Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 3-131 Sunday 27 Jul 2003

Psalms on Sundays Reading: Psalm 18 – THE FIGHT OF FAITH

The psalmist calls God his ‘shield’ (vs 2,30). In what ways does that imagery speak to you ?

Some people find the military imagery used in the Bible difficult. Linking God and spiritual truth with the horrors of warfare seems inappropriate. But the psalmists could only speak out of their own experience. Here is a king’s prayer of thanksgiving for victory in battle, attributed to God’s help.

In verses 1-19 the language is strongly figurative. The king is struggling against the forces of evil and the power of death. God’s intervention is described in imagery commonly used for God’s appearance in Hebrew poetry, combining features of a thunderstorm and a volcanic eruption. In verses 32-50 there is a more prosaic account of the battle. Human enemies appear, and God’s help is seen in the strength and skills with which the king is endowed.

In between these two ways of looking at the battle, there is praise of God for his faithfulness (vs 20-31). God made a covenant with the Davidic kings.(2 Sam 7) In verses 20-24 the king is not claiming absolute perfection, but asserting that he had done his best to keep the covenant. Therefore, when enemies attacked, he was confident that it was not God’s judgement, and that he could call for God’s help, because God is faithful.

The figurative imagery of verses 1-19 makes this psalm, referring to a specific person and occasion, more generally applicable. At times we all find ourselves struggling hard against the forces of evil and death. We might prefer the imagery of being in raging waters or caught in a hunter’s trap to that of battle. However, the important message of the psalm is that to the faithful, God shows himself faithful (v 25): he is a shield for all who take refuge in him (v 30).

Think of some recent ‘victory’ you have experienced. Did you recognise God’s help in it at the time? Write your own prayer of thanksgiving to God.

– Ernest Lucas

Copyright Scripture Union, 2003, Encounter with God

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