Praising Scripture - Dec 21

Introduction...

PSALM 18:1-6, 16-19,46 Praise God Before The Enemy
（Memorization Scripture: vv.1-3）
1 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

4 The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
……
16 He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
19 He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
…
46 The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.




[Sharing]

The knowledge of God and spiritual maturity require time, experience, and “the end of the Lord” (James 5:11 KJV) (Refer to a book by Watchman Nee). The reason that David's psalm can be greatly used by the Holy Spirit to profoundly touch people’s hearts is his seventy years’ rich experience with  God’s work. It was when the Lord saved him from all of his enemies and from Saul’s hand that David read this fifty-verse psalm to the Lord.

Have you gone through a really hard time? Have you ever felt the hopelessness when walking through the valley of the shadow of death? Have you experienced the overwhelming panic when a strong enemy is present? Then you must have had a similar experience to David’s:

“He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,

From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.”

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, in whom I take refuge; and He is my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. The Lord is a living God! I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies!

I will love You, O Lord, my strength! (NY)