The Psalms - Psalm 18
A Thanksgiving of the Lord’s Anointed
By Rev. Jim Jester
January 4, 2026
SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 18:1
“To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said: ‘I will love You, O LORD, my strength.’” (NKJV)
The opening Scripture reading is the longest title in the Book of Psalms. In this title David tells us whom the psalm was written for with the words “to the Chief Musician.” Thus, we can deduce that God Himself is that Chief Musician; albeit, there are times when context reveals someone else as chief: “For in David’s lifetime—and in the lifetime of Asaph, choir master [or “chief” in some versions] of old—there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.” (Neh. 12:46, ISV) Everything in this title is directing our attention to God as the Chief of music. David tells us to consider himself “the servant of the LORD.” He tells us the occasion for writing the psalm — possibly not only the aftermath of Saul’s death (described in 1 Sam. 31; 2 Sam. 1), but also of the period leading to David’s enthronement (2 Sam. 2-5). He also tells us something about Saul, who out of undeserved kindness from David, is not explicitly counted among David’s enemies: “…from the hand of all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul.”
