The Pilgrim Path---Psalm 18:1-27 (5--26--20)

VERSES: 1, 21, 27...(Please get your Bible to look at the passage)

"I love you, O LORD, my strength...For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God...For you save humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down."

The titles to these Psalms are quite ancient. You find in Psalm 18, David's strain under the stress of enemies (especially Saul). We aren't typically as moved as David. Forgetting that David's foes at times---wanted to end his life. That is genuinely intense! We also tend to forget that David was on the run from Saul for a very long time. The pressures were real and the life on the road not always accommodating---then, the Philistines. Spurgeon calls this Psalm, "The Great Retrospect." David is showing us by the Spirit of God, just how he "saw" the LORD work---by the eye of faith. The LORD did not exactly "beam Himself down" immediately--- into David's situation---but David knew the LORD helped him. This is amazing imagery inspired by the Spirit of God. The Poet, Warrior, King---is at his best drawing some pictures for the fabric of the soul. Often, when we think the LORD is not at work in our lives---He is really doing some of His most important work (Job 23: 10; Matthew 28: 20).

What I've done is paraphrase some of the text up to verse 27. Grab your Bible and check the flow of the passage. See what David is getting at in the build-up to verse 27. Note the highlights along the way...

---LORD, you are the number One in my Life. Chief love---chief focus

---LORD, only You are my Fortress, Deliverer---No One else can save me! No one else is worthy of worship!

---Death surrounded me---death had me just about in its grip...

---Out of the most awful trouble---I called on the LORD---My God for help. From His Temple He heard with His own ears...

---The LORD made the earth reel, rock, and quake---with His movements of love---to assist me

Smoke came from His nostrils---fire from His mouth! Because he was upset that I was being treated so terribly...

---He came down...He rode a cherub...On the wings of the wind He came down...He knows me...

---He used darkness to cloak Himself---he had hailstones and fire brake out before Him...

---He thundered...His lightnings were like arrows...you could see the channels in the sea---the foundations of the earth---That's what God's rebuke reveals!

---The LORD drew me out. He rescued me from those enemies who hated me---who were too much for me!

---The LORD put me where I could breathe---because He delighted in me...

---He dealt with me according to my desire to walk with Him...

---His just decrees were before me. I did not want to put those decrees away...

---With the merciful you show yourself merciful...

---Humility catches your eye---the proud you cast off

Who does the LORD rescue? Verse 1, reminds us---this blessing begins with those who love the LORD. He is their, "Pearl of Great Price." Jehovah-Jesus is to them, the real treasure. Verse 21, tells us the one rescued, is the one who walks in The LORD'S paths (as opposed to the world's). David is not saying he is perfect---he is saying he had made a choice. He had decided to follow the LORD. He fell, the LORD picked him up---he continued to follow. We have One who has "perfectly kept" the Law for us---Jesus Christ the LORD. He draws us on, by the Spirit in a path of obedience. Verse 27 tells us that the humble are saved---so it is: the poor in spirit know their need---and retreat to the Redeemer always! Proud, self-absorbed people will never survive---not to the Judgment Seat.

Pandemic times, with economic change, health scares, schedule chaos, and planning disruption---have made us go to what lasts. God and His Word endure---the souls of people endure. As the month of May comes to a close, ask yourself where your biggest investments are going (time, talent, treasure).

"A Christian must look at the trouble with one eye, and to God with the other. See God to be your salvation. Let the trouble be what it will, if God is your deliverer." Rcihard Sibbes

"When David nearly plunged into the gulf of death, he raised his heart to heaven in prayer. Such an example of true faith is set before our eyes so that no calamities, however great and oppressive, may hinder us from praying. Prayer brought David the wonderful effects of which he later speaks, when his deliverance was effected by the power of God." John Calvin

"Lord, the very fact that another day has been added to my life is due to your undeserved mercy and active presence. As I age another day, let me grow in the knowledge that I am completely and fully loved, despite my flaws and failures, in Christ. Amen." Tim Keller

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home!

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Isaac Watts ( 1674--1748)

The LORD Keep You All, Pastor Jason