Tag: songs

Psalm Eighteen (Part Two)

Psalm 18:1-3

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies (NIV).

David spoke God’s words to his people. He let them know the truth about their covenant Lord, the living God. In this song (always remember that the psalms were intended to be sung), he also wants them to feel the greatness of their God. He wants them to delight in the reality of all that God had made known to them. Too often believers have heard the poor counsel, “You shouldn’t be feeling that way. Now stop emoting like that and do this list of actions.” That is not how the Father in heaven speaks to us in his word. Listen to what the Spirit led David to write.

David related to God in an intensely, special way. He used the word “my” nine times about God in these three verses. We do this about people we love constantly: my father, my mother, my brother, my sister, my child, my grandchild, and my friend. We claim them as ours. Love naturally “hugs” those that we love. David was not ashamed to interact with God personally, even when writing a worship song. Hopefully, the point is obvious, but in case it’s not, when we sing in public worship, we reach out to claim our special relationship with God. Be bold; God likes it when we’re bold (Hebrews 4:16).

David expanded on previous revelation about God. The Lord in his word reveals himself in a progressive manner, building upon what he has already said in the past. Some people try to “find the whole Bible” in Genesis 1-12, or they say that “this passage is the Bible in miniature”. Never is correct. In the Scriptures, God made himself known bit by bit, carefully building on what he previously declared, until the fullness of his revelation in Christ as made known in the New Testament Scriptures. For example, God gave types and shadows of the Messiah in the writings before he came, which the writings after his death and resurrection explain more fully. In this psalm, David calls God his “Rock” a few times. This name from God comes from three texts in the Torah (Gen 49:24; Deuteronomy 32:4, 31). The best known opens the Song of Moses, which Christians today should know much better than we do (cf. Revelation 15:3). The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he (Deuteronomy 32:4 ESV). When we are familiar with this verse, we can see that David works this text out through the remainder of this psalm. In other words, part of what David sings is his meditation on Moses’ song. Ponder Colossians 3:16 in this context about what we ought to be doing when we sing in church. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalm s and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16 ESV, my emphasis).

David’s descriptive names of the Lord flow out from his experience of God and his protection during his years of trial and suffering. God is his strength, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold. Read through David’s life in 1 and 2 Samuel up to this point, and listen to various psalms that he wrote about his troubles, and you will discover these concepts coming out from what he lived. Using what God has made known about his name, we likewise can speak of our God in this way. Though our life situations will be different from David’s, yet we can see, for example, that he has been our deliverer in many ways. We can sing to the Lord our experience of who he has been in our lives. As we read God’s word, these ideas will begin to pop out in our praise. Develop your relationship with God, as David modeled it in this psalm.

Grace and peace, David

Psalm Eighteen (Part One)

Psalm 18:1-3

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies (NIV).

The Psalms tell the story of God’s reign in song. They show God at work through his anointed king, usually David, and great David’s greater son, the Anointed One (Messiah). At times, we hear of David’s struggles, sin, sorrows, and repentance. At others, we are called to join in the celebration of God’s victories, which involve the salvation and deliverance of his people from their enemies.

In Psalm Eighteen, David celebrates how God had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies (title of the psalm). At a quick glance we might assume that this referred to the end of his life, but nearly the same words are said when he became king over all Israel, following years of struggle with his father-in-law, Saul, and other rebels against God’s choice of David as his king (2 Samuel 7:1). David is about thirty-seven at the time he wrote this. He had ruled over Judah for seven and a half years, but finally, the Lord had set him up as king over all Israel. A study of 2 Samuel 7 will show that the Lord made a covenant with David, that the Messiah would come from him. Then end of this psalm is definitely Messianic, as we will see.  David’s great task became restoring the worship of the living God in Israel. To do this, he wrote many songs for public worship. Notice how the title informs us that this psalm was for the director of music. Since the Lord had brought David through many troubles to the throne, David rejoiced about God doing the same thing for Israel through the Anointed One. He glorified God, calling himself only the servant of the Lord.

Observe that David sang to the Lord the words of this song. The heart of a person set free has a song. The believer sings to the Lord. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and they will trust in the Lord (Psalm 40:3 CSB). Thanksgiving for mercy and grace received causes those set free from sin and death to worship. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16 ESV).

David wanted his people to share his joy, and to prepare them to trust the Lord throughout difficult times that would certainly come. The key to all this is his love for the Lord (18:1). David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). He set his inner person on seeking the glory of the Lord. He wanted everyone to rejoice in God’s overflowing goodness, and so he gave himself to compose songs for worship for his own soul and for others to sing with him.

Are our hearts filled with songs for the Lord? Are we thankful for how he has delivered and continues to deliver us? If our songs are absent or faint, we ought to examine ourselves to find the cause of our spiritual disorder. The life of faith is meant to be a walk of thanksgiving and joy! David sought to rekindle this in his people. May our souls be filled with refreshing experiences of God’s goodness to us!

Grace and peace, David

Sing a New Song

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Psalm 98

As we journey through life, the followers of Jesus encounter a variety of experiences. All affect us in various ways from great joy to dismal grief. I do not know where your emotions are on this spectrum today, but we need to praise God when the circumstances call for songs of joy. We read in James 5:13: Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise (ESV). Today, let’s think about overflowing praise when God brings joy to our hearts.

Psalm Ninety-eight begins with a call to sing a new song to the Lord. Our God loves beauty and art. He has given us creative abilities so that we might reflect his glory as Creator. Music is a gift to gladden his heart and ours. We can say things with music that stay with people longer than with plain, spoken words. We express our emotions in artistic ways as we sing. Our big group gatherings provide opportunities to unite our voices with joyful praise. Or if you’re alone, put on some Christian music and bravely sing along.

We ought to sing to the Lord because he has done wonderful deeds (NLT). These deeds focus on the victory (NLT, HCSB) he has won. The mention of the Lord’s victory causes the psalmist to break out into exuberant praise. He senses God’s power and holiness in this victory, a victory that comes from his promise to love and be faithful to Israel (NLT) and that extends to all the ends of the earth (ESV, HCSB). Notice this is an exclamation of faith, a faith based on God’s ultimate purpose in Christ (Luke 24:44-47; Ephesians 3:11).

Next, the psalmist calls on everyone to join him in song (98:4-6). Yes, he wants them to sing and to shout (NIV, HCSB, NLT)! God’s victory is a very suitable occasion for all his people to shout and sing. Does your big group have sufficient freedom in the Spirit to be enthusiastic, high-spirited, and even boisterous? Please allow the Holy Scriptures to transform your experience of praise. Get out the musical instruments and shout for joy!

As the psalmist concludes his song, he senses that he needs a larger choir. For this reason, he calls on all nature to join in. He wants rivers to clap their hands and hills to shout for joy. Why can he call upon the inanimate creation to join in? God’s purpose includes the liberation of creation from its bondage when God reveals the freedom and glory of his sons and daughters when Christ returns (Romans 8:18-21). The Judge will come to set things right, and our songs will resound.

We need to shout and sing today. God has already won the victory at the cross of Christ (Colossians 2:15). His final victory is drawing near. So, unleash your voices. Sing a new song, shout, and clap your hands! Sing this psalm. Do you say you don’t know the tune? Then sing a happy paraphrase of Psalm 98 that Isaac Watts made years ago and was put to music by Lowell Mason. I’m sure you know it. Its name is “Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come!”

Grace and peace and joy, David