Dwell in the Word: Psalm 18:20-32
Think on these questions as you dwell in Psalm 18:20-32:
1. How does David’s claim of righteousness and clean hands in Psalm 18:20-32 differ from a claim of sinlessness, and what context supports his assertion?
2. What does Psalm 18:25-27 reveal about the character of God in relation to how He deals with the merciful, the blameless, the purified, and the crooked?
3. How does David's declaration of God's unique sovereignty and power in Psalm 18:31-32 serve as a foundation for believers' confidence and strength in times of adversity?
Transcript:
As I said, this is our third episode in Psalm 18. First we took a look at David praising God for his rescue with the first 3 verses of the psalm. And then we dug into verses 4 to 19 and we saw a vivid description of the peril that David was in and we saw that only God could rescue David from this.
As we move on down to verse 20 now, the psalm transitions to contrasting the faithful 1 versus those who are not faithful. The statement that we see right away here is a bold statement, isn't it? The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness, and David says that he was rewarded for the cleanness of his hands." Now, if you're like me, you might read that and think that perhaps that's a little too bold. We know that there is no 1 righteous. There's not even 1. So it's natural for us to balk at anyone claiming to be righteous and clean. But we need to understand that here David is not making a claim that he has never sinned when he makes this statement. We need to contrast David with Saul who is pursuing and oppressing him. Saul was going after David because he was jealous, But David was not jealous of the position that Saul had. In fact, despite the opportunity afforded of him, David did not take Saul's life even though he had the opportunity, and Saul most certainly would have taken David's life. In the circumstances that David is facing, he's an innocent victim. And this is why David speaks this way about himself. He has not departed from God. Even when he was facing hardship, he maintained his adherence to the law of God. And we see, in verse 24, the result of his being faithful to God. David is rewarded according to his righteousness. God remains faithful to him, and as we move to verse 25, we see something about the character of God. We see that with the merciful, he shows himself merciful. To the blameless, he shows himself blameless. And to the purified, he shows himself pure.
The idea here is that those who remain faithful to God, he is faithful to show himself to them. Even though the world is not showing them mercy, God is merciful toward his people. But we see that this is not the case for those who are not merciful. To the crooked, he makes himself seem torturous. While they may be in a position of power over those that they are oppressing, they're not able to escape the righteous judgment of God. An important reminder for us that God is not blind and he is not deaf to how his people are afflicted. And David emphasizes this by continuing with some poetic language. You save the humble but the haughty are brought down. And the language gives us feelings of polar opposites receiving different rewards and punishments, right? We also have this idea of lighting a lamp, bringing light out of darkness, another contrast for us to see. And we see that David receives great confidence because he knows that the Lord is on his side. It says that he can go against a troop and leap over a wall.
Now David isn't saying that suddenly he's faster than a speeding locomotive and can leap tall buildings in a single bound. He's saying that with God by his side, he can stand against anything, and he can wage war against even the strongest fortresses of his enemies. And this all builds to David declaring great truths about God. His way is perfect. His word proves true. And when you take refuge in him, he is your shield. And David makes sure we understand why this is true by asking a question.
Who is God but the Lord? Notice once again that Lord is in all caps. So, who is God but Yahweh? The God who is revealed to his people by name. He alone is God. David is not hoping that some regional pagan small G God is going to defend him. Instead, he trusts in the 1 who created the heavens and the earth, and he knows that he has no other rock and no other fortress than the God who has revealed himself to his people. The only 1 who can rescue him is the 1 who has given him strength and made his way blameless.
As we consider an application for us in this passage then, we see that this is where we can find peace and hope. There is no other God but Yahweh, and He is the 1 who has equipped us and made our way blameless. The only hope we have is that the Lord of heaven and earth, whom we have offended in our sin, has come and taken on our flesh and lived a perfect life in our place. And by faith we receive his righteousness as a gift. So with David, we can say, Who is God but the Lord? And who is a rock except our God, the God who has equipped us with strength and made our way blameless? So may you and I boldly stand on this foundation and may we praise God that he has given us this amazing gift of his salvation.
