Psalm 18:20-24

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 18:1-50

The authorship of David is generally allowed, and indeed has been questioned only by three recent critics—Olshausen, Von Lengerke, and Professor Cheyne. The period at which it was written is declared in the title to be "when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul"—a date which is quite in accord with the contents of the poem. For while it celebrates his deliverance from perils of various kinds—from a "strong enemy" ( Psalms 18:17 ), from a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 18:1-50

The conqueror's song of praise and hope. It is not our purpose, nor is it our province, in this section of the 'Pulpit Commentary,' to write homilies on specific texts; but rather to deal with this psalm (as we have done with others) as a whole —for it is a unity—and to show how grand a basis it presents for the pulpit exposition of the provisions of "the everlasting covenant" to which allusion is made in the last verse of the psalm. The student and expositor might with advantage refer... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 18:1-50

A retrospect of life. The sailor tells of the perils of the sea; the traveller recounts the varied incidents of his career; and the soldier who has passed through battles and sieges can speak of hairbreadth escapes and moving accidents by flood and field. So it is with human life. We have the power of looking back; we can in imagination revive the past, and as scene after scene rises before us, our heart is thrilled with various emotions. And what we have experienced and recalled, we can... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 18:1-50

The retrospect of a life: a sermon for the close of the year. "In this magnificent hymn the royal poet sketches in a few grand outlines the history of his life. By God's help he had subdued every enemy, and now, in middle life, looking back with devout thankfulness on the past, he sings this great song of praise to the God of his life." Divisions of the psalm: 1 . The introduction, setting forth all that Jehovah is to David ( Psalms 18:1-3 ). 2 . The record of David's sufferings... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 18:20

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness . David has spoken of his "righteousness" already in Psalms 7:8 . We must not suppose him to mean absolute blamelessness, any more than Job means such blamelessness by his "integrity" ( Job 27:5 ; Job 31:6 ). He means honesty of purpose, the sincere endeavour to do right, such conduct as brings about "the answer of a good conscience before God" ( 1 Peter 3:21 ). According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me (comp.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 18:21

For I have kept the ways of the Lord. Compare the statement of the young man whom Jesus "looked upon and loved' ( Mark 10:21 ), "All these commandments have I observed from my youth" ( Psalms 18:20 ). And have not wickedly departed from my God. It is observed that the word translated by "departed wickedly" implies "wilful and persistent wickedness" ('Speaker's Commentary')—"an entire alienation from God" (Calvin). Not even in the humblest of the penitential psalms, when David is... read more

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