A Devotional Thought From Psalm 18:44–50
Psalm 18:44–50
44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me:
The strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45 The strangers shall fade away,
And be afraid out of their close places.
46 The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock;
And let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God that avengeth me,
And subdueth the people under me.
48 He delivereth me from mine enemies:
Yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me:
Thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen,
And sing praises unto thy name.
50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king;
And sheweth mercy to his anointed,
To David, and to his seed for evermore.
Psalm 18 is a bit of a rock Psalm.
It started in verse 2,
“The Lord is my rock...” Psalm 18:2
I suppose that David could have in mind the caves that were his home while hiding from Saul. Those rocks provided him a haven from the elements and a hiding place from his enemies. Perhaps he thought, “my God is like these rocky caves, he is my security from all my enemies and my shelter from the storms of life.”
A little later in the Psalm, David asks,
“...who is a rock save (or except) our God?" Psalm 18:31
I would like to answer that question, “ain’t no rock like my Rock!”
That is exactly what Moses said too. Moses was the first to compare God to a rock.
“For their rock is not as our Rock” Deuteronomy 32:32
There is nothing that will make you feel safe like being in the saving arms of Jesus!
No wonder the hymnwriter said,
“I will arise and go to Jesus,
he will embrace me in his arms;
in the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms.”
In contrast D.L. Moody while preaching on that phrase, “For their rock is not as our rock” said,
“I have never heard of an infidel going to his grave happily…their rock is not as our Rock and they confess it.”
The last mention of a rock in Psalm 18 is in verse 46,
“The Lord liveth; and blessed by my rock; And let the God of my salvation be exalted.” Psalm 18:46
David points out what makes our Rock so special, he is alive! Paul quoted Psalm 18:49 in Romans 15:9 to show that in Jesus Christ, one of David’s heirs this passage would be fulfilled. Jew and Gentiles will praise our God together in one blood bought family because our Lord lives!
Can you sing this rock psalm with me?