Psalm 18— God the Sovereign Savior
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of Yahweh, who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song on the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
1 I will love You, O Lord, my Strength.
“There is another record of this same Psalm, with only insignificant variations, in 2 Samuel 22.” (Burton Coffman) The title is taken from 2 Samuel 22:1. That verse, as well as the 50 verses contained in this Psalm are “said to have been composed when Yahweh had delivered David out of the hand of all his enemies, “an event which occurred only at a comparatively late period of his life” (Barnes,) even at His natural death, being kept of Yahweh. These are the last words of David.
"I love You." These verses are “a sublime paraphrase on the first commandment; declaring that God, the God of Israel alone, was the foundation of the Royal Psalmist's confidence, and the author of his security and happiness.” (Thomas Coke ) “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exo 20:1-3) We must personalize the deliverance. He likewise delivered us from bondage to sin and death.
“’I love you,’ possessed of all perfections, moral and divine, the infinite, unchangeable Jehovah…” (Joseph Sutcliffe), “my Strength’— from whom alone I have received all my strength, and success, and settlement, and in whom alone I trust, as it follows, Psalms 18:2.” (Matthew Poole)
Shema— Hear, O— Israel— Yahweh our God is One: And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (Deut 6:4-5) Likewise, Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is “not a new law added to the Ten Commandments, but simply the development and unfolding of the covenant laws and rights enclosed as a germ in the decalogue…” (Keil & Delitzsch) “The ‘heart’ is mentioned as the seat of the understanding; the ‘soul’ as the center of will and personality; the ‘might’ as representing the outgoings and energies of all the vital powers. The New Testament itself requires no more than this total self-surrender of man‘s being to his Maker, Matthew 22:37. The Gospel differs from the Law not so much in replacing an external and carnal service of God by an inward and spiritual one, as in supplying new motives and special assistances for the attainment of that divine love which was, from the first and all along, enjoined as ‘the first and great commandment.’” (Barnes)
2 Yahweh is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in whom I will trust; my Shield and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold.
“Yahweh is my Rock,— to which I flee for refuge, as the Israelites did to their rocks. See Jude 6:2 1 Samuel 13:6.” (Matthew Poole)— “‘my Fortress.’.. a place so strengthened that an enemy could not approach it, or where one would be safe.“ (Albert Barnes) “‘and my Deliverer’— Rocks and strong holds do not always deliver (witness the Shechemites, Jebusites, Arimasphes), but [the] God [of Israel] always doth.” (John Trapp)
"‘my God,'— moving now from type to antitype.— ‘my Rock,’ literally, ‘a cleft rock,’ for concealment.” (Jamieson, Faussett, Brown)— as Moses did hid from the glory of God, not from his enemies, lest he die— “‘in whom I will take refuge.’— “in whom they are secure, and on whom they build their hopes of eternal life and happiness” (John Gill) “Yahweh descended in the cloud and stood with him [Moses] there, and proclaimed the name of Yahweh.” (Exo 34:5) Moses hid in the cleft of a rock. “And Yahweh passed before him and proclaimed, ‘Yahweh, Yahweh God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.’” (Exo 34:6-7) “These glorious titles and attributes are those back parts of God. None can see more than these and live: and we need see no more than these that we may live.” (john Trapp)
“Those attributes... were displayed in their most glorious light in the redemption of the world by the death of Jesus Christ..." (Thomas Coke) “Still, to prevent the fatal misapprehension that He is a Being of pure and mero benevolence (Butler, Analogy, Part I., Exodus 2, p. 41). He added, to complete the description, a reference to His justice. He 'will by no means clear the guilty' (cf. Nahum 1:3), and will 'visit iniquity to the third and fourth generation.’ (cf. Exo 20:5.)” (C. J. Ellicott)
“‘my Shield’—as the shield in the soldier's hand, protected him from danger in those perilous wars in which he was engaged with his enemies.” (Thomas Coke)— which in a spiritual sense speaks God as our Advocate, who quenches the accusations of Satan— “’and the Horn of my salvation’— Who pushes, scatters, and destroys their enemies, and saves them; a metaphor taken from horned beasts; so Christ, the mighty and able Saviour, is called, Luke 1:69.” (John Gill)— “‘my High Tower’ literally, ‘my high place,’ beyond reach of danger.” (Jamieson, Faussett, Brown) The people did try to build a high tower to make it to Heaven (Gen 11:1-9), which is a symbol of human works. God confused their language and here David acknowledges that God is his High Tower,
3 I will call upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.
“’I will call upon Yahweh.’— Or, I did call and was saved— ‘who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.’ For the future tense is commonly used for that which is past. And this seems best to agree with the whole context, which is to praise God for mercies already received.” (Poole) Or I will call on Him at Judgment, as Advocate.
Psalm 18: Death— The Last Enemy
4 The pangs of death surrounded me, and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon Yahweh, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple,and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
The dying king sang of overcoming all of his earthly enemies, but then his thoughts turned to grave! "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.“ (1 Cor 15:26) “It is His own death experience which is described in Psalms 18:4-6. ‘The cords of death compassed me.’ ” (Arno Gaebelein)— “’and the floods of Belial made me afraid.‘ For Belial, see Deuteronomy 13:13— some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, `Let us go and serve other gods...' Here the parallelism fixes its meaning, ‘ruin.’ For the ideas of peril and destruction, connected by the Hebrews with waves and floods, comp. Psalms 18:16.“ (C. J. Ellicott) Their accusations made him afraid.
“’The sorrows of Sheol’— literally “throes, or cords, such as wherewith they bind malefactors led forth to execution.” (John Trapp)— surrounded me;’ perhaps “the ‘cords of a man’ (Hos 11:4 means that men employ, in inducing each other, methods such as are suitable to men, and not ‘cords’ such as oxen are led by. Isaiah Hos 5:18) says, ‘Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope.’ This verse is thus given in the Chaldee paraphrase: ‘Woe to those who begin to sin by little and little, drawing sin by cords of vanity: these sins grow and increase till they are strong and are like a cart rope.’ This may be the true meaning. The wicked at first draw sin with a slender cord; but by-and-by their sins increase, and they are drawn after them by a cart rope. Henderson in his commentary says: ‘The meaning is that the persons described were not satisfied with ordinary modes of provoking the Deity, and the consequent ordinary approach of His vengeance, but, as it were, yoked themselves in the harness of iniquity, and, putting forth all their strength, drew down upon themselves, with accelerated speed, the load of punishment which their sins deserved.’” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary)
The grave in the earth aka death “are personified as man‘s great enemies (compare Revelation 20:13-14)— ‘And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.’— ‘The snare of death confronted'— or prevented or encountered me, i.e crossed my path, and endangered my safety. He does not mean he was in their power.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)
King David only intimates that fear overtook him for a moment. The fears of death must at last be overcome. Thus in his distress, he called upon Yahweh, and cried out to his God; and "'He heard my voice from His Temple,’ The word rendered Temple cannot refer here to the temple at Jerusalem, for that was built after the death of David, but it... refers to Heaven, considered as the temple, or dwelling-place of God.” (Albert Barnes) And He gave me this assurance of my eternal salvation:
7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, because He was angry. 8 Smoke went up from His nostrils, and devouring fire from His mouth; coals were kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet. 10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.11 He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 12 From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
13 Yahweh thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice, hailstones and coals of fire. 14 He sent out His arrows and scattered he foe, lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. 15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, the foundations of the world were uncovered at Your rebuke, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. 17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but Yahweh was my support. 19 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. 20 Yahweh rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has 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 blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. 24 Therefore Yahweh has recompensed me according to my righteousness,according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; 26 with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. 27 For You will save the humble people, but will bring down haughty looks.
28 For You will light my lamp; Yahweh my God will enlighten my darkness. 29 For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall. 30 As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of Yahweh is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. 31 For who is God, except Yahweh? and who is a rock, except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places. 34 He teaches my hands to make [perhaps spiritual] warfare, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze [Judgment]. 35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. 36 You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip. 37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. 38 I have wounded them, so that they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet. 39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. 40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies, so that I destroyed those who hated me. 41 They cried out, but there was none to save; even to Yahweh, but He did not answer them. 42 Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind; I cast them out like dirt in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; You have made me the head of the nations; a people I have not known shall serve me [—the Gentiles]. 44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me; the foreigners submit to me. 45 The foreigners fade away, and come frightened from their hideouts. 46 Yahweh lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted. 47 It is God who avenges me, and subdues the peoples under me; 48 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. 49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing praises to Your name. 50 Great deliverance He gives to His king, and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and his [spiritual] descendants forevermore [as to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob].