This psalm is the fourth-longest psalm we find within the book, Psalm 78 / Psalm 89 / Psalm 119, which are longer. It’s a psalm of victory which run similar to the events in 2 Samuel 22. In this psalm, David tells us of his troubles to be delivered from King Saul, but he gives thanks to God for delivering him from Saul’s hands.
Although the headings aren’t inspired by God, they are important because they give us some understanding of the Psalm, and they help us to see why it was written. The headings usually tell us four things.
1. Who wrote them, probably wrote them, or possibly wrote them.
2. Information about the historical background to the Psalm. Why was it written?
3. They tell us of the tune the Psalm was written to.
4. How it was used.
This heading tells us a lot about the background to the psalm. As you can see, it’s longer than all the other headings; the only heading which is longer is found in Psalm 60.
Some believe that it was written for God, and God Himself is the director of music. The heading tells us that David is a servant of the Lord, and he tells us what the background to the psalm is.
It was written either straight after Saul’s death, 1 Samuel 31 / 2 Samuel 1, or the time leading up to David’s enthronement as king, 2 Samuel 2-5. The heading also tells us that David was delivered from his enemies and the hand of Saul.
David begins this psalm by declaring his love for God, and he uses eight metaphors to describe his relationship with God, Psalm 18:1-2. God is his strength, 2 Samuel 22:3. He is his rock, 2 Samuel 23:2-3 / 2 Samuel 22:47. He is his fortress, 2 Samuel 22:2.
He is his deliverer, 2 Samuel 22:2. He is his refuge, 2 Samuel 22:3 / 2 Samuel 22:31 / 2 Samuel 22:33. He is his shield, 2 Samuel 22:3 / Psalm 33:20. He is his horn, 1 Samuel 2:10 / 2 Samuel 22:3. He is his stronghold, 2 Samuel 22:33-34.
David clearly put the security of his life in God’s hands and he was confident that God would save him from the hands of his enemies, Psalm 18:3 / 1 Samuel 27:1. David is obviously fearing for his life, Psalm 18:4-5 / 2 Samuel 22:5, and so, in his distress, he cries out to God for help, Jonah 2:2, and is confident that God heard his prayer, Psalm 18:6.
We must note that the word ‘temple’, Psalm 18:6, used here, can also be translated as the word ‘tabernacle’, Exodus 25:9 / Exodus 25:40 / 1 Samuel 1:9 / 1 Samuel 3:3, which would make a lot more sense because, as we know, the temple hadn’t been built yet, 2 Samuel 5:6-10 / 1 Kings 5-7.
David again describes God’s deliverance using metaphors of natural phenomena, Psalm 18:7-15. They are used to demonstrate that God is taking action, Exodus 19:16-18 / Judges 5:4-5 / Job 38:1 / Isaiah 29:6 / Zephaniah 1:2.
Ellicott, in his commentary, says the following concerning Psalm 18:7-9.
‘The sudden burst of the storm is the Divine answer to the sufferer’s prayer. For similar manifestations, compare Psalms 68:7-8 / Psalms 77:14-20 / Amos 9:5 / Micah 1:3 / Habakkuk 3:4, but here the colours are more vivid, and the language more intense. Now the thunder-cloud forms smoke, as it were, from the nostrils of God, Psalms 74:1 / Deuteronomy 29:20. The dark masses of rain-cloud are now gathered, and bend to the earth under the majestic tread of God, Nahum 1:3, ‘and the clouds are the dust of his feet, Psalms 144:5.’
Dummelow, in his commentary, says the following concerning Psalm 18:10.
‘Cherubim are most familiar to readers of Scripture as symbolic figures appearing in the furniture and decoration of the tabernacle and the Temple. They also appear in Ezekiel’s vision of the mystic chariot as the bearers of God’s throne, Ezekiel 1 / Ezekiel 10. Here, the cherub seems to be a personification of the storm cloud, as the parallel idea in the next clause shows.’
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Psalm 18:11.
‘God is represented as dwelling in the thick darkness, Deuteronomy 4:11 / Psalms 97:2. This representation in the place before us is peculiarly proper, as thick heavy clouds deeply charged, and with lowering aspects, are always the forerunners and attendants of a tempest, and greatly heighten the horrors of the appearance and the representation of them, spread about the Almighty as a tent, is truly grand and poetic. The vapours strongly condensed into clouds, which, by the stroke of the lightning, are about to be precipitated in torrents of rain.’
Gill, in his commentary, says the following concerning Psalm 18:12.
‘The lightning that came out of the thick clouds, which may denote, either the coming of Christ to take vengeance on the Jewish nation, which was swift and sudden, clear and manifest; or the spreading of the Gospel in the Gentile world, in which Christ, the brightness of his Father’s glory, appeared to the illumination of many, Matthew 24:27, and both may be intended.’
Benson, in his commentary, says the following concerning Psalm 10:13-14.
‘The preceding verse mentioned the lightning with its effects; this gives us the report of the thunder, and the increasing storm of hail and fire that attended it. Yea, he sent out his arrows Namely, lightnings, as it is expressed in the next clause and scattered them Namely, mine enemies, which is sufficiently understood from Psalms 18:3 / Psalms 18:17, and from the whole context.’
Trapp, in his commentary, says the following concerning Psalm 18:15.
‘The force of this terrible tempest is further set forth by the effect of it, a dreadful concussion of the universe; not without an allusion to the drying up of the Red Sea and of Jordan before Israel, which deliverances stood for archetypes, or chief patterns, to all posterity.’
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This highly imaginative section suggests to this writer nothing quite so vividly as it does the final judgment of mankind. The Theophany, the coming of God Himself, the mighty earthquake, the mountains being moved, Revelation 6:12-15, the great hail, Revelation 16:21, the darkness, Revelation 6:12, the death of the wicked, as indicated by God’s arrows, the salvation of the righteous, mentioned a little later, all of these things are undoubtedly characteristic of the Final Judgment on the Great Day of God’s wrath, Revelation 6:17.’
David is greatly encouraged because he knows God has the power to control everything, and he knows God has the power to deliver him from his enemies.
David thought he was going to drown in the tragedies that were upon him, but he gives credit to God for rescuing him from the deep waters of his tragedies, Psalm 18:16. He also acknowledges that his enemies were way too strong for him and his army, Psalm 18:17, hence why he relied on the Lord’s strength to deliver him.
In the day of his disaster, Psalm 18:18, that is, the time when he was a fugitive and felt at his weakest, his enemies went to attack him, but it was then, that the Lord gave him the support he needed, Psalm 18:18. God was obviously pleased with David’s humble and godly character, 1 Samuel 13:14 / Acts 13:22, and so He rescued him, Psalm 18:19.
Because David was righteous and his hands were cleansed, Psalm 18:20, which refers to forgiveness, Romans 3:25 / Colossians 1:28 / 1 John 1:7, he was rewarded, Psalm 18:20.
He had kept the ways of God, he didn’t ignore the will of God, Psalm 18:22-23, which speaks about his obedience to God and as a result, he was rewarded by God by being delivered from the hand of Saul.
David says he was ‘blameless’, Psalm 18:23. Remember, to be blameless doesn’t mean sinless. When Paul is arguing with the legalizers in Philippi, he tells them he was blameless, Philippians 3:6; however, he was blameless in the sense that he did everything he had to do to be right with God according to the Law.
The law of Moses demanded that a person had to offer the appropriate sacrifice to be right with God, but now, under the law of Christ, a person needs to be baptised and confess their sins to God.
Notice that David deliberately ‘kept himself from sin’, Psalm 18:23. This tells us that sin is a choice, Genesis 2:16 / Genesis 4:7, and David, because he had free will, deliberately chose to stay away from sin, 2 Timothy 2:21. Because of this, God rewarded him by delivering him from the hands of Saul, Psalm 18:24.
David reminds us of God’s mercies, Psalm 18:25. God will show mercy to those who have shown mercy to others, Matthew 7:2 / James 2:13. He will forgive those who forgive others, Psalm 18:25 / Matthew 5:7 / Matthew 6:14-15 / Matthew 18:23-25.
It’s only those who have a pure heart who can really understand just how pure God Himself is, Psalm 18:26 / Matthew 5:8 / 1 John 3:3. A devious person is a perverse person, Psalm 18:26 / Leviticus 26:23-24 / Proverbs 3:32 / Job 5:12.
Perhaps the greatest illustration of this was how God used the shrewd Laban to educate the devious Jacob, Genesis 27-28. God will bring down the proud, Luke 18:14 / James 4:6 / 1 Peter 5:5.
Those who are humble will be saved by God, Psalm 18:27. The humble are those in society who have little or no power, Psalm 10:2 / Psalm 22:24 / Psalm 35:10 / Psalm 68:10.
David says the Lord keeps his ‘lamp burning’, Psalm 18:28, which means his obedience to God would be a light to those who walked in darkness, John 1:5 / John 8:12 / 1 John 1:5-7 / Matthew 5:14-16 / Philippians 2:14-15.
In the context here, this implies that God was going to make it known through David that He was working through him so that he would become the king of Israel. David was confident that with God’s help, he would be victorious over his enemies, Psalm 18:29.
David declares God’s ways are perfect, and this is proven through His flawless word, Psalm 18:30 / 2 Timothy 3:16-17 / Hebrews 4:12. He says that God’s conduct is like His nature, it’s absolutely pure, and He is a shield to all those who take refuge in Him, Psalm 18:30, that is, He protects them, Proverbs 30:5.
Notice he asks, ‘For who is God, besides the LORD? Psalm 18:31. David knows full well who the One and only True Living God is compared to all those false gods of the Philistines, the Moabites and the Edomites.
David again uses metaphors of war to describe how he could never be king of Israel without God’s help, Psalm 18:32-39 / Revelation 6:16. The very fact that he became king of Israel was proof that God was working in and through him.
David was well aware that if he was to become king of Israel, it would involve more than just removing Saul as king; he would also have to remove all of his enemies.
It is God who arms David with strength and kept his way secure, Psalm 18:32. It was God who made David’s feet as swift as the feet of a deer and it was God who caused him to stand on the heights, Psalm 18:33. It was the God of heaven who took David as a shepherd boy, Psalm 18:34, and made him the king of Israel, 2 Samuel 2-5.
It was God who saved him because God became his shield, and it was because of God’s strength that David was sustained, and it was God’s help that made him great, Psalm 18:35. It was God who provided a broad path for his feet, so that his ankles didn’t give way, Psalm 18:36.
Because of God, he pursued his enemies and overtook them and he didn’t turn back until they were destroyed, Psalm 18:37. Because of God he crushed them so that they could not rise and they fell beneath his feet, Psalm 18:38.
He did all these things because it was God who gave him the strength to fight and it was God who humbled his adversaries before him, Psalm 18:39. He was so militarily dominant over those who opposed him that God extended his influence to nations that were not of Israel, and his conquest was so forceful that his enemies turned their backs and ran away from him, Psalm 18:40.
They cried out for help, but no one helped them, Psalm 18:41, and David completely destroyed them, Psalm 18:42. David became the ‘head of the nations’, and people served him, Psalm 18:43, and even foreigners cowered and obeyed him, Psalm 18:44.
David became so powerful that his enemies lost heart and came trembling from their strongholds, Psalm 18:45. His military strength was so great that the surrounding nations were intimidated by the army of Israel, and as a result, no nation attempted to attack Israel, and so, during the reign of Solomon, David’s son, peace prevailed.
David now declares that ‘the Lord lives’, Psalm 18:46. He has no hesitation in giving God all the glory He deserves for what He has done and is doing in David’s life. This is one reason why he is described as ‘a man after God’s own heart’, 1 Samuel 13:14 / Acts 13:22.
David now goes on to praise God, Psalm 18:46-49. The apostle Paul quotes these words in Romans 15:8-12, as the first of four Old Testament prophecies demonstrating that the work of Jesus Christ wasn’t only for the Jewish people, but for the Gentiles also.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Psalm 18:47.
‘The way that I took was after his own heart; therefore, he sustained me in it, and did me justice over my enemies. He keeps down the spirits of the disaffected and weakens their hands. They are subdued, and they continue under me; and this is the Lord’s doing.’
God saved David from His enemies and exalted Him above his foes, even from a violent man, probably a reference to Saul. God rescued him, Psalm 18:48. As a result of everything God did for him, David will praise the LORD, among the nations and sing the praises of His name, Psalm 18:49.
Notice also he says that God shows unfailing love to his ‘anointed’, Psalm 18:50. This again tells us of the Messianic nature of this psalm, it reflects God’s covenant with David and his descendants, 2 Samuel 7:12-16.
This also looks forward beyond the time of David to the throne of David’s Greater Son; this is a Messianic prophecy, parallel with Psalm 2:8. It was during the end of David’s reign as king of Israel when he overpowered the enemies of Israel.
God promised David, Psalm 18:50, that from his seed, one would arise who would build God’s house, that is, the church, Matthew 16:18, and His Kingdom should be established and that the throne of it would endure forever, Daniel 2:44.
David had no hesitation in giving God all the glory for everything He had done and was doing in his life. When we come into God’s presence, there is simply no room for boasting about what we have done, 1 Corinthians 1:31 / 1 Corinthians 4:7 / 1 Corinthians 1:29. We must remember that we were created for His glory, not our own, Isaiah 42:8 / Isaiah 43:7.
Even Jesus Himself reminds us in His prayer that it’s God’s kingdom, it’s God’s power, and all the glory is His, Matthew 6:13. As Christians, we too must give God all the credit for everything He has done, is doing and will do in our lives in the future, James 1:17.