Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 18

Psalm 18: a rock, a storm from heaven and the king delivered from his enemies

General context

The speaker declares his love for the Lord, his strength, and names him rock, fortress, deliverer, buckler, horn of salvation and high tower; calling on him, he is saved from his enemies. He recalls that the sorrows of death and hell compassed him and the snares of death prevented him; in his distress he called, and the Lord heard from his temple. Then the earth shook, smoke and fire came from the Lord, he bowed the heavens and came down with darkness under his feet, rode on a cherub, flew on the wind, and thundered with hail stones and coals of fire, sending arrows and lightnings until the channels of waters and the foundations of the world were uncovered. He drew the speaker out of many waters, delivered him from a strong enemy and brought him into a large place because he delighted in him. The speaker says the Lord rewarded him according to his righteousness and clean hands, since he kept the Lord's ways, and that God shows himself merciful to the merciful and froward to the froward, saving the afflicted and bringing down high looks. God lights his candle, lets him run through a troop and leap over a wall, girds him with strength, teaches his hands to war and gives him the shield of salvation. He pursued and wounded his enemies until they fell under his feet; they cried to the Lord, who did not answer, and he beat them small as dust. God made him head of the heathen. He blesses the Lord who avenges him, vows to give thanks among the heathen, and closes: God gives great deliverance to his king and mercy to his anointed, to David and his seed for evermore.

Cited passages: Psalms 18:1, Psalms 18:2, Psalms 18:4, Psalms 18:6, Psalms 18:7, Psalms 18:9, Psalms 18:10, Psalms 18:13, Psalms 18:15, Psalms 18:16, Psalms 18:19, Psalms 18:20, Psalms 18:26, Psalms 18:29, Psalms 18:33, Psalms 18:35, Psalms 18:38, Psalms 18:41, Psalms 18:42, Psalms 18:43, Psalms 18:46, Psalms 18:49, Psalms 18:50

Psalms 18 (KJV)

¹I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.

²The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

³I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

⁴The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

⁵The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.

⁸There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

⁹He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

¹²At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

¹³The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

¹⁴Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.

¹⁵Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

¹⁶He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.

¹⁸They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.

¹⁹He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

²⁰The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.

²³I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

²⁴Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

²⁵With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;

²⁶With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

²⁷For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

²⁸For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

²⁹For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

³⁰As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

³¹For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?

³²It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

³³He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.

³⁴He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

³⁵Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.

³⁶Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.

³⁷I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

³⁸I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.

³⁹For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

⁴⁰Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.

⁴¹They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.

⁴²Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

⁴³Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.

⁴⁵The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.

⁴⁶The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.

⁴⁷It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.

⁴⁸He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

⁴⁹Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

⁵⁰Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

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Historical context

The text as printed carries no heading; verse 1 begins "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength", so this source states no occasion, and none is asserted here. Within the poem itself, the last verse names the one delivered: "his king", "his anointed", "David, and to his seed for evermore". That is the only proper name of a person in the psalm, and it appears in the third person at the end. The enemies are called "my strong enemy", "ungodly men", "the violent man", "the people" and "the heathen", never by name or nation. The storm of verses 7-15 is described as the Lord's response to the cry, with the earth, heavens, cherub, wind, hail, coals and lightnings, and the text presents it as what happened, not as a comparison. The speaker's claims of righteousness and clean hands in verses 20-24 are his own testimony. Verse 49 is quoted in Romans 15:9, "For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name", where it is applied to the Gentiles glorifying God. Nearly the same poem stands in 2 Samuel 22, where it is introduced as the words David "spake unto the Lord" "in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul", and opens "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer". There is no Selah in the psalm.

Cited passages: Psalms 18:1, Psalms 18:50, Psalms 18:17, Psalms 18:48, Psalms 18:8, Psalms 18:21, Romans 15:9, 2 Samuel 22:1, 2 Samuel 22:2

Literary context

The psalm is long and moves through distinct panels. It opens with a heap of names for God, eight of them in verse 2 alone, then narrates distress in images of cords and floods (verses 4-5), the cry and its hearing (6), and a theophany in which the Lord comes down in storm (7-15). The rescue is told in verse 16 with three short verbs, sent, took, drew. A section on righteousness follows (20-24), then a set of four matched lines on how God shows himself to each kind of person (25-26), then the speaker's own feats in battle (29, 32-42), with feet, hands, arms and necks all named. Address shifts between speaking about God ("He") and to God ("thou"), often within a verse. "Rock" is used at the start (verse 2), in the question "who is a rock save our God?" (31), and in the blessing near the end (46). The enemies' unanswered cry in verse 41 mirrors the speaker's answered cry in verse 6. The poem ends by widening from "me" to "his king" and "his seed for evermore".

Cited passages: Psalms 18:5, Psalms 18:16, Psalms 18:25, Psalms 18:34, Psalms 18:40, Psalms 18:31, Psalms 18:6, Psalms 18:41, Psalms 18:50

Key moments

My rock and fortress (Psalms 18:2). The speaker names the Lord rock, fortress, deliverer, buckler and high tower.
The cry heard from the temple (Psalms 18:6). In distress he calls and the Lord hears from his temple.
The Lord comes down (Psalms 18:9). The heavens bow and the Lord comes down with darkness under his feet.
Drawn out of many waters (Psalms 18:16). The Lord sends from above and draws the speaker out of many waters.
Rewarded for clean hands (Psalms 18:20). The speaker says the Lord rewarded him according to his righteousness.
Enemies beaten to dust (Psalms 18:42). He beats his enemies small as dust and casts them out like street dirt.
Mercy to David and his seed (Psalms 18:50). God gives deliverance to his king and mercy to David and his seed for evermore.

For reflection

The Lord is said to be gentle to the speaker, "thy gentleness hath made me great", in the same poem where enemies are beaten small as dust; how does the psalm hold gentleness and violence in one act of deliverance?