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Commentary on Psalms 18 verses 29–50
29 ¶ For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
32 It is 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 a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
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, that my feet did not slip.
37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
38 I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen 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 given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
41 They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, 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 dirt in the streets.
43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
48 He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
In these verses,
I. David looks back, with thankfulness, upon the great things which God had done for him. He had not only wrought deliverance for him, but had given him victory and success, and made him triumph over those who thought to triumph over him. When we set ourselves to praise God for one mercy we must be led by that to observe the many more with which we have been compassed about, and followed, all our days. Many things had contributed to David's advancement, and he owns the hand of God in them all, to teach us to do likewise, in reviewing the several steps by which we have risen to our prosperity. 1. God had given him all his skill and understanding in military affairs, which he was not bred up to nor designed for, his genius leading him more to music, and poetry, and a contemplative life: He teaches my hands to war, Psa 18:34. 2. God had given him bodily strength to go through the business and fatigue of war: God girded him with strength (Psa 18:32, Psa 18:39), to such a degree that he could break even a bow of steel, Psa 18:34. What service God designs men for he will be sure to fit them for. 3. God had likewise given him great swiftness, not to flee from the enemies but to fly upon them (Psa 18:33): He makes my feet like hinds' feet, Psa 18:36. "Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; but" (whereas those that take large steps are apt to tread awry) "my feet did not slip." He was so swift that he pursued his enemies and overtook them, Psa 18:37. 4. God had made him very bold and daring in his enterprises, and given him spirit proportionable to his strength. If a troop stood in his way, he made nothing of running through them; if a wall, he made nothing of leaping over it (Psa 18:29); if ramparts and bulwarks, he soon mounted them, and by divine assistance set his feet upon the high places of the enemy, Psa 18:33. 5. God had protected him, and kept him safe, in the midst of the greatest perils. Many a time he put his life in his hand, and yet it was wonderfully preserved: "Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation (Psa 18:35), and that has compassed me on every side. By that I have been delivered from the strivings of the people who aimed at my destruction (Psa 18:43), particularly from the violent man" (Psa 18:48), that is, Saul, who more than once threw a javelin at him. 6. God had prospered him in his designs; he it was that made his way perfect (Psa 18:32) and it was his right hand that held him up, Psa 18:35. 7. God had given him victory over his enemies, the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and all that fought against Israel: those especially he means, yet not excluding the house of Saul, which opposed his coming to the crown, and the partisans of Absalom and Sheba, who would have deposed him. He enlarges much upon the goodness of God to him in defeating his enemies, attributing his victories, not to his own sword or bow, nor to the valour of his mighty men, but to the favour of God: I pursued them (Psa 18:37), I wounded them (Psa 18:38); for thou hast girded me with strength (Psa 18:39), else I could not have done it. All the praise is ascribed to God: Thou hast subdued them under me, Psa 18:39. Thou hast given me their necks (Psa 18:40), not only to trample upon them (as Jos 10:24), but to cut them off. Even those who hated David whom God loved, and were enemies to the Israel of God, in their distress cried unto the Lord: but in vain; he answered them not. How could they expect he should when it was he whom they fought against? And, when he disowned them (as he will all those that act against his people), no other succours could stand them in stead: There was none to save them, Psa 18:41. Those whom God has abandoned are easily vanquished: Then did I beat them small as the dust, Psa 18:42. But those whose cause is just he avenges (Psa 18:47), and those whom he favours will certainly be lifted up above those that rise up against them, Psa 18:48. 8. God had raised him to the throne, and not only delivered him and kept him alive, but dignified him and made him great (Psa 18:35): Thy gentleness has increased me - thy discipline and instruction; so some. The good lessons David learned in his affliction prepared him for the dignity and power that were intended him; and the lessening of him helped very much to increase his greatness. God made him not only a great conqueror, but a great ruler: Thou hast made me the head of the heathen (Psa 18:43); all the neighbouring nations were tributaries to him. See Sa2 8:6, Sa2 8:11. In all this David was a type of Christ, whom the Father brought safely through his conflicts with the powers of darkness, and made victorious over them, and gave to be head over all things to his church, which is his body.
II. David looks up with humble and reverent adorations of the divine glory and perfection. When God had, by his providence, magnified him, he endeavours, with his praises, to magnify God, to bless him and exalt him, Psa 18:46. He gives honour to him, 1. As a living God: The Lord liveth, Psa 18:46. We had our lives at first from, and we owe the continuance of them to, that God who has life in himself and is therefore fitly called the living God. The gods of the heathen were dead gods. The best friends we have among men are dying friends. But God lives, lives for ever, and will not fail those that trust in him, but, because he lives, they shall live also; for he is their life. 2. As a finishing God: As for God, he is not only perfect himself, but his way is perfect, Psa 18:30. He is known by his name Jehovah (Exo 6:3), a God performing and perfecting what he begins in providence as well as creation, Gen 2:1. If it was God that made David's way perfect (Psa 18:32), much more is his own way so. There is no flaw in God's works, nor any fault to be found with what he does, Ecc 3:14. And what he undertakes he will go through with, whatever difficulties lie in the way; what God begins to build he is able to finish. 3. As a faithful God: The word of the Lord is tried. "I have tried it" (says David), "and it has not failed me." All the saints, in all ages, have tried it, and it never failed any that trusted in it. It is tried as silver is tried, refined from all such mixture and alloy as lessen the value of men's words. David, in God's providences concerning him, takes notice of the performance of his promises to him, which, as it puts sweetness into the providence, so it puts honour upon the promise. 4. As the protector and defender of his people. David had found him so to him: "He is the God of my salvation (Psa 18:46), by whose power and grace I am and hope to be saved; but not of mine only: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him (Psa 18:30); he shelters and protects them all, is both able and ready to do so." 5. As a non-such in all this, Psa 18:31. There is a God, and who is God save Jehovah? That God is a rock, for the support and shelter of his faithful worshippers; and who is a rock save our God? Thus he not only gives glory to God, but encourages his own faith in him. Note, (1.) Whoever pretends to be deities, it is certain that there is no God, save the Lord; all others are counterfeits, Isa 44:8; Jer 10:10. (2.) Whoever pretends to be our felicities, there is no rock, save our God; none that we can depend upon to make us happy.
III. David looks forward, with a believing hope that God would still do him good. He promises himself, 1. That his enemies should be completely subdued, and that those of them that yet remained should be made his footstool, - that his government should be extensive, so that even a people whom he had not known should serve him (Psa 18:43), - that his conquests, and, consequently, his acquests, should be easy (As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me, Psa 18:44), - and that his enemies should be convinced that it was to no purpose to oppose him; even those that had retired to their fastnesses should not trust to them, but be afraid out of their close places, having seen so much of David's wisdom, courage, and success. Thus the Son of David, though he sees not yet all things put under him, yet knows he shall reign till all opposing rule, principality, and power shall be quite put down. 2. That his seed should be forever continued in the Messiah, who, he foresaw, should come from his loins, Psa 18:50. He shows mercy to his anointed, his Messiah, to David himself, the anointed of the God of Jacob in the type, and to his seed for evermore. He saith not unto seeds, as of many, but to his seed, as of one, that is Christ, Gal 3:16. It is he only that shall reign for ever, and of the increase of whose government and peace there shall be no end. Christ is called David, Hos 3:5. God has called him his king, Psa 2:6. Great deliverance God does give, and will give to him, and to his church and people, here called his seed, for evermore.
In singing these verses we must give God the glory of the victories of Christ and his church hitherto and of all the deliverances and advancements of the gospel kingdom, and encourage ourselves and one another with an assurance that the church militant will be shortly triumphant, will be eternally so.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 29–50. Public domain.
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Eusebius of CaesareaAD 339
COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 18:37
“You have made room for my steps under me,” the steps, namely, by which I cross from iniquity to moral excellence, from things perceived by my senses to those perceived by my mind, from the present to the future age, the steps that from the beginning seemed arduous and narrow to me because I was walking in a crooked way; but having progressed beyond them, I took notice of the widened places. For one who advances with every step and attains the end, having been drawn to the wide space, will not feel that narrowness, labor and grief that he had known in his advance.… He who follows Jesus follows hard his footsteps because he progresses on the worn and oft traveled way from Jesus Christ.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 18
"You have enlarged my steps under me" [Psalm 18:36]. Nor shall the straits of the flesh hinder me; for You have enlarged my love, working in gladness even with these mortal things and members which are under me. "And my footsteps have not been weakened." And either my goings, or the marks which I have imprinted for the imitation of those that follow, have not been weakened.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 18:36 is a profound declaration of God's active enablement and meticulous protection over David, ensuring his stability and freedom amidst perilous circumstances. It vividly portrays the Lord's intervention in removing obstacles and creating a secure, expansive path, allowing David to navigate the treacherous terrain of his life and reign without stumbling or falling. This verse ultimately affirms God as the sovereign source of security, progress, and unwavering support for His servant, empowering him to advance confidently in his divinely appointed mission.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several potent literary devices to convey its profound message of divine protection and enablement. Metaphor is central, as "enlarged my steps" and "feet did not slip" are not merely literal descriptions of walking but powerful metaphors for God providing freedom, security, and stability in David's life journey, particularly amidst his adversaries and the challenges of leadership. The imagery evokes a sense of moving from a narrow, dangerous pass to a wide, open, and safe road. Anthropomorphism is also present, as God is depicted as actively clearing and securing David's path, an action typically performed by a human guide or protector. This highlights God's personal, intimate, and hands-on involvement in David's life. Furthermore, the verse demonstrates Causality or Purpose, with the "that" clause establishing a clear cause-and-effect relationship: God's action of enlarging David's steps directly results in his feet not slipping. This structure emphasizes God's intentional and effective provision for His servant's well-being and success.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse beautifully illustrates God's active and intimate involvement in the lives of His people, providing not just grand, miraculous interventions but also daily, meticulous preservation. It speaks to the character of God as a faithful protector and enabler, who does not merely observe our struggles but actively clears our path and steadies our steps. The theological implication is that true stability and freedom are found in dependence on God's sovereign care. He is the one who provides the necessary space and security to navigate life's challenges, ensuring that His purposes for us are not thwarted by obstacles or pitfalls. This assurance fosters deep trust and confidence in His providential guidance, reminding us that even in the most treacherous circumstances, our footing is secure when it is established by Him.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
For believers today, Psalms 18:36 offers profound encouragement and a vital perspective on God's character and His interaction with His people. In a world fraught with uncertainty, challenges, and metaphorical "slippery paths"—be they financial struggles, relational difficulties, spiritual battles, or career uncertainties—this verse reminds us that God is actively at work to "enlarge our steps." He can clear the way, remove constraints, provide solutions, and create freedom where we feel confined or restricted. This isn't just about physical safety, but spiritual and emotional stability. God provides a firm foundation for our faith, protecting us from falling into sin, from the enemy's snares, and from doubts that could cause us to stumble. We can trust Him to keep our feet from slipping on the path of righteousness, empowering us to walk with confidence and purpose. When we face daunting obstacles, this verse calls us to look to God, who makes our path secure and enables us to move forward with assurance, knowing that He will not only lead us but also empower us to walk in freedom and prevent us from losing our way or falling prey to danger.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "enlarged my steps" mean in a practical sense for believers today?
Answer: In a practical sense for believers today, "enlarged my steps" means that God removes obstacles, provides opportunities, and grants freedom where we might feel constrained or limited. This can manifest in various ways:
How does this verse relate to the idea of "walking with God"?
Answer: This verse directly speaks to the security and enablement found in a life lived in communion with God. "Walking with God" implies a continuous journey of faith, obedience, and dependence on Him. Psalms 18:36 assures us that as we walk with Him, God is actively involved in guiding and securing our journey. Just as He ensured David's physical and strategic stability, He provides spiritual stability for those who walk in His ways. It means that our steps are not our own but are established and made secure by the Lord (as seen in Proverbs 16:9). He prevents us from straying off course, stumbling into sin, or falling prey to the enemy's schemes, ensuring our progress and preservation on the path of righteousness.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 18:36, while a powerful testament to David's personal experience of divine deliverance, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in Jesus Christ. David's "enlarged steps" foreshadow the boundless freedom and secure path that Christ, our ultimate Deliverer, provides. Where humanity's steps were confined by sin and destined to slip into destruction, Jesus, through His perfect life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection, has opened a new and living way for us. He is not merely a guide but the Way, the Truth, and the Life, making our spiritual steps secure and preventing us from slipping into eternal condemnation. Through His finished work on the cross, we are freed from the narrow confines of legalism and the treacherous ground of self-reliance, empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life. He ensures that our feet, once prone to stumble, are now firmly planted on the solid rock of His salvation, enabling us to run the race with perseverance, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. In Christ, we experience the ultimate enlargement of our steps, having been given every spiritual blessing and the unshakeable assurance that nothing can separate us from the love of God.