Reading: Psalm 18:20-30 (suggested to review 1-19)
(No Spurgeon quote)
Cardiphonia:*
In this third section of Psalm 18, the mood changes again as the sacred hymn-writer expounds the final thought of the previous section: the Lord’s delight in his children. In Psalm 18:20-30 David, who is speaking both for himself, and even more for his Son, the Messiah, who would come later, speaks with confidence in God’s just and faithful actions toward those who are blameless. Even though he was not perfect by any means, David asserts his innocence boldly in the face of evil attacks and even claims that God’s deliverance of him from his enemies is in keeping with what his righteousness deserves.
This teaches us that in our horizontal relationships there can be those who truly are blameless, even though not perfect. They are unjustly treated so that when God delivers, he truly is treating them according to what they deserve. Maybe you are such a one who is awaiitng God’s vindication. Do wait in hope—for the Lord will come, if not in this life, in the life to come
But when considered vertically in relationship with God, neither David nor any of the rest of us could ever make the claims of innocent David expresses in the Psalm. Nobody can say when he enjoys the favor of God: I deserve this. God is treating me according to my righteousness. That is: no one except One. And it is in that One that we have all our hope for deliverance, vindication, and everlasting salvation.
Again please notice the tune change as we move though this Psalm. We moved from contemplative, to assertive (of God’s coming deliverance), and now to reflective. For this purpose I have chosen the traditional Gaelic tune, more well known as the song “Morning Has Broken”.
* A word coined by and borrowed from John Newton (meaning “sounds of the heart”). The Cardiphonia comments in the Shorey Psalter are my personal reflections on the Psalm.
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