A Thanksgiving Psalm Praising God the Savior

“I love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horm of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies…He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters…For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock, except our God?...He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights…Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O Lord; I will sing praises to your name.” (Psalm 18: 1-3; 16, 31, 33, 49. NIV) [Read Psalm 118]

Scholars agree that David is author of this magnificent psalm of praise. Most versions of this Psalm have an introductory note, added by an editor early enough for it to be included in ancient manuscripts. It reads: “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:” And the Psalm begins with that first-person statement: “I love You, O Lord my strength!” –a very personal, positive and testimonial invocation. The psalm is a magnificent song of praise with each section worthy of much comment. This devotional merely touches the highlights. I pray you will read the whole psalm in several translations and let its beauty and truths enliven your faith. David uses many poetic metaphors to describe the majesty, might and omnipotence of God the Savior. He reveals His power and strength, and helps King David in all areas of need. The Psalm recounts a series of triumphant thanksgivings to God, giving highly figurative and poetic accounts of the author’s deliverance from danger (verses 4-19). The poet is not afraid to recount his own strengths in verses 20-24, because it is God who grants them. The character of God and how it is demonstrated to the psalmist is given in verses 25-28. Thanksgivings for victories won are enumerated in verses 29-48.

When it seems that the “coils of the grave” wound around David, he saw the Lord revealed in many ways: in earthquake, thunder, fire (lightning), darkness, clouds, the waters. And God’s sustaining power gave strength to the warrior. Even his feet were as hind’s feet (deer) and he had sure footing in hard-to-climb places. This can be taken literally or figuratively. Being a poet of sorts and a definite lover of poetry, I am lifted and inspired by David’s language in this Psalm. Thanks be to God for lofty words, for poetic expression! Even the excellence of David’s hymn to God and the very best any of us can do to express God’s power and might cannot fathom or unveil His wonder and majesty! Dr. Alton H. McEachern, in commenting on this Psalm, stated: “We praise God because He is our powerful Savior. Salvation includes both refuge and deliverance. God rescues and protects those who faithfully obey Him. Such rescue may involve equipping us to defend ourselves” (see verses 32-45). [The Disciples Study Bible. Nashville: Holman, 1988. p. 647]

If we can remember and quote Psalm 18:19, it will encourage and help us at all times, and especially in times of depression or hardship: “He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.” What a wonderful thought: God “delights in me”! God takes pleasure in me—one of His children! This thought by David is substantiated in other scripture references. “The Lord takes pleasure in His people” (Psalm 149:4a. TEV). “You created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11. NLT). At this Thanksgiving season, take time to thank God for His delight in each of us and for salvation by grace through faith! Let us, as David, not be ashamed to tell this good news abroad to everyone, to “praise You among the nations, O Lord; sing praises to Your name!”

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Tuesday, November 16, 2010

God’s Good and Perfect Gifts

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with who is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." (James 1:17-18, KJV)

The reason I give the verses in the King James Version is because that is the version I used years ago when I committed the verses to memory. Surely enough, when I consulted my faithful and much-used copy of this version (which Bible was the first birthday giver Grover gave me after we began dating in 1948), there, neatly underlined, were these verses, calling attention to "God from whom all blessings flow," as our "Doxology" so aptly acclaims. What important truths these verses teach us!

God is a God of goodness and generosity. We can always depend upon His goodness. He wants to give us what is best for us. He is unchangeable and can be depended upon. Verse 18 tells us that we ourselves are God's gift. Here is Eugene Peterson's rendering of these verses in The Message Bible: "Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all His creation." We find an exuberant truth in some verses that add light to our being created by the very Word of God as the crown of His creation. Take heed: "You created everything, and it is for Your pleasure that they exist and were created." (Revelation 4:11, NLT) "The Lord takes pleasure in His people." (Psalm 149:41, TEV). "For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for His own glory." (Isaiah 61:3, LB) It is such an humbling experience to think that God created each one of us for His pleasure and for our fellowship with Him. Each of us is a good gift for God's fellowship and pleasure (and, I pray, growing and moving toward the day when we will be perfected, glorified).

In my current "ripe, old" age, I spend time recollecting. I can remember so many instances when my husband and I had so little that we often wondered where the next rent, the next college or graduate school tuition, even money for gasoline, electricity and food would come from. We prayed, asking God for specific needs. And through God's goodness, there it was-with some extra earnings, a special gift from the church where he was minister, or a provision we had not known existed. But in each instance, God was behind the gift, motivating people to share through love. And when we came to the point to become parents, we prayed for healthy children, dedicating them to Him while they were still in the womb. Not only was that prayer answered, but now, even to the fourth generation, we see our family members, their lives and service-and that which will come from the great grands, if the Lord tarries His coming until they grow up, a continuation of God's good gifts, His "firstfruits" and "crown of creation."

Let us never take for granted that we can make it on our own. Even the health and abilities we have to earn a living are gifts from God. Of all of God's creation, we are the first fruits. In Numbers 15:21 the Israelites were commanded: "From now on, ofter to the Lord the first part of your grain." And as "first fruits" of the Lord's creation, we are to offer our very best. He has already done this for us: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any many should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV) Our gift back to Him is our very life, surrendered, yielded, lovingly offered, even in a similar manner as He bestows good gifts on us. I am reminded of the tender song we sometimes sing:

"What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a Lamb.

If I were a wise man, I would do my part;

Yet what can I give Him? Give Him my heart."

-Christina G. Rossetti (1830-1894)

Praise be to God! In return for His "good and perfect gifts," I give Him my heart, offering it anew every day.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, October 13, 2010