Psalm 18

²⁵        With the obedient You show constant love;

with the godly man You show your perfection;

²⁶        with the purified You show your kindness;

but with the devious You seem crafty.

²⁷        For You save a humble people,

but the arrogant You bring down.

²⁸        For it is You who light my lamp;

The Lord my God enlightens my darkness.

²⁹       For by You I can run against a shield wall,

and by my God I can break through that wall.

³⁰       This God – his way is perfect;

the word of the Lord proves true

   He is a shield

for all those who take refuge in Him.

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God Reveals Himself

For the Lord’s Day:  the 9^th of May 2004

Introduction:  Delitzsch tells us that the man being here described as one who “is a friend of God and man … the man of moral and religious completeness, of undivided devotion to God … not one who is purified, but in accordance with the reflexive primary meaning: one who is purifying himself, the opposite of one who is morally distorted, perverse.”  Now remember there are in those few select words and indication of the Gospel that Calvin was so careful to describe in relation to last week’s meditation.  Yet, once again – the grand theme of Psalm One is celebrated in the loving dependant relationship of God’s own man to the very Father of lights as the symbolism here is carefully developed for our benefit.

 

For an ordinarily ponderous German dialect, Delitzsch gets almost poetic in his rehearsal of God’s gracious mercy in our respect in his beautiful commentary on this selection:  “The truth, which is here enunciated, is not that the conception which man forms of God is the reflected image of his own mind and heart, but that God’s conduct to man is the reflection of the relation in which man has placed himself to God.”

 

Now, mine is a crude example to describe what is going on here, but on several occasions I have teased a talkative young lady with dental braces: that every time she spoke there was a sound and light show which overwhelmed my senses.  Given the broken nature of our reflective mirror as image bearers of our Creator, you can begin to appreciate the blessed covering that is Christ: to whom we owe a covering over of our sin and even imperfectly – it is the wholesomeness of His image that the Father sees in us, instead of our sin: once we are in the Lord.

 

And if by providential ordering, I was cut short and could say no more on this passage that would be enough to celebrate our blessed relationship to the God of Creation in and through the greater covering glory of His one and only Son!

 

Development:  But, there is ever so much more here in the blessed poetry of the text.  Let me outline this section briefly.  In verses twenty-five and –six there is a threefold description of God’s relationship to the elect with a final one line contrast of how it is with the wicked.  Verse twenty-seven refines the comparison and contrast.  Then verses twenty-eight and –nine demonstrate the spiritual and material blessings associated with the grand unmerited love of the Father towards His chosen people.  And the last verse, twenty-nine ends this collection with the evidentiary blessings associated with this awesome love, kindness and tender mercy towards us.

 

We begin with the tertiary formula to celebrate God’s ongoing relationship with us.  Years ago, I tried to explain the principles behind my ongoing relationships with the dozens of students given into my care.  I would describe a tile layer’s tool that is composed of multiple wires, held encased with a releasable catch.  The carpenter would cut the linoleum or tile before he laid it down to fit the irregularities of a room, especially around any doors and obstacles at floor level.  He would release the catch on this tool and press the assortment of wires into the area where he needed an impression.  Once the wires reflected the door jamb and molding, he would tighten the clamp and then trace the pattern onto the flooring and thereby cut a perfect fit.  And so I would explain that within certain limits of morality and decorum I would adjust my interest and relationship to each person according to their desires, wants and needs.  Every time, I would have one wiseacre who would observe that if he didn’t talk to me, he wouldn’t expect me to talk to him!  As long as he did his work and met his responsibilities, I would agree.  Others of course would want more input and every year there would be half a dozen or so young people with whom I could be an elderly, grandfatherly type of friend.

 

As we look at these three declarations, let us presume the obvious point that the God of heaven does something similar – drawing as close as we are willing to allow, once we have been introduced.

 

“With the obedient You show constant love;

with the godly man You show your perfection;

with the purified You show your kindness.”

 

My Translator’s Handbook, is careful to observe that in these comparative statements: we should be very careful that any terms which “contain a reciprocal relationship, must often be recast to make explicit the relationship involved … so the translation must carefully distinguish between God’s “faithfulness,” that is, his constant love and a person’s “faithfulness,” that is obedience to God.”  This is why I have made every effort here not to mimic the ordinary translations that use the same word for each type of relationship.  And prayerfully, thereby we may better appreciate the awesome divide between the affection we have for God the Father and the grand and awesome charity given to us in and through Jesus Christ.

 

In the first line we should note that the godly that read, study and live God’s revelation are secure not in that grateful obedience, but in and through the constant love of the Father.  And even as we understand the truth of our dependency we may realize the perfection of holiness in the object of our love and obedience.  And finally because of God’s methodology of purification through trials, tests and all manner of troubles – it is finally and lastly only the result of His great kindness that we stand in this relationship with Him.

 

By contrast we read in line four of these verses the lot of the ungodly.

 

“but with the devious You seem crafty.”

 

Again, my Translator’s Handbook observes: “the last quality is expressed in two different words: for people it is the word ‘crooked;’ for God it is a verb meaning ‘to be wise, astute, cunning.’” 

 

Calvin notes that “the Holy Spirit, in addressing his discourse to the wicked, commonly speaks according to their own apprehension.  When God thunders in good earnest upon them, they transform him, through the blind terrors which seize upon them, into a character different from his real one, inasmuch as they conceive of nothing as entering into it but barbarity, cruelty, and ferocity.”

 

Spurgeon tells us that “the Jewish tradition was that the manna tasted according to each man’s mouth; certainly God shows himself to each individual according to his character.”  Precisely the point that we should take from our meditation to this point!

 

Verse twenty-seven further demonstrates the comparison and contrast between the godly and the wicked:

 

“For You save a humble people, but the arrogant You bring down.”

 

Here we may realize the blessed relationship for all who are willing to admit their sin and seek the forgiveness of God.  They will be saved, David assures us.  But what of the ungodly and the wicked, they will be ruined and brought down.  Their haughty eyes as the Hebrew has it will prevent them seeing the pitfalls of sin, and when they trip up; their eyes, nose and features will be ground into the dust.  I am reminded of an accident I once witnessed at Fort Knox.  A heavy M-60 Tank ran over a Volkswagen.  One minute there was an operating car, the next only a hunk of metal barely six to nine inches thick where the tread had worn it down.  Such is the end of all those who would oppose the will and purpose of the Almighty God of Creation.

 

The next two verses vividly proclaim the spiritual and material blessings of living under the guidance and protection of God. 

 

“For it is You who light my lamp;

The Lord my God enlightens my darkness.

For by You I can run against a shield wall,

and by my God I can break through that wall.”

 

In verse twenty-eight we sense the spiritual dimension of what God has accomplished in giving us a spiritual perception.  All of a sudden, the lights go on as the common English idiom notes it!  You know from the cartoons: a little light bulb appears over a character’s head to demonstrate that they have actually learned or discovered something important.  David here affirms that the switch so to speak is under God’s control.  It is by His power, grace and mercy that we see the truth and come into the light of the gospel.

 

Verse twenty-nine is interesting in so far as to the ordinary ignorance of most scholars with military and agricultural terminology.   The best analogy that my Translator’s Handbook can come up with is “a line of soldiers” or in the modern parlance of a popular book and television series:  “a band of brothers.”  In still other words: the ancient “battle line” or as it was once described in Europe:  the mobile “shield wall” that hunkered itself across the fields in steps measured once by fife and drum.

 

With the right image here, there is all the more poignant the appraisal of God’s greater strength in the last line by comparison.  So David is saying here that by God’s grace: His men may enter into battle in confidence knowing that “the battle [indeed] belongs to the Lord!”  And furthermore that in His perfect will and providence alone, that “wall of shields” may be broken and the scattered remnants of the enemy band may be chased, hunted down and destroyed.

 

Remember the descriptions of Sampson’s exploits and how on one occasion he single handedly destroyed almost a thousand of the Philistines?  In King Arthur’s time the legend has it that by Arthur’s hand alone a similar number of foul Saxon’s were destroyed and thereby peace was won for Britain for another generation.  Again, Shakespeare celebrates the great victory of Henry V at Agincourt when the Christian king defeated forces three to ten times his own numbers!  In Napoleonic parlance – the fighting squares can indeed be broken.  And there at Waterloo the great Napoleon who had once observed that God was on the side of the big battalions – there even he discovered that the allied Army which had recently enjoyed a great Christian revival – that self-same army that relied upon God alone: it could not be beaten!

 

Application:  Awesome indeed are David’s view of the works of our Almighty God!  In our last verse for this morning, David pronounces the perfection of the Lord and affirms that God’s “shield” is absolutely impervious to every enemy of the church in every time and place.

 

“This God – his way is perfect;

the word of the Lord proves true

He is a shield

for all those who take refuge in Him.”

 

David notes well that: “This God” is different from the heathen idols.  He is more powerful than the absolute corruption of Satan - worshiped by liberal socialists, communists and fanatical Muslims.  Calvin tells us that “the way of God” is not here taken for his revealed will, but for his method of dealing towards his people.  The meaning, therefore is, that God never disappoints or deceives his servants, nor forsakes them in the time of need … but faithfully defends and maintains those whom he has once taken under his protection.”

 

What a great God we serve, or rather - in a better reflection of the teaching of this Psalm portion:  what a great God is He who serves us!  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES

Calvin, John:  Commentary on Book of Psalms.

Delitzsch, F:  Commentary on the Old Testament – Psalms.

Spurgeon, C.H:  Treasury of David.

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