Because Jesus Reigns
This morning we’re in Psalm 18, and I want to just set the table for us a little bit here. Psalm 18 is a different kind of psalm than what we’ve seen up to this point, for at least three reasons.
The first reason Psalm 18 is different is because it’s longer. This psalm is 50 verses, which is quite a bit longer than most of the other psalms.
The second reason Psalm 18 is different is because it’s basically a “copy and paste” from 2 Samuel 22. If you turn back in your Bible to the story of David in 2 Samuel 22, you’ll find this exact psalm right there, and it’s placement in 2 Samuel Chapter 22 is strategic (and we’re going to come back to this point).
The third reason Psalm 18 is different is because there aren’t many other psalms in this same genre. You could call this a “royal song of thanksgiving.” The two themes of kingship and praise are combined, and there are times in the psalm when we might think, “Wait a minute, that doesn’t really sound like David.” — and if you think that, I think that’s a good thought, and I want to show you why.
When it comes to the outline, there are just two basic parts: Rescue and Triumph. Part One is Rescue; Part Two is Triumph. And look, I’m not going to be able to say everything that could be said about Psalm 18, but I do want to say the most important thing, and then I want to tell you why it matters.
And before we get started, I want us to pray — and again, I want to ask you to pray. From wherever you’re watching, would you just take a second and ask God to open your eyes to his word. This is actually a prayer from Psalm 119, and it’s really simple. Would you pray this: “Father, open my eyes to behold wondrous things in your Word. In Jesus’s name, amen.”
Thank you for praying that.
Part One: Rescue
And we can see this in verses 1–19.
David begins the psalm with a stack of metaphors of who God is in relation to him. Now God exists outside of us, and he is who he is whether or not we recognize him, but as soon as we recognize God — when we acknowledge that he is real — we then have to give some account for our relationship to him. God is real, and now what does that mean for me?
That is a question that everybody should ask, but what’s fascinating is that too many people don’t. There are too many people who say they believe in God, but then just leave it there. And if that’s you, I want to challenge you to fill in the blanks. If you believe God is real, and you are you — what’s that relationship like? David in Psalm 18 tells us about his relationship to God. He makes ten statements about who the Lord is. The Lord is …
my strength
my rock
my fortress
my deliverer
my God
my rock
The one in whom I take refuge
my shield
the horn of my salvation
my stronghold
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
[you’re supposed to use your imagination here]
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
At the very start here David declares who God is for him, and then for the rest of the psalm he describes what that looks like in action. David was in a difficult spot in verses 4, 5, and 6 — that’s his lament — but he called upon the Lord, he cried out for help, and then look what God. Verse 7 starts this section of dramatic imagery to describe God’s rescue. This is what’s called a theophany. It’s one of those places in Scripture where we see God manifest himself without question. It is God in your face, and in this case, it sounds mythological. Listen to this:
[This sounds like a James Cameron movie.]
There’s thunder and lighting and hail storms, and verse 15:
Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
And at this point, the rescue that David describes starts to remind us about the exodus, when God rescued his people from the Red Sea. And if we think about the Red Sea along with Mount Sinai where God wrapped himself in smoke and descended upon the mountain in fire (see Exodus 19:8), then Psalm 18 very much so reminds us of Exodus!
And I think it’s supposed to. God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt was cataclysmic and unforgettable, and David is claiming that same kind of rescue for himself. What God did at the exodus, God did for me! That’s what David is saying. Same God. Same salvation.
And this makes sense to us when we understand that the exodus is the paradigm for God’s salvation in the Bible. This is what we can expect in God’s salvation. This is the pattern we see at the exodus: it’s God’s beloved is enslaved or attacked by a wicked enemy, so God kicks down the door, triumphs over the enemy, and brings his beloved out safely.
And that’s what we see in verse 19: “He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.” I’m no longer in the path of the sea, or in the valley of the shadow of death, but now my feet are on solid ground! And that’s the Rescue — Part One, verses 1–19. Now here’s Part Two: the Triumph.
Part Two: Triumph
This is what David has been rescued to. It’s what the rescue effects. And this is basically the rest of the psalm, beginning in verse 20.
in verses 20–24 David says more about the nature of his relationship to God.
Then in verses 25–32 he says more about the nature of God himself; and
then in verses 33–45 he talks about what God did for him, and again, in this part the language sounds mythological.
David sounds like a superhero — he is storming the enemy lines; and he’s jumping over walls; he’s running as fast as deer; he’s bending bronze with his hands. He says in verse 35 that the Lord’s gentleness has made him great. And he’s so great, in fact, that he completely overtakes his enemies. Nobody can stand against him, and all the kings and leaders of all the nations bow to him — that’s verse 43. All foreigners, verse 44, all Gentiles, will come and submit to him.
And let me just say step back and say for minute that if we read the Psalms as if they’re mainly about us and our experience, then we’re going to have all kinds of problems with this.
Beyond Our Experience, and David’s Too
What David says about himself here cannot be true of us. We also get that sense in verses 20–24 when he talks about his righteousness and his blamelessness; but that’s especially the case in verses 33–45 when he talks about his supremacy and power over the nations. What David says about himself in this psalm goes beyond anything we experience, and it actually goes beyond David’s own experience.
This is why Calvin comments about Psalm 18 that much of what’s said here “agrees better with Christ” than it does with David. You get the sense when you read Psalm 18 that David is swinging out of his shoes a little bit. And the conclusion of this psalm confirms that. Look what David says in verses 49–50. In reflection upon God’s rescue of him, and his triumph over the nations, David says, verse 49:
For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name. Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.
The word “anointed” in Hebrew is the word for messiah, and when David mentions his “offspring” here he has in mind God’s promise to him in 2 Samuel Chapter 7. We saw that a couple weeks ago, that 2 Samuel 7 is one of the most important chapters in the Old Testament because it’s where God — in line with his promise to Abraham — promises David that he will have an offspring, a son, who reigns as king forever.
That is what David is referring to here. In verse 50, God’s anointed (his messiah) and David’s future son are the same. The “great salvation” God brings to his king, and the “steadfast love” he shows, is not mainly about David’s experience, but it’s about the messiah’s.
Back to 2 Samuel 22
And that’s been understood about Psalm 18 since it’s earliest interpretations. In fact, remember when we started I mentioned that Psalm 18 is taken directly from 2 Samuel 22 in the story of David. The superscript in Psalm 18 — those little words above verse 1 — they tell us that this psalm is what David sang to the Lord after “the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” Second Samuel 22, verse 1 says the same thing.
Which means — and I want you to really get this part — since this psalm is a thanksgiving to God for David’s military triumphs, we would think that in 2 Samuel it would come immediately after those triumphs. That would be like right after Chapters 7 and 8. But it doesn’t show up there.
In the context of 2 Samuel, Chapter 22 where this psalm is found, that is actually at the very end of David’s life, and it comes after his failures and after the rebellion of his sons. This Psalm was written about a high point in David’s life, but its placement in the story of David is at a terribly low point in his life. Now why is that?
It’s because the writer of 2 Samuel wants us to know that although house of David is in shambles, and although David is now too old and feeble to go into battle, and his time on earth is almost over, the promise to David still remains, and David’s hope is not in his current circumstance, or in his current sons, but his hope is in a future son who will one day come.
God rescued David and gave him triumph, but David knows he’s just a type. He’s just a foreshadowing of a greater rescue and triumph that God will give his Messiah.
Like if the Messiah ever found himself enslaved or attacked by a wicked enemy … like maybe the wickedest and worse enemy of all … like maybe death itself. Which is actually what Psalm 18, verses 4–5 sounds like:
The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
Did the Messiah ever find himself in a place like that? He absolutely did. And what did God do? He parted the sea. He kicked down the door. He sent from on high and took him; he reached into the grave, into the darkest dark of death, and he rescued him. God the Father rescued the Messiah Jesus in the resurrection, and he was resurrected for what? To be exalted.
Jesus’s Rescue and Triumph
Remember resurrection and exaltation go together. We saw that in Psalm 16, and we see it again in Psalm 18. David’s rescue and triumph points to the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus. That is the greater rescue and triumph to come! It’s that after Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried, after he was held captive in Sheol — he was not abandoned there! But God raised him! God rescued him and then exalted him to his right hand. Which is where Jesus is right now! Jesus right now is exalted and seated at the right hand of God, and what does that mean?
It means he triumphs!
Right now, currently, in this moment, Jesus is the resurrected and exalted King, he is the rescued and triumphant Lord, and he rules over all the nations! How does he rule over the nations? By his gospel advancing in this world, and men and women from every tribe and tongue and nation bow the knee to him.
One day Jesus will come here and physically reign over a new earth, but right now his reign is spiritual — meaning, he reigns through his Holy Spirit, and his triumph extends through the obedience of faith.
How Paul Starts Romans
This is actually so central to gospel doctrine and reality, that the apostle Paul opens the Book of Romans with this. You can go read it, but I’ll just paraphrase for now.
Pauls says in Romans 1, first thing, that he’s a servant of Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. And then he goes on to explain the gospel of God:
He says the gospel is concerning God’s Son, a son who was descended from David according to the flesh, and then who was declared to be the Son of God in power by his resurrection. His name is Jesus, the Messiah, our Lord. Then Paul says that through Jesus, as an extension of his supremacy, Jesus made Paul an apostle, he’s a messenger, to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all nations! — including YOU who belong to Jesus Christ!
That’s Romans 1, verses 1–6, and it’s basically the application of 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18. The fulfillment of Psalm 18 is the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus that is active right now. Jesus, right now, he is ruling over the nations by calling us and effecting in us to turn from our sins, put our faith in him, and glorify God for his mercy.
In fact, Paul actually makes this point in Romans 15 by quoting from Psalm 18. I don’t have time to unpack it all now, but that’s what I wrote to you about on Friday. In short, Paul tells the Gentile Christians in Rome that Jesus has welcomed them and saved them for the glory of God. Their faith in Jesus, because of Jesus’s resurrection and exaltation, it glorifies God. Jesus has led the nations, by his triumph in their faith, to praise God. Jesus is the ultimate worship leader.
This is where I really want to bring it home.
Because Jesus Reigns
Right now, I’m talking directly to the people of Cities Church. Men and women of Cities Church, you Gentiles according to the flesh, Psalm 18 matters for you because your faith, the very experience of your faith right now, is a result of Jesus’s triumph.
And I’m not just talking about your conversion. This is not a one-time thing, but I mean your active faith. Throughout the week, everyday, in every moment, when you are surrendering yourself to the lordship of Jesus, that is because of his triumph. So every time you flee from sin, it’s because Jesus reigns. Every time you humble yourself and serve one another, it’s because Jesus reigns. Every time you bow your heart in prayer and come to God as your Father, it’s because Jesus reigns. Every time you lift your voice in praise to God for his mercy, it’s because Jesus reigns. Every time you long to gather again as the church in worship, it’s because Jesus reigns.
The only reason any of us are Christians is because Jesus reigns — it’s because Psalm 18 is true of Jesus. He is resurrected and exalted. Jesus is raised! Jesus does triumph! So let us give God praise!
And right now that means we’re going to praise him in all the places we’re spread out in the cities, but we will be together again and we will sing of his glory.
