From Glory To Glory: The Story Of Christ In Psalms 15–24 (Part 8)—Psalm 18 And The Motivation For Praise

by on November 15, 2025 | Comment

What motivates us to give thanks? It is when we realize the gravity of some good given to us. Psalm 18 is about the thanks that grows out of God pulling his king from death’s jaws. The previous article looked at how, ultimately, Psalm 18 is about how the true king of God’s people—Jesus Christ—died in our place. Yet, Psalm 18 speaks of this death with Psalm 15–17 already in place which told of his ascension and resurrection.

Psalm 18 falls in the run of Psalms 15–24, which tell the story of Christ’s incarnate life in reverse order, then in forward order. Psalm 15 was about his ascension, depicted as entering God’s heavenly mountain; Psalm 16 was about his resurrection as the grave could not hold him; Psalm 17 was about his trust that his Father would raise him even during those three days that his body lay in the grave and his soul was in heaven with the Father and the believers who had died before him. Psalm 18 reflects on Christ’s death itself.

With that Christological meaning already discussed in part 7, we will consider this psalm as it teaches us about how God saves us as well. Death no longer has its sting because of Christ’s saving death. Hence, we learn to give praise because God has also snatched us from death’s cords as he joins us to Christ. This article looks specifically at the application of Psalm 18:1–19.

Great Protection

This psalm teaches us that true and profound worship grows out of thinking about things that God has previously done for us. It teaches us to praise God when he delivers us. Psalm 18 is a hymn of praise. As such, this psalm begins with praise. Then, in the middle, the psalmist recounts a dire situation from the past from which God has already rescued him. At the end, he returns to praise. This is the basic structure of every hymn of praise.

Even though the danger of death is a necessary piece of this psalm, the real emphasis is on celebrating and praising God for deliverance from that trouble. Verses 1–3 state the main point:

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

In verse 1, the word rock is not a small stone that you might find in your yard. It refers specifically to the rocks of a cliff. In addition to this imposing imagery, David calls God his fortress.

If there was an army attacking you, where would you most want to be? You would want to be in the highest place you could find so you could see your enemies coming. You would want to be on a mountain that is impossible to climb so they could not reach you. Further, you might want to be in a fortress at the top of the mountain where even if someone could make the climb, all they could do is try to peek through the windows.

God is this fortress for his people in times of trouble! God is a huge, impenetrable mountain stronghold, and God is also the rocks of the cliff that prevents our enemies from climbing up to us. We can climb up to the heights of God and be sheltered—God is our own personal shield, so that if we still need to crouch in the corner, he is close to protect us.

David continues contrasting this type of protection that God gives throughout this psalm. In verse 16: “He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.” The Hebrew people were not seafaring people. Throughout the Bible, water and the sea are symbols of danger and threat. Here David is drowning in many waters, which indicates great peril. Yet, God does not stand aloof and passively be David’s rock. He does not say from afar, “If you can get up here, I guess you will be safe.” No, God from on high reaches down and scoops David out of danger and brings him into the shelter of his own clifftop fortress.

Prompting to Praise

Here is another question to consider: What led David to issue these outstanding praises to God? Asking that type of question is the key to understanding and valuing every single psalm. What emotions and thoughts would cause someone to write these words? When we crawl inside David’s experiences, the Psalms come alive.

David answers this question for us in verses 4–19: At one point the cords of death were wrapped around him. Think about the way David depicts his rescue. Smoke rolls from God’s nostrils and flames shoot from his mouth (v. 8). God folds up the heavens and shakes the earth (vv. 7, 9). God rides on the clouds to smite the enemies of his people (vv. 10–15).

Psalm 18 makes me think of the second Hobbit movie when Bilbo actually makes it inside the Lonely Mountain where all the dwarves’ treasure is kept. But the treasure is guarded by the dragon Smaug. When Smaug hears sounds of someone intruding to steal his precious possession, an enormous rumbling rises as he stirs to move and guard what he loves. Smoke starts to trickle from his nose and flames start to heat within his belly to crush those who would take what is his.

This is how God is with what he loves, but in his case, the treasured possession is his people. When God hears the call from his people that they are in danger, things start to rumble as he stirs to action. His nostrils fill with smoke to let his enemies know flaming coals are about to reign down on them because they have threatened his people.

Being gripped by grace is recognizing how God stands ready and more than able to rescue you from all trials and being moved to worship by his commitment to you. Being gripped by grace is seeing God’s actions on your behalf and offering praises back to him for what he does for you.

The Source of Victory

This psalm teaches that when we make it successfully through hard times, God is the one who equips us. When we make it through financial hardship and do not go bankrupt, God is the one who gives us work. When we are able to reconcile with our husband or wife after an argument, God is the one who grants the maturity to repent, apologize, and even forgive. God is at work in these things. God is the One who builds us up to deal with the death of a loved one. God is the one who will give us wisdom and strength to raise children well, treat others with love, and overcome rejection by friends or family. This gives us great reason to praise him.

Give God the credit that is due to him for all your victories. When you hold your tongue with someone who infuriates you, give God praise. When you resist the temptation to click on that link you should not click, praise God. When you have a great idea for how to love and serve your neighbor well, give God praise. He is the one who did these things in you. Through Psalm 18, we learn deference to God who is the reason for all our victories.

© Harrison Perkins. All Rights Reserved.

You can find this whole series here.

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