Psalm 18 is a highly poetic and visual psalm by and of David. Full of metaphors, this psalm speaks of earthquakes and heavens and of great battles and the like. It is also a very intriguing psalm in that it is somewhat of a clone of 2 Samuel 22 as well as giving citations attributed to Christ in the New Testament.
This psalm is typical David in his praises and priorities are always to God. It is also a typical psalm in that David the warrior and David the Christ figure are blended together.
Psalm 18
King James Version
Title: 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,
Psalm 18 and 2 Samuel 22 are the same song with slight variations. These slight differences are attributed to it being sung at different times and places. The title to Psalm 18 is verse 1 in 2 Samuel 22. Verse 1 of Psalm 18 is the only real difference between the two in that it is found here and nowhere else.
It is also significant to point out that David is called, “the servant of the LORD”, a titled reserved for Moses with Joshua being the one exception.
“This Psalm is virtually the same as the Psalm sung by David at the very end of his life, as recorded in 2 Samuel 22. It is likely that David composed this song as a younger man; yet in his old age David could look back with great gratitude and sing this song again, looking at his whole life” (David Guzik).
Psalm 18 is attributed to David but there are direct applications and attributions to Jesus Christ. Psalm 18:2 is cited in Hebrews 2:13 and Psalm 18:49 is cited in Romans 15:9. Both passages are applied to Jesus Christ.
“The strong current of commentators and critics apply this Psalm to Christ….In the main I am of the same mind…still however considering that there are many things in it which concern David, and him only” (Adam Clarke).
“If it be remembered that the second and the forty-ninth verses are both quoted in the New Testament (Hebrews 2:13; Romans 15:9) as the words of the Lord Jesus, it will be clear that a greater than David is here” (Charles Spurgeon).
Commentary on Psalm 18
1) I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
This is the love of affection by David who recognizes Jehovah as his strength. This is a wonderful form of gratitude. David asks the Lord for nothing but expresses his deep feelings towards Him and credits God for his strength. This is a fulfilling strength given in time of weakness. When things are too difficult and we cannot go forward under our own power, God supplies us with His strength to move forward in Him.
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.
“The Lord is my rock” -The Lord or Jehovah is my rock, a stronghold and security. Many references by David as this verse will show are of God as a rock, a mountain a protector and security up high.
“and my fortress”-Figuratively used for God as a mountain top or stronghold.
“and my deliverer” or enables me to escape the presents of evil.
“God, my strength-“El” is the word used for God which is a reference to Jehovah as the deity. It also designates strength and power. David is saying the strength of God is my strength.
in whom I will trust –This is full confidence in God and is the third characteristic needed for a relationship with God behind faith and belief. Trust and refuge are synonymous here. God is his refuge but this can only occur with absolute trust first. We may have faith and belief in God and his promises but do we trust Him enough to put our life in Him and those promises?
“my buckler” -God the protector more literally God who holds my shield.
“and the horn of my salvation”- The horn of my salvation-Jesus is called the horn of salvation in Luke 1:69. It brings to mind the image of the Cornucopia or the Horn of Plenty, the symbol of abundance and endless benefit. That would be the Divines. The horn many times in the Bible symbolizes power such as described in Daniel chapters 7 and 8.
“and my high tower” -a high rocky place that offers shelter and protection.
David who had kings and kingdoms in pursuit of him, who lead many battles and wars and was encompassed countless times by his foe knows that it was only by the grace and mercy of God that he was delivered and saved.
3) I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
“who is worthy to be praised” God who is worthy to be celebrated and praised and is evident why after reading the prior verse. The Hebrew word is, “halal” and means to be clear as in a clear sharp tone. If only all of praises to God were such as that. God hates murmuring but loves it when we are loud and clear in our praises and glorification of Him.
“so shall I be saved from mine enemies” The definitive word, “shall” is used by David. Not maybe, or possibly but shall be saved!
The footnote in the 1599 Geneva Bibles makes a marvelous observation about this verse. “For none can obtain their requests of God, that join not his glory with their petition”.
It is easy to fall into the routine of just asking God for help during our prayers and forget to praise Him in the process.
4) The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
“The sorrows” or more literallya rope or a snare. Like a noose around the neck “death compassed me”. This is death in all its forms whether the act of death, the state of death or the final resting place of the dead.
“the floods of ungodly men” ismoving and poetic and accurate. Floods are almost always associated with bad weather or some disastrous event. Like sin, flood waters creep into everything that is down at its level. Association with the ungodly will eventually find you overcome and flooded with the sting of death, sin.
5) The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
The sorrows of hell compassed me about- “The allusion may be to the manner of burying among the Jews, who wound up their dead bodies in linen clothes; so that they were as persons bound hand and foot; and thus were they laid in the grave” (John Gills)
“the snares of death prevented me” this is one of the many KJV translations that does not communicate the original message well. The snares are a baited trap, a noose “prevented me’ is to go before me, lead or before me. Jesus had the same situation with Peter when he said, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence (a snare) unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (Matthew 16:23)
The enemy of God often times has the face of a friend. And too sometimes the road to Hell is paved with good intentions by those saints with the best of intentions.
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.
“In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God” The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16) and a heartfelt shout out to God in distress certainly fits the bill
“he heard my voice out of his temple” The, “Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven” (Psalm 11:4). This is just one of many things that are just too difficult for man to grasp. God is in heaven, literally in everything yet hears each and every one of us.
“and my cry came before him, even into his ears” “Before him” literally translates “face” and “even into his ears” comes from the word “ozon” meaning “to hear”. If you’ll allow me a bit of latitude here, it is interesting to think of the earth’s “ozone” or sky as God’s face and place where our prayers and supplications are to be heard. The earth’s ozone layer also protects all of life on this planet from the harmful radiation of the sun. Much to draw parallels between God/ozon and the earth/ozone.
NOTE: In the following verses you will read of great earthquakes, and fire, of darkness and foundations collapsing, etc. It is all very visual and very poetic. The question arises if David actually encountered these conditions or is he just taking poetic license in describing the battles of the Lord he has experienced.
“David has in his mind’s eye the glorious manifestations of God in Egypt, at Sinai, and on different occasions to Joshua and the judges; and he considers that his own case exhibits the same glory of power and goodness, and that, therefore, he may accommodate the descriptions of former displays of the divine majesty into his hymn of praise.” (Charles Spurgeon).
“It does not appear from any part of David‘s history that there was any such storm as is here described, which proved destructive to his enemies, and salutary to himself. There might, indeed, have been such a one, though there is no particular mention of it….It is undoubted, however, that the storm is represented as real; though David, in describing it, has heightened and embellished it with all the ornaments of poetry. See Chandler, Delaney, and Lowth‘s ninth Prelection. (Adam Clarke)
“David, convinced that the aid of God, which he had experienced, was of such a character, that it was impossible for him to extol it sufficiently and as it deserved, sets forth an image of it in the sky and the earth” (John Calvin).
Although we have no record of the following events actually happening to David it is still quite possible he did experience them in one form or fashion in that there are many lapses in the Bible of his life.
Finally, David Guzik offers an interesting perspective to thises images described by David. “Significantly, we might say that David could only really see this once his deliverance was accomplished. In the midst of his trial David had many reasons and occasions to wonder where the delivering hand of God was. God’s deliverance is always seen most clearly looking back; looking forward it is often only seen by faith”.
7) Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
In the prior verse we heard of the cry and call from David in distress to the Lord. Here we see no delay in His response, and what a response it is!
“The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles” (Psalms 34:17).
“The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29).
The coming of God and righteousness invariable involves shaking and quaking be in with a person or a nation. The Quaker religion was named due to people shaking or quaking when they felt the coming of the Lord. John the Baptists gives a similar description with the onslaught of God, repentance and salvation.
“As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Luke 3:4-7).
8) There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
“out of his nostrils or “‘aph” and “fire” or “’esh“ both have the connotation of God and anger. And this anger was a consuming flame that left nothing but burning coals. Metaphoric or not, the fate of everything will eventually be consumed by God, “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).
9) He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
Keeping in the spirit of the poetry used by David of earthly events the “heavens” is probably the sky. It draws images of a cloudy, darkened sky and even of a tornado touching down and causing destruction.
“Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke” (Psalm 144:5).
10) And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
David here is describing God riding the wind. “who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind” (Psalm 104:3).
11&12) He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
There are a lot of similarities between this passage and Genesis 1:2-3. “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light”
“Darkess” and “him were dark” come from the same root word “chashak” meaning obscurity, darkness and confusion which has the same meaning as, “earth was without form, and void”. Both passages also speak of waters or “mayim” which means danger, violence and transitory things.
God shining His light and countenance on darkness, obscurity and confusion to create a world and save mankind.
13) The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
This brings to mind the thundering voice of God raining down the purifying fire of righteousness. Thunder being used to describe preaching the word of God and righteousness was something Jesus was familiar with. He surnamed James and John “Boanerges” which is, “The sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17)
14) Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
This sounds as if God returned the sinners back to the original condition of obscurity and confusion. His lighting scattered the wicked and “discomfited” them or confused, crushed, scattered and utterly destroyed them. What greater Hell is there than obscurity and confusion?
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.
“So tremendous was the shock of God’s assault in arms that the order of nature was changed, and the bottoms of rivers and seas were laid bare. “The channels of waters was seen;” and the deep cavernous bowels of the earth were upheaved till “the foundations of the world were discovered.” What will not Jehovah’s “rebuke” do?” (Charles Spurgeon)
16) He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
God seized David and saved him, “out of many waters” or great dangers and violence.
17&18) He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
David the great warrior was overtaken by those who hate him and more powerful. All was lost by his hand but the Lord was his support.
19) He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
God delighted in David because he was a righteous man. He called to the Lord and leaned on him during a time of turmoil. God quickly responds and, ”brought me forth also into a large place” a metaphor meaning to be saved and put at liberty.
Our greatest spiritual growth occurs after our greatest trials and tribulation as long as we stay constant in our relation and reliance on the Lord. It is our continuous faith in the Lord that brings us into a “large place”.
20 & 21) The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
It is because of his righteousness, cleanness, keeping the way of the Lord and not departing from God that David was able to call the Lord my rock, fortress, deliverer, God, strength, trust, buckler, horn of my salvation and high tower.
22 &23) For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
There are three things that David did each mutually exclusive unto themselves. But all three must be done to please God. David kept God and his word forefront in his mind, ways and life. He stayed away from sin and iniquity and always handled himself in a manner befitting a child of God.
24) Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
“recompensed” or “shuwb“means to turn, return, reverse, restore or to recover. We sometimes forget that the first man, Adam allowed sin in and God has been in the process of offering mankind a full recovery ever since. Our natural condition is righteousness. Repenting is the process of returning back to our original condition.
25 & 26) With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
This sounds similar too and has the same basic idea as what Jesus said at the Sermon of the Mount. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God”. (Matthew 5:6-8).
“with the froward thou wilt shew thyself forward”. This is similar to a passage from Leviticus “And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins…And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins” (Leviticus 26:21, 23, 24).
God does unto us as we have done to others. Good or bad god will be recompensed in like fashion.
“We see, then, what the stubborn at length gain by their obduracy; it is this, that God hardens himself still more to break them in pieces, and if they are of stone, he causes them to feel that he has the hardness of iron” (John Calvin).
27) For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
To “save the afflicted” is what our religion is about. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
“Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:3-4).
28) For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).
Jehovah my God is my light that illuminates my why through the darkness and obscurity of this world.
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
“For thou wilt light my candle” The candle is us, the light is the spirit of the Lord. Once lit all things are possible.
29) For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
Weaving through poetry we find a bit of literalism. David in powered by the light of God within him describes some event where he was able to advance through enemy lines.
“By thee I have broken through the armed troops of mine enemies. I have sealed the walls of their strongest cities and castles, and so taken them” (Matthew Poole).
Adam Clarke suggests that David may be referring to 2 Samuel 5:6-8 when he and his men, “went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites” and “took the strong hold of Zion”.
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.
God’s way is perfect. It is complete and without blemish. Sound and whole it is the absolute truth. God’s way is salvation to man. The way, the truth and the life is God’s way of perfection.
Man is left with two questions about the way of the Lord and His perfection. 1) Can he comprehend it? 2) Can he accept it?
“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5).
Perfection itself is beyond our complete understanding. More to the point, perfection is something that is too great for us to be able to comprehend. It is why no one has seen God for He is perfect. It is why Moses had to put a veil over his face when he came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in his hand which is the perfect law of righteousness. “The children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him” (Exodus 34:30). The perfection of the law emanated from the face of Moses. “Shone” literally translates as beams of light radiating out from him. Perfection is blinding to man.
But although we cannot comprehend perfection itself we can know that perfection exists and that it exists only in God. This knowledge causes us to understand that we are not perfect. Which leads to the next question, can we accept it? Can we accept that God is perfect and we are not? Can we accept a superior God who knows better than we?
In Proverbs 6 we learn from King Solomon that there are seven things that God hates. (We should all pause and consider the magnitude and weight of the word “hate” in reference to God.) First and foremost God hates pride. Why? Because it is the pride of man that will cause him not to accept the fact that God is perfect and man is not. The prideful man can understand God is perfect but his pride causes resentment to rise within him. Resentment becomes rebellion then eventually complete refusal of God.
When man rebels against God then he does not put his trust in God. God then cannot be his buckler, his refuge and protection. The prideful man is left to the world and all the evil in it. Which, in a bit of irony usually causes the prideful man to resent God even more because he can’t figure out why if God is perfect then why does He allow all of these evil things to happen to him!
“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).
“An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.” (Proverbs 17:11).
Remove pride and accept that God is perfect and we aren’t! Accept the fact that we cannot and will not ever while on this earth, be able to comprehend perfection in totality and that it only exists in God.
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36).
Live! Remove pride and accept God.
31) For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?
In the prayer of Hannah after finding out she was pregnant with who would later become Samuel she prayed, “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:3).
God has always been described as a rock, a high place. He is something permanent, resident, unmovable and unchangeable. The rock is our lean to and rest. He is our standard, our marker and our way point. The only time we lose sight of the rock is when we leave it, for it will never leave us.
32) It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
There never can be enough emphasis placed on “It is God” who does it. It is God who gives us His strength. It is God that makes our way perfect. It is a trap to be very wary of. For example it is all too easy when we say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:3) to stress the “I” and “me” and neglect God who does it all.
33&34) He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
These are similes’ that paint great visions of strength and ability. David was a warrior that fought many a battle so he describes things in his context. Whatever God has in store for His children he will always well equip them for the task.
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.
His salvation and righteousness which are all supported by the foundation of God’s love.
36) Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
The pressure of trials and tribulations, when we feel like the world is closing in, and we just want to curl up and die. God can and will expand upon the area and realm in which we can move in if we step out in faith in him. God expands the area and enlarges our step which allows us to move freely through any valley past any shadow of death.
“When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble” (Proverbs 4:12).
37) I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
This and the following verses show David in a physical battle but is representative of the spiritual battle we are in every day. And in a sense, is a good comparison between the Old Testament and the New Testament, going from the physical battle to the spiritual battle.
38) I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” (Romans 16:20).
Many have considered the Old Testament cruel and barbaric for the battles that were fought. But think of things in terms of righteousness and it becomes clear. These battles were not about peoples and nations it was about righteousness and unrighteousness. All were offered the grace and salvation of God. Not all accepted. Those who did not rebelled and “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Unrighteousness and wickedness left unchecked grows and consumes everything in its path. To preserve mankind unrighteousness had to e stopped.
39) For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
“For thou hast girded me with strength” is a theme being repeated from verse 32 and runs throughout this psalm.
What David knew with God was wonderfully expressed by the Apostle Paul in Romans 8.
“If God be for us, who can be against us?”
“Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect?”
“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us”.
God made us to be over comers and is one of the core themes of Revelations chapters 2 and 3.
“It is impossible to be too frequent in the duty of ascribing all our victories to the God of our salvation. It is true that we have to wrestle with our spiritual antagonists, but the triumph is far more the Lord’s than ours. We must not boast like the ambitious votaries of vainglory, but we may exult as the willing and believing instruments in the Lord’s hand of accomplishing his great designs” (Charles Spurgeon).
(40 & 41) Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.
Again if we think spiritually we see the great victory in each of our lives as we face “all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Ephesians 6:16). This ability to face the enemy of evil and unrighteousness and to overcome is by the grace of God. Those who do not know God are not known of Him and 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.
The Lord God who formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, has strengthened and empowered David to return the Godless and the worldly back into the earthen condition they came from. We are but clay pots filled with the spirit of God.
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.
“In 2 Samuel 22:44, it is read “my people”, meaning the people of Israel; either Saul and his men, who contended with David, and sought his life; or rather the tribes of Israel, who, after Saul’s death, refused to acknowledge David as their king, but afterwards came and anointed him in Hebron. The words may very well be interpreted of the contentions of the Scribes and Pharisees with Christ, and of the opposition from sinners, which he for a while endured, but is now delivered from them all” (John Gills).
44 & 45) As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
David as a Christ figure shows the power of God over evil. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth” (Philippians 2:10)
“And in this God exhibited a type of the conquest which Christ would make of the Gentiles, who, by the preaching of the Gospel alone, were subdued, and brought voluntarily to submit to his dominion; for the obedience of faith in which the dominion of Christ is founded “cometh by hearing” (John Calvin)
46) The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
Jehovah lives and He is my strength, stability and my standard. The one true God ‘Elohiym, Heis the God of my deliverance. It is Jehovah and only Jehovah that is to be uplifted and praised!
“It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword” (Psalm 144:10).
“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth”. (Job 19:25)
47 &48) It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. 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.
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19).
David was the most feared and mightiest of warriors. He was known throughout all lands for his abilities in battle. Songs were sung of his victories.
“And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:6-7).
Strength through physical force and victory in battle usually hardens a man. A man of war is a self sufficient, independent man with little regard to human life outside of his own. But David was none of that. David knew, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). David knew that the very breath he breathed was a gift from God and he praised God for it continuously.
David was a prayerful man, probably the most prayerful man ever. We should use David as an object lesson. The battles he fought were very real and very bloody. He was hunted and pursued by friend and foe alike. He faced giants, armies and countries. He was alone, hungry and often desolate. But he always loved God. He was in continuous prayer to God and he listened and obeyed God. But regardless of the what, David stayed true to the who; God! And of course, God stayed true to David.
49) Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
Being a mighty warrior king gave David every opportunity to take credit for himself, but he did not. He gave all the glory to God but in particular he sang God’s praises to the heathen. It is difficult for man to surpass his own pride and ego and it is often times more difficult to make a confession of faith to a non-believer. These are two battlefronts we have to fight practically on a daily basis. Can we put pride aside? Can we take up our cross and follow Jesus. Can we be a martyr, a witness to the truth under any and all circumstances?
50) Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
This is David and the lineage to Christ. Matthew Henry wisely points out, “He saith not unto seeds, as of many, but to his seed, as of one, that is Christ”.
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).
“And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus” (Acts 13:22-23).
“Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3).
David, according to the flesh; Jesus Christ, according to the spirit.
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Bill Hitchcock
Refining Truth