength to go on. God's gentleness made him great. That's an amazing statement. How does God's gentleness make a man great? Is it the peace we have in life or the assurance that comes from knowing God? With that peace and assurance we no longer have to find our way and overcome our enemies. Our works can cease and our war is over because we realize we can never work hard enough or war long enough to win in our own strength. Instead we rely on God and he doesn't just smash the world and hammer us into submission, but he gently changes us, transforms us into the image of Christ.
37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
38 I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out, but there was none to save;
Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.
42Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I cast them out like dirt in the streets.
David saw God's hand and guidance in all that had happened with Saul. His life was continually threatened by Saul and others around Him. God had told David he would be the king and one by one the problems were dealt with. All his enemies were dealt with by the power of God through David's life. He gives God all the credit.
43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
You have made me the head of the nations;
A people I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners submit to me.
45The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.
The strivings of the people were those who didn't support David and had other plans for a king. But God made David the head of the nations. God made David's name great among the nations. They served David because David served God.
46 The LORD lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;
48 He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
49Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.
God was alive and active. This is a revelation to many who see God as cold, uncaring and a million miles away. "My Rock" is a place to hide; it is a place of shade; it is a fortress; it is protection. All that had happened in David's life was because of God and David gives his thanks to Him, not just to the Jews as a God of the Jews, but among all the world as the God over all.
50 Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forevermore.
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