Psalm 18: 2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
“The Lord Lives!”
The Psalm is saying that the Lord
is present to us, here and now, just as
He was when He delivered David
from his persecutors.
The really key revelation for us is
that the Lord lives. He lives among us;
He is present in the Word; Jesus is
in fact the Living Word; He is present
on the inside of us through the holy
Spirit. He is alive in the Eucharist;
He humbled himself to share in our
humanity, so that we might have a
share in His divinity!
So Jesus is alive and well, standing
by us as our “rock of refuge, our
shield, our saving horn.” We join
with David in praising God and loving
Him with all our heart and all our mind,
as Jesus reminds us to do in the Gospel.
How do we apply the Psalm's verses to
our lives? We turn to our Lord to equip
us for the battles that we fight against the
evil one. Jesus becomes our fortress!
In this Psalm we hear David, crying out
to the Lord, as one cries out to his savior.
“My God, my rock of refuge, my shield,
my saving horn, my stronghold.” David
has just emerged after being saved
by God from his enemies and the clutches
of King Saul. David has been rescued by
that same God of compassion and mercy
that spoke to Moses.
David says, “You have shown kindness to
your anointed.” God promises to hear us
when we cry out to Him as our psalmist
does.
David praises his savior in language that
is familiar to us as his spiritual descendents:
“The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock!
Exalted be God my savior!”
For David has been delivered from the
forces of evil that surrounded him.
And that same deliverance is available to
us, so long as we surrender ourselves
to God and love God with all of our heart
and soul and strength.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist exclaims, 'The Lord lives!' Speak of how
the Lord is present to you and why you believe He is your rock,
your fortress, here and now.
2. The Psalm makes it clear that David loves the Lord and
that the Lord is the source of his strength. Describe your love
for the Lord and how you have been led to serve Him and
praise Him.
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going". The Lord is there for us especially if we have established an ongoing relationship/connection with Him. And daily prayer is the way to do that. I would hate to think that I was all alone in this life, without having a rock/fortress such as the Lord to turn to in times of need. He's also a pretty darn good person to share the "good news" with, and Who else would we turn to in times of need??? Life is a lot easier when you're a little older!
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