Psalm 18:1-3 - Expressing Our Love to Jehovah

We know from the title that David wrote this Psalm and when he wrote it. The title reveals this: “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:" At last, the outlaw years of fleeing from Saul were ended. The civil war between David and Ishbosheth (Saul’s son), too, was at an end. Both the Southern Kingdom (The tribes of Judah and Benjamin), and the Northern Kingdom (The other 10 tribes of Israel), had crowned David at last, and David's enemies on every hand, those within the kingdom and those across the frontiers, had all recognized him as the LORD’s anointed king of Israel (2 Samuel 2-5).  Nathan the prophet had come too with a wonderful word from God that because of David's love and loyalty to Him, the Lord would establish his throne forever. This of course will be fulfilled through God’s Greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. David describes himself as the "servant of Jehovah," a title used of only a handful of people in the Bible. Moses, who led the people out, and Joshua, who led the people in, were both honored with this title. Preeminently, however, it is a title of the Messiah. He is the true Servant of Jehovah. It is the way that Isaiah describes Him and also how Mark portrays Him in his Gospel. Even though David is now a king and sitting on the throne, he still pictures himself as a servant and makes no mention of his royalty!  He counted it a higher honor to be the Lord’s servant than to be Israel’s king!  Maybe we should learn from that! David calls this writing "a song," indicating that this composition, right from the start, was intended to be sung. It is the first of some fifty psalms so called. All the psalms with this inscription seem to be Psalms of victory. In verses 1-3, David begins this Psalm with an expression of his devotion and love for Jehovah! When David expressed his love for the Lord, he used a special word that means "to love deeply, to have compassion." It's related to the Hebrew word for "womb" (see Jer. 21:7) and describes the kind of love a mother has for her baby (Isa. 49:15), a father has for his children (103:13), and the Lord has for His chosen people Israel (102:13; Hos. 1:7; Deut. 13:17). It's a deep and fervent love, the kind of love all of us should have for the Lord (Ps. 31:23). In verse 1, David expressed his love. In verse 2, he expressed his faith and in verse 3, he expressed his hope. The seven metaphors he used certainly reflect the life of an outdoorsman and a soldier. "Rock"(vv. 2, 31, 46) is a familiar metaphor for the Lord, speaking of strength and stability, a place of refuge (Psalms 19:14; 28:1; 31:2-3; 42:9; 62:2, 6-7; 71:3; 78:20; 89:26; 92:15; 94:22; 95:1; 144:1; and 1 Sam. 23:25). It goes back to Genesis 49:24 and Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, and 30-31. "Fortress" pictures God as a stronghold, like the city of Jerusalem on Mount Zion (1 Sam. 22:4; 24:22; 2 Sam. 5:17; 23:14). "Shield" speaks of God's protection (Psalms 3:3; 7:10; 28:7; 33:20; Gen. 15:1; Deut. 33:29), but it also is a symbol of the king (Psalms 84:9; 89:18). David was Israel's shield, but the Lord was David's shield. "Horn" refers to strength (Deut. 33:17; 1 Sam. 2:1, 10; 1 Kings 22:11) and has Messianic connotations (Luke 1:69). My friend, this kind of God is always worthy of our prayers and praise! (Psalms 48:1; 96:4; 145:3) Have you expressed your love to the Lord Jesus Christ today? God bless!