A:  Accounting for the Psalm

Psa 18:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to 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.

B:  Believer calls and God answers

And he said, "I love You, O LORD, my strength."

Psa 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psa 18:3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

Psa 18:4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.

Psa 18:5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

Psa 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

Psa 18:7 Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.

Psa 18:8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it.

C: God's Light Conquers Darkness/Devil/Death

Psa 18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet.

Psa 18:10 He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind.

Psa 18:11 Darkness set up to surround Him: Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

Psa 18:12 From the brightness before Him passed through (the darkness) His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire.

Psa 18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

Psa 18:14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.

D:  Deliverance is like the Exodus

Psa 18:15 Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

Psa 18:16 He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

Psa 18:17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

Psa 18:18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my stay.

Psa 18:19 He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

            E:  Exaltation of Excelling Messiah

Psa 18:20 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

Psa 18:21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God.

Psa 18:22 For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.

Psa 18:23 I was also blameless with Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.

Psa 18:24 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

F:   Fathering/Friending The Innocent, Foiling The Guilty

Psa 18:25 With the kind You show Yourself kind; With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

Psa 18:26 With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

Psa 18:27 For You save an afflicted people, But haughty eyes You abase.

G:  God Glorifies, Gains, Triumphs

Psa 18:28 For You light my lamp; The LORD my God illumines my darkness.

Psa 18:29 For by You I can run upon a troop; And by my God I can leap over a wall.

Psa 18:30 As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

Psa 18:31 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God,

Psa 18:32 The God who girds me with strength And makes my way blameless?

Psa 18:33 He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places.

Psa 18:34 He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Psa 18:35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great.

Psa 18:36 You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

Psa 18:37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

Psa 18:38 I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise; They fell under my feet.

Psa 18:39 For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

Psa 18:40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, And I destroyed those who hated me.

Psa 18:41 They cried for help, but there was none to save, Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.

Psa 18:42 Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.

H:  Heading All

Psa 18:43 You have delivered me from the contentions of the people; You have placed me as head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me.

Psa 18:44 As soon as they hear, they obey me; Foreigners submit to me.

Psa 18:45 Foreigners fade away, And come trembling out of their fortresses.

Psa 18:46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation,

Psa 18:47 The God who executes vengeance for me, And subdues peoples under me.

Psa 18:48 He delivers me from my enemies; Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man.

Psa 18:49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O LORD, And I will sing praises to Your name.

Psa 18:50 He gives great deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.

matches sections A - D in Psalm 18:1-19

Joh 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Joh 8:2 Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.

Joh 8:3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,

Joh 8:4 they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.

Joh 8:5 "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?"

Joh 8:6 They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.

Joh 8:7 But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

Joh 8:8 Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Joh 8:9 When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.

Joh 8:10 Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"

Joh 8:11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."

matches sections C - D in Psalm 18:9-19

Joh 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

Joh 8:13 So the Pharisees said to Him, "You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true."

Joh 8:14 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

Joh 8:15 "You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.

Joh 8:16 "But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.

Joh 8:17 "Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.

Joh 8:18 "I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me."

Joh 8:19 So they were saying to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also."

Joh 8:20 These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.

matches sections C - E in Psalm 18:9-24 (introducing section E, Psalm 18:20-24)

Joh 8:21 Then He said again to them, "I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come."

Joh 8:22 So the Jews were saying, "Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come '?"

Joh 8:23 And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

Joh 8:24 "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

Joh 8:25 So they were saying to Him, "Who are You?" Jesus said to them, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning?

Joh 8:26 "I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world."

Joh 8:27 They did not acknowledge that He had been speaking to them about the Father.

Joh 8:28 So Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.

Joh 8:29 "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him."

Joh 8:30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.

matches section E in Psalm 18:20-24

Joh 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

Joh 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

Joh 8:33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free '?"

Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.

Joh 8:35 "The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.

Joh 8:36 "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

matches section F in Psalm 18:25-27

Joh 8:37 "I know that you are Abraham's descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

Joh 8:38 "I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father."

Joh 8:39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham.

Joh 8:40 "But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.

Joh 8:41 "You are doing the deeds of your father." They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God."

Joh 8:42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.

Joh 8:43 "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.

Joh 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Joh 8:45 "But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.

matches section G in Psalm 18:28-42

Joh 8:46 "Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?

Joh 8:47 "He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God."

Joh 8:48 The Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"

Joh 8:49 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.

Joh 8:50 "But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.

Joh 8:51 "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death."

Joh 8:52 The Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.'

Joh 8:53 "Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?"

Joh 8:54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God';

Joh 8:55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word.

matches section H in Psalm 18:43-50

Joh 8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."

Joh 8:57 So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"

Joh 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."

Joh 8:59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.