Salmi 18:2 Commento

This psalm we met with before, in the history of David's life, 2 Sa. 22. That was the first edition of it; here we have it revived, altered a little, and fitted for the service of the church. It is David's thanksgiving for the many deliverances God had wrought for him; these he desired always to preserve fresh in his own memory and to diffuse and entail the knowledge of them. It is an admirable composition. The poetry is very fine, the images are bold, the expressions lofty, and every word is proper and significant; but the piety far exceeds the poetry. Holy faith, and love, and joy, and praise, and hope, are here lively, active, and upon the wing. I. He triumphs in God (Psa 18:1-3). II. He magnifies the deliverances God had wrought for him (v. 4-19). III. He takes the comfort of his integrity, which God had thereby cleared up (Psa 18:20-28). IV. He gives to God the glory of all his achievements (Psa 18:29-42). V. He encourages himself with the expectation of what God would further do for him and his (Psa 18:43-50). To the chief musician, A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 18 To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. This is the same with that in Sa2 22:1, with some variations, omissions, and alterations: the servant of the Lord; not only by creation, nor merely by regeneration, but by office, as king of Israel, being put into it by the Lord, and acting in it in submission and obedience to him; just as the apostles under the New Testament, on account of their office, so style themselves in their epistles: who spake unto the Lord the words of this song; that is, who delivered and sung this song in so many express words, in public, before all the congregation of Israel, to the honour and glory of God: in the day [that] the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, Not that this psalm was composed and sung the selfsame day that David was delivered from Saul, and set upon the throne; for it seems to have been written in his old age, at the close of his days; for immediately after it, in the second book of Samuel, it follows, "now these be the last words of David", Sa2 23:1, but the sense is, that whereas David had many enemies, and particularly Saul, who was his greatest enemy, the Lord delivered him from them all, and especially from him, from him first, and then from all the rest; which when he reflected upon in his last days, he sat down and wrote this psalm, and then sung it in public, having delivered it into the hands of the chief musician for that purpose. There are two passages cited out of it in the New Testament, and applied to Christ; Psa 18:2, in Heb 2:13, and Psa 18:49 in Rom 15:9; and there are many things in it that very well agree with him; he is eminently the "servant" of the Lord as Mediator; he was encompassed with the snares and sorrows of death and hell, and with the floods of ungodly men, when in the garden and on the cross God was his helper and deliverer, as man; and he was victorious over all enemies, sin, Satan, the world, death and hell; as the subject of this psalm is all along represented: and to Christ it does most properly belong to be the head of the Heathen, whose voluntary subjects the Gentiles are said to be, Psa 18:43; and which is expressed in much the same language as the like things are in Isa 55:4; which is a clear and undoubted prophecy of the Messiah; to which may be added, that the Lord's Anointed, the King Messiah, and who is also called David, is expressly mentioned in Psa 18:50; and which is applied to the Messiah by the Jews (q) as Psa 18:32 is paraphrased of him by the Targum on it; and he said; the following words: (q) Echa Rabbati, fol. 50. 2. & Midrash Tillim in Tzeror Hammor, fol. 47. 3.

I will call upon the Lord,.... In prayer, for fresh mercies, and further appearances of himself, and discoveries of his grace and favour; who is worthy to be praised; for the perfections of his nature, the works of his hands, his providential goodness, and more especially for his covenant grace and blessings in Christ. The Targum is, "in praise, or with an hymn, I pray before the Lord;'' agreeably to the rule the apostle gives, Phi 4:6; and this prayer was a prayer of faith, as follows; so shall I be saved from mine enemies: which was founded upon past experience of God's goodness to him in distress, when he called upon him, as the next words show.

Christ is the rock. When David built his own house on the rock, he was like the wise man. … In such a way, he is made superior to all his enemies. He becomes faithful, not by hope or by training but by the help of God, established in all types of defenses and in the horn of salvation.

Unless one has a horn with which to rout his enemies, he is not worthy to be offered to God. That is why the Lord is described as a horn to those who believe in him; and it was with the horns of the cross that he routed his enemies. On the cross he confounded the devil and his entire army. To be sure, Christ was crucified in his body, but on the cross, it was he who was crucifying there the devils. It was not a cross; it was a symbol of triumph, a banner of victory. His whole purpose in mounting the cross was to lift us up from earth. I think the cross of the Savior was the ladder that Jacob saw. On that ladder, angels were descending and ascending; on that ladder, that is, the cross, the Jews were descending and the Gentiles ascending.… Others may have many horns; I have only one. “But as for me, God forbid that I shall glory save in the cross of the Lord, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.”

"O Lord, My stay, and My refuge, and My deliverer" [Psalm 18:2]. O Lord, who hast stayed Me, because I sought refuge with You: and I sought refuge, because You have delivered Me. "My God is My helper; and I will hope in Him." My God, who hast first afforded me the help of Your call, that I might be able to hope in You. "My defender, and the horn of My salvation, and My redeemer." My defender, because I have not leant upon Myself, lifting up as it were the horn of pride against You; but have found You a horn indeed, that is, the sure height of salvation: and that I might find it, You redeemed Me.

"My God." Here he sets forth the affection of hope. And there is a difference between hope and love, because love is a unitive power -- for we love something insofar as we consider it our own; and therefore he says that God is his strength: Is. 12: "The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he has become my salvation." Hope implies defense from without; and God does both. Or thus: the object of hope is a good that is arduous, future, and possible to attain. Just as one loves on account of a good already given, so one hopes for a future good from the confidence conceived from love and from similar experiences, inasmuch as he believes he will receive similar things in the future. And therefore here he does three things. First he hopes for the refuge and firmament that consists in good things. Second he asks for protection against evils that have already occurred. He says therefore first, "My God, my helper": Ps. 93: "Unless the Lord had helped me, my soul would soon have dwelt in hell," etc. "And I will hope in him": Sir. 2: "You who fear the Lord, hope in him, and mercy shall come to you with delight." Second, we hope to be freed from evils to which we have not yet been subjected, because he defends us. First, lest we be harmed. Second, that we may overcome them, and for the victory he crowns us. As to the first he says, "my protector." Jerome has "shield," which protects so that one cannot be pierced by evils; so God does: Ps. 63: "You have protected me, O God, from the assembly of the malignant." As to the second he says, "and the horn of my salvation," because animals strike with their horn; so the power of God resists against adversaries, because he fights to overcome temporal and spiritual evils: Ps. 43: "In you we shall gore our enemies with the horn, and in your name we shall despise those who rise up against us." 1 Sam. 2: "My heart has rejoiced in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God," that is, my power. As to the third, "and my upholder." When someone conquers, he is received in triumph; so also God does: Jn. 14: "I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you also may be." Ps. 72: "You have received me with glory." A similar passage is found in 2 Sam. 22. Next he sets forth the consequent effect, namely praise. Praise is speech that elucidates the greatness of power, or at least follows from this. First therefore he sets forth the praise. Second, its efficacy. He says therefore, "Praising, I will call upon the Lord"; as if to say: from this I do not have praise of my own, but I seek yours, because you have done it. Is. 63: "I will remember the mercies of the Lord, the praise of the Lord for all the things he has bestowed upon me." "And I will call upon" you securely and with efficacy, because thus calling, "I shall be saved from my enemies": Joel 2: "Everyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

In the preceding Psalm the Psalmist prayed to be delivered from his enemies; here, having been delivered, he gives thanks. And first he gives thanks for the benefit of deliverance. Second, he breaks forth into praise of the deliverer, at "the heavens declare the glory of God." The title: "Unto the end, for the servant of the Lord, David. And he spoke the words of this canticle on the day the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul." And this Psalm is found word for word in 2 Sam. 22. The historical context is that in 1 Sam. 19 we read how Saul sought to kill him; and after Saul's death, in 2 Sam. 2, Abner and his son again fought against him. Finally David had victory over them. And so he composed this Psalm. And Jerome says the same. And because Christ is signified through David, all these things can be referred to Christ, either according to the head or according to the body, namely the Church, because she was delivered from Saul, that is, from death -- for "Saul" is interpreted as "petition," because he was given at the people's request, or rather extorted. Hence he was not given to endure permanently. So Christ first endures death, and afterward remains at rest, according to the Gloss. He is also delivered from all enemies, Jews and demons, and as regards his body, that is, the Church. Now this part is divided into three sections. In the first he commemorates in general the benefit of deliverance. In the second he shows the power of the deliverer, at "it was moved." In the third, the manner of deliverance, at "he sent from on high," etc. Regarding the first he does two things. First he commemorates the affection he conceived from the aforesaid benefit. Second he shows the effect following from it, at "praising." A twofold affection arose in him from this benefit: namely love and hope. And first he sets forth the first; second, the second, at "my God." First he sets forth the affection of love toward God. Second, the reason for it, at "my strength." He says therefore: O Lord who have delivered me, I will always love you, because I will remain in you: Jn. 15: "Abide in love." Rom. 8: "I am certain that neither life nor death, nor angels, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ." For to love with the will belongs to rational beings; to love in general is common to all. Judg. 5: "Let those who love you shine as the sun in its rising." Now the reason for loving someone is on account of one's own good. Hence when someone considers his good to depend on another, this is the reason why he loves him. David considered his entire good to be from God; hence he says, "I will love you, for you are my strength." Strength has the power to fortify the soul, lest one retreat from the good on account of threatening difficulties. But how God is his strength, he shows. A person needs strength for two things. First in good things, that he may be established in them; and therefore he says, "the Lord is my firmament," that is, my firm foundation: 2 Sam. 22: "The Lord is my rock." Mt. 7: "Everyone who hears my words and does them is like a man building his house upon rock." Also in evil things, and this for two purposes. In one way, before evil comes, so that he may flee; hence he says, "my refuge": Prov. 14: "The name of the Lord is a most strong tower." Ps. 103: "The rock is a refuge for hedgehogs." In another way, after evils have come, so that he may be delivered; hence he says, "and my deliverer."

"The servant of the LORD," which in the Hebrew precedes "David," is a significant part of the title (and not a mere epithet of David), denoting the inspired character of the song, as the production of one entrusted with the execution of God's will. He was not favored by God because he served Him, but served Him because selected and appointed by God in His sovereign mercy. After a general expression of praise and confidence in God for the future, David gives a sublimely poetical description of God's deliverance, which he characterizes as an illustration of God's justice to the innocent and His righteous government. His own prowess and success are celebrated as the results of divine aid, and, confident of its continuance, he closes in terms of triumphant praise. 2Sa. 22:1-51 is a copy of this Psalm, with a few unimportant variations recorded there as a part of the history, and repeated here as part of a collection designed for permanent use. (Psa. 18:1-50) I will love thee--with most tender affection.

The various terms used describe God as an object of the most implicit and reliable trust. rock--literally, "a cleft rock," for concealment. strength--a firm, immovable rock. horn of my salvation--The horn, as the means of attack or defense of some of the strongest animals, is a frequent emblem of power or strength efficiently exercised (compare Deu 33:17; Luk 1:69). tower--literally, "high place," beyond reach of danger.