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
The necks of mine enemies - Thou hast made me a complete conqueror. Treading on the neck of an enemy was the triumph of the conqueror, and the utmost disgrace of the vanquished. read more
Verse 37 The point on which David insists so much is, that of showing from the effect or issue, that all his victories were to be traced to the favor of God; and from this it follows that his cause was good and just. God, no doubt, sometimes grants successes even to the ungodly and wicked; but he at length shows by the issue, that he was all the while opposed to them and their enemy. It is his servants alone who experience such tokens of his favor as he shewed towards David, and he intends by... read more
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
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
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
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 18:29-50
In these verses, I. David looks back, with thankfulness, upon the great things which God had done for him. He had not only wrought deliverance for him, but had given him victory and success, and made him triumph over those who thought to triumph over him. When we set ourselves to praise God for one mercy we must be led by that to observe the many more with which we have been compassed about, and followed, all our days. Many things had contributed to David's advancement, and he owns the hand of... read more