Sovereign God, Sovereign Grace

The first half of Psalm 18 depicts God’s awesome power and majesty, vividly describing Him as a rock, fortress, deliverer, shield, a “horn of salvation,” and a stronghold, among other things. Most of the music we sing in this morning’s service picks up on or elaborates on these concepts. Blest Be The Lord, My Rock, My Might (Psalm 144) incorporates nearly all this language (rock, shield, tower, shelter) and depicts God wielding the storm and the clouds to harass His enemies —an image we also find in Psalm 18:7-15. Similarly, O Worship The King calls the Lord our “shield and defender,” My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less calls Him a “solid rock” contrasted with sinking sand, and A Mighty Fortress Is Our God calls him a “fortress,” a “bulwark never failing,” and a “helper amid the flood.” Great And Marvelous, The Lord Is King, and How Great Thou Art, while not using the exact phrasing from Psalm 18, all point to God’s awesome transcendence, glory, and omnipotence. The service concludes with singing selected verses of Psalm 18 itself, praising our glorious “horn of safety” and “strong tower,” crying out to the Mighty God who shakes the foundations of the mountains, and giving thanks that He graciously saves us from our enemies. —Henry C. Haffner