Psalm 18:37-50 - February 24, 2009

Ps. 18:37-50 "50 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. 38 I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. 39 You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet. 40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. 41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them — to the LORD, but he did not answer. 42 I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets. 43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me. 44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me. 45 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. 46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! 47 He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, 48 who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me. 49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD;I will sing praises to your name. 50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.” NIV

This passage is a powerful reflection of David’s heart of humility. He is celebrating the great victories that he has won in battle: “I pursued…I destroyed… I crushed them…They fell beneath my feet.” And then immediately he turns and places the victory in the hands of God. “You armed me with strength for battle…You made my enemies bow… You made my enemies turn… And I destroyed.” What a wonderful picture of the divine partnership that is ours in Christ. We do our part and God does his part. Paul reflects this principle in Phil 2:12-13 when he says, “12 Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you.” David lived this reality of the marriage between our efforts and God’s enabling power. God won’t do your part and you can’t do God’s part and it is important to understand which is which!
We work hard in this life but at the end of the day it is really God who is working out all things through his servants. Because David understands this reality his heart is greatly protected from a spirit of pride that would find plenty of room to work typically in a life that is filled with so many great victories and that has experienced so much of the praise of man. Solomon writes in Pr. 27:21 “That man’s heart is tested by the praise that he receives.” It is very possible that he learned this valuable principle first through observing the battle for a humble heart that David walked through as he was exalted to a place of prominence as King of Israel and champion of the Lord’s army. David had every opportunity to exalt himself and take credit for his triumphs. First he has defeated the lion and the bear, then Goliath, then the many enemies of the Lord as a servant of Saul. The maiden were singing his praise even above his own king. How many of us would have allowed that to corrupt our hearts. A common phrase regarding self exaltation is the tendency to “believe our own press!” The world is looking for a hero to worship and so the public tends to exalt the gifts and talents that come from God as if they were the gifts and talents of man and this becomes a snare to those who lend their ear to such things.
In Acts 14 Paul and Barnabas had just performed a miracle and the priests of Jupiter were inciting the people to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas but they stood in their midst and declared the message of God’s salvation and that he is the one worthy to be worshipped. This passage is also a tremendous demonstration of how fickle or fleeting the praise of men can be. In just a short time a group of Jews from Antioch arrive and turn the hearts of these same people who were ready to offer sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas and persuade them to stone Paul. One moment he is a God in their eyes, the very next he is a heretic worthy of death. The path of humility is not always going to be paved with ease and comfort but it is the path that leads to the favor and blessing of God.