Psalm 18

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:10

Verse 10 10.He rode also upon a cherub. The Psalmist having exhibited to us a sign of the wrath of God in the clouds, and in the darkening of the air, representing him as if he breathed out smoke, (401) from his nostrils, and descended with a threatening countenance, to afflict men by the dreadful weight of his power; and having also represented lightnings and thunderbolts as flaming fire proceeding from his mouths — he now introduces him as riding upon the winds and tempests, to take a survey... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:12

Verse 12 12.At the brightness, etc. The Psalmist again returns to the lightnings which, by dividing and as it were cleaving the clouds, lay open the heaven; and, therefore, he says, that the clouds of God (that is to say, those which he had set before him, in token of his anger, for the purpose of depriving men of the enjoyment of the light of his countenance) passed away at the brightness which was before him These sudden changes affect us with a much more lively sense of the power and agency... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:13

Verse 13 13.Jehovah thundered. David here repeats the same thing in different words, declaring that God thundered from heaven; and he calls the thunder the yoke of God, that we may not suppose it is produced merely by chance or by natural causes, independent of the appointment and will of God. Philosophers, it is true, are well acquainted with the intermediate or secondary causes, from which the thunder proceeds, namely, that when the cold and humid vapours obstruct the dry and hot exhalations... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:15

Verse 15 15.And the sources of the waters were seen. In this verse, David doubtless alludes to the miracle which was wrought when the chosen tribes passed through the Red Sea. I have before declared the purpose for which he does this. As all the special benefits which God in old time conferred upon any of the children of Abraham as individuals, were so many testimonies by which he recalled to their remembrance the covenant which he had once entered into with the whole people, to assure them... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:16

Verse 16 16.He sent down from above. Here there is briefly shown the drift of the sublime and magnificent narrative which has now passed under our review, namely, to teach us that David at length emerged from the profound abyss of his troubles, neither by his own skill, nor by the aid of men, but that he was drawn out of them by the hand of God. When God defends and preserves us wonderfully and by extraordinary means, he is said in Scripture language to send down succor from above; and this... read more

John Calvin

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

Verse 18 18.They had prevented me in the day of my calamity. (409) The Psalmist here confirms in different words the preceding sentence, namely, that he had been sustained by the aid of God, when there was no way of escaping by the power of man. He tells us how he had been besieged on all sides, and that not by an ordinary siege, inasmuch as his enemies, in persecuting him, always molested him most in the time of his calamity. From this circumstance it is the more evident that he had obtained... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:20

Verse 20 20.Jehovah rewarded me. David might seem at first sight to contradict himself; for, while a little before he declared that all the blessings which he possessed were to be traced to the good pleasure of God, he now boasts that God rendered to him a just recompense. But if we remember for what purpose he connects these commendations of his own integrity with the good pleasure of God, it will be easy to reconcile these apparently conflicting statements. He has before declared that God was... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:21

Verse 21 21.For I have kept the ways of Jehovah. He had spoken in the preceding verse of the cleanness of his hands, but finding that men judged of him perversely, and were very active in spreading evil reports concerning him, (414) he affirms that he had kept the ways of the Lord, which is equivalent to his appealing the matter to the judgment-seat of God. Hypocrites, it is true, are accustomed confidently to appeal to God in the same way; yea, there is nothing which they are more forward in... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:22

Verse 22 22.For all his judgments were before me. He now shows how he came to possess that unbending rectitude of character, by which he was enabled to act uprightly amidst so many and so grievous temptations, namely, because he always applied his mind to the study of the law of God. As Satan is daily making new assaults upon us, it is necessary for us to have recourse to arms, and it is meditation upon the Divine Law which furnishes us with armor to resist. Whoever, therefore, would desire to... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:23

Verse 23 23.I was also upright with him. All the verbs in this verse are put by David in the future tense, I will be upright, etc. because he does not boast of one act only, or of a good work performed by fits and starts, but of steady perseverance in an upright course. What I have said before, namely, that David takes God for his judge, as he saw that he was wrongfully and unrighteously condemned by men, appears still more clearly from what he here says, “I have been upright with him.” The... read more

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:10

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:12

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:13

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:15

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:16

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

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:20

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:21

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:22

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:23

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