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Psalms 18

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Invocation and Declaration of Trust 1–3

1
I love thee, O Jehovah, my strength. ​
2
Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. ​
3
I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies.

The Depth of Distress 4–6

4
The cords of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. ​
5
The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me.
6
In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry before him came into his ears. ​

The Lord’s Cosmic Intervention 7–19

7
Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations also of the mountains quaked And were shaken, because he was wroth. ​
8
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it.
9
He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And thick darkness was under his feet. ​
10
And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; Yea, he soared upon the wings of the wind.
11
He made darkness his hiding-place, his pavilion round about him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12
At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, Hailstones and coals of fire.
13
Jehovah also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.
14
And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; Yea, lightnings manifold, and discomfited them.
15
Then the channels of waters appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare, At thy rebuke, O Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. ​
16
He sent from on high, he took me; He drew me out of many waters.
17
He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from them that hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
18
They came upon me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.
19
He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me. ​

God Vindicates the Righteous 20–30

20
Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. ​
21
For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22
For all his ordinances were before me, And I put not away his statutes from me.
23
I was also perfect with him, And I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24
Therefore hath Jehovah recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. ​
25
With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; With the perfect man thou wilt show thyself perfect; ​
26
With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; And with the perverse thou wilt show thyself froward.
27
For thou wilt save the afflicted people; But the haughty eyes thou wilt bring down.
28
For thou wilt light my lamp: Jehovah my God will lighten my darkness. ​
29
For by thee I run upon a troop; And by my God do I leap over a wall.
30
As for God, his way is perfect: The word of Jehovah is tried; He is a shield unto all them that take refuge in him. ​

God Equips for Victory 31–45

31
For who is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, besides our God,
32
The God that girdeth me with strength, And maketh my way perfect?
33
He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet: And setteth me upon my high places. ​
34
He teacheth my hands to war; So that mine arms do bend a bow of brass.
35
Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation; And thy right hand hath holden me up, And thy gentleness hath made me great. ​
36
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.
37
I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them; Neither will I turn again till they are consumed.
38
I will smite them through, so that they shall not be able to rise: They shall fall under my feet.
39
For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
40
Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me, That I might cut off them that hate me.
41
They cried, but there was none to save; Even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not.
42
Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets.
43
Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; Thou hast made me the head of the nations: A people whom I have not known shall serve me. ​
44
As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me; The foreigners shall submit themselves unto me.
45
The foreigners shall fade away, And shall come trembling out of their close places.

Doxology and Eternal Covenant 46–50

46
Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation,
47
Even the God that executeth vengeance for me, And subdueth peoples under me.
48
He rescueth me from mine enemies; Yea, thou liftest me up above them that rise up against me; Thou deliverest me from the violent man.
49
Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah, among the nations, And will sing praises unto thy name. ​
50
Great deliverance giveth he to his king, And showeth lovingkindness to his anointed, To David and to his seed, for evermore. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 18

Verse 1

I will love thee, O LORD, my strength — Racham is to love tenderly, to have compassion; 'strength' is chezeq, help. The title ties the song to 'the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul', as in 2 Sam 22:1, where the same song is recorded.

Verse 2

the horn of my salvation — The verse piles up names for safety. 'Rock' is sela, a crag, and 'strength' is tsur, the boulder, the word of 'blessed be my rock' (v.46). 'Fortress' is metsudah, a stronghold; 'high tower' misgab, a height out of reach; 'horn' (qeren) is an animal's weapon. Cf. Prov 18:10.

Verse 4

The sorrows of death compassed me — 'Sorrows' is chebel, a cord or noose, the word again in v.5, 'sorrows of hell'. 'Floods' is nachal, a torrent, and 'ungodly men' is beliyyaal, worthlessness. The opening line is repeated in Ps 116:3, 'The sorrows of death compassed me'.

Verse 6

he heard my voice out of his temple — Heykal is a palace or temple, the dwelling from which the LORD hears. The verse has two verbs of prayer, 'called' (qara) and 'cried' (shava), a cry for help. 'Distress' is tsar, literally narrow, answered by the 'large place' of v.19. Cf. Ps 120:1.

Verse 7

the earth shook and trembled — The LORD's coming in vv.7–15 is the manner of Sinai and the wilderness march: 'The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God' (Ps 68:8; cf. Judg 5:4). 'Shook' and 'were shaken' are one verb, gaash; 'wroth' is charah, to blaze up.

Verse 9

He bowed the heavens — Natah is to stretch or bend; he 'came down' (yarad), as the psalmist prays elsewhere, 'Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down' (Ps 144:5). 'Darkness' is araphel, thick gloom, like the 'darkness, clouds, and thick darkness' around the mountain at Sinai (Deut 4:11).

Verse 15

the channels of waters were seen — Aphiq is a stream bed; 'world' is tevel, the inhabited earth. The 'blast of the breath of thy nostrils' echoes the Red Sea: 'with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together' (Ex 15:8); 'He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up' (Ps 106:9).

Verse 19

a large place — Merchab is open space, the opposite of the 'distress' (tsar, narrow) of v.6. The psalmist uses it again, 'the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place' (Ps 118:5). The reason given is God's pleasure: 'delighted' is chaphets, to be pleased with.

Verse 20

the cleanness of my hands — Bor is purity; hands stand for deeds, as in 'He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart' (Ps 24:4). The claim concerns David's conduct toward Saul, whom he spared (1 Sam 26:23). 'Recompensed' is shuv, to turn back or bring back, repeated in v.24.

Verse 24

in his eyesight — The verse repeats v.20 and adds ayin, 'eye': the cleanness of hands is measured by the LORD's sight. 'Recompensed' is the same verb as in v.20 (shuv). The principle is stated in Ruth 2:12, 'The LORD recompense thy work', and 2 Thess 1:6, 'a righteous thing with God to recompense'.

Verse 25

With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful — 'Merciful' is chasid, one who practises chesed (covenant kindness), and 'shew thyself merciful' is the verb of the same root. 'Upright' (tamim, whole) likewise yields 'shew thyself upright' (tamam). Cf. 'Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy' (Matt 5:7).

Verse 28

light my candle — Nir is a lamp, and 'enlighten' (nagah) is to make shine. The parallel in 2 Sam 22:29 reads 'thou art my lamp, O LORD'. The LORD himself is the light against 'darkness' (choshek); Matthew applies the image to Galilee, 'The people which sat in darkness saw great light' (Matt 4:16).

Verse 30

the word of the LORD is tried — Tsaraph is to refine metal in a furnace: 'The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth' (Ps 12:6). 'Perfect' is tamim, the word of 'upright' in vv.23, 25. 'Buckler' and 'trust' are the words of v.2; cf. Prov 30:5.

Verse 33

like hinds' feet — Ayyalah is a hind, a female deer, sure-footed on rock; Habakkuk takes up the line with 'he will make me to walk upon mine high places' (Hab 3:19). 'High places' is bamah, heights, as in Deut 32:13, 'ride on the high places of the earth'.

Verse 35

thy gentleness hath made me great — Anavah is meekness, lowliness: the greatness comes from God's condescension, not David's strength. 'Made me great' is rabah, to multiply. The 'shield' is the magen of v.2. Paul speaks of 'the meekness and gentleness of Christ' (2 Cor 10:1).

Verse 43

the head of the heathen — 'Strivings' is riv, contention, here the strife within Israel: 'long war between the house of Saul and the house of David' (2 Sam 3:1). Then 'heathen' (goy) are nations. Paul reads the Gentile reign in the root of Jesse: 'he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles' (Rom 15:12).

Verse 49

among the heathen — Paul quotes this verse in Greek: 'For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name' (Rom 15:9), as proof that Christ came 'that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy'. 'Give thanks' is yadah, from yad, hand; 'sing praises' is zamar, to sing to an instrument.

Verse 50

to David, and to his seed for evermore — 'Anointed' is mashiach, the word behind 'Messiah'; 'mercy' is chesed, covenant love; 'seed' is zera. The promise is that of 2 Sam 7:13, 'I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever', which the angel applies to Jesus: 'he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever' (Luke 1:33).