Thankful For A New Covenant - The One Year Book of Psalms

Psalm 18:20-30

20The LORD rewarded me for doing right;

he compensated me because of my innocence.

21For I have kept the ways of the LORD;

I have not turned from my God to follow evil.

22For all his laws are constantly before me;

I have never abandoned his principles.

23I am blameless before God;

I have kept myself from sin.

24The LORD rewarded me for doing right,

because of the innocence of my hands in his sight.

25To the faithful you show yourself faithful;

to those with integrity you show integrity.

26To the pure you show yourself pure,

but to the wicked you show yourself hostile.

27You rescue those who are humble,

but you humiliate the proud.

28LORD, you have brought light to my life;

my God, you light up my darkness.

29In your strength I can crush an army;

with my God I can scale any wall.

30As for God, his way is perfect.

All the LORD’s promises prove true.

He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

Stop your bragging, David! That’s our first reaction as we read verses 20-24. But this is the same David who says to God, “Compared to you, no one is perfect” (Psalm 143:2), and “I was born a sinner” (Psalm 51:5). So David knows better than to think that he has never sinned. Perhaps this psalm can be read in the same light as Paul’s remarks, “I obeyed the Jewish law so carefully that I was never accused of any fault” (Philippians 3:6).

David treasured the covenant that God had made with Moses on Mount Sinai. David wanted to live according to God’s laws, in keeping with this covenant. But David also received another covenant from the Lord—a covenant that required nothing on David’s part. This was a covenant of gracious blessing upon David and his descendants, and his humble response was “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family? . . . You know what I am really like” (2 Samuel 7:18, 20).

The Lord has established a new covenant with us as well, and it requires nothing on our part except to receive it. Jesus Christ has sealed this new covenant in his blood and made us God’s people (Luke 22:20). Like David, let us always respond in humble gratitude for God’s mercy and then affirm, “We will do everything the Lord has said.”

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in him always, and feed on his Word.

Make friends of God’s children; help those who are weak,

Forgetting in nothing his blessing to seek.

WILLIAM D. LONGSTAFF

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In this psalm David is speaking from the context of the old Mosaic covenant. To read about God’s new covenant, see Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 9:15; and 2 Corinthians 3:6.

Notable Quotable

“God first gives us holiness and then rewards us for it. The prize is awarded to the flower at the flower show, but the gardener raised it.”

CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON