Psalm 18 is missing from my green Bible (the one Elizabeth gave me at Camp Greystone in 1995). It looks like someone took a giant bite out it, like they literally ate Psalm 18. When I turn to Psalm18 in my green Bible, I remember that I read it so many times in the 90’s that the pages became withered and worn and ripped out. Psalm 18 contains some of the most beautiful and powerful statements about God, and so, when I turn there, I must hunt it down in another Bible.
David sang this Psalm to the Lord after He delivered him from his enemies and from Saul. Here are my favorite parts of this Psalm that have sustained me all these years. Here, I learned that God is my strength, my deliverer, and my security.
1 I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop[e];
with my God I can scale a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!