Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2450 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.
In today’s Wisdom Nugget, we continue from our previous episodes, where we’ve explored how King David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, penned this magnificent psalm to praise God for delivering him from all his enemies and the hand of Saul. David, a warrior and a man after God’s heart, experienced life’s ups and downs—battles, betrayals, victories, and defeats. Yet through it all, he recognized that his strength and salvation came from God alone.
Today, we will delve into the concluding verses of Psalm 18, specifically verses 46 through 50, from the New Living Translation. These final verses form a powerful declaration of praise and thanksgiving to God, who is not only David’s deliverer but also the deliverer of His people. David reflects on God’s faithfulness in this passage and proclaims His goodness for all to hear.
Let’s embark on this trek together, allowing the wisdom of these verses to guide us as we journey toward a deeper understanding of God’s unfailing love and faithfulness.
Psalm 18:46-50 (NLT):
46 The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted! 47 He is the God who pays back those who harm me; he subdues the nations under me 48 and rescues me from my enemies. You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; you save me from violent opponents. 49 For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name. 50 You give great victories to your king; you show unfailing love to your anointed, to David and all his descendants forever.
The Living God:
We begin with verse 46, where David boldly proclaims, “The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted!”
In this powerful declaration, David starts by affirming the reality and presence of God. “The Lord lives!”—this is not just a statement of belief, but a shout of triumph, recognizing that the God of Israel is not a distant or lifeless deity. He is the living God, active and present in the lives of His people. This living God is the source of all life, strength, and deliverance. He is not an idea, a philosophy, or an abstract concept. He is the living, breathing, sovereign Lord intimately involved in humanity’s affairs.
David then moves to praise, exalting God as his Rock. The imagery of God as a Rock is powerful and multifaceted. A rock is solid, unchanging, and immovable, symbolizing stability and protection. For David, God is the unshakable foundation upon which he builds his life. Amid battles and trials, when everything around him was in turmoil, David found his security in the unchanging nature of God.
He continues by calling for the exaltation of “the God of my salvation.” Here, David acknowledges that God is the one who has saved him, not just from physical danger, but from every form of destruction. Salvation, in the fullest sense, encompasses deliverance from all that threatens our physical and spiritual well-being.
