psalm-18:3-6-esv

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 18:1-3

1. God’s character 18:1-3David began his praise by verbalizing his love for God for being so good to him. He proceeded to describe how much the Lord meant to him by using many metaphors. Yahweh was the source of his strength, stability, safety, and salvation. He was the one in whom David sought refuge, his defense, his power, and his protection. Because God had proved to be such a reliable Savior, the psalmist regarded Him worthy of his praise."One of the great tragedies of the human spirit is... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 18:1-50

Psalms 18As the title indicates, David wrote this psalm after he had subdued his political enemies and had established the kingdom of Israel firmly under his control. In this poem, David expressed his delight in the Lord and thanked Him for giving him the victories he enjoyed. This royal thanksgiving psalm also appears in 2 Samuel 22. The slight variations may be due to changes that Israel’s leaders made, under divine inspiration, when they adapted this poem for use in Israel’s public worship.... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 18:4-5

Death had previously had him in its grip, as rope binds a prisoner. The forces of ungodliness terrified David, as when one finds himself in a wadi (dry stream bed) during a spring thunderstorm and discovers a wall of water coming toward him. He pictured himself trying to pick his steps through a field full of traps that hunters had set to trap animals. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 18:4-29

2. God’s deliverance 18:4-29In this extended section, David reviewed how God had saved him in times of danger. In Psalms 18:4-19 he described God’s supernatural deliverance, and in Psalms 18:20-29 he explained it as he saw it through the lens of his faith in God. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 18:6-15

David cried out in terror, and in His heavenly temple God heard his call for help. The Lord came rushing to the psalmist’s defense. His deliverance was as a thunderstorm in that it was the supernatural invading nature. The figures of speech in Psalms 18:7-15 picture a violent storm with lightning, thunder, high winds, torrential rains, black skies, and flooding. [Note: See Michael E. Travers, "The Use of Figures of Speech in the Bible," Bibliotheca Sacra 164:655 (July-September 2007):277-90.]... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:1-50

Of all the Pss. this is the one which can be ascribed with greatest confidence to David. It is found, with some variations, in 2 Samuel 22, and the title is largely taken from 2 Samuel 22:1. It consists of a series of triumphant thanksgivings to God, with which the writer connects a highly figurative account of his deliverance from danger (Psalms 18:4-19), an assertion of his own uprightness (Psalms 18:20-24), and a description of the victories he has won by God’s assistance (Psalms... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 18:3

(3) Presents a trifling verbal variation from Samuel. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 18:4

(4) The sorrows of death.—The Hebrew word may mean either birth pangs (LXX. and Acts 2:24, where see Note, New Testament Commentary), or cords. The figure of the hunter in the next verse, “the snares of death,” determines its meaning there to be cords (see margin). It is best, therefore, to keep the same rendering here: but there can be little doubt that the version in Samuel, breakers, or waves, is the true one, from the parallelism—“Waves of death compassed me,And billows of Belial terrified... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 18:5

(5) Hell.—Heb., sheôl. (See Note on Psalms 6:5.)Prevented—i.e., suddenly seized upon. The poet seems to feel the cords already tightening on his limbe. He is not dead yet, but like to them who go down to sheôl. This verse has one verbal difference from Samuel. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 18:6

(6) Out Of his temple.—Rather, Place—plainly, as in Psalms 11:4; Psalms 29:9, the heavenly abode of Jehovah.My cry.—In Samuel only, “my cry in his ears.” read more

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 18:1-3

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 18:1-50

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 18:4-5

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 18:4-29

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 18:6-15

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 18:1-50

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 18:3

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 18:4

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 18:5

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 18:6

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