THE GOD WE WORSHIP!

Text:  Psalm 18:1-3    (Psalm shows Christ as our all sufficiency)!

How many of you know that God is everything and has everything we need?  So whatever you want to put after “God is”, you’ll find that He is!

The Hebrew title for the Psalms is tehillah, meaning “praises”.  David was constantly giving God “praises” for victory.  When he was running from Saul, he was in constant danger of death.  Here in Psalm 18 the Lord has delivered him from all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul.  David said in Psalm 18:1  I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.  

(Vs 2) The LORD is my rock (safety and security in God’s immovable strength), and my fortress (a place of refuge and safety where the enemy cannot penetrate), and my deliverer (a living protector); my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler (a type of shield symbolizing that God comes between us and harm), and the horn of my salvation (strength and victorious power to deliver and save us), and my high tower (a high place among the rocks, safe from plunder and destruction).

(Vs 3) I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised:  so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

We, like David, have ample reason to worship and praise God.  Did He not save us and deliver us from the jaws of hell, death and the grave?  He has given us victory, and we will worship and praise Him and give Him thanks for that!  For God is our salvation!  God is our strength!  God is our protector!  God is our battle axe!  God is our everything!  As we focus on God and who He is, we will know why God is the God we worship!

The word “worship” comes from an old English word meaning “worth-ship”.  It means to ascribe worth to someone!  Is not God worthy to be worshipped and praised?  Our “worship” ascribes “worth” to Him because of “who” He is and “what” he does.  David is declaring his utmost love and dependence upon the Lord!  Isn’t that the first commandment - to “love” God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength (Mark 12:30)?  

Psalm 18:1 David said, I will love the LORD.  The word “love” translated here means to love deeply.  It is not the normal word “love” which speaks of “covenant love”.  This word speaks of “tender intimacy”!  It carries the idea of a mother’s love for a child - the idea of loving one so much!  I’m sure we have all felt this way about someone we love:  parents; mate; child; sibling; friend; or some other loved one.  You want to reach out and hug them and hold them.  

When Mary Magdalene encountered the risen Savior, she wanted to reach out and touch Him because of her love for Him.  But He said, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father” (John 20:17).  When the disciples met Him after the resurrection in Matthew 28:9, they came and held Him by His feet and worshipped Him.  All because of their “love” for Him!!  God loves us, and our hearts should be filled with that same kind of love!  

In Psalm 18:2, David is letting us know that he totally depends on God, and that’s for everything!  David realizes every ounce of strength comes from God.  Can anyone in this room under the sound of my voice, or anyone that may read this message, relate to what he’s saying?  I know He is my strength!  I know He is the very air I breathe!  I know I can depend on Him because He is the God we worship!  David used the personal possessive pronoun “my” nine times.  

Did you realize that “my” is the first pronoun learned by most children?  Don’t they say things like, “That’s my Mama”!  “That’s my toy”!  “That’s my house”!  That’s my room”!  They’re just letting you know what’s theirs.  David is letting us know that he loves and depends on God, and that He is his rock, his fortress, his strength and buckler!  

People of God know assuredly that our God is everything we need.  God has always taken care of His people.  Same God then, same God now!!

It doesn’t matter who has filled the state or national Senate; God is still in charge.  The same Systems of Government have ruled before, but God took care of His people.  Daniel was under a Government system, but God took care of him.  The Hebrew boys were under a Government system, and God took care of them!  The Israelites were under a Government system, but God brought them out!  Same God then, same God now!  Ecclesiastes 1:9  And there is no new thing under the sun.

Like David, we find that:

God is stability!  David describes God as a “rock”, which refers to a “craggy cliff”.  He is reminding us that when it appears that the world is spinning out of control, the believer can stand above it all when he stands on the Word of God.  Our relationship with the Lord gives us a different perspective on the trials of life.  When we stand in Him, we see the trials through His eyes! And even though the difficulties of life may cause hurt, they still cause our hearts to bow in worship.  Job 1:20-21  Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped.  And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither:  the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

God is our safety!  Many of us can vouch for that!  He has saved us from wrecks, accidents about to happen, from our enemies when they have set traps unaware, and even saved us from our own selves.  How many know we can be our own worst enemy at times?  Surely God is my fortress – our fortress!  

God is our Savior!  David refers to the Lord as his “deliverer”!  A deliverer is one who save; one who rescues; one who delivers another from danger!  Can I get a witness here that He is a Savior?

God is Sovereign!  David refers to Him as “GOD”, meaning “EL”, referring to God as Almighty!  He’s over all things and is in control!  In other words He is “CEO” of the universe!  Isaiah 45:5-6 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me:  I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:  that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me.  I am the LORD, and there is none else.

God is our strength!  This word refers to a “cliff” or “unmovable rock”.  When everything else is being tossed and twisted, God will forever remain the same.  He’s always stable!  Hebrews 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

We are on the solid rock!  Jesus is our Gibraltar!  He is anchored deep and rises above everything.  He’s unmovable and unassailable!

God is our shield!  A shield protects!  In verse 2, David said He’s “my buckler”, meaning God is always there between us and harm!  He was our shield at Calvary and still is!!!

God is our security!  A horn of Salvation is a symbol of strength and conquest!  The Psalmist said, The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1)  How many know we’re totally secure in Him? 1 Peter 1:5, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

God is our supply!  David says the LORD is our “high tower”!  This refers to towers which were built around the ancient cities.  From these towers, soldiers could look down on their attackers and send volleys of arrows down on their heads.  The towers were usually stocked with ammunitions and supplies.  When the soldiers ran to the “high towers”, they were above the battle!  They were in a place of rest, refreshment and ready supply.  God is the same for His children.  We can call upon Him, and He’ll fight for us.  We can find rest and peace for our soul!  After all, the battle is the Lord’s!!  1 Samuel 17:47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear:  for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

In conclusion, no matter what comes or goes, God is still in control!  As the song writers Edward Mote/William B. Bradbury composed the words of this great hymn – “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.  On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand – all other ground is sinking sand”!

For God is the God we worship!  God is immutable – He changes not!  God is my Rock!  God is my Fortress!  God is my Deliverer!  God is my Supply!

Remember God will take care of His people!  Isaiah 59:19  So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun.  When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

Talking about the God we worship – We really should not be worried about anything!  Especially when God has said to cast all our care upon Him for He careth for us (1 Peter 5:7).  Do we really believe the Word of God?  Do you not know that with every problem and every situation we face, there is an answer according to the Word of God?  And when we apply the Word, God has to honor His Word!  The Word has all the instructions we need.  The Almighty God is the God we worship!

God is encouraging us to depend upon Him, trust Him, and obey Him because every promise, every prophecy spoken to you and me shall come to pass!  If you need money, God’s got it, and He is going to allow it to get into your hands – your bank accounts!  We’re seeing this through God’s eyes!  Don’t even try to figure it out - only believe!  Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in (Psalm 24:9).

Know that our God is “supreme”, and He’s our Father!  We’re going to make it!  Simply because of His grace and mercy!  We have been accepted into the Kingdom of God which includes all of His benefits, and we’re in the Government of God which supplies all our needs, and there’s no sorrow with it.

Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.  Be encouraged ye sons of God!  We are going to make it!!!  ONLY BELIEVE!!!

~ Evangelist Mary Perry