LYRICS
He reached down from above
And took hold of me
Pulled me out of deep waters
He rescued me!
O Yah, my shield, and high tower
You are the horn and the power
Of freedom from danger
Oh sin’s wages, a stranger
He reached down from above
And took hold of me
Pulled me out of deep waters
He rescued me!
Yah was my support
Oh He brought me out
To an open meadow
He rescued me!
O Yah, my strength, I love You
My rock in whom I take refuge
I call upon the One
The One to be, praised!
He delighted in me
My integrity
From guarding His right-rulings
He clothes me with strength
And perfects my way
Like the feet of a deer
He makes mine to be
Trains my hands
I am battle-ready
Yah gives me the shield
Of His deliverance!
SCRIPTURE SUNG
Psalm 18
Praise for Deliverance
For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love You, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock,
my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my mountain where I seek refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I was saved from my enemies.4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.
5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 I called to the Lord in my distress,
and I cried to my God for help.
From His temple He heard my voice,
and my cry to Him reached His ears.7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;
they shook because He burned with anger.
8 Smoke rose from His nostrils,
and consuming fire came from His mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[a]
9 He parted the heavens and came down,
a dark cloud beneath His feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His hiding place,
dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.
12 From the radiance of His presence,
His clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
13 The Lord thundered from[b] heaven;
the Most High projected His voice.[c]
14 He shot His arrows and scattered them;
He hurled[d] lightning bolts and routed them.
15 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed,
at Your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.16 He reached down from heaven
and took hold of me;
He pulled me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my distress,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out to a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me.20 The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;
He repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
22 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind[e]
and have not disregarded His statutes.
23 I was blameless toward Him
and kept myself from sinning.
24 So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.25 With the faithful
You prove Yourself faithful;
with the blameless man
You prove Yourself blameless;
26 with the pure
You prove Yourself pure,
but with the crooked
You prove Yourself shrewd.
27 For You rescue an afflicted people,
but You humble those with haughty eyes.
28 Lord, You light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.
29 With You I can attack a barrier,[f]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.30 God—His way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is pure.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For who is God besides Yahweh?
And who is a rock? Only our God.
32 God—He clothes me with strength
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
and sets me securely on the heights.[g]
34 He trains my hands for war;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand upholds me,
and Your humility exalts me.
36 You widen a place beneath me for my steps,
and my ankles do not give way.37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.
38 I crush them, and they cannot get up;
they fall beneath my feet.
39 You have clothed me with strength for battle;
You subdue my adversaries beneath me.
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me;[h]
I annihilate those who hate me.
41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save them—
they cry to the Lord, but He does not answer them.
42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind;
I trample them[i] like mud in the streets.43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people;
You have appointed me the head of nations;
a people I had not known serve me.
44 Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;
as soon as they hear,[j] they obey me.
45 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.46 The Lord lives—may my rock be praised!
Psalm 18
The God of my salvation is exalted.
47 God—He gives me vengeance
and subdues peoples under me.
48 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
You rescue me from violent men.
49 Therefore I will praise You, Yahweh, among the nations;
I will sing about Your name.
50 He gives great victories to His king;
He shows loyalty to His anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
SONG BACKGROUND
King David wrote Psalm 18 after YHWH rescued him from the pursuit of Saul and his intent to murder David. David claimed Yah delighted in him and delivered him because he kept the ways of YHWH and has not turned from them.
I believe when Psalm 18 mentions that YHWH delights in those who have integrity, He wants to bless those who love Him with their whole heart and give their best effort to live how He leads us to, in His Word, by obeying His commands.
May we all strive to keep integrity and stand firm like King David did, in order to be obedient in YHWH’s eyes!
Though we don’t come close to meeting Yah’s standards, it doesn’t mean we don’t try. Our wholehearted efforts to follow His ways are what gets rewarded. His Word says in Hebrews 11:6, that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him- HalleluYah!
With Messiah as our foundation of salvation (through our faith: which includes both belief in Messiah and works), I want to go on and love Him through obedience (works) as best as I know how, because He first loved me {1 John 4:19} and freed me from the punishment I am liable for (a.k.a. guilt). See Romans 6:22-23 here for more details.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You
Psalm 32:5
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,
“I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and You took away the guilt of my sin. Selah
YHWH rescues us from death and a life that leads to it. He perfects our way and provides strength in each circumstance to do His will. YHWH is worthy of praise!
When I came across Psalm 18, I received such satisfaction from His Word.
Yah graciously rescued me from feeling crushed in my spirit, wanting to give up, wanting revenge, and from holding onto resentment (once again). He gave light to my eyes, enabling me to see that my expectations were placed on humans when I should have them placed on Him. By speaking in my spirit and showing me His Word (Psalm 18:19 specifically), YHWH brought me out of a dark place and a weak state of mind. He encouraged me to keep integrity and to love rather than seek to do what my flesh wanted to do.
Learning that Yah simply delights in me is all I needed in that moment to be softened. He will be my all if I am willing to consider His ways, especially over mine.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and He will give you your heart’s desires.5 Commit your way to the Lord;
Psalm 37:4-6
trust in Him, and He will act,
6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.
Praise Yah!
PERSONAL SONG STORY
On occasion, I wrestle with feelings of hurt, which turn into anger and much disappointment towards how I am being treated by people. I find myself having much resentment and unforgiveness, which is a serious sin to the Father. We must be forgiving or we won’t be forgiven in the end!
Dealing with feelings of hurt is not easy (or at least for me?), because my flesh wants to feel sorry for myself, get revenge (see Psalm 18:47; He is the One who gives vengeance), and get others to tell me that I am right and “deserve better”. Little do I realize in the moment that I’m letting my flesh overtake, when I want things to become fair for me. Fairness is nice, but rare I think and probably shouldn’t be expected (lol). To be honest, it’s probably meant to be that way; being humbled by a little mistreatment is a better place to be than puffed up by the opposite. Look at Yahshua; though He had humility already, He faced major forms of mistreatment rather than being served.
Anyways, though the people causing the hurt could be totally at fault, that doesn’t really matter. Though the problem would be solved if they simply changed their words and thoughts, that still shouldn’t be the focus (not saying you shouldn’t talk it out in love with that person and ignore the issue).
WHAT MATTERS (from what I get from Yah so far) is:
where I get my need of love from.
This is helpful for preventing future hurt, and feelings of resentment and unforgiveness towards others.
Is it expected from humans OR from YHWH, who IS love?
If I obtain the expectation that a human or humans will satisfy my need for love, then I will be heartbroken over and over (and over and over) again, which can really hinder me from doing my part as a believer and daughter of the Most High. Yah brought light to this false expectation I was holding, while I was deep in thought about it. It turned my perspective around and caused me to be grateful for a God who cares!
It’s amazing to realize your need of love and satisfaction doesn’t depend on another human’s ability!
17 The righteous[f] cry out, and the Lord hears,
Psalm 34:17-18
and delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.
I thank YHWH for being the love I so need & teaching me to not expect humans to be that!
Another thing that matters here is how I react and think after I receive disrespect from others. I, as a believer, am commanded to love… I’M SUPPOSED TO SHOW LOVE, ESPECIALLY when I don’t receive love back because that is what makes believers shine, and in turn, bring esteem to our Father in heaven {Matt. 5:14-16}.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:32-36
Sidenote: If we didn’t have these people in our lives, would we be prepared to endure anything worse at all in the future?
As much as I want to cry and just let my flesh have its way, I need to get over it and choose to do what He would do rather; and that would be to show love and do good to that person. FORGIVE AND FORGET
After all, isn’t that the thing he/she needs most anyhow?
What does loving someone look like?
See 1 Corinthians 13 as a consistent guide:
Love: The Superior Way
13 If I speak human or angelic languages
but do not have love,
I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy
and understand all mysteries
and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith
so that I can move mountains
but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor,
and if I give my body in order to boast[a]
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind.
Love does not envy,
is not boastful, is not conceited,
5 does not act improperly,
is not selfish, is not provoked,
and does not keep a record of wrongs.
6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness
but rejoices in the truth.
7 It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never ends.
1 Corinthians 13:1-8
See also The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:
The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
Exodus 20:1-17
3 Do not have other gods besides Me.
4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.
7 Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses His name.
8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.
12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 Do not murder.
14 Do not commit adultery.
15 Do not steal.
16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Each time we face a circumstance like this, it seems impossible. It seems impossible to get past the hurt in order to show an act of kindness somehow, but He strengthens us. Abba Yah provides everything necessary to help us walk out His will, as we continually fight to trust Him and believe that His way is better than our own. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
3 His[c] divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by[d] His own glory and goodness. 4 By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. 11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you.
2 Peter 1:3-11
HalleluYah!
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and He will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in Him, and He will act,
6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.
{Psalm 37:4-6}
17 The righteous[f] cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.
{Psalm 34:17-18}
Vindicate me, Lord,
Psalm 26:1
because I have lived with integrity
and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
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