Thomases' Opus

The humble pronounce the Abrahamic covenant.

Ps 18

1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.

7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.

10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him-- the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

14 He shot his arrows and scattered [the enemies], great bolts of lightning and routed them.

15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.

19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.

22 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.

23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.

24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.

36 You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

38 I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.

39 You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.

40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.

41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them-- to the LORD, but he did not answer.

42 I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me.

44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me.

45 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.

46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!

47 He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me,

48 who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.

49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.

50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

This Psalm describe the relationship of justification and sanctification. This is the Psalm that Ive quoted all my life when Im talked down into believing that God is smaller than He is described in this book. The idea that justification gives us the ability to proceed in our sanctification as an evidence of grace is never how the Psalmist reasons. When the Psalmist is brought before the law he confesses that he cannot keep the law. The reason is that if anyone comes through the law then he is under the curse. If someone claims that he is getting better by the law then the reaction from the Psalmist would be .."May the whole law be placed upon you".In other words ..let this man be cursed.

But we see in the Psalm and other Psalms that the Psalmist kind of beats his chest and proclaims that he is innocent when he is confronted with the law. He even alludes to the fact that he receives exactly what he deserves. But if you look there is a verse that puts this into perspective. It is you save the "humble but bring low those who eyes are haughty" . Most people who have not pronounced the covenant phrases in the Psalms will not even recognize that the Psalmist is really saying that he is perfect because God has provided a fail safe covenant to those who are humble. Its really even better than the two liners describe.. their God only acts when their behavior meets their confession that proves they have grace. But in the biblical sense of promises and commands we are viewed as being a part of a created kingdom in which we represent the King. The King pronounces us innocent and we pound our chest that being in Christ means that we receive all the things that Christ has.

You will see this over and over again. The gospel is not just a consoling message to people who are sinners. Its not just a message that we can endure our trials. The gospel is a winning message that produces confidence if it is preached correctly. And here the Psalmist in declaring that he has not turned away from Gods decrees is saying it so that he can pronounce Gods covenant with the confidence of one who is represented by Christ. This is why after he reasons this way he then proceeds to a confidence that I cannot even describe. Ive been under teaching in which I walked out with a very low view of God and after pronouncing this Psalm i was ready to move mountains.

Look at what he says here. This language is spoken by the saints described in the Revelation to the seven churches who are over comers.Look what he says here...