Meditation and Prayer on Psalm 18:1-3

Psalm 18:1-3 Prayer August 4, 2013

Our Precious Father, it is good for us to love You. We were created to love You in all
of our being. We were not created to love the world and to stuff ourselves with the
pleasures of the flesh, but to love and enjoy You forever. Every part of our being cries
out to Thee, O God, and it is only our sin that misdirects our affections to the things of
the world.  Neither were we created to love ourselves and our own thought before You.

Not only in all that You created, but in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Messiah, is Your
love to us presented. He died for us. He threw Himself upon the altar of Your eternal
judgment, into the jaws of Your just and holy wrath against sin and fully satisfied for
all our sins

Why would we not love You, O most Precious Father? You are our very strength, our
rock, our fortress, our deliverer. Our buckler, the horn of our salvation and our high
tower. There is no good thing upon the earth that does not come from You, O Father,
and there is nothing in heaven to be desired but You, had we eyes to see.

So we love You, O Lord. We trust in You, for Your strength is sufficient for us; we
need no other saviors; we need none but what You have appointed for us, because You
will do us good and not evil all the days of our lives. Only our sin blinds us to this
overwhelming and certain truth, so that we seek other remedies when we fear. Have
mercy upon us, O Lord, and renew our hearts so that our love for You is pure and true.

Not only do we love and trust You, O Precious Father, but we will call upon You the
day of trouble and upon none else. We would fly first to You in our weakness and in
our distress and in our sinfulness, for You alone can deliver us from all these enemies.

Our sin IS our weakness for when we try to be strong in ourselves we do not abide in
You and are overwhelmed with the evils of life. We will call on You, for the new
covenant in the blood of Christ is this, “Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the
Lord shall be saved.”

And so, Precious Father, loving You, trusting You, calling upon You, we will praise
You. We are not ashamed to be called by the Name of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ of
Nazareth and bear the name Christian gladly. We are not ashamed of Your doctrine
and confess the truth gladly and joyfully and reject all human wisdom.

We are not ashamed of Your church and gladly take our place within the congregation
of the saints, loving Your people as You have commanded. We are not ashamed of
Your people who are called by Your name in all places under heaven and pray and
petition You to have mercy upon them and show Yourself strong in turning them from
their iniquities and delivering them from all their enemies, even as we pray for
ourselves. How precious is Your Name, O Lord of Hosts, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
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“I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and
my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of
my salvation, and my high tower. 3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be
praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.” (Ps 18:1-3)