I still remember when Psalm 18 impacted my imagination and my heart. I could see the whole panorama in my mind. King David is describing a time when he was in mortal danger, and he called upon God for help.
Did God save him?
AND HOW! Here are a few snippets of David’s picture of the rescue.
“Then the earth shook and trembled…”
“…fire out of His mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it…”
“He bowed the heavens also, and came down…”
“…He did fly upon the wings of the wind.”
“…He sent out His arrows…and He shot out lightnings…”
“He delivered me from my strong enemy…”
After describing the rescue, David explains how the Lord had strengthened him and trained him, preparing him to be a soldier. Then comes verse 35, which ends (in the King James Version) with the phrase, “…thy gentleness hath made me great.”
The Verse in Context
If you check, you’ll see that Psalm 18 (all of it) also appears in II Samuel 22. So, look back at II Samuel 21 to see what was going on in David’s life at the time. Turns out, the armies of Israel had been warring with the Philistines in chapter 21.
Who were the Philistines?
Well, do you remember Goliath? The Philistines were Goliath’s people. Centuries earlier, the very presence of these giants in their Promised Land had sent the fearful young nation of Israel back into the wilderness for 40 years. Now, one of those giants had almost killed David. No wonder David was terrified and felt convinced the Lord had moved heaven and earth in order to rescue him.
Gentleness Breeds Greatness?
In the middle of this Psalm about war, madness, and mayhem, David drops a pearl: “…thy gentleness hath made me great.” This is KING David talking. He may be the most famous king in the history of the world. He killed a giant when he was just a boy, for goodness’ sake! He led victorious armies; he wrote timeless psalms; he modeled spiritual faithfulness.
He certainly wasn’t perfect, but King David knew something about greatness.
And King David said God’s gentleness was the reason for his greatness. I had to think about that statement for a few years. Obviously, I’m still thinking about it.
Winning the Prodigal with Gentleness
So, can we find an example of gentleness producing greatness?
Consider the story of the Prodigal Son. Here’s a willful young man who wants what he wants when he wants it. He demands his inheritance from his father so he can travel to an exciting city and waste his inheritance on wine, women, and whatever.
After his money is gone, this rebellious young man manages to find a job slopping hogs for some farmer. Apparently, his pay is that he’s allowed to share the hogs’ slop. When he gets hungry enough, he starts rethinking his life decisions.
A Father’s Love
Now, let’s look at Dad. This father calmly complied with his younger son’s request for his inheritance. He released the young man into the world. And then he began to watch yearningly for his son to return:
“And he [the son] arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)
It couldn’t have been easy for that son to go home and confess to his family that he had made a huge mistake. But he knew his father, and his father was obviously a gentle, loving man. Surely, it was the knowledge of his father’s character that gave the son the fortitude to humble himself and go home.
I wouldn’t call the son great at that point, but he had begun moving in the right direction. For the first time in his life, he demonstrated some courage and moral strength. Perhaps, over the course of his life, he actually grew into greatness.
Weathering a Crisis with Gentleness
Okay, the story of the prodigal son is one of the parables of Jesus. So, how about a nonfiction example of gentleness producing greatness?
Years ago, I read the book Daddy, I’m Pregnant. It is the story of Angela, a P.K. (preacher’s kid), who woke her parents at 2:30 one morning to tell them she was pregnant. Can you imagine what those stunned, groggy parents must have thought? How would you have reacted?
This father (Bill) put his arms around his daughter and said, “Oh, Angela, I’m so sorry…I love you! I forgive you.”
You probably know that preachers live in a “fish bowl” with their whole congregation watching and judging their every move. Bill could easily have reacted with anger, with dismay, or with bitter criticism, knowing his church family would have plenty to say about his daughter’s predicament. But he had the wisdom to react with loving gentleness.
Stage Setting
In that moment, he set the stage for the remainder of the pregnancy. With her parent’s support, Angela confessed her sin to her church, made phone calls to everyone who needed to know about her condition, and generally handled her pregnancy with dignity and grace.
A different reaction from her parents might have sent Angela scurrying into traumatic months of cringing, cowering disgrace. Instead, she was able to hold up her head, deal with her condition head on, and make responsible decisions.
In one moment of time, a loving father sowed seeds of gentleness that sprang up into fruits of courage, strength, and tranquility. In short, Angela handled her pregnancy with maturity beyond her years. She displayed every hallmark of a teenager who was growing in greatness.
A Snapshot of Gentle Greatness
Perhaps you remember Chuck Colson. He was one of the Watergate criminals from the Nixon presidential era. Between his resignation from his White House position and his incarceration for his participation in Watergate, Colson accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. After his release from prison, Colson founded Prison Fellowship, a Christian ministry to prisoners. (Click here for the Prison Fellowship website.)
In his book, Against the Night, Colson described a prison riot. Here’s what he said. There were “buildings on fire, guards running, people being brutalized. The Christian inmates from Prison Fellowship went out into the prison yard and they formed a giant circle and they locked arms…and they prayed and sang for four hours. And in the middle of that circle were guards who were terrified for their lives protected by those inmates.”
In the harsh environment of a prison, these Christian inmates had met a gentle Savior. And their relationship with Him gave them the heroic moxie to put their lives on the line in defense of the guards – the enemies of the rioters. Now, to me, that’s a picture of sowing gentleness and harvesting greatness.
Conclusion
The Biblical concept of gentleness could be compared to the calm yet powerful flow of a river that shapes the landscape in its path. It’s a benevolent force, symbolizing a strength that is not brutal, but nurturing. Even as it remodels the landscape, it refreshes the trees, the grasses, the flowers, and the animals that live nearby.
What if gentleness became the song we live by, the rhythm we dance to? Mightn’t we create a ripple effect, spreading compassion and understanding to everyone in our world?
Wouldn’t it be fun to redeem a prodigal? To encourage an Angela? Or maybe even to help develop a King David?
Bring It Home
If you know of a situation where seeds of gentleness produced greatness in someone’s life, please share the story in the comment section below. Your insights and experiences will add more layers to our collective understanding of this beautiful Biblical truth.
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The books mentioned above are available at amazon.com:
Daddy, I’m Pregnant
Against the Night: Living in the New Dark Ages
Here are links to my blog indexes, which will make it quick and easy for you to find another post to read.
Blog Index – Lists blogs 1-35
Blog Index 2 – Lists blogs 36 to the latest post
Photo credit: Betty Johansen