Psalm 18
May 13, 2007 
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(For the music leader. A psalm by David, the LORD’s servant. David sang this to the LORD after the LORD had rescued him from his enemies, but especially from Saul.)
David’s Song of Thanks
1I love you, LORD God,
and you make me strong.
2You are my mighty rock, [a] my fortress, my protector,
the rock where I am safe,
my shield,
my powerful weapon, [b] and my place of shelter.
3I praise you, LORD!
I prayed, and you rescued me
from my enemies.
4Death had wrapped
its ropes around me,
and I was almost swallowed
by its flooding waters.
5Ropes from the world
of the dead
had coiled around me,
and death had set a trap
in my path.
6I was in terrible trouble
when I called out to you,
but from your temple
you heard me
and answered my prayer.
7The earth shook and shivered,
and the mountains trembled
down to their roots.
You were angry
8and breathed out smoke.
Scorching heat and fiery flames
spewed from your mouth.
9You opened the heavens
like curtains,
and you came down
with storm clouds
under your feet.
10You rode on the backs
of flying creatures
and swooped down
with the wind as wings.
11Darkness was your robe;
thunderclouds filled the sky,
hiding you from sight.
12Hailstones and fiery coals
lit up the sky
in front of you.
13LORD Most High, your voice
thundered from the heavens,
as hailstones and fiery coals
poured down like rain.
14You scattered your enemies
with arrows of lightning.
15You roared at the sea,
and its deepest channels
could be seen.
You snorted,
and the earth shook
to its foundations.
16You reached down from heaven,
and you lifted me
from deep in the ocean.
17You rescued me from enemies,
who were hateful
and too powerful for me.
18On the day disaster struck,
they came and attacked,
but you defended me.
19When I was fenced in,
you freed and rescued me
because you love me.
20You are good to me, LORD,
because I do right,
and you reward me
because I am innocent.
21I do what you want
and never turn to do evil.
22I keep your laws in mind
and never look away
from your teachings.
23I obey you completely
and guard against sin.
24You have been good to me
because I do right;
you have rewarded me
for being innocent
by your standards.
25You are always loyal
to your loyal people,
and you are faithful
to the faithful.
26With all who are sincere,
you are sincere,
but you treat the unfaithful
as their deeds deserve.
27You rescue the humble,
but you put down all
who are proud.
28You, the LORD God,
keep my lamp burning
and turn darkness to light.
29You help me defeat armies
and capture cities.
30Your way is perfect, LORD,
and your word is correct.
You are a shield for those
who run to you for help.
31You alone are God!
Only you are a mighty rock. [c] 32You give me strength
and guide me right.
33You make my feet run as fast
as those of a deer,
and you help me stand
on the mountains.
34You teach my hands to fight
and my arms to use
a bow of bronze.
35You alone are my shield.
Your right hand supports me,
and by coming to help me,
you have made me famous.
36You clear the way for me,
and now I won’t stumble.
37I kept chasing my enemies,
until I caught them
and destroyed them.
38I stuck my sword
through my enemies,
and they were crushed
under my feet.
39You helped me win victories,
and you forced my attackers
to fall victim to me.
40You made my enemies run,
and I killed them.
41They cried out for help,
but no one saved them;
they called out to you,
but there was no answer.
42I ground them to dust
blown by the wind,
and I poured them out
like mud in the streets.
43You rescued me
from stubborn people,
and you made me the leader
of foreign nations,
who are now my slaves.
44They obey and come crawling.
45They have lost all courage,
and from their fortresses,
they come trembling.
46You are the living LORD!
I will praise you.
You are a mighty rock. [d] I will honor you
for keeping me safe.
47You took revenge for me,
and you put nations
in my power.
48You protected me
from violent enemies
and made me much greater
than all of them.
49I will praise you, LORD,
and I will honor you
among the nations.
50You give glorious victories
to your chosen king.
Your faithful love for David
and for his descendants
will never end.
How often do we tell God we love him?
The final verse of this Psalm is relevant to both David and Jesus
We are spiritual descendents of David
God’s love is unfailing. God’s Word, the Bible, shows His love is unfailing
Psalm 18:2 Lead me to draw a picture some years ago I have it in a position in my house where I can see it daily
Verses 3 and 6
In this Psalm there are a few great verses about prayer in which we can to in time of worry and suffering
In Verses 7-15 the Psalm goes on to tell us of the lengths God goes to, to set us free from our enemies if that is what he wishes to do.
Psalm 18:37-50
These verses are biblical supports for the “Just War” doctrine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_war. This is a teaching that we have to look at carefully, especially when America is engaged in the ’War On Terrorism’ no matter how we may feel about the war in Iraq. There may be some Christians that disagree with the fact that there are biblical supports for this doctrine however how can we explain the fact that God commanded the Israelites to go to into war against the Canaanites. Or David’s numerous wars with the Philistines?
Prayer Warrior 
Beautiful psalm.