Salmi 18:28 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.

For by thee I have run through a troop,.... Or, "I have run to a troop": to meet one (f) with courage and intrepidity, as some interpret it (g); or, as others (h), "I have run after a troop": that is, pursued after one, as David pursued after the troops of the Amalekites who burnt Ziklag, Sa1 30:8; to which Jarchi refers this passage; or rather, "I have broke a troop", or "through one" (i); for the word, as some Jewish writers (k) observe, comes from a root which signifies to "break" in pieces, and is fitly used for the destroying or cutting in pieces a troop of the enemy; and is true of Christ, when he engaged with the troops of hell, and broke the squadrons of the infernal fiends, and spoiled or disarmed principalities and powers, and triumphed over them on the cross, and made a show of them openly, when he dragged them at his chariot wheels, and led captivity captive; and by my God have I leaped over a wall; which refers to the scaling of walls, and taking of fortified places; and so the Targum, "By the word of my God I will subdue fortified towns"; so Apollinarius has it, passed over a tower, or took it; which was literally true of David, in many instances. Jarchi applies this to his taking the fortress of Zion from the Jebusites: a learned writer (l) thinks this refers to his leaping over the city wall, and slipping through the city watch, when Michal let him down through a window: it may be applied to Christ, who broke down the middle wail of partition, the ceremonial law, which stood between Jew and Gentile; or rather it may design the many difficulties which were in the way of the salvation of his people, which he surmounted and got over with great strength and swiftness; such as fulfilling the law, satisfying justice, bearing sin, and making atonement for it, undergoing a shameful and an accursed death, and grappling with numerous enemies, whom he conquered; and he is said to do all this by his God; because, as man and Mediator, he was strengthened and assisted by him. (f) "occurram turmae", so some in Vatablus. (g) Apud Kimchi in loc. (h) Apud Aben Ezra in loc. (i) "Conteram", Pagninus; "perfregi", Vatablus; "perrupi", Musculus; "perrumpo", Tigurine version, Castalio; so Ainsworth. (k) Kimchi & Ben Melech. (l) Delaney's Life of King David, vol. 1. p. 62.

“I will bring forth a horn to David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.” The lamp is prepared for Christ, having arisen from the seed of David, for who other could it be than the offspring who has come forth from the succession of David according to the flesh; in what way does Christ who came into the womb of David become the ray of his own excellence and the light shining brightly for all people? Why in the aforesaid words does David speak prophetically: “Because you will light my lamp, Lord”? He says, “You yourself, Lord, who are the true light, having been united with the lamp coming forth from me in a certain mysterious way, are going to light that very lamp. Even the shadows with which I was once covered you will scatter entirely so that their memory does not enter my mind.

"For you will light My candle, O Lord" [Psalm 18:28]. For our light is not from ourselves; but "You will light my candle, O Lord. O my God, You will enlighten my darkness." For we through our sins are darkness; but "You, O my God, wilt enlighten my darkness."

Examine human nature: it is born and increases, it learns these customs of people. What does [this nature] know except earth, of the earth? It speaks human things, it knows human things, it understands human things. Carnal itself, [this nature] judges carnally, it surmises carnally. Let the grace of God come, let it enlighten a person’s darkness, as [the psalmist] says.… Let grace take possession of the human mind and turn it to its own light; immediately it begins to say what the apostle says: “Yet not I, but the grace of God with me” and “And it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me.”

Let us not allow what is according to the flesh to persecute what is according to the spirit; neither let us, using the body as a pretext, quench the lamp that has been lit in us. We must therefore not contradict to the point of thinking or of speaking contrary to the faith in the holy Scriptures. But “those whom he loves, God chastises”; he afflicts and puts them to the test in everything to see “whether they will keep his commandments or not.” Yet, what God is looking for in us are “the fruits of the Holy Spirit”; we must not be negligent concerning them, for it is about them that we shall be questioned.

Just as the eye is the lamp of the body, so the lamp of the soul is the mind, in which, unless Christ has poured the oil of his grace, there will not be light within. The prophet, therefore, proclaims that his lamp is lighted by the Lord.

"For you." Here he turns to prayer, as if to say: so just are you. "For you light my lamp." And he does two things. First he gives thanks for a benefit received. Second, he sets forth a petition for one to be received, at "O my God, enlighten my darkness." He says therefore, "You light," etc. This whole passage can be expounded literally in two ways: so that by "lamp" is understood prosperity, and by "darkness" is understood adversity. Just as when a person is joyful, all things seem bright to him; when he is sad, all things seem darkened to him. This therefore is what he says: "For you light my lamp, O Lord," because you have given me prosperity and continually give it. "Enlighten my darkness," that is, if any adversity remains in me, expel it and remove it from me. In another way it can be understood morally, so that by "lamp" is understood the mind or soul of a person: Prov. 20: "The lamp of the Lord is the spirit of man." Therefore the mind of a person is like a lamp of God lit by divine light: Ps. 4: "The light of your countenance is signed upon us," etc. As long as we are without sin, our lamp is lit, that is, our soul shines with the light of grace; but when some darkness of the corruptible flesh remains, it is extinguished: Rom. 7: "I myself with the mind serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." And this is what he says: "For you light my lamp," that is, because my soul is illuminated by the light of grace. "Enlighten my darkness," that is, remove from me the defects and corruptions through which a person falls into darkness. Or it can be read allegorically, so that the words are said as from the person of Christ or of any just man. In the Church there are many who shine, like the faithful and the saints: Phil. 2: "Among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding the word of life." Also many who are dark, like the unfaithful and sinners: Eph. 5: "You were once darkness," etc. Therefore a person praying for the Church, or the Church for herself, says, "For you light my lamp," that is, the faithful who shine; "enlighten the darkness," that is, the sinners.

"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.

To give one light is to make prosperous (Job 18:5-6; Job 21:17). thou--is emphatic, as if to say, I can fully confide in Thee for help.

(Heb.: 18:29-31) The confirmation of what has been asserted is continued by David's application of it to himself. Hitzig translates the futures in Psa 18:29. as imperfects; but the sequence of the tenses, which would bring this rendering with it, is in this instance interrupted, as it has been even in Psa 18:28, by כּי. The lamp, נר (contracted from nawer), is an image of life, which as it were burns on and on, including the idea of prosperity and high rank; in the form ניר (from niwr, nijr) it is the usual figurative word for the continuance of the house of David, Kg1 11:36, and frequently. David's life and dominion, as the covenant king, is the lamp which God's favour has lighted for the well-being of Israel, and His power will not allow this lamp (Sa2 21:17) to be quenched. The darkness which breaks in upon David and his house is always lighted up again by Jahve. For His strength is mighty in the weak; in, with, and by Him he can do all things. The fut. ארץ may be all the more surely derived from רצץ (= ארץ), inasmuch as this verb has the changeable u in the future also in Isa 42:4; Ecc 12:6. The text of 2 Sam 22, however, certainly seems to put "rushing upon" in the stead of "breaking down." With Psa 18:31 the first half of the hymn closes epiphonematically. האל is a nom. absol., like hatsuwr, Deu 32:4. This old Mosaic utterance is re-echoed here, as in Sa2 7:22, in the mouth of David. The article of האל points to God as being manifest in past history. His way is faultless and blameless. His word is צרוּפה, not slaggy ore, but purified solid gold, Psa 12:7. Whoever retreats into Him, the God of the promise, is shielded from every danger. Pro 30:5 is borrowed from this passage.