psalm 18

Psalm 18 (NRSV)
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25 With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
with the blameless you show yourself blameless;
26 with the pure you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
27 For you deliver a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 It is you who light my lamp;
the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 By you I can crush a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God—his way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

Lord,

I am reminded of the teaching of Jesus that we are forgiven only as we forgive others. The poet believes that our God-like behavior is the window through which we can see your character: Our loyalty reveals your loyalty, our blamelessness allows us to see your own, our purity becomes the window through which we can see yours.

Thank you that you reveal yourself also to the disloyal, the rightly blamed, and the impure. “While we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

However, the poet is on to something profound. Those who have received much will receive even more. Those who have absorbed your character and live your character will see even more of you. And those who refuse first insights and first lessons will be denied that which comes later.

The poet is quick to speak of humility. Living the character traits of God is more than a self-help exercise. They are the gifts of a relationship with you and come ultimately only from you. So, the poet confesses his humility in the midst of his grand victory celebration.

“It is you “who light my lamp;” you who “lights up my darkness.”

PERSONAL PRAYERS:
Give thanks for the light that comes only from God.
Ask for light in the midst of your darkness.
Name 5 things for which you are grateful and say “thank you” to God.

In Christ’s name,
Amen