Psalm 18
King James 2000
1I will love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD Is a Faithful Deliverer
2The LORD 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, and my high tower.
3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies.
4The sorrows of death surrounded me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5The sorrows of sheol surrounded me: the snares of death confronted me.
6In 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.
7Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was angry.
8There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
9He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
10And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his secret place; his canopy round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, with hailstones and coals of fire.
13The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
14Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and vanquished them.
15Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were uncovered at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
17He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them who hated me: for they were too strong for me.
18They confronted me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.
19He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands has he recompensed me.
21For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
23I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from my iniquity.
24Therefore has the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25With the merciful you will show yourself merciful; with an upright man you will show yourself upright;
26With the pure you will show yourself pure; and with the devious you will show yourself shrewd.
27For you will save the humble people; but will bring down haughty looks.
28For you will light my lamp: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
29For by you I have advanced against a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is proven: he is a shield to all those that trust in him.
31For who is God except the LORD? or who is a rock except our God?
32It is God that girds me with strength, and makes my way perfect.
33He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me upon my high places.
34He teaches my hands to make war, so that a bow of bronze is bent by my arms.
35You have also given me the shield of your salvation: and your right hand has held me up, and your gentleness has made me great.
36You have enlarged my path under me, that my feet did not slip.
37I have pursued my enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
38I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
39For you have girded me with strength unto the battle: you have subdued under me those that rose up against me.
40You have also given me the necks of my enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
41They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
42Then did I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; and you have made me the head of the nations: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the foreigners shall submit themselves unto me.
45The foreigners shall fade away, and be frightened out of their fortresses.
46The LORD lives; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47It is God that avenges me, and subdues the people under me.
48He delivers me from my enemies: yea, you lift me up above those that rise up against me: you have delivered me from the violent man.
49Therefore will I give thanks unto you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises unto your name.
50Great deliverance gives he to his king; and shows mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his descendants forevermore.
Psalm 18
Matthew Henry's Commentary
Psalm 18:1
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,>> I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
18:1-19 The first words, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength, are the scope and contents of the psalm. Those that truly love God, may triumph in him as their Rock and Refuge, and may with confidence call upon him. It is good for us to observe all the circumstances of a mercy which magnify the power of God and his goodness to us in it. David was a praying man, and God was found a prayer-hearing God. If we pray as he did, we shall speed as he did. God's manifestation of his presence is very fully described, ver. 7-15. Little appeared of man, but much of God, in these deliverances. It is not possible to apply to the history of the son of Jesse those awful, majestic, and stupendous words which are used through this description of the Divine manifestation. Every part of so solemn a scene of terrors tells us, a greater than David is here. God will not only deliver his people out of their troubles in due time, but he will bear them up under their troubles in the mean time. Can we meditate on ver. 18, without directing one thought to Gethsemane and Calvary? Can we forget that it was in the hour of Christ's deepest calamity, when Judas betrayed, when his friends forsook, when the multitude derided him, and the smiles of his Father's love were withheld, that the powers of darkness prevented him? The sorrows of death surrounded him, in his distress he prayed, Heb 5:7. God made the earth to shake and tremble, and the rocks to cleave, and brought him out, in his resurrection, because he delighted in him and in his undertaking.
Psalm 18:2
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.
Psalm 18:3
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
Psalm 18:4
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
Psalm 18:5
The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
Psalm 18:6
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.
Psalm 18:7
Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Psalm 18:8
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
Psalm 18:9
He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
Psalm 18:10
And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
Psalm 18:11
He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
Psalm 18:12
At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
Psalm 18:13
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
Psalm 18:14
Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
Psalm 18:15
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.
Psalm 18:16
He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
Psalm 18:17
He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
Psalm 18:18
They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.
Psalm 18:19
He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
Psalm 18:20
The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
18:20-28 Those that forsake the ways of the Lord, depart from their God. But though conscious to ourselves of many a false step, let there not be a wicked departure from our God. David kept his eye upon the rule of God's commands. Constant care to keep from that sin, whatever it be, which most easily besets us, proves that we are upright before God. Those who show mercy to others, even they need mercy. Those who are faithful to God, shall find him all that to them which he has promised to be. The words of the Lord are pure words, very sure to be depended on, and very sweet to be delighted in. Those who resist God, and walk contrary to him, shall find that he will walk contrary to them, Le 26:21-24. The gracious recompence of which David spoke, may generally be expected by those who act from right motives. Hence he speaks comfort to the humble, and terror to the proud; Thou wilt bring down high looks. And he speaks encouragement to himself; Thou wilt light my candle: thou wilt revive and comfort my sorrowful spirit; thou wilt guide my way, that I may avoid the snares laid for me. Thou wilt light my candle to work by, and give me an opportunity of serving thee. Let those that walk in darkness, and labour under discouragements, take courage; God himself will be a Light to them.
Psalm 18:21
For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
Psalm 18:22
For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
Psalm 18:23
I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
Psalm 18:24
Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
Psalm 18:25
With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
Psalm 18:26
With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
Psalm 18:27
For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
Psalm 18:28
For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
Psalm 18:29
For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
18:29-50 When we praise for one mercy, we must observe the many more, with which we have been compassed 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 verse
Psalm 18:30
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.
Psalm 18:31
For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
Psalm 18:32
It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
18:32, and the following verses, are the gifts of God to the spiritual warrior, whereby he is prepared for the contest, after the example of his victorious Leader. Learn that we must seek release being made through Christ, shall be rejected. In David the type, we behold out of trouble through Christ. The prayer put up, without reconciliation Jesus our Redeemer, conflicting with enemies, compassed with sorrows and with floods of ungodly men, enduring not only the pains of death, but the wrath of God for us; yet calling upon the Father with strong cries and tears; rescued from the grave; proceeding to reconcile, or to put under his feet all other enemies, till death, the last enemy, shall be destroyed. We should love the Lord, our Strength, and our Salvation; we should call on him in every trouble, and praise him for every deliverance; we should aim to walk with him in all righteousness and true holiness, keeping from sin. If we belong to him, he conquers and reigns for us, and we shall conquer and reign through him, and partake of the mercy of our anointed King, which is promised to all his seed for evermore. Amen.
Psalm 18:33
He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
Psalm 18:34
He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
Psalm 18:35
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.
Psalm 18:36
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
Psalm 18:37
I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
Psalm 18:38
I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
Psalm 18:39
For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
Psalm 18:40
Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
Psalm 18:41
They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
Psalm 18:42
Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
Psalm 18:43
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.
Psalm 18:44
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
Psalm 18:45
The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
Psalm 18:46
The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
Psalm 18:47
It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
Psalm 18:48
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.
Psalm 18:49
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
Psalm 18:50
Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
Psalm 18
Psalm 17Psalm 19
Psalm 18The Message (MSG)
A David Song, Which He Sang to God After Being Saved from All His Enemies and from Saul
18 1-2 I love you, God—
you make me strong.
God is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God—the high crag
where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders,
safe in the granite hideout.
3 I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty,
and find myself safe and saved.
4-5 The hangman’s noose was tight at my throat;
devil waters rushed over me.
Hell’s ropes cinched me tight;
death traps barred every exit.
6 A hostile world! I call to God,
I cry to God to help me.
From his palace he hears my call;
my cry brings me right into his presence—
a private audience!
7-15 Earth wobbles and lurches;
huge mountains shake like leaves,
Quake like aspen leaves
because of his rage.
His nostrils flare, bellowing smoke;
his mouth spits fire.
Tongues of fire dart in and out;
he lowers the sky.
He steps down;
under his feet an abyss opens up.
He’s riding a winged creature,
swift on wind-wings.
Now he’s wrapped himself
in a trenchcoat of black-cloud darkness.
But his cloud-brightness bursts through,
spraying hailstones and fireballs.
Then God thundered out of heaven;
the High God gave a great shout,
spraying hailstones and fireballs.
God shoots his arrows—pandemonium!
He hurls his lightnings—a rout!
The secret sources of ocean are exposed,
the hidden depths of earth lie uncovered
The moment you roar in protest,
let loose your hurricane anger.
16-19 But me he caught—reached all the way
from sky to sea; he pulled me out
Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,
the void in which I was drowning.
They hit me when I was down,
but God stuck by me.
He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!
20-24 God made my life complete
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I got my act together,
he gave me a fresh start.
Now I’m alert to God’s ways;
I don’t take God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works;
I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
and I’m watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
25-27 The good people taste your goodness,
The whole people taste your health,
The true people taste your truth,
The bad ones can’t figure you out.
You take the side of the down-and-out,
But the stuck-up you take down a peg.
28-29 Suddenly, God, you floodlight my life;
I’m blazing with glory, God’s glory!
I smash the bands of marauders,
I vault the highest fences.
30 What a God! His road
stretches straight and smooth.
Every God-direction is road-tested.
Everyone who runs toward him
Makes it.
31-42 Is there any god like God?
Are we not at bedrock?
Is not this the God who armed me,
then aimed me in the right direction?
Now I run like a deer;
I’m king of the mountain.
He shows me how to fight;
I can bend a bronze bow!
You protect me with salvation-armor;
you hold me up with a firm hand,
caress me with your gentle ways.
You cleared the ground under me
so my footing was firm.
When I chased my enemies I caught them;
I didn’t let go till they were dead men.
I nailed them; they were down for good;
then I walked all over them.
You armed me well for this fight,
you smashed the upstarts.
You made my enemies turn tail,
and I wiped out the haters.
They cried “uncle”
but Uncle didn’t come;
They yelled for God
and got no for an answer.
I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind.
I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter.
43-45 You rescued me from a squabbling people;
you made me a leader of nations.
People I’d never heard of served me;
the moment they got wind of me they listened.
The foreign devils gave up; they came
on their bellies, crawling from their hideouts.
46-48 Live, God! Blessings from my Rock,
my free and freeing God, towering!
This God set things right for me
and shut up the people who talked back.
He rescued me from enemy anger,
he pulled me from the grip of upstarts,
He saved me from the bullies.
49-50 That’s why I’m thanking you, God,
all over the world.
That’s why I’m singing songs
that rhyme your name.
God’s king takes the trophy;
God’s chosen is beloved.
I mean David and all his children—
always.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
