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, 1 Samuel 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, Psalm 18:17 . read more
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 2 Samuel 8:1 . This, with Psalm 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... read more
For thou hast girded me with strength unto battle ,.... See Psalm 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 Psalm 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... read more
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 Joshua 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. read more
They cried, but there was none to save them ,.... It is in 2 Samuel 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... read more
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... read more
Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people ,.... In 2 Samuel 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,... read more
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, Acts 28:28 ; the strangers shall submit themselves unto me ; meaning either the same persons as before; the Gentiles, who were aliens from... read more
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, Judges 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 Micah 7:17 . Some Jewish writers F17 R. Donesh apud Jarchi & Abendana... read more
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John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 18:36
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me ,.... Which is opposed to those straitened circumstances in which the psalmist was, Psalm 18:4 ; and is expressive of deliverance from his enemies, by whom he was surrounded, besieged, and shut up; see Psalm 31:8 ; and of freedom of walking at large, without being straitened for room, or interrupted by others, Proverbs 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... read more