Psalm 18

The sky is darkened with the threat of an encroaching thunderstorm.  The wind swirls about with its melodious tune making the grass of the fields dance and sway to the sound of nature.  Thunder cracks and lightning breaks forth to illuminate the scene laid before us.

A man not tall in stature, but noble of heart stands alone amongst this impinging darkness.  His sword welded within his iron grasp is ready to do his masters biding.  Fear does not penetrate his thoughts.  Surrounding our warrior is an evil which cannot be matched within our world.  The enemy is grotesque…perverted in ways man cannot fathom.  But these creatures are not human.  Their eyes glow red from the flame of hate which dances about inside of them.  Their teeth are coated with flesh and filth.  Acidic slime forms at the corners of their mouth.  Grungy, falling-out, black hair favors the fortunate few.  Scars coat these demons from head to toe.  The evidence of fear and torture emits from every fiber of their beings.  What’s left of their mind is riddled with this one thought, “Kill this fleshling before me!”   This army is birthed in Hell. 

Our lone soldier knows the odds.  He is not frightened, yet the thought of disappointing his master with a failure grips his heart.  In his last moments before the enemy’s charge he calls upon his god, “I cannot win this battle without you!  Save me from my enemies!  Lord, I need you!”

The sounds of nature create a mellow sonnet as the hounds of Hell begin their advance.  The king’s warrior grips his sword and makes ready his shield in preparedness for the onrushing evil.  More lightning brightens the sky and more thunder rumbles the earth.  However, after the thunder's solo the earth continues to shake.  The surrounding mountains begin to tremble and quake.  Hailstone and flaming coals fall forth from the heavens.  Trumpets sound, and the dark cloud part to show four magnificent godlike creatures soaring downward to the earth below.  Yet, these creatures with four heads, wings of gold, and armor layered with diamonds are the not the leading focus.  Sitting atop these demigods is the most glorious, the most majestic, the most royal and grandiose figure of all.  Yet in his glory, there is a fear the proceeded him…a fear to anyone that should harm His children.     

Our warrior’s prayer has been answered.  His Lord came down from on high to vanquish his enemy.  The evil horde which had seemed so terrifying was obliterated in the blink of an eye and sent forthwith back to Hell.  The battle is won!!!

Psalm 18:3-13

“I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.  The chords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the chords of Sheol (Hell) entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.  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.  Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.  Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.  He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.  He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.  He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.  Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.  The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice…”

The scene painted at the beginning was not too hard to create.  All I did (as you may have noticed) was just elaborate on that which David has written here in Psalm 18. 

Psalm 18 has been one of my most favorite chapters ever since I accepted Jesus into my life almost two years ago.  Just recently I decided to memorize it.  Since I have been dwelling upon this chapter God has been revealing some things to me and that is what I want to share.

 The first thing God showed me was the manner in which David prays to Him.  In verse 3 David says, “I call upon the Lord…and He saves me.” David asks for God’s help and God sends it.  The thing though that I caught in this verse was the picture David paints of the simplicity of prayer.  How I see this verse is David just picks up his phone and asks God if He has some time to chat.  So many people today (myself included) think praying is this sacred (to an extent, yes) time of in-depth seeking and asking followed generally with tears and hours of turmoil while we talk with our heavenly father.  Something I realized in this last week and a half of memorizing and studying this passage is something everyone is told as a child…prayer is simply talking with God.  We humans make prayer out to be a complicated thing.  The reason I highlighted the word “talk” is because that’s what prayer is.  My prayer is that for me, and every other believer, that we don’t get so wrapped up in the religiosity of praying that we forget that prayer is a simple matter of conversing with Jesus. 

The second thing that I took from this passage is the fact that God, in all his glory and might, takes that time to come to earth shaking mountains, trembling the earth, and raining fire to fight an enemy which he has been fighting from the beginning of time for one little human being.  The love Christ has for us is immense…but yet, it is still forgotten.  Christ’s love is what I’ve been reminded of in Psalm 18.

The first commandment is Love God and the second is love your neighbor.  If you bake the gospel down it’s all about love.  Sometimes we have a tendency to forget what God has done for us.  This passage in Psalms has reminded me of the love that Christ has specifically for me as an individual.  Jesus doesn’t love us as a group, He loves each one of us as a separate and distinct person.

So my challenge from God, and I encourage you to join me, is this: remember daily what Christ has done because of love and don’t complicate that which is not meant to be complicated. Prayer: just talking with Jesus.