Psalms are songs, right? Have you ever listened to some song lyrics and wondered what the lyricist was thinking? Some songs just don’t make sense. In the movie You’ve Got Mail, Tom Hanks’ character, Joe, says to Meg Ryan’s character, Kathleen, “I could never be with anyone who likes Joni Mitchell. ‘It’s clouds illusions I recall, I really don’t know clouds at all.’ What does that mean?” Well, many psalms are like that for me. I can read them, reread them, and still not get them.

Psalm 18, though, is different. As we saw yesterday, it starts off with David’s cry to the Lord for help against his enemies, and then God’s coming to his rescue because of David’s righteousness. David then praises God for what He’s done. “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30. Yes, God is a shield for all of us who are weak and can’t handle some of our trials and temptations on our own. But it is his purpose to strengthen us and guide us by his indwelling Holy Spirit so we can go back into our corrupt world and fight for what is God’s will. That is what David is praising God for in this second half of Psalm 18. David confidently goes out to meet his enemies and defeats them. He exclaims “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!” Psalm 18:46.

We need to be more like David. Here was a great king who recognized that every success he had was because of God. He recognized that it wasn’t his own skills and talents that led him to defeat his enemies. And in times of despair he knew exactly who to call on for guidance and help. How often do we praise God for our successes? How often do we thank him when things are going well? Or do we just call on God when we aren’t getting what we want and need something from him? According to Andrew Wommack, at least 95% of our prayer time ought to be devoted to praise and thanksgiving to God for all he gives us. God has given all of us so much more than we deserve, so why do we feel the need to ask for more? I encourage us all to start giving God the praise and thanksgiving he deserves all the time, not just of weekends at Church.