II Samuel 22:28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.
It is always fascinating to see the back story behind a book, song, or film that has been influential in your life. In II Samuel 22, we essentially have the same words as in Psalm 18, but you get a sense of where they came from, the back story. The Bible says that David “spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.” It is interesting that God gave David the words and David spoke these words right back to the Lord.
One of the poignant points of what became Psalm 18 is verse 28 where it says, “And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.” What a contrast! God regards and is aware of both the haughty and the humble, but what we are reminded of here is that God helps the humble. God doesn’t help us because we are great. God doesn’t help us because we are virtuous. If we were great and virtuous, we wouldn’t need God. But we are not great and virtuous; we are in need. God helps such people who are honest enough to admit that.
This Psalm is bookended by verse 7 which says, “In my distress I called upon the LORD…and he did hear my voice,” and verse 50, which says, “Therefore I will give thanks.” The more you ask, the more you will have reason to give God thanks.
David was at his very best when he was at his weakest. He was in trouble when he became strong. When he was strong, he did wrong by Uriah and Bathsheba. When he was strong, he numbered the people. When he was strong, it was easy for him, as it is easy for us, to forget his need of God. But when he was weak, he looked to God and was at his strongest.
Verse 48 says, “It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me.” God both delivered David from Saul and made David king over Israel. God helped David when he was weak, humble, and when he sought God’s help. It is important for us to realize that we are at our strongest when we realize our weakness and ask God for help.
So who does God help? God helps the humble.