1 <To the chief music-maker. Of the servant of the Lord, of David, who said the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord made him free from the hand of all his haters, and from the hand of Saul; and he said,> I will give you my love, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour; my God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3 I will send up my cry to the Lord, who is to be praised; so will I be made safe from those who are against me.
4 The cords of death were round me, and the seas of evil put me in fear.
5 The cords of hell were round me: the nets of death came on me.
6 In my trouble my voice went up to the Lord, and my cry to my God: my voice came to his hearing in his holy Temple, and my prayer came before him, even into his ears.
7 Then trouble and shock came on the earth; and the bases of the mountains were moved and shaking, because he was angry.
8 There went up a smoke from his nose, and a fire of destruction from his mouth: flames were lighted by it.
9 The heavens were bent, so that he might come down; and it was dark under his feet.
10 And he went in flight through the air, seated on a storm-cloud: going quickly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made the dark his secret place; his tent round him was the dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 Before his shining light his dark clouds went past, raining ice and fire.
13 The Lord made thunder in the heavens, and the voice of the Highest was sounding out: a rain of ice and fire.
14 He sent out his arrows, driving them in all directions; by his flames of fire they were troubled.
15 Then the deep beds of the waters were seen, and the bases of the world were uncovered, because of your words of wrath, O Lord, because of the breath from your mouth.
16 He sent from on high, he took me, pulling me out of great waters.
17 He made me free from my strong hater, and from those who were against me, because they were stronger than I.
18 They came on me in the day of my trouble; but the Lord was my support.
19 He took me out into a wide place; he was my saviour because he had delight in me.
20 The Lord gives me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean before him.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not been turned away in sin from my God.
22 For all his decisions were before me, and I did not put away his laws from me.
23 And I was upright before him, and I kept myself from sin.
24 Because of this the Lord has given me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean in his eyes.
25 On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright;
26 He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge.
27 For you are the saviour of those who are in trouble; but eyes full of pride will be made low.
28 You, O Lord, will be my light; by you, my God, the dark will be made bright for me.
29 By your help I have made a way through the wall which was shutting me in; by the help of my God I have gone over a wall.
30 As for God, his way is completely good; the word of the Lord is tested; he is a breastplate for all those who put their faith in him.
31 For who is God but the Lord? or who is a Rock but our God?
32 God puts a strong band about me, guiding me in a straight way.
33 He makes my feet like roes' feet, and puts me on high places.
34 He makes my hands expert in war, so that a bow of brass is bent by my arms.
35 You have given me the breastplate of your salvation: your right hand has been my support, and your mercy has made me great.
36 You have made my steps wide under me, so that my feet are kept from slipping.
37 I go after my haters and overtake them; not turning back till they are all overcome.
38 I will give them wounds, so that they are not able to get up: they are stretched under my feet.
39 For I have been armed by you with strength for the fight: you have made low under me those who come out against me.
40 By you their backs are turned in flight, so that my haters are cut off.
41 They were crying out, but there was no one to come to their help: even to the Lord, but he gave them no answer.
42 Then they were crushed as small as dust before the wind; they were drained out like the waste of the streets.
43 You have made me free from the fightings of the people; you have made me the head of the nations: a people of whom I had no knowledge will be my servants.
44 From the time when my name comes to their ears they will be ruled by me: men of other countries will, with false hearts, put themselves under my authority.
45 They will be wasting away, they will come out of their secret places shaking with fear.
46 The Lord is living; praise be to my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be honoured.
47 It is God who sends punishment on my haters, and puts peoples under my rule.
48 He makes me free from my haters; I am lifted up over those who come up against me: you have made me free from the violent man.
49 Because of this I will give you praise, O Lord, among the nations, and will make a song of praise to your name.
50 Great salvation does he give to his king; he has mercy on the king of his selection, David, and on his seed for ever.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 18
Commentary on Psalms 18 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 18
Ps 18:1-50. "The servant of the Lord," which in the Hebrew precedes "David," is a significant part of the title (and not a mere epithet of David), denoting the inspired character of the song, as the production of one entrusted with the execution of God's will. He was not favored by God because he served Him, but served Him because selected and appointed by God in His sovereign mercy. After a general expression of praise and confidence in God for the future, David gives a sublimely poetical description of God's deliverance, which he characterizes as an illustration of God's justice to the innocent and His righteous government. His own prowess and success are celebrated as the results of divine aid, and, confident of its continuance, he closes in terms of triumphant praise. 2Sa 22:1-51 is a copy of this Psalm, with a few unimportant variations recorded there as a part of the history, and repeated here as part of a collection designed for permanent use.
1. I will love thee—with most tender affection.
2, 3. The various terms used describe God as an object of the most implicit and reliable trust.
rock—literally, "a cleft rock," for concealment.
strength—a firm, immovable rock.
horn of my salvation—The horn, as the means of attack or defense of some of the strongest animals, is a frequent emblem of power or strength efficiently exercised (compare De 33:17; Lu 1:69).
tower—literally, "high place," beyond reach of danger.
3. to be praised—for past favors, and worthy of confidence.
4. sorrows—literally, "bands as of a net" (Ps 116:3).
floods—denotes "multitude."
5. death—and hell (compare Ps 16:10) are personified as man's great enemies (compare Re 20:13, 14).
prevented—encountered me, crossed my path, and endangered my safety. He does not mean he was in their power.
6. He relates his methods to procure relief when distressed, and his success.
temple—(Compare Ps 11:4).
7, 8. God's coming described in figures drawn from His appearance on Sinai (compare De 32:22).
8. smoke out … his nostrils—bitter in His wrath (compare Ps 74:1).
by it—that is, the fire (Ex 19:18).
9. darkness—or, a dense cloud (Ex 19:16; De 5:22).
10. cherub—angelic agents (compare Ge 3:24), the figures of which were placed over the ark (1Sa 4:4), representing God's dwelling; used here to enhance the majesty of the divine advent. Angels and winds may represent all rational and irrational agencies of God's providence (compare Ps 104:3, 4).
did fly—Rapidity of motion adds to the grandeur of the scene.
11. dark waters—or, clouds heavy with vapor.
12. Out of this obscurity, which impresses the beholder with awe and dread, He reveals Himself by sudden light and the means of His terrible wrath (Jos 10:11; Ps 78:47).
13. The storm breaks forth—thunder follows lightning, and hail with repeated lightning, as often seen, like balls or coals of fire, succeed (Ex 9:23).
14. The fiery brightness of lightning, in shape like burning arrows rapidly shot through the air, well represents the most terrible part of an awful storm. Before the terrors of such a scene the enemies are confounded and overthrown in dismay.
15. The tempest of the air is attended by appropriate results on earth. The language, though not expressive of any special physical changes, represents the utter subversion of the order of nature. Before such a God none can stand.
16-19. from above—As seated on a throne, directing these terrible scenes, God—
sent—His hand (Ps 144:7), reached down to His humble worshipper, and delivered him.
many waters—calamities (Job 30:14; Ps 124:4, 5).
18. prevented—(Ps 18:3).
19. a large place—denotes safety or relief, as contrasted with the straits of distress (Ps 4:1). All his deliverance is ascribed to God, and this sublime poetical representation is given to inspire the pious with confidence and the wicked with dread.
20-24. The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul's persecutions and Absalom's rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God's Church and people.
23. upright before him—In my relation to God I have been perfect as to all parts of His law. The perfection does not relate to degree.
mine iniquity—perhaps the thought of his heart to kill Saul (1Sa 24:6). That David does not allude to all his conduct, in all relations, is evident from Ps 51:1, &c.
25-27. God renders to men according to their deeds in a penal, not vindictive, sense (Le 26:23, 24).
merciful—or, "kind" (Ps 4:3).
26. froward—contrary to.
27. the afflicted people—that is, the humbly pious.
high looks—pride (Ps 101:5; 131:1).
28. To give one light is to make prosperous (Job 18:5, 6; 21:17).
thou—is emphatic, as if to say, I can fully confide in Thee for help.
29. And this on past experience in his military life, set forth by these figures.
30-32. God's perfection is the source of his own, which has resulted from his trust on the one hand, and God's promised help on the other.
tried—"as metals are tried by fire and proved genuine" (Ps 12:6). Shield (Ps 3:3). Girding was essential to free motion on account of the looseness of Oriental dresses; hence it is an expressive figure for describing the gift of strength.
33-36. God's help farther described. He gives swiftness to pursue or elude his enemies (Hab 3:19), strength, protection, and a firm footing.
35. thy gentleness—as applied to God—condescension—or that which He gives, in the sense of humility (compare Pr 22:4).
36. enlarged my steps—made ample room (compare Pr 4:12).
37-41. In actual conflict, with God's aid, the defeat of his enemies is certain. A present and continued success is expressed.
39. that rose up against me—literally, "insurgents" (Ps 3:1; 44:5).
40. given me the necks—literally, "backs of the necks"; made them retreat (Ex 23:27; Jos 7:8).
42. This conquest was complete.
43-45. Not only does He conquer civil foes, but foreigners, who are driven from their places of refuge.
44. submit, &c.—(compare Margin)—that is, show a forced subjection.
46. The Lord liveth—contrasts Him with idols (1Co 8:4).
47, 48. avengeth me—His cause is espoused by God as His own.
48. liftest me up—to safety and honors.
49, 50. Paul (Ro 15:9) quotes from this doxology to show that under the Old Testament economy, others than the Jews were regarded as subjects of that spiritual government of which David was head, and in which character his deliverances and victories were typical of the more illustrious triumphs of David's greater Son. The language of Ps 18:50 justifies this view in its distinct allusion to the great promise (compare 2Sa 7:12). In all David's successes he saw the pledges of a fulfilment of that promise, and he mourned in all his adversities, not only in view of his personal suffering, but because he saw in them evidences of danger to the great interests which were committed to his keeping. It is in these aspects of his character that we are led properly to appreciate the importance attached to his sorrows and sufferings, his joys and successes.