1 I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. |
2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. |
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. |
4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. |
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. |
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. |
7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved 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 darkness was under his feet. |
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. |
11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. |
12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. |
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. |
14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. |
15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. |
16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. |
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. |
18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. |
19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. |
20 The LORD 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 the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. |
22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. |
23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. |
24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. |
25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; |
26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. |
27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. |
18 David triumphs in God, Psa 18:1-3.
Praises God for his past deliverances, Psa 18:4-19.
Takes the comfort of his integrity, which God had thereby cleared up, Psa 18:20-28.
Gives God the glory of all his victories, Psa 18:29-42.
Express his hope of what God would do farther, Psa 18:43-50.
This psalm with some few and small variations, is written, Sa2 22:1-51.
It was composed by David towards the end of his life, upon the occasion here mentioned. To the chief musician, A psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song, in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, and he said:
Title of the psalm. Servant - Who esteems it a greater honour to be thy servant, than to be king of Israel. Saul - After the death of Saul, and the conquest of all his succeeding enemies, and his own firm establishment in his kingdom.
18:1 Love - Most affectionately, and with my whole soul; as the Hebrew word signifies.
18:2 Rock - To which I flee for refuge, as the Israelites did to their rocks. Horn - It is a metaphor from those beasts whose strength lies in their horns.
18:4 Death - Dangerous and deadly troubles. Floods - Their multitude, and strength, and violent assaults, breaking in upon me like a flood.
18:5 Sorrows - Which brought me to the brink of the grave.Death - Had almost taken hold of me, before I was aware.
18:6 Temple - Out of his heavenly habitation.
18:7 Then - Then God appeared on my behalf in a glorious manner, to the terror and confusion of all mine enemies, which is here compared to an earthquake.
18:8 There went, etc - All these seem to be figurative expressions, denoting the greatness of his anger.
18:9 Bowed - By producing thick and dark clouds, whereby the heavens seem to come down to the earth. Came - Not by change of place, but by the manifestation of his presence and power on my behalf.
18:10 Cherub - Or, upon the cherubim, upon the angels, who are also called God's chariots, Psa 68:17, upon which he is said to sit and ride. All which is not to be understood grossly, but only to denote God's using the ministry of angels, in raising such storms and tempests.Fly - As swiftly as the wind.
18:11 Darkness - He covered himself with dark clouds.Waters - Watery vapours.
18:12 At - His glorious and powerful appearance. Passed - Or, passed away, vanished, being dissolved into showers.
18:14 Arrows - Lightnings. Them - Mine enemies.
18:15 Discovered - By mighty earthquakes, which overturned the earth, and made its lower parts visible.
18:18 Prevented - They had almost surprized me.
18:19 Brought - Out of my straits and difficulties, into a state of freedom and comfort. So he ascribes all his mercies to God's good pleasure, as the first spring of them.
18:20 Righteousness - Just cause. The innocency of my actions towards Saul, from whose blood I kept my hands pure.
18:22 Judgments - I diligently studied and considered them.
18:24 Iniquity - From that sin which I was most inclined or tempted to.
18:25 Upright - Thou metest to every one the same measure, which he meteth out to others; and therefore thou wilt perform mercy and truth, to those who are merciful and true to others.
18:26 Pure - Free from the least mixture or appearance of unrighteousness, or unfaithfulness. Froward - Thou wilt cross him and walk contrary to him.