Psalm 18

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:49

WilI I give thanks unto thee - among the heathen - Quoted by St. Paul, Romans 15:9 , to prove that the calling of the Gentiles was predicted, and that what then took place was the fulfillment of that prediction. But there is a sense in which it applies particularly to David, well observed by Theodoret: "We see," says he, "evidently the fulfillment of this prophecy; for even to the present day David praises the Lord among the Gentiles by the mouth of true believers; seeing there is not a... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:50

Great deliverance giveth he to his king - David was a king of God's appointment, and was peculiarly favored by him. Literally, He is magnifying the salvations of his king. He not only delivers, but follows up those deliverances with innumerable blessings. Showeth mercy - to David - I have no claim upon his bounty. I deserve nothing from him, but he continues to show mercy. To his seed - His posterity. So the words זרע zera and σπερμα , in the Old and New Testament, should be... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:1

Verse 1 1.And he said, etc. I will not stop to examine too minutely the syllables, or the few words, in which this psalm differs from the song which is recorded in the twenty-second chapter of the Second Book of Samuel. When, however, we meet with any important difference, we shall advert to it in the proper place; and we find one in the remarkable sentence with which this psalm commences, I will love thee affectionately, O Jehovah, my strength, which is omitted in the song in Samuel. As the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:2

Verse 2 2.Jehovah is my rock, etc. When David thus heaps together many titles by which to honor God, it is no useless or unnecessary accumulation of words. We know how difficult it is for men to keep their minds and hearts stayed in God. They either imagine that it is not enough to have God for them, and, consequently, are always seeking after support and succor elsewhere, or, at the first temptation which assails them, fall from the confidence which they placed in him. David, therefore, by... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:3

Verse 3 3.I will call upon the praised Jehovah. Calling upon God, as has been observed elsewhere, frequently comprehends the whole of his service; but as the effect or fruit of prayer is particularly mentioned in what follows, this phrase in the passage before us, I have no doubt, signifies to have recourse to God for protection, and to ask by prayer deliverance from him. David having said in the second verse, that he trusted in God, now subjoins this as an evidence of his trust; for every one... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:4

Verse 4 4.The cords (394) of death had compassed me about. David now begins to recount the undoubted and illustrious proofs by which he had experienced that the hand of God is sufficiently strong and powerful to repel all the dangers and calamities with which he may be assailed. And we need not wonder that those things which might have been described more simply, and in an unadorned style, are clothed in poetical forms of expression, and set forth with all the elegancies and ornaments of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:5

Verse 5 We shall now make a few observations with respect to the words. The Hebrew word חבלי, chebley, means cords or sorrows, or any deadly evil, (395) which consumes a man’s health and strength, and which tends to his destruction. That the psalm may correspond with the song recorded in 2nd Samuel, formerly referred to, I do not disapprove of this word being here taken for contrition, because the phrase there employed is משברי מות,mishberey maveth, (396) and the noun משברי, mishberey, is... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:6

Verse 6 6.In my distress, etc. It was a very evident proof of uncommon faith in David, when, being almost plunged into the gulf of death, he lifted up his heart to heaven by prayer. Let us therefore learn, that such an example is set before our eyes, that no calamities, however great and oppressive, may hinder us from praying, or create an aversion to it. It was prayer which brought to David the fruits or wonderful effects of which he speaks a little after, and from this it appears still more... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:7

Verse 7 7.Then the earth shook. David, convinced that the aid of God, which he had experienced, was of such a character, that it was impossible for him to extol it sufficiently and as it deserved, sets forth an image of it in the sky and the earth, as if he had said, It has been as visible as the changes which give different appearances to the sky and the earth. If natural things always flowed in an even and uniform course, the power of God would not be so perceptible. But when he changes the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:8

Verse 8 8.There went up a smoke by [or out of] his nostrils, etc The Hebrew word אף,aph, properly signifies the nose, or the nostrils. But as it is sometimes taken metaphorically for wrath, some translate it thus, There went up a smoke in his wrath, which, in my opinion, is not at all appropriate. David compares the mists and vapours which darken the air to the thick smoke which a man sends forth from his nostrils when he is angry. And when God, by his very breath, covers the heaven with... read more

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:49

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:50

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:1

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:2

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:3

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:4

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:5

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:6

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:7

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:8

Verse of the Day

Daily Devotional

Group of Brands