As I mentioned Sunday, I am going to be leading us through seven favorite Psalms as we end the Year of our Lord, 2026. Psalm 18 isn’t one of the seven I chose, but it’s got a cool literary structure. The first nine verses build the case that foolhardiness and deception aren’t going to deliver us. They culminate in verse 10 which says:
The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous runs into it and is safe.
Then from verse 11 on, the psalmist discusses the ultimate worthlessness of human success, leaving one to realize that the only safe option is to run to the Lord.
The cultural imagery is of a last stand. A city state and/or army would fight until their backs were against the wall, and then they would break for the “tower” from which they would make their last stand. David wrote this Psalm after successfully fleeing from Saul. The reading is pretty plain. We can try countless avenues to find safety, but true peace is only found in Him.
I know that can sound like a platitude, but it’s also the foundational truth!
Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7
Yours for His Glory,
Pastor Scott
