This tremendous psalm is an almost exact repeat of II Samuel 22.  It most probably came toward the end of David’s life in the full flavor of His “father stage” (Z-Life).  He had passed through most of his “children moments” (A-Life) and had largely experienced the ambitions and frustrations of the “young man’s glories” (O-Life).  He had discovered that life is a 70 to 80 year “problem” and no one was going to solve it in 30 to 40 years!

 The passage falls roughly into three main divisions with a brief introduction and conclusion, giving us five sections.  We do not want to make this too rigid but most expositors would concur to these five divisions.  The following is my impression of all 50 verses in outline from Psalm 18.

 I.  My Hope and His Response: The Person of Grace (vv 1-3)

II. My Despair and His Revelation: The Presence of Grace (vv 4-19)

III. My “Yieldedness” and His Purposes: The Promises of Grace (vv 20-29)

IV. My Calling and His Battle: The Power of Grace (vv 30-45)

V. My Praise and His Victories: The Praise of Grace (vv 46-50)

 I concentrate my thoughts here on a few key verses in Part IV, vv 30-36.  To me, it contains the essence of the whole psalm: I have an Invincible Commander!  He knows how to equip me for triumphant battle as He leads me into and through the cosmic conflict that no human being can escape!  Remember, the enemies or foes we fight against include the demonic, the world system and the flesh- both ours and others.

 Verses 28-29 set the stage: 

1. He Enthrones Me- No Better Truth- My Heart is on Fire
2. He Amazes Me- No Better Light- My Eyes See the Ultimate
3. He Leads Me- No Better Strategy- My Game Plan is Flawless
4. He Enables Me- No Better Ability- My Impossibilities are Possible

 The overall theme of the passage is gratitude.  David has endured a great battle against the forces that would destroy him and his goal of living life as the Lord’s triumphant warrior.  As a follower and disciple of the true God, he accepts his call to battle.  David is filled with praise that the Lord has heard his call for help and strength and the resultant deliverance and victory. 

With this mindset, we are ready to enter the contests of life.  We can endure and fight with confidence.  We are equipped with the precision weapons with which to attack and beat down all the evils that come against us and rise up within us!  Again, like an athletic coach, the Savior gets you ready to compete to win.  The training is tough, relentless, exhausting and demanding, but He knows what it will take for us to make “the big plays.”  All we need to do is YIELD to His disciplines, TRUST His promises and GROW in His mind! 

Armed with this vision, we can awaken every morning as a warrior of Christ…ready to do battle with whatever comes against us.  We should not see the new day as bringing more problems to carry but more victories to win!  You don’t live with bored resignation but anticipative exhilaration.  I believe this is exactly what the Great Fisherman had in mind in I Peter 4:1-2.  We are to have an “armed attitude.”  The more we grasp the wonders of the Father’s purpose, the Son’s person and the Spirit’s power the more we are intoxicated with His will and see our own desires as irrelevant! 

Let’s look with precision at these weapons of liberation that empower and enable us in our “call to battle (vv 30-36)!” 

Verse 30 

E. He Perfects Me- No Better Options- My journey is complete in Him
F. He Informs Me- No Better Insight- My information is flawless
G. He Takes Care of Me- No Better Protection- My enemies can’t have me 

Verse 31 

H. He Alone Qualifies as God- No Better Authority- My Life is Solved
I. He is the Only “Rock God”- No Better Certainty- My Confidence Soars 

Verse 32 

J. He Arms Me- No Better Provision- My Strength is Sufficient
K. He Designed Me- No Better Architect- My Existence is Right 

Verse 33 

L. He Gives Me “Jet Speed”- No Better Offense- My quickness amazes
M. He Reveals “My Big Picture”- No Better Vision- My Awareness Thrills 

Verse 34 

N. He Trains Me- No Better Conditioning- My readiness Excites
O. He Equips Me- No Better Arsenal- My competence encourages 

Verse 35 

P. He Shields Me- No Better Defense- My victories rejoice
Q. He Authenticates Me- No Better Position- My qualifications invigorate
R. He “Meeks” Me- No Better Promotion- My leadership reigns 

Verse 36 

S. He Educates Me- No Better Learning- My wisdom is explosive
T. He Hedges Me- No Better Path- My boldness propels 

The Precision Disciple appropriates all of his weapons in Psalm 18.  He adds the seven pieces of armor of Ephesians 6:14-18 and he is careful to have the armed attitude of I Peter 4:1-2. 

In the words of J. Sidlow Baxter, “The Disciple’s Battle Call” is a call to reality in Christ living and human triumph.  May all of us joyfully heed this triune message of Psalm 18: 

Conflict Inescapable!

Alliance Invincible!

Victory Inevitable!

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army, by Tech. Sgt. Keri S. Whitehead

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