Skip to content From Lament to Praise: David's Journey in Psalms 17–18 Jul 4 · 14 min ...more
From Lament to Praise: David's Journey in Psalms 17–18
July 4, 2026 · 14 min
A dive on David's plea for help and his thankful song of deliverance, trusting God's perfect way and the hope of eternity.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand July 4, 2026 · 14 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
A dive on David's plea for help and his thankful song of deliverance, trusting God's perfect way and the hope of eternity. ...more Show the full description Show less A dive on David's plea for help and his thankful song of deliverance, trusting God's perfect way and the hope of eternity.
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Psalm 17: David's Cry for Justice and Protection 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to this oasis of the Psalms. As we look at, 2 inspiring Psalms this morning, both written by David, we're looking at chapter 17 and 18 of the book of0:21 Psalms. Verse 30 of chapter 18, as for God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord is proven. He is a shield to all who trust in him. What a great verse. Alright. Chapter 17 is0:33 a it's a it's a lament. It's a prayer for help. Chapter 18 is really kind of 3 in 1. It is a psalm of thanksgiving. It's a royal Psalm, and it is a messianic Psalm as well.0:45 Now these 2 chapters, I think, go together well because in chapter 17, David is crying out for help. In chapter 18, he is praising God for deliverance. Verse 1 chapter0:57 17. Hear a just cause, oh lord. Attend to my cry. Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips. Let my vindication come from your presence. Let your eyes look on the things that1:09 are upright. You have tested my heart. You have visited me in the night. You have tried me and found nothing. I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.1:21 Concerning the works of men, by the words of your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. So what's David saying? Well, look. David's focus on1:33 the word of God is something that we're gonna see frequently throughout the book of Psalms, which is why I think I enjoy this book so much. David was a man of the word. What he was saying here, by the words1:45 of your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the violent men. You see, God's word guides us. It keeps us from the ways of evil, both from becoming a party to it and a1:57 victim of it. So important to be in the word of God. Verse 7, show your marvelous loving kindness by your right hand, oh you who save those who trust in2:08 you from those who rise up against them. God delivers those who trust in him. Now with that understanding, look at how David closes this prayer in verse 13.2:20 Arise, oh lord, confront those who oppress, cast him down, deliver my life from the wicked with your sword, with your hand from men, oh lord, from2:32 men of the world who have their portion in this life and whose belly you fill with your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children and leave the rest of their possessions for their babies. As for2:44 me, I will see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness, kind of a a glimpse into eternity. You know, while those who reject2:56 God and his truth often prosper in this life, that prospering is passing. Considering the shortness of this life compared to eternity,3:08 we should not get hung up on the disparities and inequalities that we experience in this world. It is temporal. It's passing. It's not gonna last long. The best for3:20 those who have made Jesus their lord, the lord of their lives, The best is yet to come. Alright. Chapter 18 is the, 4th longest3:32 Psalm. It is the longest in the 1st book of the Psalms. And if you've been with me on this journey, this Psalm is gonna look familiar. And the reason is Psalm 18 is essentially what we read in3:44 2nd Samuel chapter 22. The focus is on God's deliverance of David from his enemies, including Saul. Now this was written after Saul's death in David's elevationPsalm 18: Praising God as Rock and Deliverer 3:56 to the throne as king. Verse 1, to the chief musician, a psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. I like that. He's not the I not identifying himself as the king, but a servant of the Lord.4:08 I I I love that title. That's the I think to me the the best title you can have, servant of the Lord because that encompasses everything. Who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered4:20 him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul, and he said, I will love you, oh, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust,4:32 my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Wow. I mean, look at all those descriptors in there. Now we discussed this last time, but it's worthy of additional attention.4:44 Notice the personal nature of David's relationship with God. It wasn't distant. It was real. It was personal. It was practical. My strength, my rock cleft in the rock,4:56 which is concealment, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my immovable rock, my shield, my salvation, my stronghold, which puts me beyond the reach of the enemy. Now this5:08 is important. This is important because God is not some impersonal force that we cannot know, rather he is a personal God who dwells with us and invites us to know him.5:21 Verse 3, I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from my enemies. Look, I will call upon the Lord, so shall I be5:33 saved. There is confidence, not in us, but in God. His nature, his character. You see, God is unchanging. What he5:44 has done, he will do again. Verse 4. The pangs of death surround me, and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me. The snares of5:56 death confronted me. In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried out to my God. He heard my voice from his temple and my cry came before him even to his ears.6:08 You see, the threats and the dangers in this life are real. They are real, but so is God and he hears us. 1 Bible commentator described verses6:20 7 through 15 as the utter subversion of the order of nature Before such a God, none can stand. Verse 20. The6:32 Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands, he recompensed to me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all6:44 his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also blameless before him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore, the Lord has righteousness,6:56 according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. Now you say, wait. Wait. Wait. This is David? This is David? These verses give many7:08 pause. Alright? But let me kind of unpack this. Most biblical scholars see this not as David claiming claiming sinless perfection, but rather faithfulness in theRighteousness, Forgiveness, and God's Perfect Way 7:20 matter being discussed here, and that was the being him being pursued by Saul and David not responding to Saul's attempts to kill him. Remember, multiple times he had an opportunity to take matters into his own7:32 hands, and he didn't. So viewing this, you know, seeing that this is what he's talking about. He was faithful in that period. Now viewing this, though, from the entire canon of scripture, it7:43 can be seen that David, who by faith believed God, confessed his sin, and was forgiven as having the covering of the righteousness of Christ as we do as7:55 well when we accept Jesus Christ. You know, it's it's very important. We see see this I was thinking about this this morning as I was reading that, you know, I've and I've got to do further digging in this, but in my8:06 cursory view, or or research, God never brought up David's sin again with Bathsheba and Uriah after he confessed it? Now, again,8:18 we've talked about as we were going through 2nd Samuel how the consequences of that lived on, but God didn't hold it over his head. And I think there's a lesson for that. We see here, God8:30 we're we're covered in the righteousness of Jesus Christ when we accept him as our lord and savior. And we've confessed our sins, and we have confessed him as lord, and we believe in our heart that God raised him from8:41 the dead. The scripture says we're saved. We've been brought into the family of God. And God is not the 1 who brings up things that have happened in your past or things that you have8:53 done. I don't see him ever doing that in David's life. That's Satan. That's the enemy of your soul that's bringing that up. God is concerned about your future. He's concerned about today. He's concerned about your9:04 future. He's not looking at your past. That's forgiven. That's gone. That's behind. I think that's for somebody today. Verse 28. For you will light my lamp, the lord my god, will9:16 enlighten my darkness. For by you, I can run against a troop. By my god, I can leap over a wall. God is the source of personal help. He enlightens and he strengthens.9:28 Verse 30. As for god, his way is perfect. The word of the lord is proven. He is a shield to all who put their trust in him. You see, god's way is perfect.9:41 It is proven. His word is proven, and he is a shield to all who trust in him. So what should you do with that knowledge? I think it's pretty obvious.9:53 Now some may be put off by, the militaristic and violent language that we see in verses 31 through 43. Now, for those new in the journey, I ISpiritual Warfare and Final Praise 10:05 mentioned this many times, but the Old Testament speaks to the physical, whereas the New Testament speaks to the spiritual. You know, many do not like Paul and and Paul's militaristic10:16 terms, the language that he uses. But here's the reality. We are in a spiritual war and 1 that has been raging since the beginning of time, and it continues. In fact, it's10:28 intensifying. We must be prepared to engage in these spiritual battles of our day. And by the way, the better prepared and the alert that we are to this10:40 reality, the less likely we are to face an overwhelming force of the enemy that takes us by surprise. We're gonna be harassed by them, just minor incursions. But10:51 when we when we're alert and prepared, it's kind of the strategy that, president Ronald Reagan, when I was in the Marine Corps, he employed to basically stare down the USSR,11:04 peace through strength, and that has application spiritually as well. If we are spiritually strong abiding in Christ, the cowardly forces of darkness will move on. They'll look11:16 for a softer, more vulnerable target. Alright. David then closes as he began by praising the lord. Verse 46. The lord lives. Blessed be my rock.11:28 Let the god of my salvation be exalted. It is god who avenges me and subdues the people under me. He delivers me from my enemies. You11:39 also lift me up above those who rise against me. You have delivered me from the violent man. Therefore therefore, because all of that, I will give thanks11:51 to you, oh lord, among the Gentiles and sing praises to your name. And by the way, this is where the messianic aspects of the Psalm Paul applies this to Jesus12:03 in Romans 15. Let me read that verse 8. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made to the fathers12:15 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy as it is written, for this reason, I will confess to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.12:28 Father, we thank you for your word. And, lord, just so grateful for this oasis of the Psalms and and and, again, for the the pattern, the model that David provides. As, lord, he12:40 pours out his heart to you, but then he pours out the praises knowing that, lord, you will deliver, that you will answer, that you are faithful, that your character never changes. You are12:52 a faithful, merciful god. And, lord, we pray that for our country even as we celebrate this weekend the the 250th anniversary. Lord, your word says, blessed is a13:03 nation whose god is the lord, and we certainly started out that way. Lord, we've deviated. I pray we would return and that, lord, your blessing would be upon this nation and upon your people in this13:15 nation. And may you be glorified. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.13:28 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:40 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Psalm 17: David's Cry for Justice and Protection3:48 Psalm 18: Praising God as Rock and Deliverer7:10 Righteousness, Forgiveness, and God's Perfect Way10:00 Spiritual Warfare and Final Praise
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