In your Bible, Psalm 18. Psalm 18, we'll look at the first 19 verses tonight of Psalm 18. The Bible says in Psalm 18, let's begin, in most copies of the scriptures, you'll have a title for a lot of these psalms. This is a lengthy title. How many of you, when you look at your Bible, right underneath Psalm 18, you have something that's in maybe finer print. It's a title and a description of the psalm. And so it says here, to the chief musician, a psalm of David to serve the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this psalm in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And so what we see here is we have David singing this psalm to the Lord on the day that he has experienced great victory over Saul, who's given him a lot of grief for a lot of years. And when I'm reading this psalm, I can't help but think about the interview after a great victory. I don't know about you, but I've watched quite a bit of basketball here lately. It's the conclusion of March Madness. And at the end of the game, they interview the winner and the winner has something to say. And lots of folks are really interested in what the winner has to say at the end of a victory. And so David's at this moment, and I will say at the end of the victory, after the victory has happened, David really does have a lot of clarity about the situation and the things that have gone on in the past. Have you ever noticed that you can go through deep and dark, trying, troubling things, but at the end when there's a win, there's a victory, then it's like you look back on it and you look back with clarity and you can honestly say the trouble had its purpose. And the trouble really, as bad as it was at the moment, wasn't as bad as it seemed. And it was part of God's plan and part of something that God was using to bring us to the moment of victory. And as you read this psalm, you can see that and you can see that coming out and David is gonna make a declaration early on in the psalm that because as he looks back at the past and the troubles of the past and how God had brought him through and he's victorious, and victorious primarily because he kept trusting in the Lord. David's gonna say something that's very plain. He says, I will call upon the Lord. What's he saying? He's saying, look, I will from now on. The next trouble I face, I will call, I will, I will, I will. As a matter of fact, we'll see three of these I wills. in this passage of scripture early, we'll take our text and tonight's message is titled this, I will call upon the Lord. I will call upon the Lord. I guess I should start by saying this, you should determine, you should determine that whatever it is that comes down the pike, I will call upon the Lord. Whatever it is that happens, I will call upon the Lord. And we're looking at a man, David. who suffered in lots of ways through life. And God gave him victory and victory and victory and victory. And he says, I will call upon the Lord. We can learn from him. And we can learn from this emphasis. I will call upon the Lord. And we should determine that's what we're gonna do as we deal with life. I will call upon the Lord. Psalm 18, let's read these first 19 verses together. The Bible says, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about, the snares of death prevented me. In my distress, I called upon the Lord. I cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled, the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured. Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down, and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub and did fly. Yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret place. His pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before him, his thick clouds passed, hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the highest gave his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his arrows and scattered them, and he shot out lightnings and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters were sent, the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. He sent from above. He took me. He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy and from them which hated me, for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place. He delivered me. because he delighted in me. Now, when it comes to the passage of Scripture, it's kind of interesting. You read the first six verses, and you're like, man, this is really simple. This is great. This is, as a preacher, when you're trying to, when you want to teach the Word, and you want to describe things, and you want to present the truth that's there, you read the first six verses, and you're like, this is wonderful, and it's easy. But then you go to verse number seven, and it's almost like you're reading Revelation chapter number 11. because you've got earth shaking and foundations and smoke and fire and coals and all kinds of writing with cherubs and it's pretty exciting there for a moment. And I'm excited to share this with you and some things I think will help us as we look at God's word together. I will call upon the Lord. David said, I've seen God be faithful and I want you to know something. As he's getting his interview after the victory, he's like, I want you to know something. From now on, always, forever, it's David's resolve. I will call upon the Lord. I'm just gonna go with God. And I pray you'll determine to do the same thing. Let's look at three things here. Number one, number one, David says, I will love the Lord. I will love the Lord. The Bible says, verse number one, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock. my fortress, and my deliverer." Now he says, I will love the Lord. Now I want to challenge you to do something. Love the Lord. Did you know that occasionally our hearts want to fall out of love with the Lord? Now, we love Him. Why do we love God? Because He first loved us. If you have a heart that's beginning to get cold toward the Lord, I want to challenge you to do something. You find time with God and God's Word, and you're going to find out that you love Him more and more. I was so encouraged on this past Sunday. I was reading through and working through the book of Nehemiah and the mercy of the Lord in the worship service that the church, the people, the Jewish people in Nehemiah's day, they were having and they recalled the mercies of God, the mercies of God, the mercies of God, the mercies of God, the mercies of God. As they were recalling, as I was studying and reading it, I was just thrilled. I was thrilled in my heart again to be reminded of how merciful God is and how faithful God is to forgive us. Can I tell you something? loves you, and He is merciful to you, and He is gracious to you, and though you don't deserve it, and you know lots of the times you don't deserve God's mercy, grace, and forgiveness, He is. And when you keep reminding yourself and are reminded as you study the scripture of the goodness, graciousness, the long-suffering nature of God, you're going to get to the place where you love Him. And David says, look, I've not always been perfect. I've been far from perfect, and I remember as I was studying this psalm, I remember so many times through the other psalms that David would say something like, God, how long? How long is it gonna be until you do something for me? How long? My soul is overwhelmed. And he talked about these things all the time, but he says, I want you to know something, I will love the Lord. You know, the devil's gonna send things along, and he's gonna want to tempt you to not love the Lord. Let me tell you something, it's a foolish decision to turn your back on the God who'll never turn his back on you. David says, I will love the Lord. He says, I'm gonna love the Lord, but it's not without reason or cause. One reason is he's just experienced great victory over King Saul, but some other things, he says, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. I love the idea that the Lord is our strength. The Bible says that God will strengthen you. He'll strengthen you. God gives us strength. I'll just tell you, when we need strength, we need to get it from the Lord. When we need strength, we need to get it from the Lord. I want you to look at the same chapter over at verse number 36. This is a really beautiful picture that God gives us. David, in the same type of context, he's talking about the Lord and how the Lord strengthens us. He says, Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. Now, how do you think about this for a second? Here's David saying, I'm just going to tell you what God did for me. He says, God, I know what you've done. He said, you've enlarged my steps so that my feet didn't slip from underneath. And I think this is kind of, I got this mental picture of God making David's feet actually bigger and wider so that they didn't slip. He said, you've done something that is supernatural through me. You've given me strength that is beyond my strength, ability that is beyond my ability. And I know for a fact that we need it. And something that's amazing to me is we can love the Lord because he's our strength. God gives us strength. God gives us strength that we don't have in ourselves, and we can trust him. I will love the Lord. He says, you're my strength. The Lord, verse number two, is my rock. The Lord is my rock. The word rock here, it kind of gives the idea of shelter. And the whole world could be crashing down around you, but it won't crash down on you because, God, you're rock when we love the Lord. He says, I love thee, you're my strength, you're my rock. He says, and my fortress, and my fortress. I like the word fortress. When I see the word fortress in my mind, I'm surrounded by impenetrable walls. But when I see the word fortress, I know that there's trouble and danger and the enemy on the outside, but I can sleep and rest because I'm inside of the fortress. I'm covered in God's love. I love the Lord. He's our fortress. you know The great care that the Lord gives us, he says, I'm gonna love the Lord, he's my fortress. Look what else it says in verse number two, the Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my deliverer. I love the idea that the Lord's our deliverer. Now you know there were seasons in David's life, he's gonna talk about them in a few minutes. There were seasons in David's life where he thought, my, I'm in big trouble, I may not make it out of this. But now he's looking back, he's like, oh, I see, God, you delivered me. You delivered me from this mess. You've delivered me. And He is our deliverer. I will love the Lord because He's my strength, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. I will love the Lord. Do you love the Lord? Do you want to love the Lord? Has your love grown cold toward the Lord? Now look, you should get very concerned. When the Holy Spirit puts in your heart, hey listen, you've started to get cold in your love toward me. You know what's amazing? When our love begins to get cold towards the Lord, God is ready and willing to prove himself, to encourage us, to strengthen us. We just need to seek him. We just need to seek Him. I will love the Lord. David said, look, I've looked back through all the troubles and I've come out on the victory side. He says, I don't care what anybody says, I will forevermore love the Lord because He's faithful. Number two, not only will I love the Lord, number two, I will trust the Lord. I will trust the Lord. The Bible says in verse two, the Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust. I will trust. I will trust the Lord. Now, I'll tell you, it happens to all of us that there are circumstances that come up and we can't really see through them. And our trust is broken. Tempted to turn from I can't trust but David said look I will trust the Lord I think about so many times in David's life being chased by Saul I think about the moment that David just now beginning to realize that Saul is out to get him and The thing that breaks my heart about about David and Saul and I know it broke David's heart worse than it does mine But the thing that breaks my heart about David and Saul is that David had such a love and esteem for this man he had such a loving statement and the devil's it was in Saul's heart and saw turned on David and the gut-wrenching nature of being turned on by somebody that you have such love for is just absolutely brutal it's absolutely brutal and actually being betrayed by other people is something that the devil likes to use to cause us to make us feel like somehow we're being betrayed by God But let me remind you of something. The key statement that I just said was, the devil uses that. There's never going to be a moment that God has turned his back on you. There may be circumstances of life that are full of hurt that you don't understand the ins and outs, the whys. But I can guarantee you this, God has not forsaken you. And David says, there were moments and seasons where I thought, that day that Saul tried to pin me to the wall with a spear, and all I was trying to do was play a harp and comfort the man. He said, I was tempted to turn my back on God, but I've seen the beginning, the middle, the end. and we've come to the course he says until I'm one of the who I will trust, my buckler, he says I'm gonna trust him, he's my buckler, this word buckler is the same as a shield, it was a specific type of shield, it was probably a smaller shield but it was a buckler, the buckler was a tool that protected The soldier, he says, the Lord's my buckler. The buckler, the key, the thing that, on the shield, the buckler that is most interesting to me is, how many of you have ever seen the shield that's got the round, like the half round, like the dome in the middle of it? You put this on your arm, and it's got this half round dome on it. It's got a rounded shape. The reason it's shaped like that is it's made to deflect and I'm gonna trust the lord because the lord's really good at causing the shop from the enemy to deflect no one I will trust the Lord. He's my strength. He's my buckler. Look what else it says in verse number two. I will trust my buckler and the horn of my salvation. The horn of my salvation. Now I want you to know, the jury is out on what exactly the horn of my salvation means. Let me give you some ideas. I think they're all great and they all can apply very well. The first thing is a horn, and I believe this is absolutely certain, the horn represents strength. The horn represents strength. The horn on a goat is strong. The horn on a steer is strong. A horn is something that's hard and strong, a horn. So we have this idea that he is the horn of our salvation. He is the strength of our salvation. I think the one that I like the most, and it has to do with strength, but a horn, often in the scriptures you talk about a horn as something that was a strong carrying case. You carried valuable things in a horn, a horn of oil. You carried in a hollowed out horn made a great thing for carrying something valuable. A lot of folks used, when they're shooting black powder guns, they used a powder horn. And I've actually seen, held, and maybe even at one time had a powder horn, an actual horn. And it was a strong thing to carry it in. So when the Bible says that God is the horn of our salvation, If it's exactly what it means here, it is a very relevant illustration to how God is. He's the horn of our salvation. He is the strong thing that holds our salvation. Let me tell you something. If Jesus Christ holds your salvation, your salvation is very safe in Him. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. And I think that as David was talking about the Lord being the hoard of his salvation, I think that he felt very confidently that the Lord held his salvation with great certainty. And he says, because he's the horn of my salvation, I will trust the Lord. I will trust the Lord. He also says this in verse number two. He says, the horn of my salvation and my high tower. I like to think about the fact that the Lord is our high tower. The high tower in this setting, he's talking about fighting and war and battle. that if you have a high power you have an advantage you could see a long way off it's like a tree stand for deer h That if you'll choose the Lord, if you'll trust the Lord, He will be your high tower. If you'll trust the Lord, He will give you advantage. Let me tell you, every person I've ever met that is determined with their life, even in the midst of dark things, to trust the Lord, they found out that He is an advantage to them. It's a great advantage to trust the Lord. It's a great advantage to trust the Lord. You know what the devil, the lie the devil wants to sell you? He tells this all the time. He tells all the time, look, if you trust the Lord, if you go God's way, God's route, if you have a faith emphasis, I mean, you're at a great disadvantage. I mean, if you go the world's route, you can just do the math. Let me tell you something, anytime you choose the world's philosophy and logic against and over faith in God, trusting in the Lord, you have lost God as your high tower, your advantage He says, I will love the Lord. I will trust the Lord. Finally, number three, he says, I will call upon the Lord. I will call upon the Lord. The Bible says in verse number three, he says, I will call upon the Lord. who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies. What's he say? He says, I'm gonna call upon the Lord. How many of you have sang that kid's song? We sing, I will call upon the Lord, and I love it. As I read this verse, it just, it goes, it comes in my mind, and you repeat, I will call upon the Lord, I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved, so shall, you get it. I will call upon the Lord. Then you go, the Lord liveth and blessed be the rock. All right, enough of that. It's true. I will call upon the Lord. Now look, you're gonna be tempted. I'm gonna tell you, you're gonna be tempted. You're gonna be tempted to call somebody bad names and bad words, but David says, I will call upon the Lord. You're gonna be tempted. to call on something that is less than righteous. God says, I will call upon the Lord. David reminds, I will call. He says, I will call upon the Lord. I'm gonna call when I have need, I'm gonna call on the Lord. When I have a burden, I will call upon the Lord. I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised. Here's what he says, verse four. He says, the sorrows of death come past me. The floods of ungodly being made me afraid. David said, look, it wasn't always easy, but I'm really glad I called upon the Lord. In verse four five, the sorrows of hell compassed me about, the snares of death prevented me. He said, it wasn't always easy, it was really hard, but I will call upon the Lord. He says, as a matter of fact, in verse four six, in my distress, I called upon the Lord. I cried unto my God. Let me tell you something, it's okay. When you find yourself in distress, call upon the Lord, cry to God. Here's what David said, he heard my voice out of his temple. Can I guarantee you something? If you cry to the Lord, he hears your voice. He says he heard my voice out of his temple wherever he was. He heard my cry, my cry came before him. He says my cry came before him even into his ears. Now, I discomforted David somehow just to think that what he had to say, the burden that he bared, the call, the cry that he made, it went into the very ears of God. God heard it. I'll call upon the Lord because I know He hears me. I'll call upon the Lord because I know He hears me. I know He's faithful. And then we get to this last little bit, and it's kind of fun. I don't know if everything David says in these next few verses relates to a moment in his recent past, or if he's just thinking about all the things that God could do. There's an emphasis in these next few verses that I think you should pay attention to. It's the word he. He says, I will call upon the Lord. Why? Because he is Working he says in verse number seven the earth shook and trembled who has the power to shake the earth? He the Lord the foundations of the hills moved and we're saying who has the ability to move the world the earth The Lord because he was wroth Let me tell you something when you call on the Lord God acts and is disdained and displeased with the enemy. He was wroth. Smoke out of his nostrils, fire out of his mouth, devoured coals. Verse 9, he bowed the heavens also. and came down and darkness was under his feet. God was working and moving in the light and the dark and the shadows. We had an eclipse this past week. Unfortunately, it was quite cloudy. We could see it for just a moment from our house. I'm amazed by the eclipse. I was amazed to ride through town and in the middle of the day when the sun should be very bright, the dusk to dawn lights had started turning, coming on. I think that's amazing. But God orchestrates that. You know something that just amazed me? God moves the planets, and he moves it with such precision that people with calculators a lot smarter than me can tell you the exact minute that the solar eclipse will be at its peak directly over your head years in advance. It just happened. Out of nothing came everything and it just happened. It takes a lot of faith to believe that trash. God created us. God created it and God has power over the thunders, the lights, the smoke, the fire, the earth. Verse number 16, He sent from above. He took me, He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me, for they were too strong for me. Verse 19, He brought me forth also into a large place. He delivered me because he delighted in me. I will call upon the Lord. You know why I will call upon the Lord? Why Dave says, I will call upon the Lord? Because he is almighty creator God. He says, I'm just gonna call on the one who's got the power over it all. Look, when we make a terrible mistake, We turn our backs on God. And David says, I'm not going to fall for that trap. He says, I'm looking back, and God's granted me a great victory at this moment in my life. He says, from this point forward, as I'm dealing with trouble and I'm battling through life, he says, I will love the Lord. I will trust the Lord. I will call upon the Lord. I pray God will strengthen your faith and resolve. I hope you'll say, like David, I will. call upon the Lord. It's so good.