18:1ffThis psalm is almost a duplicate of 2 Samuel 22. It may have been written toward the end of David’s life when there was peace. God is praised for his glorious works and blessings through the years..
Life Application Study BiblePsalmsChapter 18
Psalm 18
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 858, 859, 860, 861
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
18Psalm 18
Author: David
1For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. He sang this song to the LORDon the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang:1T love you, LORD;you are my strength.
2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.He is my shield, the power that saves me,and my place of safety.
3I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise,and he saved me from my enemies.
4The ropes of death entangled me;floods of destruction swept over me.
5The grave* wrapped its ropes around me;death laid a trap in my path.
6But in my distress I cried out to the LORD;yes, I prayed to my God for help.He heard me from his sanctuary;my cry to him reached his ears.
7Then the earth quaked and trembled.The foundations of the mountains shook;they quaked because of his anger.
8Smoke poured from his nostrils;fierce flames leaped from his mouth.Glowing coals blazed forth from him.
9He opened the heavens and came down;dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.
10Mounted on a mighty angelic being,* he flew,soaring on the wings of the wind.
1 He shrouded himself in darkness,veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.
12Thick clouds shielded the brightness around himand rained down hail and burning coals.*
13The LORD thundered from heaven;the voice of the Most High resoundedamid the hail and burning coals.
14He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;his lightning flashed, and they were greatly confused.
15Then at your command, O LORD,at the blast of your breath,the bottom of the sea could be seen,and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.
16He reached down from heaven and rescued me;he drew me out of deep waters.
17He rescued me from my powerful enemies,from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
18They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,but the LORD supported me.
19He led me toa place of safety;he rescued me because he delights in me.
20The LORD rewarded me for doing right;he restored me because of my innocence.
21For I have kept the ways of the LORD;Thave not turned from my God to follow evil.
22T have followed all his regulations;Ihave never abandoned his decrees.
23Tam blameless before God;Ihave kept myseif from sin.
24The LORD rewarded me for doing right.He has seen my innocence.
25To the faithful you show yourself faithful;to those with integrity you show integrity.
26To the pure you show yourself pure,but to the wicked you show yourself hostile.
27You rescue the humble,but you humiliate the proud.
28You light a lamp for me.The LORD, my God, lights up my darkness.
29Tn your strength I can crush an army,with my God I can scale any wall.
30God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true.; He isa shield for all who look to him for protection.
31For who is God except the LORD?Who but our God is a solid rock?
32God arms me with strength,and he makes my way perfect.
33He makes me as surefooted as a deer,enabling me to stand on mountain heights.
34He trains my hands for battle;he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.
35You have given me your shield of victory.Your right hand supports me;your help has made me great.
36You have made a wide path for my feetto keep them from slipping.
37I chased my enemies and caught them;I did not stop until they were conquered.
38T struck them down so they could not get up;they fell beneath my feet.
39You have armed me with strength for the battle;you have subdued my enemies under my feet.
40You placed my foot on their necks.Ihave destroyed all who hated me.
41They called for help, but no one came to their rescue.They even cried to the LORD, but he refused to answer.
42I ground them as fine as dust in the wind.I swept them into the gutter like dirt.
43You gave me victory over my accusers.You appointed me ruler over nations;people I don’t even know now serve me.
44As soon as they hear of me, they submit;foreign nations cringe before me.
45They all lose their courageand come trembling from their strongholds.
46The LORD lives! Praise to my Rock!May the God of my salvation be exalted!
47He is the God who pays back those who harm me;he subdues the nations under me48 and rescues me from my enemies.You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies;you save me from violent opponents.
49For this, O LORD, I will praise you among the nations;I will sing praises to your name.
50You give great victories to your king;you show unfailing love to your anointed,to David and all his descendants forever.
19 For the choir director: A psalm of David.
Textual footnotes
- 18:5 Hebrew Sheol.
- 18:10 Hebrew a cherub.
- 18:12 Or and lightning bolts; also in 18:13.
Life Application Notes 9 notes
18:2,3God's protection of his people is limitless and can take many forms. David characterized God’s care with five military symbols. God is like (1) a rock that can’t be moved by any who would harm us, (2) a fortress or place of safety where the enemy can’t follow, (3) a shield that comes between us and harm, (4) power that saves, a symbo} of might that can save us, (5) a place of safety high above our enemies. If you need protection, look to God.
18:10One of the functions of this “mighty angelic being” was to serve as a guardian. Angels guarded the entrances to both the tree of life (Genesis 3:24) and the Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:31-33). Two angels of hammered gold were part of the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:18-22). The living beings carrying God's throne in Ezekiel 1 may have been these mighty angels.
18:13The “Most High” was an important designation for David to make. Pagan idol worship was deeply rooted in the land, and each region had its own deity. But these images of wood and stone were powerless. David was placing the LORD alone ina superior category: He is by far the Most High.
18:16Do your troubles, like “deep waters,” threaten to drown you? David, helpless and weak, knew that God alone had rescued him from his enemies when he was defenseless. When you wish that God would quickly rescue you from your troubles, remember that he can either deliver you or be your support as you go through them (18:18). Either way, his protection is best for you. When
18:30Some people think that belief in God is a crutch for weak people who cannot make it on their own, God is indeed a shield to protect us when we are too weak to face certain trials by ourselves, but he does not want us to remain weak, He strengthens, protects, and guides us in order to send us back into an evil world to fight for him. Then he continues to work with us because the strongest person on earth is infinitely weaker than God and needs his help. David was not a coward, he was a mighty warrior who, even with all his armies and weapons, knew that only God could ultimately protect and save him.
18:32-34God doesn’t promise to eliminate chailenges; instead, he promises to give us strength to meet those challenges. If he gave us no rough roads to walk, no mountains to climb, and no battles to fight, we would not grow. He does not leave us alone with our challenges, however. Instead, he stands beside us, teaches us, and strengthens us to face them.
18:40-42David was a merciful man. He spared the lives of Saul (1 Samuel 24:1-8), Nabat (1 Samuel 25:21-35), and Shimei (2 Samuel 16:5-12) and showed great kindness to Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9). In asking God to destroy his enemies, David was simply asking him to give the wicked the punishment they deserved.
18:43-45David's great power had become legendary. God had given him victory in every battle. The book of 2 Samuel records victories over the Jebusites (5:6-10), the Philistines (5:17-25; 8:1), Hadadezer of Zobah (8:3, 4), the Arameans (8:5, 6; 10), the Edomites (8:13, 14), and the Ammonites (12:26-31). In addition, the king of Tyre had sent supplies and workmen to help David build his palace (5:11). But David did not attribute his victories to himself. He fully realized that the purpose of his position was to bless God’s people (1 Chronicles 14:2).
Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages
Study feature · page 859
you feel as though you're drowning in troubles, ask God to help you, hold you steady, and protect you. In his care, you are never helpless.
Study feature · page 861
God’s plan of salvation. God's people must explain to others how they can have a relationship with God. Although most people believe in a Creator because of the evidence of nature around them, they need to know about his love, mercy, and grace. What are you doing to take God's message to the world? 19:7-11 When we think of instructions, decrees, and commandments, we often think of rules that keep us from having fun. But here we see the opposite: God’s laws revive us, make us wise, bring joy to the heart, give insight, warn us, and reward us. God's laws are guidelines and lights for our path, rather than chains on our hands and feet. They point at danger to warn us, and then point at success to guide us. 19:12, 13 Many Christians are plagued by guift. They worry that they may have committed a sin unknowingly, done something good with selfish intentions, failed to put their whole heart into a task, or neglected what they should have done. Guilt can play an important role in bringing us to Christ and in keeping us behaving properly, but it should not cripple us or make us fearful. God fully and completely forgives us—even for those sins we do unknowingly.