Psalm 18:1-15
English Standard
Version (ESV)
The Lord Is
My Rock and My Fortress
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, (A)the servant of the Lord, (B)who addressed the words of this(C)song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of
all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
18 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my (D)rock and my (E)fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my (F)rock, in (G)whom I take refuge,
my (H)shield, and (I)the horn of my salvation, my (J)stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is (K)worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
2 The Lord is my (D)rock and my (E)fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my (F)rock, in (G)whom I take refuge,
my (H)shield, and (I)the horn of my salvation, my (J)stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is (K)worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 (L)The cords of death encompassed me;
(M)the torrents of destruction assailed me;[a]
5 (N)the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
(M)the torrents of destruction assailed me;[a]
5 (N)the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 (O)In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his (P)temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
to my God I cried for help.
From his (P)temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth (Q)reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,[b]
and devouring (R)fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He (S)bowed the heavens and (T)came down;
(U)thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on (V)the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his (W)canopy around him,
thick clouds (X)dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
(Y)hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,[b]
and devouring (R)fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He (S)bowed the heavens and (T)came down;
(U)thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on (V)the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his (W)canopy around him,
thick clouds (X)dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
(Y)hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13 The Lord also (Z)thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his (AA)voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his (AB)arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and (AC)routed them.
15 Then (AD)the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your (AE)rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of (AF)the breath of your nostrils.
and the Most High uttered his (AA)voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his (AB)arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and (AC)routed them.
15 Then (AD)the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your (AE)rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of (AF)the breath of your nostrils.
Often times in our
society today people seem to think that it is okay to do whatever they want
because God is a loving God. They seem
to equate love with gentleness, giving us what we want, having our finger
wrapped around someone’s little finger, etc.
The list goes on at the things we equate love with. Rarely in today’s society do people actually
believe discipline is a sign of love. They
seem to think that if they want their child to love them they have to show
their love to their child by letting them have and do what they want. WRONG!!!!!!!
Today in these few
verses we see that God was a God to David that gave him strength during his
time of distress. God was someone that
David could call upon, the only one he could truly trust with all
confidence. That is a God of love. David didn’t just call upon the Lord in his
distress but he also confessed to Him during his times of failure to live up to
what God had called him to be. Often
times I think we tend to put God on the back burner until we need something and
then we call upon Him. That is not what
we should be doing, we need to seek Him daily, confess to Him daily, hourly, every
minute . . . whatever is needed. We need
to live and breathe for our Lord and Savior and then, the loving God that He is
will protect us from our enemies.
Let’s briefly look at
the contrast. He can call down hail,
coals of fire, and lightning all at the sound of His voice. He utters the word and His judgment will
strike. He is a loving God yet He knows
who He is and He knows whose is His. If
people want to deny Him, He lets them yet judgment will someday befall
them. I know without a shadow of a doubt
that I NEVER want to displease God yet, every time I do, I know, that I am
covered by the blood of Jesus who I have claimed as my Lord and Savior. I strive to live a life that is pleasing to
Him but when my humanness pokes its ugly head out, I know my Savior is there to
rescue me.
What about you? Are you one who denies there is a God? You may say that you know there is a God but
you just want to live life to the fullest and you don’t have time for Him. If that is how you believe, then you are just
as much an enemy as the one who denies there is a God. God does not want just part of you, He wants
all of you. He doesn’t want you to call
upon Him only in times of distress but He wants you to seek Him daily. Daily recognize that He is God, a loving God,
a righteous God, and a God who will call judgment upon all those who deny
Him. Seek Him, Know Him, and Rest
assured in His Everlasting Love for you.
Seeking Him with all my
heart,
Sheila
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