The first thing that we have to know about Psalm 18 is that this was written by a young man, David. He had just been freed from Saul and Saul's pursuit of his life. He was being acclaimed as the new leader of Israel, and he was rejoicing and exuberant over the fact that God had delivered him. But Psalm 18 is also used in 2 Samuel 22 as the closing thoughts of an old man who wanted his testimony to stand as a beacon and as a directive for generations to come. And as we come to this psalm, we need to first hear the fresh, exuberant voice of a young David and the reflective and solemn voice of an older man reflecting on his life. Let us give attention to God's Word. I love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge. my shelter and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me. The torrents of ungodliness terrified me. The cords of shale surrounded me, the snares of death confronted me. In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried to my God for help. He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry for help before him came to his ears. This is an astounding testimony by a young man who has finally escaped the pursuit of a king who desired his death. David clearly identifies the deliverance that he has as a deliverance provided by God. and that it is his faith and trust in God and God's plan and purposes for him that in fact has brought about that deliverance. It is the faith and trust and confidence that he has in God because he says literally his situation was that of facing death and death at every turn. It was not just an idea that he could potentially die, but he was being pursued by Saul and by the armies of Saul and by many of the allies of Saul. And so, as we know the history of David fleeing from Saul, we know that death many times was close. It was intimate. He could taste it. Even as he was in the cave and cut the hem of Saul's garment, and declared to Saul, I'm not your enemy, death was close to him. Death was something he lived with every day. He uses the imagery of being, that God is his rock, his fortress, and his deliverer. We know that David hid out. in the hills and the caves and the wilderness in order to evade the scrutiny and the discovery of Saul. He protected his life by using not only the physical environment, but calling upon God to give him that protection. And being, I don't know if any of us have been that close to death. I don't know if any of us have ever had the breath of death breathing upon us. But it's clear that David has known that imminent sense of losing his life and his only solace, his only place to go. was the living God. And God brought to him deliverance. And David acknowledges, had it not been for God, my life would have been lost. And I would have become a victim of the plans and schemes of Saul and his allies. Let's look at verse seven and following. Then the earth shook and quaked and the foundations of the mountains were trembling and were shaken because he, God, was angry. Smoke went up out of his nostrils and fire from his mouth devoured. Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down with thick darkness under his feet. He rode upon a cherub and flew. He sped upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his hiding place, his canopy around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds in the sky. from the brightness before him past the thick clouds, hailstones and coals of fire. 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, and lightning flashes in abundance and routed them. And then the channels of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid bare. And by thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. David is saying that it wasn't just little escapes that God gave him. But he came in the full force and power of nature itself to deliver him. We don't have any accounts of thunder and hailstorms delivering David. We don't have any accounts of floods preventing pursuers. But in David's mind, he is saying that God pulled out every single stop, even riding on the winds, to separate him from his pursuers. And this is the powerful image that David has of how God delivered him. And as Psalm 97 also refers to that burning fire of God and the lightning and the forces of nature being at God's disposal to deliver his people. Thinking back to the psalm that I preached on that declared how nature and God work together as a testimony, as a witness for God, a witness against us, We see here David saying, all of nature rallied itself at the behest of God to protect me. I was in the shadow and the darkness and the sun blotted out my presence so that I could not be found. with storms and torrents to deliver me. God used everything in his creation to prevent me from being overcome. It's an amazing picture. Whether, in fact, there were storms, we haven't been told. Whether, in fact, there were floods, we haven't been told. But we know that God delivered David and protected him and kept him from Saul and his allies to preserve his life in order that he might establish David as king and build the entirety of his future king on the life and the legacy of David. And that's why God went after the enemies of David. Verse 16, he sent from on high and he took me and he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy. and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a broad place. He rescued me because he delighted in me. David's testimony is that God was on his side, that God's favor rested on him, and because of that favor, David was loyal to God beyond all comprehension. There was nothing that would enter his life that could separate him from his dedication to God. And to that end, then, he begins to tell us that the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands, he has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his ordinances were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also blameless with him. And I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore, the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness and according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyes." Now, young David clearly can write this. But an old David? who had the blood of Uriah on his hands, the adultery with Bathsheba, being compromised by his son Absalom. A lot of commentators have struggled with this whole confession that it was because of his righteousness that God came to his defense, to include such commentators as John Calvin. But what David is saying here, as a young man, And he can also affirm as an old man was whatever troubles he had, he never forsook God. He was not so rich and so famous and so powerful that he didn't come face to face with God in his life. That it was his righteousness in attempting to keep the law, in attempting to please God, that transformed him from just another man to a man chosen by God and protected by God and blessed by God, it's an amazing thing. Because when we as believers come to God, we come as broken sinners and declare that our only righteousness is Christ. that our only hope is in the living God, in the sacrifice of Jesus. And yet David is coming boldly to God and saying, because I never forsook you, because I never stopped believing that you were there, because my righteousness reflected your law, including my repentance and penitence for all of my sins. God, you protected me." And that, for a believer, is an incredible testimony before the world. that no matter how flawed we are, no matter how disgraceful some of our actions have been, if God is for you, nothing will be against you. It's amazing. Again, the testimony of David beginning at verse 25, with the kindness that thou dost show thyself kind, with the blameless thou dost show thyself blameless, with the pure thou dost show thyself pure, and with the crooked thou dost show thyself astute. For thou dost have an afflicted people, for thou dost save an afflicted people, but haughty eyes ye despise. For thou dost light my lamp, the Lord my God illumines my darkness, for by thee I can run upon a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. David is saying there isn't anything I can't do because of God's saving grace to me. There's no army I can defeat. There's no critic I cannot silence. There's no plan and scheme against me that can't be broken. And it is an extraordinary testimony for a young man to make. that there is nothing that will ever stop me because of my love for God, because of my faith in God, because of my adherence to his word. And for an old man, as he reflects on his life, He can say, there were times when I was almost overcome, and God and his power brought me through. I thought that this situation in my life was so horrible and awful and despicable, but God delivered me. God brought me to himself. wrapped his arms around me and gave me victory. There are so many people in the world who look at their situation and say, I have no place to go, nothing to do, I'm defeated, I can't find a way out. But that can't be said by any of God's people. Because Jesus tells us that he's prepared a mansion for his people, that he is the way, the truth, and the life. And he doesn't reject anyone who humbly comes to him. Victory is in the blood of Christ for us. And we can overcome the world. David then goes on to talk about what God has given him as abilities to overcome his enemies. the enemies of God, and the enemies of David. As for God, his way is blameless. The word of the Lord is tried. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him. For who is God but the Lord, and who is a rock except our God? The God who girds me with strength and makes my way blameless, he makes my feet like hind's feet, that is, able to scale any obstruction, and sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle so that my arms can bend David isn't saying, I'm great because I'm great. Because Saul has been defeated, he's saying the power of God is available to every single believer in him. And just as God has brought me from dark places facing death, he has in fact set me on a high place and given me that freedom. He has brought to me the riches of his glory, and thy gentleness makes me great." David says, it's all God. I haven't done anything. He's the one. that has come in the storm and the fire and given me victory. Verse 37, I pursued my enemies and overtook them. I did not turn back until they were consumed. I scattered them so that they were not able to rise. They fell under my feet. For thou has girded me with strength for battle. Thou has subdued under me those who rose up against me. Thou hast also made my enemies turn their back to me, and I destroyed those who hated me. They cried for help, but there was none to save, even to the Lord. But he did not answer them. Then I beat them fine as dust before the wind, and I emptied them out as the mire of the street." David doesn't have a very weak view of God and what's required for spiritual victory. David was living the promise of God in all of its power. He knows that God had trained him to be a warrior and he didn't back away from it. He destroyed his enemies. He had no mercy on them because God had no mercy. a real strong thing that we can say these days in public, that God takes retribution on unbelief. But David says, there isn't a single enemy that I encountered that I was not able to destroy. What enemy are you facing? What obstacle is in your path? Who is opposing you? Through our Lord Jesus Christ, we have the victory. Just as David knew God, we know the deliverance of the Lord Jesus. That he's given us the victory. That we are not defeated. We don't have to submit. There's no one who can stand in our way. And so that fear that Satan has put in your heart that there is no solution in your life. He's a liar because there is victory in the living God for his people. Verse 43, thou hast delivered me from the contentions of the people. Thou hast placed me as head of nations. A people whom I have not known serve me. As soon as they hear, they obey me. Foreigners submit to me. Foreigners fade away and come trembling out of their fortresses. David says, the power of God behind me has brought all the nations to my feet. What a message for missions. Anyone who would oppose the gospel of Jesus Christ. anyone who would oppose the testimony of a believer. I've often thought that one of the greatest things that could ever happen is for someone to be called before Congress at this point in time and instead of getting involved in the incipient arguments and banalities of what lawmakers think are important. that there would be a believer who stands in the power of Christ and witnesses to his or her faith and calls every single member to humble themselves before Christ. David says, with God, all things are possible. And as king, he didn't become king so that he could have enormous power, but when he became king, people that he had never known came and humbled themselves before him. and became subject to the truth that was in David's heart. The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation. The God who executes vengeance for me and subdues people under me, he delivers me from my enemies. Surely, thou dost lift me above those who rise up against me. Thou dost rescue me from the violent man. Therefore, I will give thanks to thee among the nations, O God, and I will praise, sing praises to your name. Another doxology, another praise of God. David says those people who have submitted themselves to me is not me. It is the power of God at work in his plan to bring all of the world in submission to the truth and the gospel of the living God. David's not confused. He knows where the power came from. He knows why he's king. He knows what his mission is. And in all of it, he hasn't lost this loving, caring, submissive relationship with the living God. And finally, he gives great deliverance to his king and shows loving kindness to his anointing, to David and his descendants forever. And that's why I read Psalm 112. The theme is there, that posterity will be blessed by you as you live your faith. Those in your house, those in the circle of your friends, those whom you work for, the people that you encounter on a daily basis will be influenced by the power of God within you. And he will bless you. Psalm 112 says, riches and glory and honor and recognition and all of that are yours as a child of God. But we know our real riches are found in heaven. And our real glory is that Christ has died for us. And he's called us into the family of believers. David, as an old man, testified that his entire life he has seen the hand of God touch everything that he's done. From the time Samuel anointed him when he was a child, through the confrontation and victory over Goliath, to running for his life from Saul. David saw the hand of God in all of that. And for a believer, we can see the hand of God bringing us into a loving and caring relationship with Jesus Christ because he's forgiven our sins. He's promised us a new life. He's given us everything that we could ever want or dream of, because we are his. Being older than most of you, I think I'm older than all of you, I can see the hand of God providing for me, giving me the freedom to walk before Him because He's redeemed me. The power is not my intellect. Power certainly is not how adept I am at anything. It is because I belong to Him. David's testimony is my testimony. Is your testimony the same? Let us pray. Lord God, we are humbled because of your greatness. Because of your power. Because you have loved sinners and sent your son to die for them. And raised them in newness of life. Gracious God, empower us with the testimony that we have seen your hand. Bring us from the darkness and the depths near death to the true light and understanding of eternity in you. But these things we pray in Jesus' name.