I Will Call Upon the Lord

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

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.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

    and I am saved from my enemies. (Psalm 18:1-3)

The introduction of this Psalm is important. It gives us context for where David was in his life that led him to sing these kinds of lyrics.

Great Praise for a Great Reason

“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 delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.”

David first addresses this song to the choirmaster. This means that David wrote this song for the congregation to sing together. Second, David refers to himself as a servant of the Lord. Despite having been anointed by the prophet and told he would be king, David’s fundamental view of himself was as a servant of Yahweh. He wrote this song after having been delivered from a real danger, a real oppression, a real threat. Saul and his men had been hunting him and seeking to kill him. Surely David had been praying as he hid in caves, spending his days scanning the horizon for any sign of his pursuers as he moved throughout the desert. At the end of it, God delivered him. His life had been spared. The promises of God for his life were not thwarted. How could he not praise? God had been his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his refuge. David had called, Yahweh had answered, and he had been saved from his enemies. 

The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

    and exalted be the God of my salvation—

the God who gave me vengeance

    and subdued peoples under me,

who rescued me from my enemies;

    yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;

    you delivered me from the man of violence.

For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

    and sing to your name.

Great salvation he brings to his king,

    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,

    to David and his offspring forever. (Psalm 18:46-50)

The God who delivered David was the living God. God was not merely an idea or some mental coping mechanism created by David’s subconscious. No, God had clearly and decisively acted, proving His realness to the soon-to-be-king. And Yahweh was not only a living God but a rock, a steady place for him to stand who is worthy of exaltation for the salvation He has given. This word salvation means deliverance, salvation, rescue, safety, welfare, and victory. David knew the victory of God in a profound way, and yet for us in Christ we know an even greater, more profound, and more mysterious way.

Consider this,

Jesus lives, and blessed be the rock, and exalted be Christ, the God of my salvation,

The Christ who has placed everything under His feet, who has rescued me from Satan, sin, and death.

For this I will praise you and sing to your name. Great salvation belongs to this King, and His Father who is now our Father shows steadfast love to His anointed.

For any who have eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to receive this good news, this song can be theirs. Their Lord lives, and not only lives but reigns, and not only reigns but is soon to return. 

So even if you aren’t seeing much victory around you, much deliverance, much rescue, or much safety - you can pray this song as you sing to call to mind your hope. And if you are seeing victory, and provision, and goodness, sing all the more as the sun shines on you.

Blessed be the Rock, and may the God of our salvation be exalted.

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