Identity

To the choirmaster. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

Psalm 18 Superscription

Most psalms have a superscription before the first verse. These notes frequently give the psalm's author or the psalm's setting or a musical directive. The superscription is part of the biblical text; it is not a note added by the publisher of the Bible.

The superscription for Psalm 18 is especially interesting. We find the musical note. We find the authorship note. We find the setting. We even read that David sang the words of this song and that he sang them to the Lord.

But what grabs my attention is how David sees himself. Not as David the future king. Not as David the famed general. Not as David the brave warrior. Not as David the accomplished poet. Not as David the conqueror of Goliath. Not as David the administrative genius. None of those, though all were true.

David sees himself as the Lord's servant. The Lord's slave. The Lord's errand boy. That's who he was. And he knew it.

"I am not high and mighty. I am not the exalted ruler. I am not the point of the story. I am nothing special. I am merely the Lord's servant. And that's all."

This reminds me of Paul, David's counterpart in the New Testament, in his passion for God. Paul saw himself the same way: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ."

This is who we are. This is our ultimate identity. This is our calling. This is our destiny. This is our privilege.

Be clear on who you are. Never be confused again about who you are.

"I am a servant of Jesus. That's who I am. Whatever he says. Wherever he calls. However he leads ... Just say the word, Lord. You're in charge, not me. You're the Lord, not me. You're in control, not me. I'm the servant, you're the Master."