David Gives A Summary of What God Is And Of All God's Blessings to Him (Psalms 18:30-36).
‘As for God, his way is perfect,
The word of YHWH is tried (tested and proved true),
He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.'
David knows that God's way is perfect. Thus to walk in that way is to walk the perfect road. He desired no other. For he knew that God's word had been tried and tested and had never failed. Each of us similarly can enjoy the perfection of God's way, and enjoy the security and blessing that comes from it. And in that way we too enjoy the security of His word. God has spoken and will fulfil it, as many have continually proved. His word, what He has said, has been tried and tested, and has always proved sure.
Similarly God's word is perfect however it expresses itself. His Instruction (Law) is perfect, restoring the soul (Psalms 19:7), as is His work, for He does the right and is faithful and just (Deuteronomy 32:4). Those who follow Him have the perfect workmaster and guide, know that His word is true, and are secure in His trustworthy and tested promises.
And what is more, in that way we are protected by God as our shield. Those who look to Him and rely on Him, will find in Him the perfect protection. The arrows of misfortune and evil may pour down on us, but the shield of YHWH will prove all sufficient for those who are hid with Christ in God.
‘For who is God, save YHWH?
And who is a rock, besides our God,
The God who girds me with strength,
And makes my way perfect?'
For there is none like Him. It is only YHWH Who is the true God. And no rock, no place of safety, stability and security can be like Him, for He is firm and strong and totally dependable. And David knew that this God also girded him with strength, renewing him on the way, and made the way before him perfect with His own perfection, as He will to all who trust in Him.
He knew it was the perfect way because it was God's way. It will have every unnecessary obstacle removed, leading surely in the course of a man's destiny. For God knows the way that we take (Job 23:10). Sometimes it may appear hard and difficult, as David had himself known, but it is the way by which He perfects His own so that He may bring them through triumphantly, so that they are made holy and without blemish.
‘He makes my feet like hinds' feet,
And sets me on my high places.
He teaches my hands to war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
David had proved it. God had brought him through the difficult days, and now he was strong. It had begun with a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:34). Then it had been Saul and the Philistines. And now he was sure of foot, like the hind on the mountainside, swift and sure footed, skipping from slippery gradient to slippery gradient, with never a falter, and thus, like the hind, standing on high places, from where he can look down in triumph. For the one who serves God truly will always find himself on the high places, above the mundaneness of the world.
Thus David was made skilled and given strength in war and able to bend that ultimate test of a man's strength, a bow of bronze (Job 20:24 lets us know how powerful such a bow was). Israel's antagonists, who had always been a thorn in their side, had to submit to his power. Their foes had been put under his feet. God had made him what he was, and would continue to maintain him in that place, so that Israel might prosper. And his dependence was still all on YHWH. To David God was all, both in times of distress and in times of triumph and vigour.
When we are going through the time of trial it behoves us to look ahead to what will be. And when we have achieved it, it behoves us to remember Who has done it, and Who maintains us there.
‘You have also given me the shield of your salvation,
And your right hand has held me up,
And your gentleness has made me great.
You have enlarged my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped.'
He is conscious that God has done all for him. God's deliverance has been his shield, the guarantee of his protection and of his ability to deal with the missiles of the enemy. God's strong right hand has held him up so that he did not fail. God's ‘gentleness' has made him great.
‘And your gentleness has made me great.' The word for ‘gentleness' means lowliness, meekness, a humbling of Himself. See for this Psalms 113:6. ‘Who is like to YHWH our God, Who has His seat on high, Who humbles Himself to behold what is in heaven and in the earth?' The idea is that God is so great on His throne that He has to humble Himself to have dealings with the heavens and the earth, and especially with men and women. He Who is in the high and holy place condescends to stoop to those who are of a contrite spirit (Isaiah 57:15). And David is aware that the Almighty has stooped to make him great.
It must ever be the wonder of our hearts that the Almighty God Himself has taken the trouble to reach down to us and save us. And it should be especially so to us as we face the fact that in doing so He gave us His Son to die for us.
‘You have enlarged my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped.' He has enabled David to stride forward with confidence, without stumbling. Nothing has stood in his way. Every step has been a giant one, and yet he remains firmly grounded. His way has been sure.
And the singers participated in his triumphs. How grateful we too should be that God has humbled Himself and stooped towards us, calling us by name and making us His own. With this knowledge we too can go forward in confidence, making great strides with God and yet remaining sure-footed.