John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Psalms 16:1



INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 16



Michtam of David. This is a new title, not met with before, though it afterwards is prefixed to "five" psalms running, the fifty sixth, the fifty seventh, the fifty eighth, the fifty ninth, and the sixtieth psalms. Some take the word "michtam" to be the name of a musical instrument, as Kimchi on Ps 4:1; others the name of one of the tunes, as Jarchi; and others the tune of a song which began with this word, as Aben Ezra observes, to which this psalm was sung; the Septuagint translate it "stelography", or an inscription upon a pillar; such an one as is erected by conquerors, as Theodoret observes, having writing on it declaring the victory obtained; suggesting that the psalm, or the subject of it, the death and resurrection of Christ, was worthy to be inscribed on a pillar of marble; and the Targum renders it, "a right engraving", that deserves to be engraven in a monument of brass: but what seems to be the best sense of the word is, that it signifies a work of gold, and may be rendered, "a golden [psalm] of David"; so called, either because it was a dear and favourite song of his; or from the subject matter, which is more valuable and precious than the most fine gold: the title of it in the Syriac and Arabic versions is,



"concerning the election of the church, and the resurrection of Christ;''



and certain it is from Ps 16:10, the resurrection of Christ is spoken of in it, as is clear from the testimonies of two apostles, Peter and Paul, who cite it in proof of it, Ac 2:25; and since there is but one person speaking throughout the psalm, and Christ is he that speaks in Ps 16:10, and which cannot be understood of David, nor of any other person but Christ, the whole of the psalm must be interpreted of him.



Ver. 1. Preserve me, O God,.... Prayer is proper to Christ as man; he offered up many prayers and supplications to Cost, even his Father, and his God, and as the strong and mighty God, as the word {i} here used is commonly rendered by interpreters; with whom, all things are possible, and who is able to save; see Heb 5:7; and this petition for preservation was suitable to him and his case, and was heard and answered by God; he was very remarkably preserved in his infancy from the rage and fury of Herod; and very wonderfully was his body preserved and supported in the wilderness under a fast of forty days and forty nights together, and from being torn to pieces by the wild beasts among which he was, and from the temptations of Satan, with which he was there assaulted; and throughout the whole of his ministry he was preserved from being hindered in the execution of his office, either by the flatteries, or menaces, or false charges of his enemies; and though his life was often attempted they could not take it away before his time: and whereas Christ is in this psalm represented as in the view of death and the grave, this petition may be of the same kind with those in Joh 12:27; and put up with the same submission to the will of God; and at least may intend divine help and support in his sufferings and death, preservation from corruption in the grave, and the resurrection of him from the dead; and it may also include his concern for the preservation of his church, his other self, and the members of it, his apostles, disciples, and all that did or should believe in his name, for whom he prayed after this manner a little before his death; see Lu 22:31;



for in thee do I put my trust: or "have hoped" {k}; the graces of faith and hope were implanted in the heart of Christ, as man, who had the gifts and graces of the Spirit without measure bestowed on him, and these very early appeared in him, and showed themselves in a very lively exercise, Ps 22:7; and were in a very eminent manner exercised by him a little before his death, in the view of it, and when he was under his sufferings, and hung upon the cross, Isa 1:6

Mt 27:46; and this his trust and confidence in God alone, and not in any other, is used as a reason or argument for his preservation and safety.



{i} la "Deus fortis seu potens", Muis; "Deus omnipotens", Cocceius, Michaelis. {k} Kb ytyox "speravi in te", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus.





Psalms 16:2



Ver. 2. [O my soul], thou hast said unto the Lord,.... Some take these to be the words of David speaking to the church, who had owned the Lord to be her Lord, and had declared what follows; others think they are the words of God the Father to his Son, suggesting to him what he had said; but they are rather an apostrophe, or an address of Christ to his own soul; and the phrase, "O my soul", though not in the original text, is rightly supplied by our translators, and which is confirmed by the Targum, and by the Jewish commentators, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi;



thou [art] my Lord; Christ, as man, is a creature made by God; his human nature is the true tabernacle which God pitched and not man, and on this consideration he is his Lord, being his Creator; and as Mediator Christ is his servant, and was made under the law to him, obeyed him, and submitted to his will in all things; so that he not only in words said he was his Lord, but by deeds declared him to be so;



my goodness [extendeth] not to thee; such who suppose that David here speaks in his own person, or in the person of other believers, or that the church here speaks, differently interpret these words: some render them, "my goodness [is] not above thee" {l}; it is far inferior to thine, it is not to be mentioned with it, it is nothing in comparison of it; all my goodness, happiness, and felicity lies, in thee,

Ps 73:25; others, "I have no goodness without thee": the sense is the same as if it was "I have said", as read the Greek, Vulgate Latin, and Oriental versions, and so Apollinarius; I have none but what comes from thee; what I have is given me by thee, which is the sense of the Targum; see Jas 1:17; others, "my goodness is not upon thee" {m}; does not lie upon thee, or thou art not obliged to bestow the blessings of goodness on me; they are not due to me, they spring from thy free grace and favour; to this sense incline Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi; see Lu 17:10; others, "thou hast no need of my goodness"; nor wilt it profit thee, so R. Joseph Kimchi; see Job 22:2; or the words may be rendered, "O my goodness", or "thou art my good, nothing is above thee" {n}; no goodness in any superior to God. But they are the words of Christ, and to be understood of his goodness; not of his essential goodness as God, nor of his providential goodness, the same with his Father's; but of his special goodness, and the effect of it to his church and people; and denotes his love, grace, and good will towards them, shown in his incarnation, sufferings, and death; and the blessings of goodness which come thereby; such as a justifying righteousness, forgiveness of sin, peace, and reconciliation, redemption, salvation, and eternal life. Now though God is glorified by Christ in his incarnation, sufferings, and death, and in the work of man's redemption, yet he stood in no need of the obedience and sufferings of his Son; he could have glorified his justice another way, as he did in not sparing the angels that sinned, in drowning the old world, and in burning Sodom and Gomorrah, and in other instances of his vengeance; though there is glory to God in the highest in the affair of salvation by Christ, yet the good will is to men; though the debt of obedience and sufferings was paid to the justice of God, whereby that is satisfied and glorified, yet the kindness in paying the debt was not to God but to men, described in Ps 16:8.



{l} Kyle lb ytbwj "bonum meum non est supra te", Gejerus. {m} "Bonum meum non est super te", Montanus, Cocceius. {n} So Gussetius, p. 299.





Psalms 16:3



Ver. 3. [But] to the saints that [are] in the earth,.... Who are sanctified or set apart by God the Father in election; whose sins are expiated by the blood of Christ in redemption, and who are sanctified or made holy by the Spirit of God in the effectual calling; and who live a holy life and conversation: these are said to be "in the earth", not to distinguish them from the saints in heaven, to whom the goodness of Christ extends as to them, unless it be to distinguish them from the angels in heaven, who are called saints, De 33:2; as Aben Ezra observes; but to point out the place of their abode, scattered up and down in the earth; and to show that love, grace, goodness, and kindness of Christ reaches to them in the present state of things, notwithstanding all their meanness and imperfection in themselves, and their despicableness in the eyes of others; see Joh 13:1;



and [to] the excellent; the same with the saints, who though reckoned by men the faith of the world, and the offscouring of all things, are in high esteem with Christ; they are "nobles" {o} in his account, as the word is rendered in Jer 30:21; they are princes in all the earth, and these princes are kings; they are made kings and priests unto God by Christ; they wear and live like kings, and have the attendance, power, riches, and glory of kings; they are guarded by angels, they have power with God, they are rich in faith, and heirs of a kingdom;



in whom [is] all my delight; Christ's delights were with these sons of men before the world was, and have always continued with them; they are his "Hepbzibah" and "Beulah", as in Isa 62:4; hence he became incarnate, and suffered and died for them, and makes application of all the blessings of his grace and goodness to them.



{o} yryda "magnificis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Rivetus; "nobilibus delectationis meae", Gejerus; "ducibus eorum", Cocceius; so Michaelis.





Psalms 16:4



Ver. 4. Their sorrows shall be multiplied,.... Not the sorrows of the saints and excellent ones, by seeing the idolatry of men, as Aben Ezra interprets it; but the sorrows of such



[that] hasten [after] another [god]; a false god, an idol, to serve and worship it; for, generally speaking, idolaters are more forward, eager, and hasty to attend a false worship, than the worshippers of the true God are to attend his service: now their sorrows are many, even in their worship, by cutting their bodies with knives and lancets, as the worshippers of Baal did; and by sacrificing their own children, which, notwithstanding their rash and precipitate zeal, could not fail of giving them pain and uneasiness; and, besides temporal punishments inflicted on them for their idolatry by God, and stings of conscience, which must sometimes attend them, the wrath of God lies upon them, and they will have their portion in the lake of fire, and the smoke of their torment will ascend for ever and ever. Some render the words, "their idols are multiplied"; and so the Chaldee paraphrase,



"they multiply their idols, and after that hasten to offer their sacrifices;''



when men leave the true God, they know not where to stop; the Heathens had not less than thirty thousand gods, and the Jews when they fell into idolatry ran in the same way, Jer 2:28. The word "god" is not in the original text, though the supplement is countenanced by the Jewish writers {p}, who interpret it in this way; but I rather think the text is to be understood not of Heathen idolaters, but of unbelieving Jews, who, rejecting the true Messiah, hasten after another Messiah, king, and saviour; when Jesus the true Messiah came they received him not; but when another came in his own name they were eager to embrace him, Joh 5:43; and to this day they are hastening after another; and in their daily prayers pray that the coming of the Messiah might be hdyhmb, "in haste", in their days {q}; and the sense of the passage is, that the sorrows of the Jews, rejecting the Messiah and hastening after another, would come thick and fast upon them, until wrath came upon them to the uttermost, Mt 24:6 1Th 2:16; and it holds good of all, whether Jews or Gentiles, that hasten after another saviour; that say to the works of their hands, that they are their gods, or go about to establish a righteousness of their own, or seek for life and salvation by their own doings; these, sooner or later, will lie down in sorrow, Isa 50:11;



their drink offerings of blood will I not offer: meaning not the libations of the Gentiles, which were not wine, according to the law,

Nu 15:10; but blood, even sometimes human blood; but the sacrifices of the Jews, which were either got by blood, murders and robberies, and on that account were hateful to God, Isa 61:8; or rather the sacrifices of bloodthirsty persons, whose hands were full of blood, Isa 1:11; and such were the offerings of the priests, Scribes, and Pharisees, in Christ's time, who were the children of them that killed the prophets, and sought after the blood of Christ. Or it may be rendered, "I will not offer their drink offerings because of blood" {r}; meaning his own blood shed for the remission of sins, which being obtained, there remains no more offering for sin; and so the words may express the abolition of all legal sacrifices, and the causing of them to cease through the blood and sacrifice of Christ. This shows the person speaking to be a priest, and therefore could not be David, but must be the Messiah, who is a priest after the order of Melchizedek; and who had a better sacrifice to other up than any of the offerings of the Jews, even his own self, by which he has put away sin for ever. He adds,



nor take up their names into my lips; not the names of idol deities, nor of their worshippers, but of the Jews that rejected him as the Messiah, for whom he would not pray, Joh 17:9; and so as he refused to offer their sacrifices, he would not perform the other part of his priestly office for them in intercession; though this may also have respect to the rejection of the Jewish nation as the people of God; writing a "Loammi", Ho 1:9, upon them, declaring them to be no longer the children of the living God; leaving their names for a curse, a taunt, and a proverb in every place; expressing the utmost abhorrence of them, and showing the utmost indignation at them, as persons whose names were not worthy or fit to be mentioned, Eph 5:3.



{p} Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Ben Melech, & Abendana in loc. {q} Seder Tephillot, fol. 128. 2. {r} Mdm "propter sanguinem", Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.





Psalms 16:5



Ver. 5. The Lord [is] the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup,.... This is said by Christ as a priest, and in allusion to the Levitical priests, who had no inheritance in the land of Canaan with their brethren, but the Lord was their part and portion, and their inheritance, Nu 18:20; and it expresses the strong love and affection Christ had for the Lord as his God, the delight and pleasure he had in him, and the satisfaction he had in the enjoyment of him and communion with him, and that it was his meat and drink to serve him, and to do his will; and though his goodness did not extend to him, yet his goodness and happiness as man lay in him: unless the sense should be,



"the Lord is he who gives me the portion of mine inheritance;''



meaning his church and people, all the elect of God, who are Christ's portion and inheritance, given him by the Father; see De 32:9; And assigns to me my cup, as of blessings, so of sorrows and sufferings, which being measured out, filled up, and put into his hand by his Father, he freely took it, Joh 18:11;



thou maintainest my lot; that is, either his interest in God himself, as his covenant God, which always continued; or the lot of goods, of grace and glory, put into his hands for his people, which always remains; or rather the saints themselves, who, as they are Christ's portion and inheritance, so they are his lot; in allusion to the land of Canaan, which was divided by lot: these Jehovah took hold of, kept, preserved, and upheld, as the word {s} signifies; so that they shall never totally and finally fall and perish; and this sense is countenanced by what follows.



{s} Kymwt "sustentas", Musculus, Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Ainsworth; "sustentans", Montanus, Michaelis; "tenuisti", Cocceius; "tenendo quasi sustentans", Gejerus.





Psalms 16:6



Ver. 6. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant [places],.... The allusion is to the measuring of land by lines, and appropriating each part to the proper owners; and lines design the land that is measured out by them, and here the church and people of God, the chosen ones who are given to Christ, as his portion and inheritance; and the sense is, that Christ's portion lies among or in pleasant persons; such as were so to him, as he saw them in his Father's purposes and decrees; and as they are clothed in his righteousness, and washed in his blood; and as they are adorned with the graces of his Spirit; and as they will be as a bride adorned for him in the New Jerusalem state, for rather persons than places are here meant: though as the bounds of the saints' habitations are set, and they are known to Christ, so they were pleasant to him, and he took delight and rejoiced in the very spots of ground where he knew they would dwell, Pr 8:31; and the word "places" is supplied by Aben Ezra and Kimchi: but the former sense seems best, and agrees with what follows;



yea, I have a goodly heritage: so the Lord's people are called, 1Pe 5:3; these are Christ's heritage, his peculiar treasure, his jewels, with whom he is greatly delighted and well pleased; more than men are with their gold and silver, houses and land, and their greatest wealth and substance: these persons are the inheritance with which he is contented and fully satisfied.





Psalms 16:7



Ver. 7. I will bless the Lord,.... As prayer, so thanksgiving belongs to Christ, as man and Mediator; see Mt 11:25; and here he determines to praise the Lord, and give thanks to him for counsel and instruction:



who hath given me counsel; for though he himself is the Counsellor, with respect to his people, yet as man he received counsel from God, and the spirit of counsel rested on him, Isa 11:2; and fitted him for and directed him in the execution of his prophetic office; for the doctrine he taught was not his own, but his Father's; and he said nothing of himself but what his Father taught him, and instructed him to speak, Joh 6:16. And he also gave him counsel about the execution of his priestly office, or about his sufferings and death, and drinking of the cup, which he, with submission to the divine will, desired might pass from him; but having advice in this matter, most cheerfully and courageously yielded to take it, see

Mt 26:39;



my reins also instruct me in the night seasons; when engaged in prayer to God, in which he sometimes continued a whole night together, Lu 6:12; and especially in that dark and dismal night in which he was betrayed, when it was the hour and power of darkness with his enemies; then, his inward parts being influenced by the spirit of wisdom and counsel, directed him how to behave and conduct himself. Or "the reins" being the seat of the affections, and being put for them, may signify, that his strong affection for God, and love to his people, put him upon and moved him to take the steps he did, to deliver up himself into the hands of sinful men, in order to suffer and die for his friends, and obtain eternal salvation for them.





Psalms 16:8



Ver. 8. I have set the Lord always before me, Not his fear only, or the book of the law, as Jarchi interprets it, but the Lord himself; or, "I foresaw the Lord always before my face", Ac 2:26; as Christ is set before men in the Gospel, to look unto as the object of faith and hope, to trust in and depend upon for life and salvation; so Jehovah the Father is the object which Christ set before him, and looked unto in the whole course of his life here on earth; he had always an eye to his glory, as the ultimate end of all his actions; and to his will, his orders, and commands, as the rule of them; and to his purposes, and counsel, and covenant, to accomplish them; and to his power, truth, and faithfulness, to assist, support, and encourage him in all his difficulties and most distressed circumstances;



because [he is] at my right hand: to counsel and instruct, to help, protect, and defend: the phrase is expressive of the nearness of God to Christ, his presence with him, and readiness to assist and stand by him against all his enemies; see Ps 109:31; so the Targum paraphrases it, "because his Shechinah rests upon me";



I shall not be moved: as he was not from his place and nation, from the duty of his office, and the execution of it, by all the threats and menaces of men; nor from the fear, worship, and service of God, by all the temptations of Satan; nor from the cause of his people he had espoused, by all the terrors of death, the flaming sword of justice, and the wrath of God; but, in the midst and view of all, stood unshaken and unmoved; see Isa 42:4.





Psalms 16:9



Ver. 9. Therefore my heart is glad,.... Because he had the Lord always in view; he was at his right hand, for his support and assistance, as well as because of what is expressed in the next verses: this is the same with rejoicing in spirit, Lu 10:21; it denotes an inward joy, and fulness of it, because of the Lord's presence with him; see Ac 2:28;



and my glory rejoiceth; meaning either his soul, which is the most glorious and noble part of man, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech interpret it; or rather his tongue, as in Ac 2:26; the faculty of speaking in man being what gives him a superior glory and excellency to other creatures, and is that whereby he glorifies God; and so the word is often used in this book; see Ps 30:12; and here the phrase designs Christ's glorifying God, and singing his praise with joyful lips, among his disciples, a little before his sufferings and death;



my flesh also shall rest in hope; in the grave, which, as it is a resting place to the members of Christ, from all their sorrow, toil, and labour here; so it was to Christ their head, who rested in it on the Jewish sabbath, that day of rest, and that berth "in safety" {t}, as the word used may signify, and in of his resurrection from the dead, as follows.



{t} xjbl "in tuto", Tigurine version; "secure", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius; "in confidence", Ainsworth.





Psalms 16:10



Ver. 10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,.... Meaning, not in the place of the damned, where Christ never went, nor was; for at his death his soul was committed to his Father, and was the same day in paradise: but rather, "sheol" here, as "hades" in the Near Testament, signifies the state of the dead, the separate state of souls after death, the invisible world of souls, where Christ's soul was; though it was not left there, nor did it continue, but on the third day returned to its body again; though it seems best of all to interpret it of the grave, as the word is rendered in Ge 42:38; and then by his "soul" must be meant, not the more noble part of his human nature, the soul, in distinction from the body; for as it died not, but went to God, it was not laid in the grave; but either he himself, in which sense the word "soul" is sometimes used, even for a man's self, Ps 3:2. For it might be truly said of him, God's Holy One, that he was laid in the grave, though not left there; or rather his dead body, for so the word "nephesh" is rendered in Nu 9:6; so "anima" is used in Latin authors {u}: this was laid in the grave; for Joseph having begged it of Pilate, took it down from the cross, and laid it in his own new tomb; though it was the will of God it should not be left there, but be raised from the dead, as it was on the third day, before it was corrupted, as follows:



neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption; that is, to lie so long in the grave as to putrefy and be corrupted; wherefore he was raised from the dead on the third day, according to the Scriptures, before the time bodies begin to be corrupted; see Joh 11:39; and this was owing not to the care of Joseph or Nicodemus, in providing spices to preserve it, but of God who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; and who would not suffer his body to be corrupted, because he was holy, and because he was his Holy One; that so as there was no moral corruption in him, there should be no natural corruption in him; so the Jewish Midrash {w} interprets it, that



"no worm or maggot should have power over him;''



which is not true of David, nor of any but the Messiah. This character of "Holy One" eminently belongs to Christ above angels and men, yea, it is often used of the divine Being, and it agrees with Christ in his divine nature, and is true of him as man; he is the holy thing, the holy child Jesus; his nature is pure and spotless, free from the taint of original sin; his life and conversation were holy and harmless, he did no sin, nor knew any, nor could any be found in him by men or devils; his doctrines were holy, and tended to promote holiness of life; all his works are holy, and such is the work of redemption, which is wrought out in consistence with and to the glory of the holiness and righteousness of God; Christ is holy in all his offices, and is the fountain of holiness to his people; and he is God's Holy One, he has property in him as his Son, and as Mediator, and even as an Holy One; for he was sanctified and sent into the world by him, being anointed with the holy oil of his Spirit without measure. The word may be rendered, a "merciful" {x} or "liberal" and "beneficent one": for Christ is all this; he is a merciful as well as a faithful high priest, and he generously distributes grace and glory to his people.



{u} "--animamque sepulchro coudimus--". Virgil. Aeneid. 3. v. 67. {w} Apud Kimchi in v. 9. {x} Kydox "misericordem tuum", Pagninus, Montanus; "beneficus tuus", Piscator.





Psalms 16:11



Ver. 11. Thou wilt show me the path of life,.... Not the way of life and salvation for lost sinners, which is Christ himself; but the resurrection of the dead, which is a passing from death to life; and was shown to Christ, not doctrinally, or by illuminating his mind, and leading him into the doctrine of it, for so he himself has brought it to light by the Gospel; practically and experimentally, by raising him the dead, or by causing him to pass from death to life; and he was the first to whom the path of life was shown in this sense, or the that who ever trod in it, and so has led the way for others: hence he is called the that fruits of them that slept, the firstborn and first begotten from the dead; for though others were raised before, yet not to an immortal life, never to die more, as he was; now the view, the faith, and hope of this, of not being left in the grave so long as to see corruption, and of being raised from the dead to an immortal life, caused joy and gladness in Christ, at the time of his sufferings and death, as well as what follows;



in thy presence [is] fulness of joy: Christ, being raised from the dead, ascended to heaven, and was received up into glory into his Father's presence, and is glorified with his own self, with his glorious presence, for which he prayed, Joh 17:5; and which fills his human nature with fulness of joy, with a joy unspeakable and full of glory; see Ac 2:28; and as it is with the head it will be with the members in some measure; now the presence of God puts more joy and gladness into them than anything else can do; but as yet their joy is not full; but it will be when they shall enter into the joy of their Lord, into the presence of God in the other world then everlasting joy will be upon their heads;



at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore; Christ being entered into heaven is set down at the right hand of God in human nature, an honour which is not conferred on any of the angels, Heb 1:13; where the man Christ Jesus is infinitely delighted with the presence of God, the never fading joys of heaven, the company of angels and glorified saints; here he sits and sees of the travail of his soul; he prolongs his days and sees his seed, souls called by grace, and brought to glory one after another, until they are all brought in, in whom is all his delight; and which was the joy set before him at the time of his sufferings and death: or the words may be rendered "in thy right are pleasant things for ever" {y}, and may design those gifts and graces, which Christ, being exalted at the right hand of God, received from thence and gives to men, for the use and service, of his church and people, in the several successive ages of time; and so Aben Ezra takes the words to be an allusion to a man's giving pleasant gifts to his friend with his right hand.



{y} xun Knymyb twmyen "amoenorum quae sunt in dextera tua perpetuo", Cocceius; "delectationes in dextera tua usque in seculum", Musculas.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Psalms 17:1



INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 17



A Prayer of David. This prayer was put up by David either in his own person, on his own account, praying to God for the vindication of his cause, and for salvation and deliverance from his enemies; or in the person of the Messiah, whose type he was, and of the whole church, so Jerom of old interpreted it; and the title of it in the Arabic version is,



"a prayer in the person of a perfect man, and of Christ himself, and of everyone that is redeemed by him;''



in which preservation and protection are prayed for, and hope of eternal life is expressed. It was written, according to Theodoret, when David suffered persecution from Saul.



Ver. 1. Hear the right, O Lord,.... The psalmist appeals to the Lord as a Judge, sitting on the throne judging right, that he would hear his cause litigated between him and his adversaries, determine and give the decisive sentence about it; so Christ committed himself to him that judgeth righteously, 1Pe 2:23; for by "right" may be meant his right and cause, or his righteous cause, as in Ps 9:4; unless rather his righteous prayer should be intended, so the Targum paraphrases it, "my prayer in righteousness"; not presented for the sake of his own righteousness, but on account of the righteousness of Christ, and for the vindication of his righteous cause before men: the Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it "my righteousness", meaning his righteous cause; but rather the word may be rendered "righteousness" {z}, or the "righteous one", and may design the psalmist himself, who was a righteous person, and such the Lord hears; or Christ, whose name is the Lord our righteousness, Jer 23:6; and who, as an advocate or intercessor for himself and for his people, is Jesus Christ the righteous, 1Jo 2:1. The Septuagint version takes it to be an epithet of the Lord himself, translating it, "O Lord of my righteousness", as in Ps 4:1; and so the Syriac version, "hear, O holy Lord"; and in this manner does Christ address his father in prayer,

Joh 17:11; and the consideration of the holiness and righteousness of God is of use in prayer to glorify God, and to command a proper awe and reverence of him;



attend unto my cry; the word for "cry" signifies both a noise made in a way of joy and grief; wherefore the Chaldee paraphrase renders it, "attend to my praise", or hymn of praise, and which arises from sorrow and distress; and intends not mental prayer attended with groanings which cannot be uttered, but vocal prayer expressed in a loud and mournful manner, signifying the distress the person is in, and his earnestness and importunacy for help; and of this sort were some of Christ's prayers; see Heb 5:7;



give ear unto my prayer, [that goeth] not out of feigned lips; hypocritical and deceitful ones; but this went forth from his heart, which was lifted up with his hands to God, to whom he drew nigh with a true heart, and called upon him in the sincerity and uprightness of his soul; and of this sort were all Christ's prayers, in whose mouth there is no guile: the various expressions, "hear, attend, give ear", which signify the same thing, show the distress the supplicant was in, the fervency of his prayer, and his vehement and earnest desire to be heard and answered immediately; and since the accent "athnach" is upon the word ytlpt, "my prayer", this last clause is not to be joined only to that, but refers to all that is said before; as that his "right" and his "cry", as well as his prayer, were unfeigned.



{z} qdu "justitiam", Vatablus, Cocceius, Gejerus; to dikaion, Aquila in Drusius; "justitiam", i.e. "me qui sum justus", Piscator.





Psalms 17:2



Ver. 2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence,.... Not of condemnation, such as came forth from God and passed on Adam and all his posterity, Ro 5:12; though such an one was executed on Christ, as he was the surety and representative of his people; but of justification, which came forth from God and passed on Christ, when he rose from the dead, and upon his people in him, 1Ti 3:16. Here it chiefly designs the vindication of the innocence of the psalmist before men; and his request is, that as he was fully persuaded that he was clear of the things he was charged with in the sight of God, that he would openly and publicly make him appear so before men; that he would bring forth his righteousness as the light, and his judgment as the noonday, Ps 37:6; and of which he made no doubt but he would; so Christ, though he was traduced by men, knew he should be justified by his Father, and by his children, Isa 50:8;



let thine eyes behold the things that are equal; which is not to be understood barely of the eyes of his omniscience; for these behold things both equal and unequal, good and evil, things which agree and disagree with the law of God, the rule of righteousness and equity; but of his approbation of them, and that he would some way or other testify that approbation; for the petition intends the favouring of his just and equal cause, and making it to appear to be so.





Psalms 17:3



Ver. 3. Thou hast proved mine heart,.... This properly belongs to God, who is the searcher of the heart and reins, and is desired by all good men; and though God has no need to make use of any means to know the heart, and what is in it; yet in order to know, or rather to make known, what is in the hearts of his people, he proves them sometimes by adversity, as he did Abraham and Job, and sometimes by prosperity, by mercies given forth in a wonderful way, as to the Israelites in the wilderness, De 8:2; sometimes by suffering false prophets and false teachers to be among them, De 13:3; and sometimes by leaving corruptions in them, and them to their corruptions, as he left the Canaanites in the land, and as he left Hezekiah to his own heart, Jud 2:22. In one or other or more of these ways God proved the heart of David, and found him to be a man after his own heart; and in the first of these ways he proved Christ, who was found faithful to him that appointed him, and was a man approved of God;



thou hast visited [me] in the night; God visited and redeemed his people in the night of Jewish darkness; he visits and calls them by his grace in the night of unregeneracy; and so he visits with his gracious presence in the night of desertion; and he often visits by granting counsel, comfort, and support, in the night of affliction, which seems to be intended here; thus he visited the human nature of Christ in the midst of his sorrows and sufferings, when it was the Jews' hour and power of darkness. Elsewhere God is said to visit every morning, Job 7:18;



thou hast tried me; as silver and gold are tried in the furnace; thus the people of God, and their graces in them, are tried by afflictions; so David was tried, and in this manner Christ himself was tried; wherefore he is called the tried stone, Isa 28:16;



[and] shalt find nothing; or "shalt not find": which is variously supplied; some "thy desire", or what is well pleasing to thee, so Jarchi; or "thou hast not found me innocent", as Kimchi; others supply it quite the reverse, "and iniquity is not found in me", as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions; or "thou hast not found iniquity in me", as the Syriac and Arabic versions; to which agrees the Chaldee paraphrase, "and thou hast not found corruption"; which must be understood, not as if there was no sin and corruption in David; for he often makes loud complaints and large confessions of his sins, and earnestly prays for the forgiveness of them; but either that there was no sin in his heart which he regarded, Ps 66:18; which he nourished and cherished, which he indulged and lived in; or rather there was no such crime found in him, which his enemies charged him with; see Ps 7:3. This is true of Christ in the fullest sense; no iniquity was ever found in him by God, by men or devils, Joh 14:30 1Pe 2:22; and also of his people, as considered in him, being justified by his righteousness, and washed in his blood, Jer 50:20; though otherwise, as considered in themselves, they themselves find sin and corruption abounding in them, Ro 7:18;



I am purposed [that] my mouth shall not transgress; by murmuring against God, on account of his visitation and fiery trials, or by railing at men for their false charges and accusations; this resolution was taken up by the psalmist in the strength of divine grace, and was kept by him, Ps 39:9; so Christ submitted himself patiently to the will of God without repining, and when reviled by men reviled not again, Lu 22:42; and from hence may be learned, that the laws of God may be transgressed by words as well as by works, and that the one as well as the other should be guarded against; see Ps 39:1.





Psalms 17:4



Ver. 4. Concerning the works of men,.... Of wicked men, as to what respects and concerns them, or in the midst of them; in the midst of a wicked generation of men, and their filthy conversation; who appear to be so,



by the word of thy lips; the law of God, the Scriptures of truth, the rule and standard of faith and practice, which show what works are good and what are not; by the use, help, and benefit of this;



I have kept [me from] the paths of the destroyer; such is the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning; antichrist, whose name is Abaddon and Apollyon, both which signify a destroyer; false teachers, and all wicked men: the "paths" of such are their wicked principles and practices, their damnable errors and heresies, their sins and lusts, which make up the broad road that leads to destruction: these the psalmist "kept" or "observed" {a}, for the words "me" and "from" are not in the original text; and the sense is, that he took notice of them, and avoided them, and, as a faithful prince and magistrate, forbad his subjects walking in them, and restrained them from them, making the word of God the rule of his conduct.



{a} ytrmv "custodivi", Pagninus, Montanus; "observavi", Musculus, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus; so Ainsworth; "vel prohibui", Muis.





Psalms 17:5



Ver. 5. Hold up my goings in thy paths,.... Which being spoken by David in his own person, and for himself, shows that he was conscious of his own weakness to keep himself in the ways of God, and to direct his steps therein; and that he was sensible of, the need he stood in of divine power to uphold and support him in them;



[that] my footsteps slip not; out of the paths of truth and duty, of faith and holiness; of which there is danger, should a man be left to himself, and destitute of divine direction and aid; see Ps 73:2; and though Christ had no moral weakness in him, and was in no danger of falling into sin, or slipping out of the ways of God; yet these words may be applied to him in a good sense, as considered in human nature, and attended with the sinless infirmities of it, he being God's servant, whom he upheld, and of whom he gave his angels charge to keep him in all his ways, Isa 42:1.





Psalms 17:6



Ver. 6. I have called upon thee,.... In prayer. This had been the constant practice of the psalmist, and he still continued in it;



for thou wilt hear me, O God; God is a God hearing prayer; he is used to hear his people, and they have frequent experience of it, and they may be assured that whatsoever they ask according to his will, and in the name of Christ, he will hear; and such an assurance is a reason engaging the saints to a constant calling upon God, Ps 116:2; and such confidence of being always heard Christ had, Joh 11:41;



incline thine ear unto me, [and hear] my speech; meaning his prayer, which he now directed to him in full assurance of being heard, and is as follows.





Psalms 17:7



Ver. 7. Show thy marvellous loving kindness,.... Such is the lovingkindness of God to his people in Christ; which is sovereign, free, special, distinguishing, everlasting, and unchangeable; it is better than life, and passes knowledge; and which is set upon men and not angels, some and not all, and these many of them the worst and vilest of men, and all of them by nature children of wrath as others; and which has appeared in choosing them in Christ, putting them into his hand, and making a covenant with him for them; in sending him into the world to suffer and die for them; in regenerating, adopting, justifying, pardoning, and saving them with an everlasting salvation; all which is marvellous in their eyes, and will be the wonder of men and angels to all eternity: this sometimes is hidden from the objects of it, as it might be from the psalmist, and therefore he desires a manifestation of it to him; or else his sense is, that God would show to others in what a marvellous manner he loved him, by the help, deliverance, and salvation he would give him. Such a petition will agree with Christ; see Ps 40:10. Some render the words {b}, "separate thy lovingkindness", or cause it to pass "from them that rise up on" or "against thy right hand"; but these were never the objects of it; and there is no separation of them from it, nor of that from them who are interested in it, Ro 8:38; much better may it be rendered, "separate" or "distinguish thy lovingkindness" {c}; that is, let it appear that I have special interest in thy lovingkindness, distinct from others; distinguish me by thy lovingkindness, remember me with that which thou bearest to a peculiar people, Ps 106:4;



O thou that savest by thy right hand; either by his power, or by the man of his right hand, his own son;



them which put their trust [in thee]; not in men, not in an arm of flesh, not in themselves, in their own power, wisdom, riches, and righteousness; but in the Lord their God, who is the Saviour of all men, but especially of them that believe, 1Ti 4:10; for these he saves both in a temporal and in a spiritual manner;



from those that rise up [against them]; from all their spiritual enemies, sin and Satan; and from all outward ones, from the men of the world, oppressors and violent persecutors, who are afterwards described: the phrase, "by thy right hand", is by some, as Aben Ezra, connected with the word trust, and rendered, "them which trust in thy right hand" {d}; either in the grace, mercy, and favour of God, dispensed by his right hand; or in his strength, and the mighty power of his arm; and by others it is joined to the last clause, and so it stands in the original text, and rendered, "from those that rise up against thy right hand" {e}; and so the words describe such persons who in a bold and presumptuous manner set themselves against God, and strengthen themselves against the Almighty; who resist his counsel and will, oppose themselves to the Lord and his Anointed, the man of his right hand, made strong for himself; and to his saints, who are as dear to him as his right hand, and who are preserved by him in the hollow of his hand.



{b} Kimchi & Ben Melech. {c} hlph "separa", Junius & Tremellius; "segrega", Montanus; so some in Vatablus; see Ainsworth. {d} Knymyb-Myowx "eos qui fidunt in dextera tua", so some in Vatablus, Castalio, Ainsworth; "recipentes se ad dexteram suam", Junius & Tremellius. {e} Knymyb Mymmwqtmm "ob insurgentes in dexteram tuam", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius; so Michaelis, Gejerus, Musculus.





Psalms 17:8



Ver. 8. Keep me as the apple of the eye,.... Which is weak and tender, and is hurt and put to pain, and made uneasy by every little thing that annoys it, and than which nothing is more dear to a man, or he is more careful of preserving from being hurt; and fitly represents the weak estate and condition of God's people, his affection for them, and tender care of them; who as he has provided tunics for the eye, and guarded it with eyebrows, so he has taken care for the safety of his dear children, De 32:10;



hide me under the shadow of thy wings; alluding either to the wings of the cherubim over the mercy seat, where God granted his presence; so the Targum paraphrases it,



"under the shadow of thy Shechinah hide me;''



or to birds, who cover their young ones with their wings to save them from birds of prey; see Ps 91:1. From such passages perhaps the Heathens had their notion of presenting their gods with wings {f}.



{f} Vid. Cuperi Apotheos. Homer. p. 169, &c.





Psalms 17:9



Ver. 9. From the wicked that oppress me,.... Or "waste" or "destroy" {g}; as wild beasts do a field or vineyard when they get into it; and such havoc do persecutors and false teachers make of the church and people of God, when they are suffered to get in among them, Ps 80:13; wherefore from such wicked and unreasonable men protection is desired, 2Th 3:2;



[from] my deadly enemies; enemies against his soul or life, who sought to take it away, nothing would satisfy them but this;



[who] compass me about; on all sides, in order to obtain their desire; such were the enemies of Christ, and so they are described,

Ps 22:12.



{g} ynwdv wz "quid vastant", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "qui vastaverunt", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Michaelis.





Psalms 17:10



Ver. 10. They are enclosed in their own fat,.... Or "their fat has enclosed them"; either their eyes, that they can hardly see out of them, or their hearts, so that they are stupid and senseless, and devoid of the fear of God; the phrase is expressive of the multitude of their wealth and increase of power, by which they were swelled with pride and vanity, and neither feared God nor regarded man; so the Targum paraphrases it,



"their riches are multiplied, their fat covers them;''



see De 32:15; some read it, "their fat shuts their mouths", so Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or "with their fat they shut them" {h}; but the accent "athnach" will not admit of this reading; the last word belongs to the next clause;



with their mouth they speak proudly; against God and his people, belching out blasphemies against the one, and severe menaces and threatenings against the other.



{h} So De Dieu.





Psalms 17:11



Ver. 11. They have now compassed us in our steps,.... The sense is, they could not stir a step but they were at their heels, surrounding them on every side. This was true of David, when he was pursued by Saul, and followed by him to Keilah and the wilderness of Maon,

1Sa 23:8; according to the "Cetib", or textual writing, it should be rendered, "they have compassed me"; but, according to the "Keri", or marginal reading, and the points, it is as we have translated it, and which is followed by the Targum, and both are right, and design David as a principal person, and those that were with him, who were encompassed by Saul and his men. This also was verified in Christ, when Judas followed him into the garden with a band of men to betray him, and when he was enclosed by wicked men as he went to the cross, and hung upon it, Joh 18:2; and may likewise be accommodated to the case of all the saints, who are troubled on every side, are beset with the corruptions of their hearts, the temptations of Satan, and the reproaches and persecutions of the men of the world, 2Co 4:8;



they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; which posture either denotes fraudulence and hypocrisy, showing, by looking only upon the ground, as if they were harmless and inoffensive, and had no ill designs, and took no notice of anything; which, as it was true of David's enemies, so of the Jews and of Judas with respect to Christ, and of false teachers with respect to the church, Lu 20:20 Mt 7:15; or else inhumanity and contempt, not caring to turn their eyes to look upon them in distress, but kept their eyes fixed upon the earth, so Christ was treated by the Jews, Isa 53:3; or rather their being intent upon mischief, their diligence and watchfulness to observe all motions, and take every opportunity "to strike", or "cast me down to the earth", as the Arabic and Syriac versions render it; or the sense is, as Kimchi gives it, their eyes are upon our ways, to spread nets for us in the earth to take us.





Psalms 17:12



Ver. 12. Like as a lion [that] is greedy of his prey,.... Or "the likeness of him is as a lion" {i}; meaning Saul, as Kimchi interprets it; or everyone of them that compassed them about, as Aben Ezra observes; sometimes wicked and persecuting princes are compared to lions, for their strength and cruelty; see Pr 28:15; so the devil is called a roaring lion, 1Pe 5:8; and the antichristian beast is said to have the mouth of a lion, Re 13:2;



and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places; to leap upon its prey, and seize it at once, as it has opportunity; this denotes the secret and insidious method which the enemies of Christ take to do mischief; see Ps 10:9.



{i} hyrak wnwymd "similitudo ejus, vel cujusque est tanquam leonis", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius; so Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis.





Psalms 17:13



Ver. 13. Arise, O Lord,.... See Ps 3:7;



disappoint him, or "prevent his face" {k}; be beforehand with him, and so disappoint him, when he is about to seize his prey; who is comparable to the lion, or to the young lion; meaning the chief of his enemies, it may be Saul;



cast him down; everyone of them that set themselves to cast down others to the earth. Jarchi's note is,



"cut off his feet,''



that he may bow down and fall;



deliver my soul from the wicked, [which is] thy sword; so Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, render the words; that is, from wicked men, whom God makes use of as instruments to afflict and chastise his people: so the Assyrian monarch is called the "rod" of his anger, with whom he scourged his people Israel, Isa 10:5. Compare with this

Ps 22:20. The words are rendered by some, "deliver my soul from the wicked by thy swords" {l}; meaning not the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God by which Christ was delivered from the wicked one, when tempted by him in the wilderness; but the avenging justice of God, the sword of the Lord, which, being whetted and taken hold on, and used by him, brings vengeance on his enemies, and salvation to his people; see

De 32:41. The Targum paraphrases the clause thus,



"deliver my soul from the wicked, who deserves to be slain by thy sword.''



{k} wynp hmdq "praeveni faciem ejus", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Musculus, Gejerus; "anticipa faciem ejus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {l} Kbrx evrm "gladio tuo ab improbis", Junius & Tremellius; Gejerus; so Ainsworth.





Psalms 17:14



Ver. 14. From men [which are] thy hand, O Lord,.... Some understand these words, with what follows, as independent of the former, and of another set of men, even of good men; so the Targum,



"and the righteous who deliver their souls for thy sake, O Lord, unto death in the earth, their portion is in eternal life;''



so Jarchi gives the like sense of them: but the words are to be connected with the preceding, as they are by Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; and the sense is, deliver my soul from men, which are instruments in thine hand to chastise thy people: so even Satan himself, and the Sabeans and Chaldeans, whom he instigated to afflict Job, are called the "hand" of the Lord that touched him, because he suffered them to do what they did for the trial of him, Job 19:21. The words may be rendered, "the men of thy hand" {m}; who are raised up by thine hand to the power and dignity they have; and who can easily be pulled down by it; and who are in thine hand, and at thy beck and control, and whose wrath and fury thou canst restrain. Or they may be rendered, "from men by thy hand" {n}; that is, deliver me from them by thy strong hand and mighty power; as Israel of old was delivered from the Egyptians by the strong and mighty hand of God;



from men of the world: who are, as they were when they came into the world, in sin, in darkness, and in a carnal and unregenerate state; who are not only in the world, but of it, and belong to it, and to it only; and are under the influence of the god of the world, and are taken with the lusts and pleasures of it, and live in them and serve them: and are of worldly spirits, inordinately love the things of the world, mind earth and earthly things, and are unconcerned about the things of another world; see Lu 16:8;



[which have] their portion in [this] life; and in this only; have a large share of the good things of this life; and which is all their portion, Lu 16:25;



and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid [treasure]: earthly treasure, as gold and silver, which is called hid treasure, because it is first hid in the bowels of the earth, out of which it is dug, and afterwards hid in the coffers of worldly men; and oftentimes kept to the hurt of the owners of it. Or the phrase may denote the value and preciousness of it. And to have the belly filled with this is to have a very great affluence and plenty of it; though it is very rare, let it be ever so large, that men are fully satisfied with it;



they are full of children; which among the eastern nations was reckoned a considerable part of outward prosperity and happiness; see

Job 21:7; or their "children are full", or "filled" {o} with hidden treasure also;



and leave the rest of their [substance] to their babes; their children's children; their grandchildren, as Kimchi explains it; and which is said, not by way of complaint, as an evil in them, since it is lawful and right for parents to lay up for their children, and leave it to them: unless the sense is, that they engross all to themselves, and to their posterity, in life and death; while they live, they indulge their sensual appetites and lusts, and fill themselves and theirs, but give nothing to the poor and hungry; nor part with anything for the interest of God and true religion; and when they die leave nothing for such use and service, but all to their posterity: but rather the phrase is expressive of their great plenty; that having lived in and enjoyed great fulness themselves, and given large portions to their children, yet have much left; which, at death, they bequeath to the young generation. Now from such men in power and dignity, and from being hurt by them, as well as from communion and conversation with them, the psalmist desires to be delivered; and expresses his satisfaction in other and better things than they enjoy, in the following words.



{m} Kdy Mytmm "ab inimieis manus tuae", V. L. so Sept. "a viris manus tuae", Lutherus, Musculus. {n} "Manu tua", Montaus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus. {o} Mynb webvy "saturantur vel satiantur filii", Munster, Muis, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus; so Targ. Ar. Ainsworth.





Psalms 17:15



Ver. 15. As for me,.... I do not desire to be in their place and stead, with all their plenty and prosperity; I am content with my present condition and situation: for



I will, or "shall"



behold thy face in righteousness; that is, appear before God in public worship, where was the ark, the symbol of the face of God; enjoy his gracious presence, have the discoveries of his love, and see his face and favour; than which nothing was more desirable by him and delightful to him. Or God himself may be meant by "his face"; and especially God as he is to be beheld in the face of Christ, the Angel of his presence; and who is to be beheld by faith in the present state of things, though as through a glass, darkly; and in the future state perfectly, and as he is, both with the eyes of the understanding, and, after the resurrection, with the eyes of the body; see Job 19:26; and to this state the psalmist seems more especially to have respect, as Jarchi interprets it: and the beatific vision of God in Christ will be very glorious and exceeding delightful; it will be assimilating and appropriating; it will be free from all darkness and interruption, and will continue for ever. And this shall be seen "in righteousness"; the psalmist believing that he should then appear as an innocent person clear of all the false charges brought against him; and so this may be understood of the righteousness of his cause, in which he should stand before God, and enjoy communion with him:, or this may design that perfect holiness and purity of heart, without which no man shall see the Lord; and which, though now imperfect, shall in the other state be without spot or blemish: or rather, the righteousness of Christ, which fits believers for, and in which they are brought into and stand in, the King's presence;



I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness; which will be in the resurrection morn: or, as Jarchi expresses it, when the dead shall awake from their sleep; for this is not to be understood of awaking from natural sleep in the morning; when it is a satisfaction to a believer to be with God, and to have God with him, Ps 139:18; nor of awaking from a sleepy drowsy frame of spirit, which sometimes attends the saints; but of rising from the dead: for as death is oftentimes expressed by sleep in Scripture, so the resurrection by an awaking out of it, Isa 26:19; at which time the saints will arise with the image of the heavenly One upon them: they will be like to Christ both in soul and body; in soul, in perfect knowledge and complete holiness: in body, in incorruption and immortality, in power, glory, and spirituality; in this will lie their happiness and satisfaction. Or the meaning is, that he should be satisfied with the likeness of God, with Christ the image of God, when he should arise from the dead; seeing he should then appear with him in glory, see him as he is, and be like him, and be for ever in his presence; which will yield endless pleasure and unspeakable satisfaction. For the words may be interpreted, not of David's awaking, but of the glory of God awaking or appearing; which would afford an infinitely greater satisfaction than worldly men have in worldly things {p}, to which this is opposed, Ps 17:10; so the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions read, I shall be satisfied when thy glory appears, or is seen; and so the Ethiopic and Arabic versions.



{p} Vid. Castel. Lexic. Heptaglott. col. 2014.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Psalms 18:1



INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 18



To the chief Musician, [a Psalm] of David. This is the same with that in 2Sa 22:1, with some variations, omissions, and alterations:



the servant of the Lord; not only by creation, nor merely by regeneration, but by office, as king of Israel, being put into it by the Lord, and acting in it in submission and obedience to him; just as the apostles under the New Testament, on account of their office, so style themselves in their epistles:



who spake unto the Lord the words of this song; that is, who delivered and sung this song in so many express words, in public, before all the congregation of Israel, to the honour and glory of God:



in the day [that] the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, Not that this psalm was composed and sung the selfsame day that David was delivered from Saul, and set upon the throne; for it seems to have been written in his old age, at the close of his days; for immediately after it, in the second book of Samuel, it follows, "now these be the last words of David", 2Sa 23:1: but the sense is, that whereas David had many enemies, and particularly Saul, who was his greatest enemy, the Lord delivered him from them all, and especially from him, from him first, and then from all the rest; which when he reflected upon in his last days, he sat down and wrote this psalm, and then sung it in public, having delivered it into the hands of the chief musician for that purpose. There are two passages cited out of it in the New Testament, and applied to Christ; Ps 18:2, in Heb 2:13, and Ps 18:49 in Ro 15:9; and there are many things in it that very well agree with him; he is eminently the "servant" of the Lord as Mediator; he was encompassed with the snares and sorrows of death and hell, and with the floods of ungodly men, when in the garden and on the cross God was his helper and deliverer, as man; and he was victorious over all enemies, sin, Satan, the world, death and hell; as the subject of this psalm is all along represented: and to Christ it does most properly belong to be the head of the Heathen, whose voluntary subjects the Gentiles are said to be,

Ps 18:43; and which is expressed in much the same language as the like things are in Isa 55:4; which is a clear and undoubted prophecy of the Messiah; to which may be added, that the Lord's Anointed, the King Messiah, and who is also called David, is expressly mentioned in Ps 18:50; and which is applied to the Messiah by the Jews {q} as Ps 18:32 is paraphrased of him by the Targum on it;



and he said; the following words:



{q} Echa Rabbati, fol. 50. 2. & Midrash Tillim in Tzeror Hammor, fol. 47. 3.



Ver. 1. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. These words are not in twenty second chapter of Second Samuel: the psalm there begins with

Ps 18:2. The psalmist here expresses his love to the Lord, and his continuance in it; that Jehovah the Father was, is, and ever will be the object of Christ's love, is certain; and which has appeared by his readiness in the council and covenant of grace to do his will; by his coming down from heaven to earth for that purpose; by his delight in it, it being his meat and drink to do it; and by his sufferings and death, which were in compliance with, and obedience to it, Joh 14:31; and as in David, so in all regenerate ones, there is love to God; Jehovah is loved by them in all his persons; Jehovah the Father is loved, and to be loved, for the perfections of his nature, because of the works of his hands, of creation and providence; and particularly because of his works of special grace and goodness, and especially because of his love wherewith he has loved his people, 1Jo 4:19. Jehovah the Son is loved, and to be loved, above all creatures and things whatever, sincerely and heartily, fervently and constantly; because of the loveliness of his person, the love of his heart, and his works of grace and redemption; all of him is lovely; and he is to be loved, and is loved, in his person, offices, relations, people, word, and ordinances: Jehovah the Spirit is loved, and to be loved, because of his person and perfections, and operations of grace; as a sanctifier, comforter, the spirit of adoption, the earnest and pledge of eternal glory. The word here used signifies the most intimate, tender, and affectionate love; it often designs mercy and bowels of mercy; so Aben Ezra interprets it of seeking mercy of God: the reasons are as follow in this verse and Ps 18:2: because "the Lord is my strength"; so he was to Christ as man, who as such was the man of his right hand, the Son of Man, whom he made strong for himself, to do his work, and for his glory, Ps 80:17; he promised to strengthen him, and he did, Ps 89:21; and so he is the strength of all his saints, even Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit; he is the strength of their hearts both in life and at death; he is the strength of their graces, who strengthens that which he has wrought for them, and in them; he strengthens them to do their duty, to bear the cross, and every affliction, and against every enemy of their souls; and this renders him very lovely and amiable to them.





Psalms 18:2



Ver. 2. The Lord [is] my rock,.... To whom the saints have recourse for shelter and safety, for supply, support, and divine refreshment; and in whom they are secure, and on whom they build their hopes of eternal life and happiness, and so are safe from all enemies, and from all danger. Christ is called a Rock on all these accounts, Ps 61:2;



and my fortress; or garrison; so the saints are kept in and by the power of God as in a garrison, 1Pe 1:5;



and my deliverer: out of all afflictions, and from all temptations, and out of the hands of all enemies; from a body of sin and death at last, and from wrath to come;



my God; the strong and mighty One, who is able to save, and who is the covenant God and Father of his people;



my strength, in whom I will trust; as Christ did, and to whom these words are applied in Heb 2:13; and as his people are enabled to do even under very distressing and discouraging circumstances, Job 13:15;



my buckler; or shield; who protects and defends them from their enemies, and preserves them from the fiery darts 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, Lu 1:69;



[and] my high tower; such is the name of the Lord, whither the righteous run and are safe, Pr 18:10; and where they are above and out of the reach of every enemy; see Isa 33:16; in 2Sa 22:3, it is added, "and my refuge, my Saviour, thou savest me from violence". These various epithets show the fulness of safety in Jehovah, the various ways he has to deliver his people from their enemies, and secure them from danger; and the psalmist beholding and claiming his interest in him under all these characters, rendered him exceeding lovely and delightful to him; and each of them contain a reason why he loved him, and why, in the strength of grace, he determined to love him. God may be regarded in all these characters by Christ as man.





Psalms 18:3



Ver. 3. I will call upon the Lord,.... In prayer, for fresh mercies, and further appearances of himself, and discoveries of his grace and favour;



[who is worthy] to be praised; for the perfections of his nature, the works of his hands, his providential goodness, and more especially for his covenant grace and blessings in Christ. The Targum is,



"in praise, or with an hymn, I pray before the Lord;''



agreeably to the rule the apostle gives, Php 4:6; and this prayer was a prayer of faith, as follows;



so shall I be saved from mine enemies: which was founded upon past experience of God's goodness to him in distress, when he called upon him, as the next words show.





Psalms 18:4



Ver. 4. The sorrows of death compassed me,.... These words and the following, in this verse and Ps 18:5, as they respect David, show the snares that were laid for his life, the danger of death he was in, and the anxiety of mind he was possessed of on account of it; and as they refer to Christ, include all the sorrows of his life to the time of his death, who was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief personally, and bore and carried the sorrows and griefs of all his people; and may chiefly intend his sorrows in the garden, arising from a view of the sins of his people, which he was about to bear upon the cross; and from an apprehension of the wrath of God, and curse of the law, which he was going to sustain for them, when his soul was perilupov, encompassed about with sorrow, even unto death, Mt 26:38; when his sorrow was so great, and lay so heavy upon him, that it almost pressed him down to death, he could scarce live under it; and may also take in the very pains and agonies of death; he dying the death of the cross, which was a very painful and excruciating one; see Ps 22:14; The Hebrew word for "sorrows" signifies the pains and birth throes of a woman in travail; and is here fitly used of the sufferings and death of Christ; through which he brought forth much fruit, or many sons to glory. The Targum is,



"distress has encompassed me, as a woman that sits upon the stool, and has no strength to bring forth, and is in danger of dying.''



In 2Sa 22:5, it is "the waves" or "breakers of death compassed me"; and the word there used is rendered in Ho 13:13; "the breaking forth of children"; moreover the same word signifies "cords" {r}, as well as pains and sorrows; and the allusion may be to malefactors being bound with cords when led to execution, and put to death; and may here signify the power of death, under which the Messiah was held for a while, but was loosed from it at his resurrection; to which sense of the word, and to the words here, the Apostle Peter manifestly refers, Ac 2:24;



and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; meaning either the multitude of them, as Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Roman soldiers, and people of the Jews, who all gathered together against him; so the Targum renders it, "a company of wicked men"; or the variety of sufferings he endured by them; as spitting upon, buffering, scourging, &c. The word rendered "ungodly men [is] Belial"; and signifies vain, worthless, and unprofitable men; men of no figure or account; or lawless ones, such as have cast off the yoke of the law, are not subject to it; persons very wicked and profligate. The word in the New Testament seems to be used for Satan, 2Co 6:15; where it is so rendered in the Syriac version, and he may be designed here; and by the floods of Belial may be meant, not so much the temptations of Satan in the wilderness, as his violent and impetuous attacks upon Christ in the garden, when being in an agony or conflict with him, his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood, Lu 22:44. The Septuagint render the word, "the torrents of iniquity troubled me"; which was true of Christ, when all the sins of his people came flowing in upon him, like mighty torrents, from all quarters; when God laid on him the iniquity of them all, and he was made sin for them; and in a view of all this "he began to be sore amazed", Mr 14:33; compare with this Ps 69:1. Arama interprets Belial of the evil imagination in David, who had a war in himself.



{r} twm ylbx "funes mortis", Musculus, Montanus, Vatablus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth, Hammond.





Psalms 18:5



Ver. 5. The sorrows of hell compassed me about,.... Or "the cords of the grave" {s}, under the power of which he was detained for awhile; 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; see Joh 11:44; and so was Christ, till he was raised from the dead, when he showed himself to have the keys of hell and death, and to be no more under their power, or be held by them;



the snares of death prevented me; or "met" or "got before me" {t} the sense is, he was taken in them: this phrase designs the insidious ways and methods which the enemies of Christ took to ensnare him, and take away his life, and in which they succeeded; see Mt 26:4.



{s} lwav ylbx "funes sepulchri", Musculus, Gejerus. {t} ynwmdq "praeoccupaverunt me", V. L. "anteverterunt me", Vatablus; "occurrerunt", Cocceius.





Psalms 18:6



Ver. 6. In my distress I called upon the Lord,.... The great Jehovah, the everlasting I AM, who is the most High in all the earth, and who is able to save, Heb 5:7;



and cried unto my God; as Jesus did, Mt 27:46; so the members of Christ, when in distress, as they often are, through sin and Satan, through the hidings of God's face, a variety of afflictions, and the persecutions of men, betake themselves to the Lord, and call upon their God: a time of distress is a time for prayer; and sometimes the end God has in suffering them to be in distress is to bring them to the throne of his grace; and a great privilege it is they have that they have such a throne to come to for grace and mercy to help them in time of need, and such a God to sympathize with them, and help them; and their encouragement to call upon him, and cry unto him, is, that he is Jehovah, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent; who knows their wants, is able to help them, and is a God at hand to do it;



He heard my voice out of his temple; that is, out of heaven his dwelling place; for the temple at Jerusalem was not built in David's time; and it may be observed, that the prayer of the psalmist, or whom he represents, was a vocal one, and not merely mental; and hearing it intends a gracious regard unto it, an acceptance of it, and an agreeable answer: for it follows,



and my cry came before him, [even] into his ears; God did not cover himself with a cloud, that his prayer could not pass through; but it was admitted and received; it came up before him with acceptance; it reached his ears, and even entered into them, and was delightful music to them: see Joh 11:41.





Psalms 18:7



Ver. 7. Then the earth shook and trembled,.... As it did quickly after Christ called upon the Lord, and cried to his God upon the cross,

Mt 27:50; and so some time after, when his people were praying together, the place where they were assembled was shaken, Ac 4:31; as a token of God's presence being with them: and the shaking and trembling of the earth is often used as a symbol of the presence of God, and of the greatness of his majesty; as when he brought the children of Israel through the Red sea, went before them in the wilderness, and descended on Mount Sinai, which mountain then moved and quaked exceedingly; see Ps 104:32; and it is easy to observe, that in this, and other parts of this majestic account of the appearance of God on the behalf of the person the subject of this psalm, and against his enemies, there are manifest allusions to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; though it may be this shaking of the earth, and what follows, are to be understood in a figurative sense;



the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken; and design the shaking of the earth and heavens, prophesied of in Hag 2:6; and which is explained in Heb 12:26; of the removing the ordinances of the ceremonial law, that Gospel ordinances might remain unshaken; for in 2Sa 22:8; the words are, "the foundations of heaven moved and shook"; and the shaking and moving of the earth and mountains may denote the abolition and destruction of kingdoms and nations; and first of the civil polity of the Jews, and of their ecclesiastical state, which quickly ensued upon the death of Christ; and next of the ruin of Rome Pagan, and then of Rome Papal; which are both signified by an earthquake, and by the removal of mountains, Re 6:12;



because he was wroth; with the people of the Jews, for disbelieving and rejecting the Messiah; for setting themselves, and taking counsel together against him, and putting him to death; for these things God was angry with them, and wrath came upon them to the uttermost, and their nation, city, and temple were destroyed, Ps 2:1; and with the Pagan empire and antichristian powers, Re 6:16.





Psalms 18:8



Ver. 8. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,.... This, with what follows, describes a storm of thunder; the "smoke" designs thick black clouds, gathered together; "fire" intends lightning; and "coals of fire", hot thunderbolts; and the whole is borrowed from, and is an allusion to what was at the giving of the law on Mount Sinai,

Ex 19:16; The majesty of God is here set forth in much such language as is the leviathan in Job 41:19; the "smoke of his nostrils" seems to intend the indignation of God against the enemies of David, of Christ, and of his people, and the punishment be will inflict upon them, Isa 65:5. The Targum interprets it of the pride and insolence of Pharaoh;



and fire out of his mouth devoured; God is a wall of fire round about his people, and a consuming one to his and their enemies. This expresses the wrath of God upon the Jewish nation, and his sending the Roman armies to burn their city, Mt 22:7;



coals were kindled by it; the Jews being as dry trees, were fit fuel for the fire of divine wrath, and so presently became as coals of fire; so the antichristian party, upon the pouring out of the fourth vial, will be scorched with heat, and blaspheme the name of God, Re 16:8.





Psalms 18:9



Ver. 9. He bowed the heavens also, and came down,.... To execute wrath and vengeance on wicked men; which is always the sense of these phrases when they go together; see Ps 144:6; The Targum is, "he bowed the heavens, and his glory appeared"; that is, the glory of his power, and of his mighty hand of vengeance; for not his grace and mercy, but his indignation and wrath, showed themselves; for it follows,



and darkness [was] under his feet; the Targum is, "a dark cloud", expressive of the awfulness of the dispensation to wicked men; who are not allowed to see the face of God, are debarred his presence, and denied, communion with him, and to whom everything appears awful and terrible, Ps 97:2.





Psalms 18:10



Ver. 10. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly,.... The Targum renders it in the plural number, "cherubim"; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; and by whom may be meant, either the angels, who are as horses and chariots, on whom Jehovah rides, and who art he makes use of as executioners of his wrath and vengeance, Zec 6:5; and to whom wings are assigned as a token of swiftness, Isa 6:2; or rather the ministers of the Gospel, who are the living creatures in Re 4:7; and answer to the "cherubim" in Ezekiel's visions; and whom God made use of, especially after the death of Christ, and when the Gospel was rejected by the Jews, to carry it into the Gentile world, which was done by them with great speed and swiftness; and Maimonides {u} gives a caution, not to understand the phrase, "he did fly", as of God, but of the cherub;



yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind; which may design the speedy help and assistance God gave to his Son, and gives to his people; and the swift destruction of their enemies; see Ps 104:3; the words in

2Sa 22:11, with only the variation of a letter in one word, are, "and he was seen upon the wings of the wind"; which were both true; nor need a various reading be supposed, the psalmist using both words at different times, suitable to his purpose, and which both express his sense. Wings are ascribed to the winds by the Heathen poets, and they are represented as winged on ancient monuments {w}.



{u} Moreh Nevochim. par. 1. c. 49. {w} Vide Cuperi Apotheos. Homeri, p. 178. Wings are given to the south wind by Ovid, Metamorph. l. 1. Fab. 7. and by Juvenal, Satyr. 5. v. 10. and by Virgil, Aeneid. 8. v. 430. and who also speaks of wings of lightning, Aeneid. 5. v. 319.





Psalms 18:11



Ver. 11. He made darkness his secret place,.... Which, and the dark waters in the next clause, are the same with the thick clouds in the last, in which Jehovah is represented as wrapping himself, and in which he lies hid as in a secret place; not so as that he cannot see others, as wicked men imagine, Job 22:13; but as that he cannot be beheld by others; the Targum interprets it,



"he caused his Shechinah to dwell in darkness;''



his pavilion round about him [were] dark waters, [and] thick clouds of the skies; these were as a tent or tabernacle, in which he dwelt unseen by men; see Job 36:29; all this may design the dark dispensation of the Jews, after their rejection and crucifixion of Christ; when God departed from them, left their house desolate, and them without his presence and protection; when the light of the Gospel was taken away from them, and blindness happened unto them, and they had eyes that they should not see, and were given up to a judicial darkness of mind and hardness of heart; which were some of the dark, deep, and mysterious methods of divine Providence, with respect to which God may be said to be surrounded with darkness, dark waters, and thick clouds; see Ro 11:7.





Psalms 18:12



Ver. 12. At the brightness [that was] before him, The lightning that came out of the thick clouds; which may denote, either the coming of Christ to take vengeance on the Jewish nation, which was swift and sudden, clear and manifest; or the spreading of the Gospel in the Gentile world, in which Christ, the brightness of his Father's glory, appeared to the illumination of many; see Mt 24:27; and both may be intended, as the effects following show;



his thick clouds passed; that is, passed away; the gross darkness, which had for so many years covered the Gentile world, was removed when God sent forth his light and truth; and multitudes, who were darkness itself, were made light in the Lord;



hail [stones] and coals of fire; the same Gospel that was enlightening to the Gentiles, and the savour of life unto life unto them, was grievous, like hail stones, and tormenting, scorching, irritating, and provoking, like coals of fire, and the savour of death unto death, to the Jews; when God provoked them, by sending the Gospel among the Gentiles, and calling them: or these may design the heavy, awful, and consuming judgments of God upon them, which are sometimes signified by hail storms; see Re 8:7. In 2Sa 22:13, it is only, "through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled".





Psalms 18:13



Ver. 13. The Lord also thundered in the heavens,.... By his apostles and ministers, some of which were Boanergeses, sons of thunder, whose ministry was useful to shake the consciences of men, and bring them to a sense of themselves, Mr 3:17;



and the Highest gave his voice; the same with thunder; for thunder is often called the voice of the Lord, Job 37:5; compare with this Ps 68:11; the Targum interprets it, "he lifted up his word"; the same effects as before follow,



hail [stones] and coals of fire; See Gill on "Ps 18:12".





Psalms 18:14



Ver. 14. Yea, he sent out his arrows,.... By which thunderbolts, cracks of thunder, and flashes of lightning, seem to be meant; see

Ps 77:17; comparable to arrows shot, and sent out of a bow; and may denote, either the doctrines of the Gospel, which were sharp in the hearts of Christ's enemies, and are either the means of subduing them to him, or of destroying them, being the savour of death unto death; or however, like arrows, give great pain and uneasiness where they stick, and grievously distress and torment; as does the fire which comes out of the mouth of the two witnesses, Re 11:5. The Targum is,



"he sent his word as arrows;''



or else the judgments of God are meant, as famine, pestilence, and the sword, which God sent unto, and spent upon the Jewish nation,

De 32:23;



and scattered them; among the nations of the world, where they have been dispersed ever since;



and he shot out lightnings; or "many lightnings", so the Targum:



and discomfited them; troubled, terrified, and distressed them.





Psalms 18:15



Ver. 15. Then the channels of water were seen,.... Or, "of the sea"; as in 2Sa 22:16. There seems to be an allusion to the drying up of the sea when the Israelites passed through it. Aben Ezra interprets this of the discovery of the secrets of enemies, and of their deep schemes and counsels, which they seek to hide, but are made known by him who sees all things in the dark; and so the following clause;



and the foundations of the world were discovered; but it rather seems to intend the utter extirpation and ruin of the Jewish nation, both in their civil and ecclesiastic state, the foundation of which was rooted up and laid bare; unless with Jerom we understand this of the ministers of the word, in whom the doctrines of grace were channelled, and who were as fountains of water; and of the foundation of the apostles and prophets made known in the Gospel: but the former sense is best; since it follows,



at thy rebuke, O Lord; at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils; for the destruction of the Jews was the effect of divine wrath and vengeance: so ends the account of the wonderful appearance of God in favour of the person the subject of this psalm, and against his enemies; the deliverance wrought for him is next described.





Psalms 18:16



Ver. 16. He sent from above,.... Either his hand, as in Ps 144:7; he exerted and displayed his mighty power in raising Christ from the dead; or he sent help from his sanctuary; as in Ps 20:2; and helped and strengthened him in a day of salvation; or when he wrought out the salvation of his people; or "he sent his word", as in Ps 107:20; his word of command, to take up his life again, as he had given it to lay it down, Joh 10:18. The Targum is, he sent his prophets; but it may be much better supplied, he sent his angels, or an angel; as he did at his resurrection, who rolled away the stone from the sepulchre, as a token of his justification and discharge: so Jarchi interprets it, he sent his angels; and Aben Ezra supplies it thus,



"he sent his word or his angel:''



unless the sense should be, as Cocceius suggests, he sent a cloud from above, which was done at Christ's ascension, and which received him out of the sight of the apostles, Ac 1:9. Since it follows,



he took me; that is, up to heaven; thither Christ was carried in a cloud, one of God's chariots, he sent for him; and where he is received, and will be retained until his second coming; though rather the sense is, he took me by the hand:



he drew me out of many waters. This is said either in allusion to Moses, who had his name from his being drawn out of the water, Ex 2:10; and who was an eminent type of Christ; and this is the only place where the Hebrew word is made use of from whence he had his name; or else to a man plunged in water ready to be drowned; see Ps 69:1. By these "many waters" may be meant the many afflictions, sorrows, and sufferings from which Christ was freed, when raised from the dead, and highly exalted and crowned with glory and honour; and the torrent of sins which flowed in upon him at the time he was made sin for his people, from which he was justified when risen; and so will appear a second time without sin unto salvation; and the wrath of God, the waves and billows of which went over him, and compassed him about as water, at the time of his sufferings; from which he was delivered when he was shown the path of life, and entered into the presence of God, and sat at his right hand, where are joys and pleasures for evermore; and also his grand enemy Satan, with his principalities and powers, who came in like a flood upon him; but he destroyed him and spoiled them; and particularly the floods of ungodly men, spoken of in Ps 18:4; seem to be here designed; compare with this Ps 144:7; "so many waters" signify many people and nations, Re 17:15; and accordingly the Targum is,



"he delivered me from many people.''



This was true of Christ when risen and ascended; he was then separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; and this sense is confirmed by the following words, where what is expressed figuratively here is there literally explained.





Psalms 18:17



Ver. 17. He delivered me from my strong enemy,.... Which, as it may respect David, may be understood of Goliath the Philistine champion, who was a man of war from his youth; or Saul, king of Israel; and, as it may respect David's antitype, may design either the chief priests, Scribes, and Pharisees, who were men of power and influence; or more especially Satan, the strong man armed, with all his principalities and powers; or, likewise death, the last enemy, from whose pains and cords he was loosed when raised from the dead, and when he was delivered from every other strong enemy;



and from them which hated me; from the old serpent the devil, between whom and him there has been a lasting enmity; and from the world, the people of the Jews, particularly the Pharisees, who bore an implacable hatred to Christ;



for they were too strong for me; as Goliath and Saul were too strong for David of himself, so Christ's enemies were too strong for him; not as God, for he is the mighty God, the Almighty, and stronger than the strong man armed, but as man; for in his human nature he had a sinless weakness, which showed itself in his agonies in the garden; or a natural weakness, through which he was crucified; and this weak nature of Christ Satan attacked, and got an advantage over, and brought it to the dust of death, which is meant by his bruising his heel, though by it he got a broken head. But though Christ's enemies were too strong for him, considered merely as man, they not being, at least many of them, flesh and blood, but principalities and powers; yet being helped by his Father, and supported by his divine nature, he overcame them, and was delivered from them.





Psalms 18:18



Ver. 18. They prevented me in the day of my calamity,.... Referring to the times of his distress in the garden and upon the cross; the time of his sufferings and death, which was a dark and cloudy day, as the word {x} used suggests, both in a literal and in a spiritual sense; and when the day and hour was come, fixed and determined by the will of God, then his enemies, though not before, met him, laid hold on him, were too mighty for him, condemned, crucified, and insulted him;



but the Lord was my stay; or staff, on whom he leaned, relied, and depended, believing he would help him; and by whom he was supported and upheld, Isa 42:1. The Targum is,



"the Word of the Lord was my stay.''



{x} ydya Mwyb "in the day of my cloudy calamity", Ainsworth; "nomen" dya "proprie signifient vaporem vel nubem, ut Gen. vii. 6. hinc per metaphoram transfertur ad obscuras ac terrificas calamitatum nebulas, Prov. i. 26.", Gejerus.





Psalms 18:19



Ver. 19. He brought me forth also into a large place,.... Into heaven, a place of the glorious liberty of Christ, after his captivity to death and the grave, whither he ascended leading captivity captive, and of the children of God; and a spacious place, where there is room enough for Christ and all his people; here he now is, and will remain till his second coming, and from hence we expect him; see Joh 14:2. Compare with this Ps 31:8;



he delivered me, because he delighted in me; God delivered David from all his enemies, because he was a man after his own heart, in whom he delighted; not for any merit and worthiness in him, but of his good will and pleasure: he delivered Christ because he was his elect, in whom his soul delighted; and who was daily his delight, rejoicing in his presence before the world was: and he delivers his church and people, because they are his Hephzibah, in whom is his delight,

Isa 62:4; the Father delighted in them, and therefore chose them to salvation; the Son delighted in them, and gave himself for them, and ransomed them out of the hands of him that is stronger than they; the Holy Spirit delighted in them, and therefore regenerates, renews, and sanctifies them, and seals them up unto the day of redemption.





Psalms 18:20



Ver. 20. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness,.... Which, if applied to David, cannot be understood of his own personal righteousness, or of works of righteousness done by him, for these merit nothing at the hand of God; no reward, in strict justice, is due to them, or given to them: a man's own righteousness is imperfect, and by the law of God is not accounted a righteousness; and it is unprofitable to God, is no gain to him, and so not rewardable by him; and were it perfect, it is but man's duty, and what God has a prior right to, and so is not recompensed by him; though it is so far from being pure and perfect, that it is attended with much sin, and is no other than rags, and filthy ones, which can never recommend a person to God; it is what will not bear the sight of God, and can never be called cleanness in his eyesight: by it no man is justified before him; and though God does, indeed, reward the works of his people, which are fruits of his grace, yet the reward is not of debt, but of grace. This, therefore, must be understood of the righteousness of David's cause, and of his innocence with respect to the things he was charged with by his enemies; of his righteousness towards Saul; and of "the cleanness of [his] hands", in not defiling them with his blood, when it was in his power to take away his life; therefore God rewarded him by delivering him out of his hands, and setting him upon the throne, and causing his kingdom to flourish and prosper; for this respects temporal blessings, and not eternal glory and happiness; and is something that had been and was then enjoyed, and not anything future, or in another world: though it is best of all to apply it to Christ, and understand it of his righteousness, which he, as Mediator, has wrought out for his people; this is perfect, pure, and spotless, and entirely agreeable to the law of God; what will bear the sight of God, is satisfying to his justice, is well pleasing to him, and is what he accepts of, and imputes to them that believe in Christ, and by which they are justified from all things. Now, according to this righteousness, Christ in strict justice has been rewarded in his own person; as he had the work of man's redemption assigned him, and he agreed to do it, he had a reward promised him, and which he claimed, when he had glorified his Father and finished his work; and which he received when he was set down at the right hand of God, crowned with glory and honour, in consequence of his obedience, sufferings, and death; see Php 2:7; and he is rewarded in his members according to his righteousness, they being justified by it, and made heirs of eternal life on account of it, and are or will be glorified with him for evermore;



according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me; which signifies the same thing.





Psalms 18:21



Ver. 21. For I have kept the ways of the Lord,.... Not those which the Lord himself walks in, his ways of providence, or of grace; though these are and should be taken notice of and observed by good men, as the word {y} used will bear to be rendered; but the ways which he has prescribed and directed men to walk in, the ways of his commandments, in which they should go; these were, in some measure, kept by David, who often, in the hundred nineteenth psalm speaks of his keeping the testimonies and statutes, and commandments of the Lord; as they are by good men, with some degree of pleasure, they take delight to walk in them; and with some degree of constancy, they keep walking in them, without turning to the right hand or the left, though solicited to it; but yet not perfectly, for they have many a slip and fall in them; wherefore this cannot be a reason of their being rewarded according to their righteousness: in strict justice, the words better agree with Christ, who kept the law of God perfectly, did his will completely; he came from heaven to do it; it was his meat and drink to accomplish it; and he always did the things which pleased his father, wherefore he rewarded him;



and have not wickedly departed from my God; which was, in some sense, true of David; not as by disbelieving the power and providence, the promises, truth, and faithfulness of God, and his covenant interest in him; which to do would have been a wicked departure from God; see Heb 3:12; nor by forsaking the house and worship of God; though he was driven from thence by wicked men, yet sore against his will, and which during his exile he frequently laments and complains of; nor by sinning wilfully and presumptuously, only through error, inadvertency, infirmity, and temptation: but when it is observed, how much unbelief, which is a partial departing from the living God, and how many there are that neglect private and public worship, and what a proneness there is to sin and wickedness, and how much there is of the will in sinful actions, in the best of men; it is right and best to understand this of Christ, who never was guilty of sin, nor committed any wickedness in departing from God in the least: as man, God was his God, and he always believed his interest in him, and claimed it even when he forsook him on the cross; nor did he quit his service, desert his cause, nor depart from the work and business he enjoined him, till it was finished.



{y} ytrmv "observaveram", Tigurine version, Vatablus; "observo", Junius & Tremellius; "observavi", Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.





Psalms 18:22



Ver. 22. For all his judgments [were] before me,.... That is, the precepts of the law of God, which David had a respect unto, loved, took delight and pleasure in, and so had them all in his sight, and made them the rule of his actions; and the law of God is delighted in by regenerate persons, after the inward man; and though it is abolished as a covenant of works, it is a rule of walk and conversation to the saints; and as such they keep it in view, and regard it impartially, not only some of its precepts, but all. This in the highest and fullest sense was done by Christ, who was made under the law, in whose heart it was, and who came to fulfil it, and has completely fulfilled it;



and I did not put away his statutes from me; in 2Sa 22:23; it is read, "and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them"; the sense is the same; this may have respect to the ceremonial law, and the ordinances of it, which David abode by, very strictly observed, renewed, and put in order; and which Christ, his antitype, never departed from, but conformed unto throughout the whole of his life; witness his circumcision, keeping of the passover, attendance on the synagogue and temple worship; nor did he put them away until they had their full accomplishment in him; when there was a disannulling of them because of their weakness and unprofitableness.





Psalms 18:23



Ver. 23. I was also upright before him,.... In heart and conversation, being sincere and faithful; so David was in the sight of God; but this is much more true of Christ, in whom there was no unrighteousness nor guile, neither in his heart, nor in his lips; he was of perfect integrity, and faithful in all things to him that appointed him;



and I kept myself from mine iniquity; which some interpret of original sin, in which David was born, which dwelt in him, and prompted him to sin; but rather it refers to the taking away of Saul's life, which he might be tempted to do, as being his enemy that sought his life; and which he was put upon and urged to by some about him, and yet did it not. But it is best here also to apply these words to Christ; for though he had no iniquity of his own, yet he had the iniquities of his people on him, as their surety, and which he calls "mine", Ps 40:12. But though he bore them, he did not commit any of them; though he was made sin, he knew none; and though he was tempted by Satan to the most enormous iniquities, as destroying himself and worshipping the devil, he kept himself from the evil one, that he could not touch him: the sense is, that he kept himself from committing any sin, which cannot be said of any mere man; and so far as good men are kept from sin, they are kept by the power of God, and not by themselves. All these things show, that the righteousness of Christ was a perfect, sinless one, entirely agreeable to the laws, statutes, and judgments of God; was pure in the sight of God, and rewardable in strict justice. Hence it is repeated as follows:





Psalms 18:24



Ver. 24. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness,.... Having proved and supported this proposition by the above reasons, it is repeated, for confirmation's sake;



according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight; this phrase, "in his eyesight", is here added, to show that the righteousness of Christ was clean, pure, and spotless in the sight of God; in the eye of divine justice: hence those that are clothed with it are holy and unblamable, and irreprovable in his sight, Col 1:22.





Psalms 18:25



Ver. 25. With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful,.... The merciful man is the good, gracious, holy, and godly man, as the word {z} here used signifies, and is sometimes rendered; one that has received grace and mercy from the Lord, and has principles of grace and goodness wrought in him, and is kind and merciful to others, both to their souls and bodies; and to such men God shows himself merciful: not that they are first merciful to others, and then he is so to them, for it is just the reverse; nor is their mercifulness the cause or condition of his, for he has mercy on whom he will have mercy; but to such he shows fresh mercy, and bestows more grace upon them; they find grace and mercy with him now, and will do hereafter; see Mt 5:7. This may be applied to Christ, all whose ways are mercy and truth; he saw the estate his people would come into; he pitied their case, and became their surety in eternity; he betrothed them to himself in loving kindness and tender mercies; and undertook to feed the flock of slaughter, even the poor of the flock; having, through his merciful lovingkindness, assumed human nature, he went about doing good to the souls and bodies of men; he healed the diseased and fed the hungry, and had compassion on the ignorant, and them that were out of the way; and, as a merciful high priest, he bore the sins and sorrows of his people; and in his love and pity redeemed them, and continues to sympathize with them in all their afflictions and temptations; and though no mercy was shown him while he was suffering for them, for God spared him not, but awoke the sword of justice against him, and used him with the utmost rigour and severity; yet satisfaction being made, he did not leave him in the grave, nor suffer his holy, good, and merciful One to see corruption; but raised him from the dead, prevented him with the blessings of his goodness, and set upon his head a crown of honour and glory;



with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright; an upright man, as the word {a} used signifies, is a perfect man, not absolutely, but comparatively; not in himself, but in Christ; perfect with a perfection of parts, but not of degrees; he is one that is upright in heart, sincere and without hypocrisy; an Israelite indeed, whose faith, hope, and love, are undisguised; he is a man of integrity, a faithful man, faithful to God, his cause and interest, his word and ordinances, and is faithful with the saints; he walks, uprightly according to the rule of God's word, and by faith in Christ; and to such upright men God shows himself upright, or faithful, by keeping his covenant with them, fulfilling his promises to them, and not suffering one good thing to fail he has given them reason to expect from him. This may also be interpreted of Christ, who is in the highest and fullest sense perfect, upright, and sincere, and faithful to him that appointed him; and as he has been faithful in all his covenant engagements with his Father, so his Father has been faithful to him in making good all he promised him; both with respect to his own glory, and the happiness of his people; see Isa 53:10.



{z} dyox "benigno", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius; "bono", Gejerus, some in Vatablus; "qui bonitati studet", Tigurine version; "pio", Munster, Cocceius, Michaelis; "gracious saint", Ainsworth. {a} Mymt "perfecto", Pagninus, Montanus; so Ainsworth.





Psalms 18:26



Ver. 26. With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure,.... None of Adam's posterity are pure by nature; they are all defiled with sin; and though some are pure in their own eyes, they are far from being cleansed from their filthiness; such only are pure who are sanctified by the Spirit of God, have clean hearts created in them, and whose hearts are purified by faith in the blood of Christ; who are justified by Christ's righteousness, and are washed from their sins in his blood; and who, in consequence of such grace, love, pureness of heart, speak a pure language, hold the mystery of faith in a pure conscience, and with a pure conversation, and live soberly, righteously, and godly: and whereas God is a pure and holy Being, his perfections, works, and word, are pure; he shows himself to be so to such persons, by providing for the honour of his purity and holiness in their redemption, sanctification, and salvation; by making all things to be pure to them; by granting them his presence, and blessing them with the vision of himself here and hereafter; see Mt 5:8; this may likewise be understood of Christ, who, in his human nature, is pure from all sin, both original and actual: he indeed took upon him the sins of his people, and bore them, and made satisfaction for them, and brought in everlasting righteousness; which being done, God has showed himself pure to him, by justifying, acquitting, and discharging him from all such sins; by accepting his righteousness, and imputing it to those for whom he wrought it;



and with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward; or "thou wrestlest" {b}, or wilt contend with them until they are destroyed: the same word is here used which Naphtali has his name from, Ge 30:8. The froward are such as are of perverse dispositions, and of stubborn and obstinate tempers, and whose ways are crooked and distorted; and such were the people of the Jews in the times of Moses, and of Christ,

De 32:5; and who seem here to be designed; even the Jews in Christ's time, who were just the reverse of the above characters, were cruel and unmerciful, faithless and hypocritical, filthy and pure, disbelieved the Messiah, rejected and crucified him, were contrary to God, and to all men; and therefore God walked contrary to them, as he threatened, Le 26:27; the same as showing himself froward to them; for God is not froward and perverse in himself, nor in his ways, which are all equal, just, and pure: and though there is one and the same word used in our version, yet there are two different words in the Hebrew text; the same word that is used of the froward is not used of God; that which is used of God, as before observed, signifies wrestling, and designs God's contending with the people of the Jews, in a way of wrath and fury, which came upon them to the uttermost, and issued in their entire ruin as a people and nation; the words here had their fulfilment in the destruction of Jerusalem.



{b} ltptt "eluctaris", Junius & Tremellius; "colluctaris", Aben Ezra; "reluctaris", Gejerus; "certas", Schmidt.





Psalms 18:27



Ver. 27. For thou wilt save the afflicted people,.... As the people of God commonly are; they are afflicted with sin, and the corruption of their own hearts, and with Satan and his temptations, and with the world, its reproaches, and persecutions; but God in his own time saves them out of them, if not here, yet hereafter. This is particularly and eminently true of the Christians who lived between the crucifixion of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem; who were greatly afflicted and persecuted by the Jews, but were in a remarkable manner saved a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, by being directed to go out of it to a place called Pella {c}; so that not one Christian suffered in it;



but wilt bring down high looks; or proud men, whom God humbles; these he abhors, resists, sets himself against, scatters and destroys. The Jews were a very proud people, and behaved in an insolent and insulting manner towards Christ and his followers; but the high looks of the chief priests, Scribes, and Pharisees, were brought down to a purpose, when their city, temple, and nation, were destroyed; see Isa 2:11.



{c} Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 5.





Psalms 18:28



Ver. 28. For thou wilt light my candle,.... Or lamp {d}: in

2Sa 22:29, it is, "Thou [art] my lamp, O Lord"; which may either design outward prosperity, and the flourishing condition of David's kingdom; or internal spiritual light, and an increase of it, by giving fresh supplies of the oil of grace, to cause the lamp to burn more clearly; or rather the prosperous estate of Christ's kingdom; and may be the same with the lamp ordained for the Messiah, Ps 132:17;



the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness; or "cause light to shine in my darkness" {e}; that is, bring me out of darkness into light; either out of adversity to prosperity, or from walking in darkness to the enjoyment of the light of his countenance; and is true of Christ, not only of the prosperity of his kingdom and interest, but of him personally; who though, when on the cross, was in darkness of soul, being forsaken by his God; yet, when raised from the dead, he was received up to heaven, and set down at the right hand of God, and was made full of joy with his countenance, Ac 2:28.



{d} yrn "lucernam meam", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c. {e} So Gussetius, Comment. Ebr. p. 495.





Psalms 18:29



Ver. 29. For by thee I have run through a troop,.... Or, "I have run to a troop": to meet one {f} with courage and intrepidity, as some interpret it {g}; or, as others {h}, "I have run after a troop": that is, pursued after one, as David pursued after the troops of the Amalekites who burnt Ziklag, 1Sa 30:8; to which Jarchi refers this passage; or rather, "I have broke a troop", or "through one" {i}; for the word, as some Jewish writers {k} observe, comes from a root which signifies to "break" in pieces, and is fitly used for the destroying or cutting in pieces a troop of the enemy; and is true of Christ, when he engaged with the troops of hell, and broke the squadrons of the infernal fiends, and spoiled or disarmed principalities and powers, and triumphed over them on the cross, and made a show of them openly, when he dragged them at his chariot wheels, and led captivity captive;



and by my God have I leaped over a wall; which refers to the scaling of walls, and taking of fortified places; and so the Targum, "By the word of my God I will subdue fortified towns"; so Apollinarius has it, passed over a tower, or took it; which was literally true of David, in many instances. Jarchi applies this to his taking the fortress of Zion from the Jebusites: a learned writer {l} thinks this refers to his leaping over the city wall, and slipping through the city watch, when Michal let him down through a window: it may be applied to Christ, who broke down the middle wail of partition, the ceremonial law, which stood between Jew and Gentile; or rather it may design the many difficulties which were in the way of the salvation of his people, which he surmounted and got over with great strength and swiftness; such as fulfilling the law, satisfying justice, bearing sin, and making atonement for it, undergoing a shameful and an accursed death, and grappling with numerous enemies, whom he conquered; and he is said to do all this by his God; because, as man and Mediator, he was strengthened and assisted by him.



{f} dwdg Uwra "occurram turmae", so some in Vatablus. {g} Apud Kimchi in loc. {h} Apud Aben Ezra in loc. {i} "Conteram", Pagninus; "perfregi", Vatablus; "perrupi", Musculus; "perrumpo", Tigurine version, Castalio; so Ainsworth. {k} Kimchi & Ben Melech. {l} Delaney's Life of King David, vol. 1. p. 62.





Psalms 18:30



Ver. 30. [As for] God, his way [is] perfect,.... Or "without spot" {m}, as the Septuagint render the word; without any just charge of inequality, or unrighteousness; such is God's way of providence, though sometimes his methods of providence are cavilled at by wicked men, and murmured at by his own people: they are at a loss, at times, to reconcile promises and providences together, and to account for the justice and equity of them; these ways of his are unsearchable, and not to be traced out by them; but when his judgments will be made manifest, the wisdom, goodness, and righteousness of them will be clearly discerned, and they will be admired; for they are all of a piece, and perfectly consistent with the attributes of God: and such also is his way of grace, and method of salvation; it is agreeable to all his perfections, and according to his purposes, counsel, and covenant; this being resolved on in his breast, contrived by his wisdom, and concluded on in the covenant, has been effected and finished by his son; and his inward way of working upon the heart, though at present imperfect, will be completed; he is a rock, and his work is perfect, and all his ways are judgment: whatever way or method he contrives and enters upon, whether in providence or grace, he pursues and brings to an issue; for he is an omnipotent, omniscient, and unchangeable Being, and neither frustrates, nor is he frustrated; nor is there any insincerity, unrighteousness, and unfaithfulness in him; nor can he act contrary to himself, and the perfections of his nature: the way also which he prescribes to others is perfect and plain, whether the path of doctrine or of duty; the path of truth is plain to the enlightened understanding, and the way of holiness is such, in which men, though fools, shall not err; see Pr 8:8;



the word of the Lord is tried; as silver in a furnace, and is clear of all dross, of error, and falsehood; is free from human mixtures, and without any impurity and unholiness; nor is God's word of promise chargeable with unfaithfulness; all his promises being yea and amen in Christ, and have been tried and proved by the saints in all ages; and have been found true, faithful, constant, and invariable;



he [is] a buckler to all those that trust in him; not in man, nor in themselves; in their own righteousness, or in any creature or creature enjoyment or performance; but in the providence and power of God, in his grace and mercy, in his word, and especially in his Son; in his person, blood, and righteousness; to such he is a buckler or shield: his power is all around them, his favour encompasses them, and his truth, or faithfulness in his word, is their shield and buckler: and so is his Son, who is both a sun and shield to them; and such are his precious blood, his spotless righteousness, and stoning sacrifice; which, being held up by faith, repel the fiery darts of Satan.



{m} Mymt amwmov, Sept. "impolluta", V. L. so Syriac. Aethiop.





Psalms 18:31



Ver. 31. For who [is] God save the Lord?.... Or Jehovah: there is but one God, and Jehovah is he; there is none besides him, nor any like him: there are many that are called gods, nominal deities, who are not by nature gods; fictitious ones, the idols of the Gentiles, made of gold, silver, brass, wood, and stone; but there is but one true God: there are gods, in an improper sense, as civil magistrates; but there is none really and truly so but the Lord; which is to be understood, not of Jehovah the Father, to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit; for the Son is Jehovah, and the Spirit is Jehovah; both are so called, as well as the Father, and all three one God;



or who [is] a rock save our God? to have recourse to for shelter and protection; or to trust to, and build upon, for eternal life and salvation. False gods are rocks; but not like ours, our enemies themselves being judges, De 32:31; so Apollo at Delphos is called the Delphian rock {n}: the words seem to be taken from, or at least there is in them a reference to, 1Sa 2:2.



{n} delfiv petra, Sophoclis Oedipus, v. 472.





Psalms 18:32



Ver. 32. [It is] God that girdeth me with strength,.... For battle, as in Ps 18:39; with strength of body and fortitude of mind; both which are from the Lord, and were in David; and were acknowledged by him as bestowed on him by the Lord; and which confirms what he had before said of him: or with spiritual strength, with strength in his soul, against sin, Satan, and the world; and to do the will and work of God: saints are girt by the Lord with the whole armour of God, and among the rest with the girdle of truth; and are prepared and ready to every good work; see 1Sa 2:4. Hannah's song is again referred to: in

2Sa 22:33, the words are, "God is my strength [and] power"; they are true of Christ, the man of God's right hand, whom he promised to strengthen, and whom he has made strong for himself, Ps 80:17;



and maketh my way perfect; or safe, or prosperous. God removed every impediment and obstacle out of his way, and made it plain and easy, as Jarchi observes; and succeeded him, and gave him victory over his enemies; this has been verified in Christ, who has conquered sin, Satan, the world, death, and the grave: for this is not to be understood of the way and course of David's life and conversation, which was not perfect and unspotted, but had many blemishes and imperfections in it, which he often owns, confesses, and bewails.





Psalms 18:33



Ver. 33. He maketh my feet like hind's [feet],.... As light and swift as theirs, as the Targum; that is, either to flee, when there was a necessity for it, as Kimchi observes; or rather to pursue after the enemy, to run through a troop, and leap over a wall, as before; see

1Ch 12:8; the same phrase is used in Hab 3:19; and may be understood in a spiritual sense of that readiness and cheerfulness with which the saints run the ways of God's commandments, when their hearts are enlarged with his love and grace; and may very well be applied to Christ, who is often compared to a roe, or a young hart, for swiftness; who readily and at once engaged to come and do the will of God, and whose coming in the flesh, at the appointed time, was swift; and who made haste to do the work of God, in which he took the utmost pleasure; and who is a speedy and present help to his people in time of trouble; see So 2:8;



and setteth me upon my high places; the towers and fortresses, and strong and fortified places, where he was safe from his enemies; and: in a spiritual sense, may design the everlasting love of God, the covenant of grace, its blessings and promises; and Christ himself, with the fulness of grace in him, on which believers may be said to be set, when their faith is directed to them, and they live and dwell upon them; see Hab 3:19; and, the words were fulfilled in Christ, when God highly exalted him at his right hand, and set him above all principalities and powers, and made him higher than the heavens.





Psalms 18:34



Ver. 34. He teacheth my hands to war,.... From whence it appears, that war, in some cases, is lawful; and that all the skilfulness and art in training men for war, in the use of armour, in marshalling of armies, in forming sieges, &c. is all from God; see Ps 144:1; and so is all that spiritual skill, in making use of the whole armour of God against every enemy, sin, Satan, and the world; and even the wisdom and skill, counsel and instruction, which Christ as man and Mediator had, when it was the hour and power of darkness; when he was engaged with principalities and powers, and got the victory over them, were from the Lord: see Ps 16:7;



so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms; that is, the bow of an enemy falling into his hands, which might be literally true of David. It is in the Hebrew text, "a bow of brass"; and so Apollinarius renders it; which Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret strong iron, that is, steel; and so the Targum; see Job 20:24; Satan is an archer; his temptations are darts, and fiery ones; and his strong bow may be said to be broken by the arms of faith, when his temptations, under the influence of divine grace, are repelled and rendered ineffectual; and especially his bow was broken by Christ, not only in the wilderness, when he was vanquished by him; but in the garden, and on the cross, when Satan could find nothing in him, and get no other advantage over him, but to bruise his heel; when he himself had his head broke, his works ruined, and he himself destroyed. Some render the words, "mine arms have bent a bow of steel": that is, such skill and strength were given him that he was able to bend, draw, and shoot a bow or steel: the Targum is, "and hath strengthened mine arm as a bow of brass", or "steel"; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions; and to the same purpose the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions; or it may be rendered, "my arms have bent", or "made to descend {o}, a bow of brass"; for when a bow is bent, the horns or corners of it are made to descend towards a man.



{o} htxnw "ut current", Cocceius; so Michaelis; "ut descendat vel deprimatur", Gejerus; vid. Gussetii Comment. Ebr. p. 507. so Jarchi.





Psalms 18:35



Ver. 35. Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation,.... Meaning either temporal salvation, which was a shield to him when he had no outward one, as when he fought with Goliath; and was what preserved him in all his battles at other times: or spiritual salvation, which is of the Lord, of his contriving, effecting:, and applying, and in which his glory is concerned; interest in which is a free gift of his, as are the knowledge, application, and possession of it; and this is as a shield, which saves from sin, from all sin, and the damning power of it; keeps off the curses of the law, secures from wrath to come, and repels Satan's temptations; the words may be applied to Christ, who, though he was not saved from dying, yet was preserved in the day of salvation, and was not suffered to see corruption in the grave, and was quickly delivered from the power and dominion of it;



and thy right hand hath holden me up; Christ may be said to be the right hand of God, being as dear to him as his right hand; and being exalted at it; and because by him he communicates all good things to his people, and with him upholds and sustains them; or else it designs the mighty power of God, which is often signified by it,

Ps 20:6; and may be understood of the sustentation of David, both in a providential way, with respect to his being, the preservation of it, the supplies of life, and support in times of trouble and distress; and in a spiritual sense, maintaining the principle of grace in him, furnishing him with fresh supplies of grace, and bearing him up under and through every temptation and exercise; so upholding him that he stood firm in the true grace of God, in the exercise of it implanted, and in the doctrine of grace, so as to go forward in the ways of God, and follow hard after him, and so as not to fall and utterly perish; and which is true of all the saints; see

Ps 63:8. The words may be interpreted of Christ, who, as man and Mediator, as God's righteous servant, was upheld by him, so that he failed not, nor was he discouraged; the hand of the Lord was established with him, and his arm also strengthened him, Isa 42:1; this clause is not in 2Sa 22:36;



and thy gentleness hath made me great; David was very mean and low by his birth and occupation, and while persecuted by Saul; but God of his grace and goodness, of his sovereign good will and pleasure, raised him to an high estate, set him on the throne of Israel, and gave him honour among and above the kings of the earth; so Kimchi interprets the word for "gentleness" by "goodness" or "merciful" kindness; R. Jonah by "providence"; and R. Isaac explains it "thy help [and] good will"; and all shows that his greatness was not owing to his merits, but to the providential goodness of God; and his special grace and mercy in Christ Jesus made him still greater, even a child of God, an heir of God, a joint heir with Christ, a King and a Priest unto God; gave him a right unto and a meetness for a crown of glory, an everlasting kingdom, an eternal inheritance, as it does all the saints. The words may be rendered, "thy humility hath made me great" {p}; which may be understood either of God's humbling himself to look upon him in his low estate, and to raise him to such honour and dignity as he did, both in a temporal and spiritual sense; see Ps 113:6; or of the humility which he had in himself from God, as Aben Ezra interprets it; of which grace God is the author; it is a fruit of the Spirit; which he takes great notice of, gives more grace to them that have it, and exalts them, as he did David, who was mean and low in his own eyes. The Septuagint, and those versions which follow that, render it "thy discipline" or "correction": and so may design the gentleness and lenity of God in chastising his people, which is always in measure and in judgment, and for their good; whereby he increases grace in them, and trains them up for, and brings them to his kingdom and glory. The Chaldee paraphrase is, "by thy word thou hast increased me"; it may not be improperly interpreted of Christ, who was very low in his estate of humiliation on earth, but is now highly exalted, and crowned with glory and honour; who first endured great sufferings, and then entered into his glory.



{p} Ktwne "mansuetudo tua", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Gejerus; "thy meekness", Ainsworth; hwne "sumitur pro humilitate seu mansuetudine", Zeph. ii. 3. Gejerus.





Psalms 18:36



Ver. 36. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me,.... Which is opposed to those straitened circumstances in which the psalmist was, Ps 18:4; and is expressive of deliverance from his enemies, by whom he was surrounded, besieged, and shut up; see Ps 31:8; and of freedom of walking at large, without being straitened for room, or interrupted by others, Pr 4:12; and of safety in standing; all which is true in a spiritual sense of believers in Christ, who being delivered by him out of the hands of their enemies, serve the Lord without fear in righteousness and holiness; walk at liberty by faith in Christ, and up and down in the name of the Lord their God; and have their feet established upon the Rock of ages, that sure and large foundation, Christ, from which there is no danger of slipping and falling; as follows;



that my feet did not slip; so as to fall and perish; for sometimes the steps of the saints are well nigh slipped; yea, in some sense they stumble; slip, and fall, but not so as to be utterly cast down and perish eternally; the bottom on which they are is so broad, and the foundation so sure, that it is not possible they should. The words will bear to be applied to Christ, who was in very pressed and straitened circumstances, when beset with the bulls of Bashan, encompassed with dogs, and enclosed with the assembly of the wicked; and was in slippery places, when he sunk in deep mire where there is no standing,

Ps 22:12; but now being delivered from all this, he is brought, as in Ps 18:19, into a large place, into heaven, and made higher than the heavens, and is set down at the right hand of God, from whence he can never be moved.





Psalms 18:37



Ver. 37. I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them,.... Which may refer to David's pursuing the Amalekites, who overtook them and recovered all they had carried away, 1Sa 30:8; so Kimchi explains it;



neither did I turn again till they were consumed; for not a man escaped, save four hundred young men that rode on camels and fled,

Ps 18:17.





Psalms 18:38



Ver. 38. I have wounded them, that they were not able to rise,.... Which was not only true of the Amalekites, but of all with whom David engaged in war;



they are fallen under my feet; either dead, or become subject and tributaries to him; as the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites; see 2Sa 8:1. This, with Ps 18:37, may very well be accommodated to David's antitype, and be expressive of the entire victory he has obtained over all his and his people's enemies; he wounded the heads over many countries, Ps 110:6. Satan and his principalities and powers, whose head is broke, whose works are destroyed; yea, he himself, which had the power of death, so as not to be able to rise more against Christ, who has led captivity captive: he has also finished and made an end of sin, and overcome the world; nor did he turn back from this work he engaged in until he had made a complete conquest; and moreover he has likewise made his people more than conquerors, through him, over these same enemies; so that the words are also applicable to them.





Psalms 18:39



Ver. 39. For thou hast girded me with strength unto battle,.... See

Ps 18:32; that natural strength, courage and valour, which David had, were from the Lord; and so is the Spirit of power, love, and of a sound mind, which believers have; and likewise that strength which Christ, as man, had and used in his combat with the powers of darkness; see

Ps 80:17;



thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me; as the psalmist ascribes his strength, so he attributes his success to the Lord; who likewise subdues the sins of his people, and all other enemies of theirs, and who also makes the enemies of his Son his footstool, Ps 110:1.





Psalms 18:40



Ver. 40. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies,.... Either to slay them, or to trample or put a yoke upon them; or rather the sense is, thou hast made them to fly before me, to turn their necks or backs unto me, as the word is used in Jos 7:8; and it is expressive of an utter rout and vanquishing of them;



that I might destroy them that hate me; they not being able to face him and stand against him.





Psalms 18:41



Ver. 41. They cried, but [there was] none to save [them],.... It is in

2Sa 22:42; "they looked"; that is, they looked round about, here and there, to see if there were any near at hand to help and deliver them; they cried in their distress, and because of the anguish of their spirits, and for help and assistance, but in vain; they cried, as Jarchi thinks, to their idols, as Jonah's mariners cried everyone to their god; and, if so, it is no wonder there was none to save; for such are gods that cannot save: but it follows,



[even] unto the Lord, but he answered them not; as Saul, for instance,

1Sa 28:6; so God deals with wicked men, often by way of righteous retaliation; see Pr 1:28.





Psalms 18:42



Ver. 42. Then did I beat them small, as the dust before the wind,.... They being given up by God, and he not answering to their cries; the phrase denotes the utter ruin and destruction of them, and represents their case as desperate and irrecoverable; being, as it were, pounded to dust, and that driven away with the wind: just as the destruction of the four monarchies is signified by the iron, clay, brass, silver, and gold, being broken to pieces, and made like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, and carried away with the wind, so that no place is found for them any more, Da 2:35;



I did cast them out as the dirt of the streets; expressing indignation and contempt: in 2Sa 22:43; it is, "I did stamp them as the mire of the street, [and] did, spread them abroad"; which also denotes the low and miserable condition to which they were reduced, and the entire conquest made of them, and triumph over them; see Isa 10:6; compare with this 2Sa 12:31.





Psalms 18:43



Ver. 43. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people,.... In 2Sa 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;



[and] thou hast made me the head of the Heathen; which, if understood of David, refers to the Philistines, Syrians, Moabites, and Edomites, being subdued by him, and becoming tributaries to him, 2Sa 8:1. But it best agrees with Christ, who is the head of his chosen ones among the Gentiles; the political head, King, and Governor of them, the Heathen being given him for his inheritance and possession; and which appeared in the first ages of Christianity, when the Gospel was first preached to the Gentiles by the apostles; and still continues, and will be more clearly seen in the latter day, when the Lord shall be King over all the earth. Christ was made the head of the Heathen, by the appointment and designation of his Father; and, in fact, was so when multitudes from among the Gentiles were converted and brought to the obedience of him. In 2Sa 22:44 it is, "thou hast kept me [to be] head of the Heathen"; which does not seem so much to intend the designation and constitution of him as such, but the continuation of him; and denotes the stability of his government in the Gentile world, of which there will be no end;



a people [whom] I have not known shall serve me; by whom are meant the Gentiles, who were not the people of God, were without Christ and without God, and without hope in the world: not that there are any people that can be unknown to Christ, as he is the omniscient God; nor were these unknown to him, in such sense as reprobates, nominal professors, and foolish virgins, are said not to be known by him, Mt 7:23. For these people among the Heathen, who are or shall be brought to serve the Lord, are such who were the objects of his love and delight from everlasting; were in his Father's choice and in his own, and in the gift of his Father to him, and in the covenant of his grace; and therefore must be known by him; moreover, they are the purchase of his blood; and the sheep he knows, for whom he has laid down his life, and of whom he has such an exact and particular knowledge, that he can and does call them by name. But the sense is, these seemed not to be taken notice of and cared for by Christ; they were not owned and acknowledged by him as his people; the Jews were distinguished from all others; they only had the law, the word of God, and his ordinances; the Gentiles were suffered to walk in their own ways; they were neglected, and the times of their ignorance were overlooked and disregarded; so that they were treated as a people that were not known for many hundreds of years: but here it is predicted, that when the Gospel should come among them, and they be called by it, they should "serve" the Lord in righteousness and true holiness, with reverence and godly fear, from a principle of love, in his name and strength, and to his glory; see Isa 55:4.





Psalms 18:44



Ver. 44. As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me,.... That is, as soon as they should hear of Christ, through the preaching of the word, by which faith would come, they should readily and at once receive, embrace, and profess the Gospel, and yield a cheerful submission to the ordinances of it; and which has had its accomplishment among the Gentiles, Ac 28:28;



the strangers shall submit themselves unto me; meaning either the same persons as before; the Gentiles, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenant of promise, who should submit to Christ, to his Gospel, to his righteousness, and to the sceptre of his kingdom; though some interpret it of the degenerate Jews, "the sons of the stranger", as the words may be rendered; who, though called the children of God, and the children of the kingdom, yet were, as our Lord says, of their father the devil; and these, some of them, in a flattering and dissembling way, feigned themselves to be the followers and disciples of Christ: and, indeed, it looks as if hypocrites were intended, whether among Jews or Gentiles, or both, since the word here used, and rendered "submit", signifies to "lie"; and so it is in the metaphrase of Apollinarius; or, as in the margin of some Bibles, to "yield a feigned obedience"; see Ps 66:3. There seems to be an allusion to the conquest of nations, some of the inhabitants of which readily and heartily submit, but others only feignedly, and through fear, and the force of superior power they cannot withstand.





Psalms 18:45



Ver. 45. The strangers shall fade away,.... Like the leaves of trees in autumn, when they fall and perish; to which hypocrites and nominal professors are compared, Jude 1:12;



and be afraid out of their close places; their towers and fortified places, or the rocks and mountains to which they betake themselves for shelter; but, as not thinking themselves safe enough, through fear and dread, come out of them; see Mic 7:17. Some Jewish writers {q} interpret the words, they shall halt or be lame; that is, because of the chains put upon their feet: and so they are expressive of the conquest made of them. The word in the Arabic language signifies to "come out"; and may be so rendered here, and "come out": in 2Sa 22:46; it is, "they shall gird themselves", or "come out girt".



{q} R. Donesh apud Jarchi & Abendana not. in Miclol Yophi in loc. to Apollinar. Metaphras.





Psalms 18:46



Ver. 46. The Lord liveth, and blessed [be] my Rock,.... This, with what follows, is the concluding part of the psalm, which ends with a celebration of the Divine Being, and with thankfulness for mercies received from him. The psalmist praises him on account of what he is in himself, what he was to him, and had done for him: in himself he is the living God, "the Lord liveth": he has life in himself, essentially, originally, and independently; and is the fountain and author of life to all others, even to all creatures that have life, whether rational or irrational: he is the giver of natural life to all men, and the supporter of it; and of spiritual and eternal life to his chosen people; and he continues to live, and ever will; wherefore the saints may conclude that their life in every sense is safe and secure. Some render the phrase, by way of wish, "may the Lord live" {r}; but then it must be understood only that he would show himself more abundantly to be the living God, and that he might be acknowledged so by others. The next clauses are by way of petition; "and blessed be my Rock"; on which he was built and established, to which he betook himself in times of distress, which was his place of defence, and from whence he had a supply; wherefore he desires he might be blessed, not by invoking or conferring a blessing on him, neither of which can be; there being none greater than he to call upon, and he being "Elshaddai", God all sufficient, and in no need of any; but by declaring his blessedness, by celebrating his greatness and goodness, and by ascribing blessing and honour and glory to him;



and let the God of my salvation be exalted; God was the God of his salvation in a temporal sense, saving him daily from his many enemies; and in a spiritual sense, being the contriver, author, and applier of it to him; on which account he would have him be exalted both by himself, and in the high praises of his people; ascribing the whole of salvation to him, and giving him all the glory of it. Some render the words, "the God of my salvation is high" {s}; he is the most high God, the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, and is above all others. In 2Sa 22:47 the words are read, "and exalted be the God of the Rock of my salvation".



{r} hwhy yx "vivat Jehova", Musculus, Tigurine version, Piscator, Muis; so some in Vatablus, Ainsworth. {s} Mwry "excelsus est", Gejerus.





Psalms 18:47



Ver. 47. [It is] God that avengeth me,.... Or "gives vengeance unto me", or "for me" {t}: vengeance only belongs to God, and he repays it for and in behalf of his people. Private revenge is not to be exercised by any; public vengeance on delinquents may be exercised by the civil magistrate, to whom God gives power and authority to exercise it,

Ro 13:4; as he did to David, as king of Israel; though the phrase rather seems to design the victories which he obtained over his enemies, which were punishments to them, vengeances inflicted on them; and owing to God; so the acceptable year of the Messiah's coming, and the time of his people redeemed by him, is called the day of vengeance of our God, both on his and their enemies, Isa 61:2;



and subdueth the people under me; the Edomites, Moabites, and others, as in 2Sa 8:1, or the Gentiles under Christ;

See Gill on "Ps 18:39";



{t} yl twmqn Ntwnh "qui dat ultiones mihi", Pagninus, Gejerus; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Musculus, Cocceius, Michaelis.





Psalms 18:48



Ver. 48. He delivereth me from mine enemies,.... From Saul and his men, from Ishbosheth and Abner, from Absalom, and the conspirators with him; so all believers are delivered out of the hands of their enemies by Christ, as that they can serve the Lord without fear; and so Christ himself is delivered from all his enemies, being raised from the dead, and set at the right hand of God, where he must reign till all enemies are put under his feet;



yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me; David was lifted up from a low and mean estate, and placed on the throne of Israel, above all those that rose up against him, and sought to destroy him; and the saints are set upon their high places in Christ, where they are out of the reach of their enemies to do them any harm; and Christ, he is highly exalted at the right hand of God, above all principality and power, might and dominion, and every name that is named in this world;



thou hast delivered me from the violent man; either from Saul, from whom David was delivered; or from Satan the enemy, the son of wickedness, who shall no more exact upon and afflict the Messiah,

Ps 89:21. The Chaldee paraphrase says, from Gog; as the saints will be delivered from antichrist, the man of sin, and son of perdition, who will be destroyed with the breath of Christ's mouth.





Psalms 18:49



Ver. 49. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the Heathen,.... These words are cited by the apostle, in Ro 15:9; and applied to the conversion of the Gentiles, which is manifestly prophesied of in some preceding verses of this psalm: there it is rendered, "I will confess to thee among the Gentiles"; and designs not confession of sin, nor profession of the truth, but an acknowledgment of unworthiness, joined with thankfulness for mercies received; done in the most public manner, not only in the congregation of the righteous, but before the Heathen conquered by him; owning before them all, that the victories he had obtained over them were not to be ascribed to his arm and sword, but to the power of the Lord;



and sing praises unto thy name; which is comely for the saints to do, and which Jesus Christ himself did, in the great congregation of his disciples, and among the Gentiles, by his apostles, and others, on the account of the conversion of them.





Psalms 18:50



Ver. 50. Great deliverance giveth he to his king,.... Not that is king over him; for he is King of kings and Lord of lords; but that is made king by him, as David was; who did not usurp the throne, but was anointed king by the appointment of God, and was placed by him upon the throne; to whom he gave great deliverance from his enemies, or "magnified salvations" to him; which were great in kind, and many in number; and as Christ is, whom God has set as his King on his holy hill of Sion, against whom the Heathen raged, and kings and princes set themselves; but he is delivered from them all, and saved from the power of death and the grave, and ever lives to reign over, protect, and defend his people; in 2Sa 22:51, it is, he is "the tower of salvation for his king", with which compare Pr 18:10;



and showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore; which may be understood either of David literally, who was the Lord's anointed, and to whom God showed mercy in various instances; and then by his seed is meant the Messiah, who was of his seed according to the flesh; or of the Messiah, whose name signifies Anointed; and who is often called David, Eze 34:23 Ho 3:5; and so some of the Jewish doctors {u} from this verse prove that the name of the Messiah is David: and by his seed are meant his spiritual seed; all the elect of God, who are given him as his children, to whom he stands in the relation of the everlasting Father: and as mercy is kept with him for evermore, Ps 89:28; so it is shown to them in regeneration, in the forgiveness of their sins, and in their everlasting salvation.



{u} Echa Rabbati, fol. 50. 2.

 

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