David Niemi | The Voice of Zion June 2022 --
He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me…With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. – Psalm 18:16–19;25–28
Psalm 18 was written by David after the Lord delivered him from the hands of Saul and his enemies. He wanted to sing his praises and thanks unto the Lord for His marvelous help. Is this not how we, many thousands of years later, wish to do when God helps us in our difficulties? We also wish to thank God, we wish to hear God’s voice when it calls and trust in Him to help us in the days we are living.
God Sends Angels
David relates how God sent angels: “He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters” to help him in his distress. God works this way in His kingdom even today. When we fall into sin, He sends messengers to help in time of need.
Also, when those on the outside of God’s kingdom feel their own wretchedness and are seeking, God through His Spirit sends His own children, those angels to bring the message of God’s kingdom close. This faith travels from heart to heart through the power of the gospel. Consider even the Ethiopian eunuch. God sent Philip to explain onto him the message of the forgiveness of sins. God knows the heart and can send help for one who is seeking.
God has always helped those who desire the help of the Lord, and always He has been able to help regardless of the enemy. Humans are not able to battle the enemy of souls or enter into God’s kingdom through any work of their own. One must first humble oneself and feel his or her own sinfulness and weakness, and then God can help. Through repentance one becomes a child of God. God can then help a person along the way of faith that leads to heaven.
God Brings Strength and Peace
Psalm 18 tells how the enemy attacked during a time of distress. Hasn’t this been the case today as well? When we are tired and feeling weak, the enemy tries all of his wiles to get us to fall. But today, just as for David, the Lord is our stay and security to help shield against the enemy. With God’s strength we are able to battle against Satan. From the precious gospel message we receive strength; “It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom. 1:16). “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). When we are able to do this, we receive strength to battle against the threefold enemy.
David writes how God brought him into a large place, which is what happens when the bonds of sin are released. We can then travel free of sin and the destination appears bright before us. In the 23rd Psalm it speaks how “he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” This is how it is when we submit ourselves to God’s almighty hand. When we trust in Him, He can lead our lives and bless us as well.
God Is Merciful and Pure
In our psalm text, we read that God is merciful unto those who are merciful and shows himself upright to the upright one. Also, God is pure to those who have a pure heart, and He will save the afflicted people. This is how it has been for God’s children always. Even in the time of the wilderness journey, Moses reminded the Israelites, “Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years” (Deut. 8:4), and so it is for us today. God helps and carries us along this journey to our home in heaven. He knows each of us so well, that He can send exactly what we need when we need it.
David wrote unto us how God is towards the proud, the crooked, and the high and mighty. God will cause “the proud to stumble and fall with none to raise him up” (Jer. 50:32). He cannot work in a proud heart. Jesus spoke and thanked the Father, “because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (Matt. 11:25). God can affect a humble heart, but He resists the proud. We can read in scriptures of those who became proud and rose against God. Korah was an example of how God destroys the wicked and proud.
God Calls
“For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness” (v. 29) speaks unto us how God can call us and show the way into His kingdom. Regardless of whether we were called into God’s kingdom from birth or later in life, we care for it in the same way. The Holy Spirit teaches the same in all His children and His children need the gospel to keep that name of a child of God.
Dear children of God, continue putting sin away as it attaches, and care for one another on this journey to our eternal home in heaven. Let us pray that God would still call those seeking hearts into His kingdom while it is a time of grace.