David constantly needed the Lord’s presence and protection. Saul was a major antagonist for a number of years. This Psalm is dedicated to the Lord’s faithfulness on the day David was rescued from Saul and other enemies.
Psalms 18: The LORD Is My Rock and My Fortress 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:
1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
20 The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God---his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?---
32 the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.
36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from strife with the people; you made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.
46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation---
47 the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me,
48 who delivered me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you rescued me from the man of violence.
49 For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name.
50 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.
Psalms 19: The Law of the LORD Is Perfect To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Things to think about…
1. It’s easy to love God when things are going well. David has been rescued from the hand of Saul who was wanting to kill him for no good reason. Look at David’s opening line in Ps 18:1 “I love you, O LORD, my strength.” Yet what was he saying to the Lord last week when he was fearful of Saul and hiding from him, words to the effect of, “Where are you Lord, when will you answer, how long or Lord” etc, etc. David is no different to us is he. When things are going well and we feel God has answered and delivered us, we see Him and it’s easy to love Him. The challenge is to say the same words when things are not going well for us, because we know God does not change. We seem to be the ones who are quick to change.
2. The rest of Psalm 18 speaks of the Lord’s deliverance for David and the blessing of answered prayer after a long period of struggle etc. But what about the words in Ps 18:20,24 where David says he was saved according to his own righteousness. We know especially from the book of 2 Samuel that David’s actions were not always righteous. Surely this is not true with the understanding that our righteousness is like filthy rags, Isa 64:6. So how can David’s words be true? Surely, we can only be saved by the righteousness of Christ. What does David mean here? Simply that his heart was honouring God in the midst of his trials. David did not strike Saul. God struck Saul – this was accounted to David as righteous.
3. It is never wise to make an enemy of the Lord. While we seek after Him the the way of blessing is open before us, but if we actively go against him Ps 18:26, 27 come into play, “with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.”
4. God speaks loudly to humanity in two ways. The first is His creation Ps 19:1-6 and the second is via His word Ps 19:7-11. It is only by faith that can pray vss 13,14 and David again mentioning how to stay away from presumptuous sins. We only care about God’s work and words if we have faith to believe they are true. As those who do believe and as those who accept God’s word as truth may we continue to love each other enough to speak the words of love, grace and truth to others as we conform more into the image of the Saviour. Why? Because He is our Redeemer, vs 14.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon:-“Where are you going” – Psalm 1.
a. Have you ever been lost. What was it like and how long were you lost?
b. We are told that the way of blessing is when we delight ourselves in the Lord and turn away from ungodly counsel. This is easier said than done at times. Reading and meditating on the scriptures is given as a remedy. How is this the case and what is your present reading/studying program?
c. The promise is that you will bear fruit in season. What season are you in? Have you been in a tough season? Did you still bear fruit for Christ at that time?
d. Some people are spiritually lost. On the 26th July – a Wednesday night we will be running our first alpha night for non-Christians. Who can you invite to that first evening?
e. Pray for the events we have coming up – especially the Community Day on Saturday.
Prayer Points
1. Continue to pray for Jennifer’s mum recovering from a stroke that she may have restored health over the coming days and weeks.
2. Pray for our community day on the Sat 24th June that all the organising and advertising can be done well to ensure a successful event.
3. Pray for the tragedy of the 10 who lost their lives in the Hunter Valley bus accident. May our Lord’s peace be over the Hunter Valley and the communities affected.
4. Pray for Jay as he speaks to Karalee State school about starting a Friday afternoon kids club.
5. Andy continues to make incredible improvements. It was also wonderful to see Sally again on Sunday. What a sweetheart she is.
6. That those who are new to the church are encouraged and settle in well into the church.
7. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you saved.
8. Pray for Kids@church.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Thankyou to everyone who served on Sunday. Jen’s mum is stable and Andrew is always improving.
2. New equipment is coming online at Church. New cameras and sound equipment.
3. More new folk joined with us on Sunday.
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Community Day Saturday 24th June at Church. At 1:00pm to 5pm ending with a bon fire. Please pray and invite.
2. Axiom next Sunday morning 25th June “Challenging Cancel Culture” – 9:30am
3. Alpha Course starting on Wed 26th July – 6:30pm – invite non Christians to this course.
4. Friday afternoon Kids Klub – starting third term – 3 (3:30pm start) - 5:30pm.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for June...
Q. 9. Who is God? A. God is a Spirit, and does not have a body like men.
