Psalm 18 -- Revised Version

As I read this, I thought about what David had said in the last chapter as well – that he’d been innocent of the charges others were bringing against him, that he’d followed the Lord and was being unjustly accused, and he was asking God to vindicate him.  That same theme was running through chapter 18 as well.  But I thought about Bathsheba …

Was this written before or after his fall?  If after, then God had certainly helped him to feel better about himself and his sin.  I wanted to look at what David was saying from the “guilty” side instead of the “innocent” side.  And still David’s words carried real meaning:

“I love You, Lord.  You are my strength … my protection … my rock.  I can run to Him for safety.  He is my shield, my saving strength, my defender.  I will call upon the Lord … and I will be saved … In my trouble I called to the Lord.  I cried out to my God for help.  From His temple He HEARD my voice, my call for help reached His ears … He tore the sky open  and came down … The Lord reached down from above and took me; He pulled me from the deep water.  HE saved me from my powerful enemies … because they were too strong for me….  Because He delights in me, He saved me.”

The next verses can be changed to describe a time of sin when he needed God to save him from that sin:

“The Lord spared me even when I’d sinned … I hadn’t followed His ways; I had done evil by turning away from Him.  I’d not remembered his laws.  I’d broken his rules.  I stood guilty before Him.  I hadn’t kept myself from doing evil …. Lord, give light to my lamp.  Brighten the darkness around me … Your ways are without fault.  You’re a shield to those who trust you.  Following Your way can keep me from sinning … You give me a better way to live, so help me to live as You want me to.  Chase down my enemies who want me to sin and fail.  Destroy them …. Give me strength in this battle … God, give me victory over my enemies.  Thank You for loving me enough to bring me back.”

Although we’d all like to pray chapter 18 in its original form – from the heart of an innocent man, I cherish what God has shown me in this revised version, for too often when we sin we don’t feel that we can cry out to Him.  Like Adam and Eve in the garden, we are embarrassed about our sin and hide from Him rather than asking Him for help.  That’s exactly the wrong thing to do.

Father, thanks for showing me how to honestly come before You to admit my sin, so that You can do all of these things to protect me and to bring me back to You.  Your love for us amazes me!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford