Psalm 18 Sermon ART 4B — Praying the Psalm Through Christ

sermon / spoken-word, Anglican chant–inflected homily, liturgical spoken preaching

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The messianic horizon has been opened.
David's song has become the Church's song.
The seed of David has come to us in Christ.
What does this mean 
for those of us gathered here today?
Let me try to bring this home.

[SECTION TWELVE — The Pastoral Application]
[Cello note settling, warm]
[Preacher — pastoral, settled]

When we pray Psalm eighteen,
we are praying inside the covenant 
that has now been fulfilled in Christ.
We are not pretending to be David.
We are not claiming our own military victories 
or our own moral perfection.
We are praying as those 
who have been incorporated into the David 
whose deliverance has become our deliverance.

When the psalm cries out from the depths,
we are joined with Christ 
who cried out from the cross.
When the psalm describes the descent of God 
in cosmic theophany,
we recognize the descent that Christmas celebrates.
When the psalm celebrates deliverance 
for the king and his seed for evermore,
we are part of that seed 
because we are in Christ 
who is the king.

The eight metaphors 
become our metaphors.
The Lord is our rock.
Our fortress.
Our deliverer.
Our strength.
Our buckler.
Our horn of salvation.
Our high tower.
Our God.

We pile up the metaphors 
because the rescue is too large 
for any single name.

[SECTION THIRTEEN — The Visceral Love]
[Cello note steady, warm]
[Preacher — measured, intimate]

And the love that David expressed 
in the unusual verb of the opening verse — 
the racham, 
the tender visceral love 
that was so unusual 
in the Old Testament context — 
this love is now offered to all of us 
who have been delivered through Christ.

I want to dwell on this for a moment 
because it is, I think,
the most important pastoral implication 
of the psalm for the Christian today.

Many of us have been formed 
to think of our love for God 
in restrained, dutiful terms.
We worship.
We attend services.
We read scripture.
We give thanks at meals.
We pray our prayers.
This is good and right.
But it is sometimes a long way 
from the love David is describing.

Racham is not the love of duty.
It is the love that surprises you 
in the early morning 
when you are reading the gospel of John 
and suddenly you are weeping 
because you have understood 
for the first time 
that he loved you 
to the end.

It is the love that breaks through 
when you have been delivered from something 
that you could not have survived 
without him.

It is the love of the rescued.
The love of those who know 
they were drowning 
and are no longer drowning.
The love that has nothing dutiful in it 
and everything grateful in it.

This is what the gospel makes possible 
for the ordinary Christian.
We may love God 
with the love that David glimpsed,
because we have been delivered 
in a way that David could only anticipate.

[SECTION FOURTEEN — The Final Word]
[Cello note settling]
[Distant small bell once, very softly]
[Long pause]
[Preacher — gentle, benedictory close]

So let us pray this psalm together, 
brothers and sisters.

Not as a triumphant assertion 
of our own righteousness.
Not as a celebration of military victory.
But as the song of the rescued — 
those who were once in the depths 
and have been pulled out by the descent of God in Christ.

The Lord liveth, 
and blessed be our rock.
The God of our salvation be exalted.
Christ has come for us.
Christ has died for us.
Christ has risen for us.
Christ is our deliverer 
and the lifter of our heads.

Let us live in the gratitude 
that this psalm models for us,
piling up our names for him 
because no single name is enough,
loving him with the deepest love we know,
and joining David in the song 
that will be sung 
by all his seed forever.

The Lord liveth.
And we who have been incorporated 
into his anointed Son 
shall live with him.

In the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

[end]

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[intro] [British Scholarly-Pastoral Anglican Sermon] [Mid-sized Anglican parish church acoustic] [Single sustained low cello note, warm and settling] [Faint church ambient] [Preacher — gentle, returning to the listener's life] The messianic horizon has been opened. David's song has become the Church's song. The seed of David has come to us in Christ. What does this mean for those of us gathered here today? Let me try to bring this home. [SECTION TWELVE — The Pastoral Application] [Cello note settling, warm] [Preacher — pastoral, settled] When we pray Psalm eighteen, we are praying inside the covenant that has now been fulfilled in Christ. We are not pretending to be David. We are not claiming our own military victories or our own moral perfection. We are praying as those who have been incorporated into the David whose deliverance has become our deliverance. When the psalm cries out from the depths, we are joined with Christ who cried out from the cross. When the psalm describes the descent of God in cosmic theophany, we recognize the descent that Christmas celebrates. When the psalm celebrates deliverance for the king and his seed for evermore, we are part of that seed because we are in Christ who is the king. The eight metaphors become our metaphors. The Lord is our rock. Our fortress. Our deliverer. Our strength. Our buckler. Our horn of salvation. Our high tower. Our God. We pile up the metaphors because the rescue is too large for any single name. [SECTION THIRTEEN — The Visceral Love] [Cello note steady, warm] [Preacher — measured, intimate] And the love that David expressed in the unusual verb of the opening verse — the racham, the tender visceral love that was so unusual in the Old Testament context — this love is now offered to all of us who have been delivered through Christ. I want to dwell on this for a moment because it is, I think, the most important pastoral implication of the psalm for the Christian today. Many of us have been formed to think of our love for God in restrained, dutiful terms. We worship. We attend services. We read scripture. We give thanks at meals. We pray our prayers. This is good and right. But it is sometimes a long way from the love David is describing. Racham is not the love of duty. It is the love that surprises you in the early morning when you are reading the gospel of John and suddenly you are weeping because you have understood for the first time that he loved you to the end. It is the love that breaks through when you have been delivered from something that you could not have survived without him. It is the love of the rescued. The love of those who know they were drowning and are no longer drowning. The love that has nothing dutiful in it and everything grateful in it. This is what the gospel makes possible for the ordinary Christian. We may love God with the love that David glimpsed, because we have been delivered in a way that David could only anticipate. [SECTION FOURTEEN — The Final Word] [Cello note settling] [Distant small bell once, very softly] [Long pause] [Preacher — gentle, benedictory close] So let us pray this psalm together, brothers and sisters. Not as a triumphant assertion of our own righteousness. Not as a celebration of military victory. But as the song of the rescued — those who were once in the depths and have been pulled out by the descent of God in Christ. The Lord liveth, and blessed be our rock. The God of our salvation be exalted. Christ has come for us. Christ has died for us. Christ has risen for us. Christ is our deliverer and the lifter of our heads. Let us live in the gratitude that this psalm models for us, piling up our names for him because no single name is enough, loving him with the deepest love we know, and joining David in the song that will be sung by all his seed forever. The Lord liveth. And we who have been incorporated into his anointed Son shall live with him. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. [end]

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