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.
And David made a song to the Lord in these words, on the day when the Lord made him free from the hands of all his haters, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour, even mine; My God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my safe place; my saviour, who keeps me safe from the violent man. 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. For the waves of death came round me, and the seas of evil put me in fear; The cords of hell were round me: the nets of death came on me. 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 to his ears. Then the earth was moved with a violent shock; the bases of heaven were moved and shaking, because he was angry. There went up a smoke from his nose, and a fire of destruction from his mouth: coals were lighted by it. The heavens were bent, so that he might come down; and it was dark under his feet. And he went through the air, seated on a storm-cloud: going quickly on the wings of the wind. And he made the dark his tent round him, a mass of waters, thick clouds of the skies. Before his shining light his dark clouds went past, raining ice and coals of fire. The Lord made thunder in the heavens, and the voice of the Highest was sounding out. And he sent out his arrows, driving them in all directions; by his flames of fire they were troubled. Then the deep beds of the sea were seen, and the bases of the world were uncovered, because of the Lord's wrath, because of the breath of his mouth. He sent from on high, he took me, pulling me out of great waters. He made me free from my strong hater, from those who were against me, because they were stronger than I. They came on me in the day of my trouble: but the Lord was my support. He took me out into a wide place; he was my saviour because he had delight in me. The Lord gives me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean before him. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not been turned away in sin from my God. For all his decisions were before me, and I did not put away his laws from me. And I was upright before him, and I kept myself from sin. Because of this the Lord has given me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean in his eyes. On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright; 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. For you are the saviour of those who are in trouble; but your eyes are on men of pride, to make them low. For you are my light, O Lord; and the Lord will make the dark bright for me. 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. As for God, his way is all good: the word of the Lord is tested; he is a safe cover for all those who put their faith in him. For who is God but the Lord? and who is a Rock but our God? God puts a strong band about me, guiding me in a straight way. He makes my feet like roes' feet, and puts me on high places. He makes my hands expert in war, so that a bow of brass is bent by my arms. You have given me the breastplate of your salvation, and your mercy has made me great. You have made my steps wide under me, so that my feet make no slip. I go after my haters and overtake them; not turning back till they are all overcome. I have sent destruction on them and given them wounds, so that they are not able to get up: they are stretched under my feet. For I have been armed by you with strength for the fight: you have made low under me those who came out against me. By you their backs are turned in flight, so that my haters are cut off. They were crying out, but there was no one to come to their help: even to the Lord, but he gave them no answer. Then they were crushed as small as the dust of the earth, stamped down under my feet like the waste of the streets. You have made me free from the fightings of my people; you have made me the head of the nations: a people of whom I had no knowledge will be my servants. Men of other countries will, with false hearts, put themselves under my authority: from the time when my name comes to their ears, they will be ruled by me. They will be wasted away, they will come out of their secret places shaking with fear. The Lord is living; praise be to my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be honoured: It is God who sends punishment on my haters, and puts peoples under my rule. 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. Because of this I will give you praise, O Lord, among the nations, and will make a song of praise to your name. Great salvation does he give to his king; he has mercy on the king of his selection, David, and on his seed for ever.
We have the power of loving, because he first had love for us.
I am able to do all things through him who gives me strength.
And in that day you will say I will give praise to you, O Lord; for though you were angry with me, your wrath is turned away, and I am comforted. See, God is my salvation; I will have faith in the Lord, without fear: for the Lord Jah is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation. So with joy will you get water out of the springs of salvation. And in that day you will say, Give praise to the Lord, let his name be honoured, give word of his doings among the peoples, say that his name is lifted up. Make a song to the Lord; for he has done noble things: give news of them through all the earth. Let your voice be sounding in a cry of joy, O daughter of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.
The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
Now David, having done God's work for his generation, went to sleep, and was put with his fathers, and his body came to destruction:
<A Psalm. Of David.> Praise be to the God of my strength, teaching my hands the use of the sword, and my fingers the art of fighting: He is my strength, and my Rock; my high tower, and my saviour; my keeper and my hope: he gives me authority over my people.
O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of her who is your servant; by you have my cords been broken.
<To the chief music-maker. Of the servant of the Lord. Of David.> The sin of the evil-doer says in his heart, There is no fear of the Lord before his eyes.
God puts a strong band about me, guiding me in a straight way.
And Hannah, in prayer before the Lord, said, My heart is glad in the Lord, my horn is lifted up in the Lord: my mouth is open wide over my haters; because my joy is in your salvation. No other is holy as the Lord, for there is no other God but you: there is no Rock like our God. Say no more words of pride; let not uncontrolled sayings come out of your mouths: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, by him acts are judged. The bows of the men of war are broken, and the feeble are clothed with strength. Those who were full are offering themselves as servants for bread; those who were in need are at rest; truly, she who had no children has become the mother of seven; and she who had a family is wasted with sorrow. The Lord is the giver of death and life: sending men down to the underworld and lifting them up. The Lord gives wealth and takes a man's goods from him: crushing men down and again lifting them up; Lifting the poor out of the dust, and him who is in need out of the lowest place, to give them their place among rulers, and for their heritage the seat of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and he has made them the base of the world. He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the evil-doers will come to their end in the dark night, for by strength no man will overcome. Those who make war against the Lord will be broken; against them he will send his thunder from heaven: the Lord will be judge of the ends of the earth, he will give strength to his king, lifting up the horn of him on whom the holy oil has been put.
At that time Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, made this song, saying: Because of the flowing hair of the fighters in Israel, because the people gave themselves freely, give praise to the Lord. Give attention, O kings; give ear, O rulers; I, even I, will make a song to the Lord; I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel. Lord, when you went out from Seir, moving like an army from the field of Edom, the earth was shaking and the heavens were troubled, and the clouds were dropping water. The mountains were shaking before the Lord, before the Lord, the God of Israel. In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were not used, and travellers went by side roads. Country towns were no more in Israel, *** were no more, till you, Deborah, came up, till you came up as a mother in Israel. They had no one to make arms, there were no more armed men in the towns; was there a body-cover or a spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel? Come, you rulers of Israel, you who gave yourselves freely among the people: give praise to the Lord. Let them give thought to it, who go on white asses, and those who are walking on the road. Give ear to the women laughing by the water-springs; there they will give again the story of the upright acts of the Lord, all the upright acts of his arm in Israel. Awake! awake! Deborah: awake! awake! give a song: Up! Barak, and take prisoner those who took you prisoner, O son of Abinoam. Then the chiefs went down to the doors; the Lord's people went down among the strong ones. Out of Ephraim they came down into the valley; after you, Benjamin, among your tribesmen; from Machir came down the captains, and from Zebulun those in whose hand is the ruler's rod. Your chiefs, Issachar, were with Deborah; and Naphtali was true to Barak; into the valley they went rushing out at his feet. In Reuben there were divisions, and great searchings of heart. Why did you keep quiet among the sheep, hearing nothing but the watchers piping to the flocks? Gilead was living over Jordan; and Dan was waiting in his ships; Asher kept in his place by the sea's edge, living by his inlets. It was the people of Zebulun who put their lives in danger, even to death, with Naphtali on the high places of the field. The kings came on to the fight, the kings of Canaan were warring; in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo: they took no profit in money. The stars from heaven were fighting; from their highways they were fighting against Sisera. The river Kishon took them violently away, stopping their flight, the river Kishon. Give praise, O my soul, to the strength of the Lord! Then loudly the feet of the horses were sounding with the stamping, the stamping of their war-horses. A curse, a curse on Meroz! said the angel of the Lord. A bitter curse on her townspeople! Because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord among the strong ones. Blessings be on Jael, more than on all women! Blessings greater than on any in the tents! His request was for water, she gave him milk; she put butter before him on a fair plate. She put out her hand to the tent-pin, and her right hand to the workman's hammer; and she gave Sisera a blow, crushing his head, wounding and driving through his brow. Bent at her feet he went down, he was stretched out; bent at her feet he went down; where he was bent down, there he went down in death. Looking out from the window she gave a cry, the mother of Sisera was crying out through the window, Why is his carriage so long in coming? When will the noise of his wheels be sounding? Her wise women gave answer to her, yes, she made answer again to herself, Are they not getting, are they not parting the goods among them: a young girl or two to every man; and to Sisera robes of coloured needlework, worked in fair colours on this side and on that, for the neck of the queen? So may destruction come on all your haters, O Lord; but let your lovers be like the sun going out in his strength. And for forty years the land had peace.
Then Moses and the children of Israel made this song to the Lord, and said, I will make a song to the Lord, for he is lifted up in glory: the horse and the horseman he has sent down into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my strong helper, he has become my salvation: he is my God and I will give him praise; my father's God and I will give him glory. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. Pharaoh's war-carriages and his army he has sent down into the sea: the best of his captains have gone down into the Red Sea. They were covered by the deep waters: like a stone they went down under the waves. Full of glory, O Lord, is the power of your right hand; by your right hand those who came against you are broken. When you are lifted up in power, all those who come against you are crushed: when you send out your wrath, they are burned up like dry grass. By your breath the waves were massed together, the flowing waters were lifted up like a pillar; the deep waters became solid in the heart of the sea. Egypt said, I will go after them, I will overtake, I will make division of their goods: my desire will have its way with them; my sword will be uncovered, my hand will send destruction on them. You sent your wind and the sea came over them: they went down like lead into the great waters. Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? who is like you, in holy glory, to be praised with fear, doing wonders? When your right hand was stretched out, the mouth of the earth was open for them. In your mercy you went before the people whom you have made yours; guiding them in your strength to your holy place. Hearing of you the peoples were shaking in fear: the people of Philistia were gripped with pain. The chiefs of Edom were troubled in heart; the strong men of Moab were in the grip of fear: all the people of Canaan became like water. Fear and grief came on them; by the strength of your arm they were turned to stone; till your people went over, O Lord, till the people went over whom you have made yours. You will take them in, planting them in the mountain of your heritage, the place, O Lord, where you have made your house, the holy place, O Lord, the building of your hands. The Lord is King for ever and ever. For the horses of Pharaoh, with his war-carriages and his horsemen, went into the sea, and the Lord sent the waters of the sea back over them; but the children of Israel went through the sea on dry land. And Miriam, the woman prophet, the sister of Aaron, took an instrument of music in her hand; and all the women went after her with music and dances. And Miriam, answering, said, Make a song to the Lord, for he is lifted up in glory; the horse and the horseman he has sent into the sea.
I have given my love to the Lord, because he has given ear to the voice of my cry and my prayer. He has let my request come before him, and I will make my prayer to him all my days. The nets of death were round me, and the pains of the underworld had me in their grip; I was full of trouble and sorrow. Then I made my prayer to the Lord, saying, O Lord, take my soul out of trouble. The Lord is full of grace and righteousness; truly, he is a God of mercy. The Lord keeps the simple; I was made low, and he was my saviour.
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.