Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS 18 Jan 2015
1. For
the concertmaster, belonging to David, a servant of Yahweh, which words of this
song he uttered to Yahweh during a day Yahweh caused him to escape from the
palm of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul, and so he said,
“I will show affection for you Yahweh, my strength.
2. Yahweh is my rock-mountain, my
stronghold, and my deliverer, my God, my landmark-rock.
I will take refuge in Him, my shield and horn of my salvation, my high tower!
3. He being praiseworthy, I will call Yahweh, and from my enemies I will be saved.
4. Pains of death drowned me, and torrents of worthlesness would overwhelm me
5. Pains of Sheol surrounded me; deadly noose-snares confronted me.
6. During my distress, I would call
Yahweh, yes to my God I would holler.
From His temple He would hear my voice, and my hollering would get to His
attention, into His ears.
7. Then the earth crashed and buckled,
and foundations of mountains trembled.
They crashed themselves because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up in his anger and fire from His mouth was consuming; coals were kindled from it!
9 He parted the heavens and came down, and the fog was under His feet.
10 He also rode upon a cherub and flew and swooped upon wings of wind.
11 He arranged for darkness to be His
concealment.
His tabernacle surrounding Him was the darkness of waters, the density of
stormclouds.
12 Out of the brightness corresponding
to Him,
His storm-clouds passed hail-stones and coals of fire.
13 And Yahweh caused it to thunder in
the heavens,
yes the Most High put forth His voice - hailstones and coals of fire!
14 And he sent His arrows and caused them
to be scattered.
He even shot out lightenings and made a commotion among them.
15 Then the beds of the waters could be
seen, and foundations of the world were laid bare
from Your rebuke, Yahweh, from the breath of wind from Your nose.
16 He sent from on high; He took me; He pulled me out of deep water.
17 He caused to deliver me from my
strong enemy and from the ones who hate me,
because they were stronger than me...
· I’d like to pick up where I left off in the Psalms, at the beginning of Psalm 18.
· This is the longest Psalm I’ve tackled so far, and wrote up a little outline of the Psalm which you can see on the back of your bulletin.
· What I didn’t realize when I printed the bulletin was that the first point in that outline was a whole sermon in itself, so I don’t expect to get past the first point in the outline. The other points in the outline should go a bit faster, but I’ll have to save them for future sermons.
· The first point is simple: We are saved because God delivers us when we call out to Him.
v.1 אֶרְחָמְךָ יְהוָה חִזְקִי
The Hebrew verb translated “love” here is different from the usual Hebrew word for “love” This is racham which includes the feelings of affection we associate with love as well as the outward demonstration of those feelings in some form of action. It is usually translated “have compassion on” when this verb is used to describe God relating to humans, but humans can reflect this divine character quality back to God or to other people. It’s interesting that the Septuagint translated it with the Greek root agape. Our love for God can express a priority of relationship with Him above all other relationships accompanied by feelings of affection and actions or words which demonstrate how fondly we prioritize our good relationship with God.
v.2 וּמְצוּדָתִי יְהוָה סַלְעִי
This Psalm was probably written late in David’s life when there were no enemies left to fight, but in verse two, David probably was thinking of the kind of rocky mountains of southern Judea in which he safely hid when King Saul and his army was chasing him down. This is the first of the Psalms which calls God a “rock and a fortress.”
· When David calls God his rock, don’t think “rock” like a pebble you can put in your pocket as a pet rock. The first Hebrew word here sala’ means a mountain made of rock, big enough to get lost in, big enough to hide in, big enough to carve caves in or to use as a fortress.
· Later on in the verse, David uses another Hebrew word which is translated “rock” or “strength” - tsur which literally means “pressed together,”
o and I would interpret it to mean “extruded rock” which is visible above the surface of the ground (and which may have been used as a landmark for David’s men to find him in his hideout cave)
o or perhaps it refers to a “narrow place” among rocks where one could safely hide (1 Chron. 11:15).
o Not only was this tsur-rock a safe place, it was also a Biblical symbol of provision, for it was one of these rock formations in Horeb that Moses struck to get water for the thirsty Israelites (Ex. 17:6, Psalm 78:15).
· The metsudah – a structure that holds a person fast in it – was the Hebrew word used in 1 Samuel 22 to describe the cave of Adullam in which David found protection from Saul.
· But these rocky fortresses were merely a symbol in David’s mind for a much greater divine refuge. These mountain hideouts were not ultimately David’s trust; David was trusting in God to deliver him from his enemies. He says in v.2, “Akhasah/I will trust/I will take refuge[1] in Him,” because, as he had affirmed earlier in Psalm 2:12 “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”[2]
· Verse 2 introduces several other names for God:
o We also encountered the magin/buckler/portable shield already in Psalm 3:3 & 7:10 as a symbol for God’s protection wherever you go,
o and we already encountered the mishgav/high tower/stronghold in Psalm 9:9 as a symbol of God being a safe place you can retreat to: “Yahweh will be a stronghold for the one who is beaten down, a stronghold for times that include trouble.”
· But what is this “horn of salvation”?
o The word literally means “horn” like what cattle have sticking out of their heads. The horn of a bull is his main offensive weapon, and he uses his horns successfully to defend himself. But a second meaning for “horn” is derived from that when people sawed the horns off of a bull, hollowed them out and stored oil in them or blew through them to make the musical instrument called a horn.
o Hannah, the mother of the Prophet Samuel is the first person in the Bible to use this imagery. When God gave her first child to her, she said in 1 Sam 2:1, “My heart rejoices in the LORD, my horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.” If we take those statements as poetic parallelism – each phrase meaning pretty much the same thing, then her “horn” would be parallel with her “voice,” and her praise for God, like a musical horn, loudly announces something – in this case, God’s salvation.
o Psalm 18 (and its copy in 2 Sam. 22) is the only other place in the Old Testament where this “horn of salvation” shows up. Here, God is the horn, and it is in a military context, whether as a symbol of a powerful weapon or as a war-trumpet announcing the arrival of fresh troops to rescue brothers-in-arms.
o The “horn of salvation” also shows up once in the New Testament, in Luke 1:68-78, where Zachariah, the father of John the Baptizer prophecied, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he has visited and redeemed his people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David... That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant... that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life... salvation [coming] unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God...”
· Clearly Zachariah in the New Testament is quoting Psalm 18, yet he saw the application of David’s military tactical terms about weapons and strongholds and terrain features in the light of a much larger spiritual conflict in which the enemy is not Saul but sin and rebellion against God which brings spiritual darkness and death, and in which “salvation from all our enemies” means “forgiveness of sin,” “holiness and righteousness” which come through the “tender mercies of God,” and results in “serving God without fear.”
o You who are soldiers deployed in harm’s way may get to experience the military application of David’s psalm here, that God is a shield, strength, a place you can fight successfully from, and a place of refuge,
o but all of us can apply it ultimately in the way that Zachariah did to God’s victories over sin and death in the advent of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, the advances of his kingdom in the hearts of mankind, and His second coming and judgment and setting all things aright. As we take refuge in Jesus by faith and follow Him, we will be freed from the control of sin, we will experience victories over sin, we will be protected from experiencing the fullness of God’s wrath against sin, and we will ultimately be delivered into a glorified eternity without sin or death.
v.3 מְהֻלָּל אֶקְרָא
· In light of the fact that God is our strength, our rock, our stronghold, our deliverer, our God, our refuge, our shield, horn of salvation, and high tower, the LORD is more awesome than any Marvel comic hero, He is worthy of praise, and he is the one to whom we must turn to save us from our enemies.
· What are those enemies Jesus will save us from? David now begins his testimony about particular occasions in his life and the life of his nation in which God brought deliverance:
v.4-5 חֶבְלֵי מָוֶת
· Some of the same words in this testimony are also used in Psalm 140:5, describing different kinds of traps from which David was delivered: “The proud have hid a pit-snare for me, and cords [“cords/ropes” is another way that the word for “pangs/sorrows” can be translated]; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set noose-snares for me.” This could represent various strategems Saul or the Canaanite nations employed to hunt David down.
· But ultimately what this enemy threatens is death. “Death” is mentioned twice in verses 4-5, plus “Sheol,” the realm of death. Of course, in the immediate context, Goliath, Saul, Absolom and many others tried to kill David, and his close brushes with death were understandably overwhelming experiences, but this is applicable way beyond David’s personal experiences, because death is an enemy common to us all. It is the result of sin, from the sin of Satan to the sin of Adam in rebelling against God and, as a result, we become overwhelmed with the horrors of a world filled with death, decay, destruction, ungodliness, and pain.
· I watched the movie To End All Wars with some of my older kids, and even though we had a ClearPlay filter going to filter out all the bad language and the worst of the violence, by the time the credits were rolling, we were just sitting in silence, stunned by the horrors of death and suffering that the soldiers went through in that Japanese prisoner of war camp. Some of us were even crying.
· What do we do with these feelings?
v.6 שַׁוְעָתִי לְפָנָיו תָּבוֹא בְאָזְנָיו
· When David saw the evil threats around him, it was his custom to go to the only source of solutions he knew was powerful enough to fix things, and that was the LORD.
o All the verbs in v. 6 are in the Hebrew imperfect tense, which generally doesn’t denote a single action in the past, so I’m interpreting them as habitual actions.
o David did this more than once before he was saved from all his enemies. He sets an example for us as to what to do when we see trouble: Cry out to God. Ask God to bring deliverance.
· And as David asserts in v.6, when we pray; God hears. There is never a time when you tried to get God’s attention that He didn’t listen to you. Every time, when David hollered for help from God, the cry made it into the ears of God.
o This is remarkable when you think of it. Recently I put an idea into the suggestion box of a large non-profit organization. I figured maybe if enough other people raised the same issue maybe something might be done about it in a couple of years, so when I got a phone call less than a week later in which the president of the organization took the time to talk with me about the issue, I was floored. That just doesn’t happen very often in human organizations.
o But when you call to God in your distress, the signal goes all the way to the top of the chain of command. God hears and responds. And what a response!
v.7-15 “...the mountains trembled... Smoke... and fire... He came down and there was fog... darkness... dense stormclouds... hail... thunder... lightening... commotion... wind...”
· The verbs shift in this section to mostly historical vav-consecutives, so I’m interpreting them as past events:
· Much of this seems to recall times prior to David when God answered the prayers of Israelites in distress with earthquakes and storm-like conditions[3]:
o The plagues of Egypt included “darkness” and storms and “hail mixed with fire,” and through these natural disasters which were miraculously summoned by the prayers of Moses, God brought deliverance for the enslaved children of Israel. (Ex. 9:24)
o At the parting of the Red Sea when God arranged the final step of deliverance from the Egyptian army, there was an earthquake according to Psalm 77:15-20, the bed of the Sea was laid bare so that the Israelites could walk through it on dry land, andthen Exodus 14:24-27 reports that, “At the morning watch, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from Israel, for the LORD is fighting for them against the Egyptians.’ Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.” (NASB) What an awesome deliverance from God in response to prayer!
o Later, during the time of Joshua, God sent a great hailstorm to help the Israelites conquer an alliance of five Amorite kings. This was the day that Joshua prayed for more daylight in order to finish off the enemies, so God caused the sun to stand still for a bit, “And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.... and as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.” (Joshua 10:11, KJV) Another awesome deliverance by God in response to prayer!
o Later on there also seems to have been an earthquake sent by God during the time of the Judges to help the Israelites under Deborah and Barak to again route the Canaanites (Judges 5:4). “And Deborah said unto Barak, ‘Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee?’ So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak...” (Judges 4:14-15, KJV)
o Then during the time of the prophet Samuel, while the Israelites were worshipping God at what later became known as Ebenezer, the Philistines snuck up and surrounded the unarmed Israelites who had gathered for worship. “The sons of Israel said to Samuel, ‘Do not cease to cry to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.’ So Samuel started offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel.” (1Sam. 7:8-10) God undertook for His people when they cried out to Him for deliverance!
o Shortly after that, Nahash the king of Ammon threatened to poke the eyes out of all the Israelite men in the town of Jabesh-gilead. The people lifted up their voices weeping, and God heard. He raised up Saul to organize the Israelites for battle. “And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.... And Saul said, ‘...to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel!’” (1Sam. 11:11-13, KJV)
o Even later during David’s lifetime, God sent a great earthquake to throw the Philistines into confusion as the Israelites under King Saul and his son Jonathan fought to defend themselves against the advances of the pagan Canaanites. Even though the Israelites had been stripped of all their weapons, “Jonathan said to his armor bearer, ‘Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hands of Israel.’ [And as he started fighting the Philistines] there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling. And Saul's watchmen... looked, and behold, the multitude melted away... (1 Sam. 14:12-16, KJV). And there was a great deliverance for Israel from the oppression of the Philistines because Jonathan trusted the Lord.
o I could not find a historical account in the Bible of a time when David himself prayed and God answered with an earthquake or by pulling David out of a body of water, or anything like that, but 2 Samuel 21 does indicate that there were many other battles during David’s reign not recorded in detail in the Bible, so this Psalm may be describing one of those battles, or David may be rolling together all the mighty deliverances in his memory of Israel’s history in this Psalm.
o There is, however a Psalm from earlier in David’s life with a lot of similarities, and that is Psalm 142, which says it was composed by David in the cave, presumably the cave of Adullam when he was trying to escape from Saul’s attempts to murder him. David wrote in Psalm 142, “I cry out to the LORD with my voice... I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me... They have secretly set a snare for me... I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, ‘You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me.’” David’s testimony now in Psalm 18 (which he wrote late in life) is that when He prayed for God to deliver him, God responded and saved him from his enemies and David has full assurance that God will continue to deliver him from all his enemies, even the ultimate enemies of sin and eternal separation from God.
· Ultimately, however, the enemies we need to be saved from come from within and the wrath we need to be saved from comes from God. This is illustrated in a couple other Old Testament episodes from which Psalm 18 borrows key words:
o In Numbers 11, there is a briefly-described incident using the same words found in Psalm 18:8 where God’s wrath falls against the “mixed multitude” on the outskirts of the Israelite camp in the desert: Num 11:1 “And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. 2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched.” Moses asked God to stop punishing people, and God stopped. That is an awesome situation to be in, yet the Apostle John said we can take that same role, “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life...” (1 John 5:16, NASB)
o In another incident, the words of v.9 show up[4] when God came down and wiped out 70,000 Israelites as a punishment for disobedience. In 1 Chronicles 21:6, when David saw the angel of the Lord standing between the “heavens” and the earth with sword “extended” to kill still more, David cried out to the Lord for deliverance and offered a sacrifice, and the angel sheathed his sword and killed no more. That sacrifice which is the ultimate appeasement of God’s wrath is the death of Jesus on the cross. That is the central aspect of the salvation He offers, the appeasement of God’s wrath against our sins that justly demands death. When we ask God to forgive us of our sins and save us from His wrath, He does so because of Jesus’ death on the cross.
o Jesus’ deliverance in the face of the other threats we face flows from this central accomplishment of saving us from the wrath of God. When we ask Jesus to save us from other problems we face in our day-to-day life, He hears and responds with deliverance in those areas too.
· Admittedly, He does not answer every prayer with a dramatic lightening-storm and earthquake. But he has done so occasionally since the time of the Psalms,
o such as the darkness and earthquake that occurred when Jesus died on the cross to deliver us from sin and death,
o or the time that Paul was in prison for preaching the Gospel in Philippi and was freed by an earthquake (which also led to the conversion of the jailer!).
o Even in our day it can happen: In 1993, Mark Zouk related in the movie Ee-taow: The Next Chapter a time when he was serving as a missionary in a Mouk village in Papua New Guinea. As he described the earthquake during Pentecost in the book of Acts to those villagers, an earthquake occurred right then, shaking the Mouk village, and they figured it was just God showing that He could do it again!
o But whether God responds to your prayer for deliverance with a dramatic earthquake and pyrotechnics or whether His deliverance comes more slowly and quietly, the point of this passage is to paint a vivid and powerful picture that illustrates that God actively responds to prayers for salvation.
· The awesome power of God described in these verses should impress us. This is the kind of power God has at His disposal to save you with:
o Verse 10 mentions cherubim. Mankind has known about cherubim since Adam and Eve who were prevented from returning to the Garden of Eden by this class of angels. They are awe-inspiring beings which presumably can fly like their cousins the seraphim (Isa. 6:2-6). Now, God doesn’t need help to fly, but David is painting a picture intended to inspire awe of God, so I think he is describing one of the most awe-inspiring of God’s creations and then portraying God as master even of that creature,
o In v.8 David portrays God as having some of the same characteristics of the fire-breathing leviathan of Job 41,
o and in v. 10 he says that God “flew” (da-ah) - a Hebrew word only used for eagles in the Bible,
o and in verses 11-14 he uses words that elsewhere describe mighty thunderstorms. Our God is awesome, and He delights in swooping in and saving His people.
o Isaiah 31:5. “Like birds flying, so Jehovah of Hosts will surely provide protection over Jerusalem and He will deliver, and by lingering over he will rescue.”
· We need salvation not only from immediate threats in our day-to-day life but also from the wrath of God on judgment day. Many of the words of this Psalm are found in end-time judgment scenarios
o like Psalm 2 “Kiss the son lest His anger be kindled against you and you perish in the way.”
o and Isaiah 24 “(17) Terror and the trench and the trap are upon you, inhabitant of the earth! (18) And it will be that he who flees from the sound of the terror shall fall into the trench, and he who gets up out of the middle of the trench shall be caught in the trap. For the windows from on high have been opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. (19) The earth is utterly broken, the earth is completely split apart, the earth is violently shaken. (20) The earth staggers like a drunk; She sways like a hammock; Her sin is heavy upon her, and she falls, and she will never again stand. (21) On that day the LORD will bring accountability upon the host of the heights, in the heights, and the kings of the earth, upon the earth.”
vs.16-17
· The larger picture of salvation comes clear. Verse 16 says that God “sent” – who did God “send” to be our “deliverer”? Jesus! “For God so loved the world that He SENT His only-begotten son... that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).
· David had a singular foe in King Saul as well as many other foes that hated him. Likewise we today have a singular foe in Satan and many other foes in this world which could beat our heads in if it weren’t for God’s role in restraining them and protecting us.
· The lesson that God will intervene with salvation when we cry out to Him to deliver us is still applicable today, and we need to remember it into the future.
· We are not delivered by our own strength. God is our salvation. But we are not delivered without calling upon Him for salvation. He wants us to ask for it.
· Let me stop there, and hopefully next week we can look at a few more conditions and reasons relating to God’s salvation.
A. I was saved because:
B. I was saved for good reasons:
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PSALM 18 |
NAW |
KJV |
NKJV |
ESV |
NASB |
NIV |
LXX (17) |
Brenton |
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א לַמְנַצֵּחַ לְעֶבֶד יְהוָה לְדָוִד אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לַיהוָה אֶת דִּבְרֵי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת בְּיוֹם הִצִּיל יְהוָה אוֹתוֹ מִכַּף כָּל אֹיְבָיו וּמִיַּד[5] שָׁאוּל. וַיֹּאמַר אֶרְחָמְךָ יְהוָה חִזְקִי. |
1. For the concertmaster, belonging to David, a servant of Yahweh, which words of this song he uttered to Yahweh during a day Yahweh caused him to escape from the palm of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul, and so he said, “I will show affection for you Yahweh, my strength. |
1 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, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. |
1 To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David The Servant of the LORD, Who Spoke to the LORD The Words of This Song on the Day that the LORD Delivered Him from the Hand of All His Enemies and from the Hand of Saul. And He Said: I will love You, O LORD, my strength. |
1 To the choirmaster. [A Psalm] of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love you, O LORD, my strength. |
1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said, "I love You, O LORD, my strength." |
1 For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love you, O LORD, my strength. |
1 Εἰς τὸ τέλος· τῷ παιδὶ κυρίου τῷ Δαυιδ, ἃ ἐλά λησεν τῷ κυρίῳ τοὺς λόγους τῆς ᾠδῆς ταύτης ἐν ἡμέρᾳ, ᾗ ἐρρύσατο αὐτὸν κύριος ἐκ χειρὸς πάντων τῶν ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς Σαουλ, καὶ εἶπεν Ἀγαπήσω σε, κύριε ἡ ἰσχύς μου. |
1 For the end, a Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord; the words which he spoke to the Lord, even the words of this Song, in the day in which the Lord delivered him out the hand of all his enemies, and out the hand of Saul: and he said: I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. |
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ג יְהוָה סַלְעִי וּמְצוּדָתִי וּמְפַלְטִי אֵלִי[6] צוּרִי אֶחֱסֶה בּוֹ מָגִנִּי וְקֶרֶן יִשְׁעִי מִשְׂגַּבִּי. |
2. Yahweh is my rock-mountain and my stronghold and my deliverer, my God, my landmark-rock. I will take refuge in Him, my shield and horn of my salvation, my high tower |
2 The 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. |
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. |
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. |
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. |
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. |
2 κύριος στερέωμά μου καὶ καταφυγή μου καὶ ῥύστης μου, ὁ θεός μου βοηθός μου, καὶ ἐλπιῶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν, ὑπερασπιστής μου καὶ κέρας σωτηρίας μου, ἀντιλήμπτωρ μου. |
2 The Lord is my firm support, and my refuge, and my deliverer; my God is my helper, I will hope in him; he is my defender, and the horn of my salvation, and my helper. |
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ד מְהֻלָּל אֶקְרָא יְהוָה וּמִן אֹיְבַי אִוָּשֵׁעַ. |
3. He being praiseworthy, I will call Yahweh, and from my enemies I will be saved. |
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. |
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. |
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. |
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. |
3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. |
3 αἰνῶν ἐπικαλέσομαι κύριον καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου σωθήσομαι. |
3 I will call upon the Lord with praises, and I shall be saved from mine enemies. |
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ה [7]אֲפָפוּנִי חֶבְלֵי מָוֶת וְנַחֲלֵי בְלִיַּעַל יְבַעֲתוּנִי. |
4. Pains of death drowned me, and torrents of worthlesness would overwhelm me |
4 The sorrows
of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly
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4 The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. |
4 The cords of death encompasssed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; |
4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. |
4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. |
4 περιέσχον με ὠδῖνες θανάτου, καὶ χείμαρροι ἀνομίας ἐξετάραξάν με |
4 The pangs of death compassed me, and the torrents of ungodliness troubled me exceedingly. |
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ו חֶבְלֵי שְׁאוֹל סְבָבוּנִי קִדְּמוּנִי מוֹקְשֵׁי מָוֶת. |
5. Pains of Sheol surrounded me; deathly noose-snares confronted me. |
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. |
5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. |
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. |
5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. |
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. |
5 ὠδῖνες ᾅδου περιεκύκλωσάν με, προέφθασάν με παγίδες θανάτου. |
5 The pangs of hell came round about me: the snares of death prevented me. |
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PSALM 18 |
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KJV |
NKJV |
ESV |
NASB |
NIV |
LXX (17) |
Brenton |
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ז בַּצַּר לִי אֶקְרָא יְהוָה וְאֶל אֱלֹהַי אֲשַׁוֵּעַ[8] יִשְׁמַע מֵהֵיכָלוֹ קוֹלִי וְשַׁוְעָתִי לְפָנָיו תָּבוֹא בְאָזְנָיו. |
6. During my distress, I would call Yahweh and to my God I would holler. From His temple He would hear my voice and my hollering would get to His attention, into His ears. |
6 In 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. |
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears. |
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. |
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. |
6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. |
6 καὶ ἐν τῷ θλίβεσθαί με ἐπεκαλεσάμην τὸν κύριον καὶ πρὸς τὸν θεόν μου ἐκέκραξα· ἤκουσεν ἐκ ναοῦ [ἁγίου] αὐτοῦ φωνῆς μου, καὶ ἡ κραυγή μου ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὰ ὦτα αὐτοῦ. |
6 And when I was afflicted I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: he heard my voice out of this [holy] temple, and my cry shall enter before him, even into his ears. |
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ח [9]וַתִּגְעַשׁ וַתִּרְעַשׁ הָאָרֶץ וּמוֹסְדֵי הָרִים[10] יִרְגָּזוּ וַיִּתְגָּעֲשׁוּ כִּי חָרָה לוֹ. |
7. Then the earth crashed and buckled, and foundations of mountains trembled. They crashed themselves because he was angry. |
7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. |
7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. |
7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. |
7 Then the earth shook & quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling & were shaken, b/c He was angry. |
7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. |
7 καὶ ἐσαλεύθη καὶ ἔντρομος ἐγενήθη ἡ γῆ, καὶ τὰ θεμέλια τῶν ὀρέων ἐταράχθησαν καὶ ἐσαλεύθησαν, ὅτι ὠργίσθη αὐτοῖς ὁ θεός. |
7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains were disturbed, and were shaken, because God was angry with them. |
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ט עָלָה עָשָׁן בְּאַפּוֹ וְאֵשׁ מִפִּיו תֹּאכֵל גֶּחָלִים בָּעֲרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ. |
8 Smoke went up in his anger[11] and fire from His mouth was consuming; coals were kindled from it[12]! |
8 There went up a smoke |
8 Smoke went up |
8 Smoke went up |
8 Smoke went up |
8 Smoke rose |
8 ἀνέβη καπνὸς ἐν ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πῦρ ἀπὸ |
8 There went up a smoke in his wrath,
and fire burst into a flame at his |
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י וַיֵּט שָׁמַיִם וַיֵּרַד וַעֲרָפֶל תַּחַת רַגְלָיו. |
9 He parted the heavens and came down, and the fog[13] was under His feet. |
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. |
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came
down |
9 He bowed the heavens and came down; X thick darkness was under his feet. |
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
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9 He parted the heavens and came down; X
dark cloud |
9 καὶ ἔκλινεν οὐρανὸν καὶ κατέβη, καὶ γνόφος ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ. |
9 And he bowed the heaven, and came down: and thick darkness was under his feet. |
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יא וַיִּרְכַּב עַל כְּרוּב וַיָּעֹף וַיֵּדֶא[14] עַל כַּנְפֵי רוּחַ. |
10 He also rode upon a cherub and flew and swooped upon wings of wind. |
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. |
10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. |
10 He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind. |
10 He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind. |
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. |
10 καὶ ἐπέβη ἐπὶ χερουβιν καὶ ἐπετάσθη, ἐπετάσθη ἐπὶ πτερύγων ἀνέμων. |
10 And he mounted on cherubs and flew: he flew on the wings of winds. |
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יב יָשֶׁת חֹשֶׁךְ סִתְרוֹ[15] סְבִיבוֹתָיו סֻכָּתוֹ חֶשְׁכַת מַיִם עָבֵי שְׁחָקִים. |
11 He arranged for darkness to be His concealment, His tabernacle surrounding Him was the darkness of waters, the density of stormclouds[16] |
11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. |
11 He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies. |
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark |
11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. |
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. |
11 καὶ ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ· κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ ἡ σκηνὴ αὐτοῦ, σκοτεινὸν ὕδωρ ἐν νεφέλαις ἀέρων. |
11 And he made darkness his secret place: round about him was his tabernacle, even dark water in the clouds of the air. |
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PSALM 18 |
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KJV |
NKJV |
ESV |
NASB |
NIV |
LXX (17) |
Brenton |
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יג מִנֹּגַהּ נֶגְדּוֹ עָבָיו עָבְרוּ[17] בָּרָד וְגַחֲלֵי אֵשׁ. |
12 Out of the brightness[18] corresponding to Him, His storm-clouds passed hail-stones[19] and coals of fire. [20] |
12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. |
12 From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed [with] hailstones and coals of fire. |
12 Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. |
12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire. |
12 Out of the brightness of his presence X clouds advanced, [with] hailstones and bolts of lightning. |
12 ἀπὸ τῆς τηλαυγήσεως ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ |
12 At the brightness before him |
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יד וַיַּרְעֵם[21] [22]בַּשָּׁמַיִם יְהוָה וְעֶלְיוֹן יִתֵּן קֹלוֹ בָּרָד וְגַחֲלֵי אֵשׁ. |
13 And Yahweh caused it to thunder in the heavens and the Most High[23] put forth His voice - hailstones and coals of fire! |
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. |
13 The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. |
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. |
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. |
13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded X X X X. |
13 καὶ ἐβρόντησεν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ κύριος, καὶ ὁ ὕψιστος ἔδωκεν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ· X X X X |
13 The Lord also thundered from heaven, and the Highest uttered his voice. X X X X |
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טו וַיִּשְׁלַח חִצָּיו[24] וַיְפִיצֵם וּבְרָקִים רָב וַיְהֻמֵּם. |
14 And he sent His arrows and caused them to be scattered[25] He even shot lightenings and made a commotion[26] among them. |
14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. |
14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. |
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. |
14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them. |
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them. |
14 καὶ ἐξαπέστειλεν X βέλη καὶ ἐσκόρπισεν αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀστραπὰς ἐπλήθυνεν καὶ συνετάραξεν αὐτούς. |
14 And he sent forth weapons, and scattered them; and multiplied lightnings, and routed them. |
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טז וַיֵּרָאוּ אֲפִיקֵי מַיִם[27] וַיִּגָּלוּ מוֹסְדוֹת תֵּבֵל מִגַּעֲרָתְךָ יְהוָה מִנִּשְׁמַת רוּחַ אַפֶּךָ. |
15 Then the beds of the waters could be seen, and foundations of the world[28] were laid bare from Your rebuke, Yahweh, from the breath of wind from Your nose. |
15 Then 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. |
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. |
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. |
15 Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. |
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils. |
15 καὶ ὤφθησαν αἱ πηγαὶ τῶν ὑδάτων, καὶ ἀνεκαλύφθη τὰ θεμέλια τῆς οἰκουμένης ἀπὸ ἐπιτιμήσεώς σου, κύριε, ἀπὸ ἐμπνεύσεως πνεύματος ὀργῆς σου. |
15 And the springs of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blasting of the breath of thy wrath. |
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יז יִשְׁלַח מִמָּרוֹם יִקָּחֵנִי יַמְשֵׁנִי מִמַּיִם רַבִּים. |
16 He sent from on high; He took me; He pulled[29] me out of deep water. |
16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. |
16 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. |
16 He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. |
16 He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. |
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. |
16 ἐξαπέστειλεν ἐξ ὕψους καὶ ἔλαβέν με, προσελάβετό με ἐξ ὑδάτων πολλῶν. |
16 He sent from on high and took me, he drew me to himself out of many waters. |
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יח יַצִּילֵנִי מֵאֹיְבִי עָז וּמִשֹּׂנְאַי כִּי אָמְצוּ מִמֶּנִּי. |
17 He caused to deliver me from my strong enemy and from the ones who hate me because they were stronger than me[30]. |
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. |
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. |
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. |
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. |
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from |
17 ῥύσεταί με ἐξ ἐχθρ |
17 He will deliver me from my mighty enem |
[1] LXX=hope
[2] cf. Psalms 5:11; 7:1; 11:1; 16:1; 17:7; 18: 30; 25:20; 31:1,19; 34:8,22; 36:7; 37:40; 57:1; 61:4; 64:10; 71:1; 91:4; 118:8,9; 141:8; 144:2.
[3] In other places, coals of fire and smoke are associated with the presence of God, such as during God’s covenant-making ceremony with Abraham (Gen. 15:12-17) when God arrived under cover of “darkness” and the “smoking” lamp passed through the animal sacrifices or during God’s covenant-making ceremony with the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai where there was lots of smoke and thunder and lightening and earthquakes and foggy clouds (Exodus 19:16-18, Deut. 4:11, 9:15), or even in Isaiah’s and Ezekiel’s visions of heaven (Isa. 6, Ezek. 1:13 and 10:2).
[4] Although they could just as well be applied to God’s visitation on Mt. Sinai at the giving of the law, so I don’t want to be dogmatic about this allusion.
[5] 2 Sam 22:1 reads “palm” instead of “hand” here and omits the phrase, “I love You, O LORD my strength.”
[6] Spelled without abbreviation in 2 Sam. 22 and the Cairo manuscript (elohim instead of el).
[7] Only three other instances of this verb in the O.T. besides this Psalm: Psalm 40:12 (evil), Psalm 116:3 (pangs of death), and Jonah 2:5 (waters). 2 Sam 22 has mishbar “breakers” instead and adds the word ci “When/because” before it.
[8] 2 Sam 22:7 repeats אֶקְרָא here, but it’s a synonym. It also doesn’t have the liphney “before His face,” but this is implied by the following phrase.
[9] There are lots of synonyms in Hebrew for shaking sorts of motion. When I surveyed all seven verses with this particular verb (וַתִּגְעַשׁ), I concluded that the English word “crashed” would fit every instance, which includes the motion of storm-tossed water, drunkenness, and destruction. The very next verb is only one letter different in spelling, and I think that “buckled” works well for it, since it includes the crouching of legs as well as the collapsing motion of physical features before a superior force.
[10] 2 Sam 22 reads “foundations of the heavens” instead of “foundations of the mountains.”
[11] Although the parallelism with “mouth” might indicate the literal translation of aph to be “nose,” the beth prepositional prefix “in/by/with” fits better with the figurative translation of “anger.” All the English translations translated the preposition as though it were mem instead of beth, but the Septuagint rendered it the way I did.
[12] The ESV “from him” instead of “from it [His mouth]” is grammatically possible.
[13] The meaning of arphel is not “darkness” (choshek) but “thickness.” It is generally in parallel with the anan cloud, so I think that “fog” is a more accurate rendering in English than “darkness.” Although it can carry the negative meaning of “ignorance” or “disorientation” that our English word “fog” also carries, it is sometimes associated with brightly-lit clouds.
[14] 2 Sam. 22 (and Cairo) reads “and he watched (וירא instead of וידא) upon wings of wind”
[15] As He did in Gen 15:12. “Darkness” however is not in 2 Sam 22. The 2 Sam. psalm also reads חשׁרת “cloud/water-mass” instead of חשׁכת “darkness”
[16]
cf. Exodus 19:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a
thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe
thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
Also the blessing on Asher: Deu 33:26 There is none like unto the God of
Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his
excellency on the sky. 27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath
are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before
thee...
[17] 2 Sam 22:13 reads with the first two Hebrew letters switched “kindled” instead of “passed over.” It is curious to me how many of the differences between 2 Sam 22 and Psalm 18 appear to be more explainable by copying errors than by intentional editing.
[18] cf. Isa. 4:5
[19] cf. Josh 10:11
[20] cf. Ex. 9:24 – fiery hail was one of the plagues upon Egypt
[21] This word does not appear in the Cairo manuscript of this Psalm. It is Hiphal (causal). It is found in Hannah’s prayer: 1Sa 2:10 "Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed." Job 37:a5 God thunders marvellously with his voice... Especially, note 1 Sam. 7, where God “thundered” against the Philistines in response to Samuel’s prayer.
[22] 2 Sam 22 uses the preposition “from” instead of “within,” and this is adopted by the LXX, NKJV, and NIV. (2 Sam 22:16 does the reverse, substituting –ב for –מ.) The LXX and NIV also follow 2 Sam 22 in declining to copy the final phrase “hail and coals of fire” from v.13 into v. 14, but the NKJV editors couldn’t bring themselves to go that far.
[23] This term was used by Abraham when talking with Canaanites in Genesis 14 to identify Yahweh as the highest above all gods.
[24] Cairo, LXX follow 2 Sam 22 by omitting the pronoun “his.”
[25] cf. Gen.11:9 – the people “scattered” when God confused their language at the tower of Babel, cf. Num. 10:35 “Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered”
[26] The root meaning seems to have to do with making a “hubbub” noise. Note how God did this among the Egyptian army at the Red Sea (Ex. 14:24), and again the day the sun stood still for Joshua to fight the Amorites (Josh 10:10), and later at the destruction of Sisera’s army before Barak and Debora (Judges 4:14).
[27] 2 Sam 22:16 omits the first letter of this word so that it reads “sea” instead of “water.” Curious that the NKJ and NIV went with “sea” here when the LXX did not. 2 Sam 22 and the Cairo manuscript of Ps. 18 substitute the pronoun “his” for “your” at the end of the verse.
[28] Although the phrase “foundation of the world” (καταβολῆς κόσμου) in the N.T. seems to indicate the beginning of time at the creation of the world, the phrase here in Greek is plural rather than singular and uses totally different Greek words (τὰ θεμέλια τῆς οἰκουμένης). This is the only occurance of this phrase in the O.T. It could fit the previous phrase as a parallelism and thus be continuing the thought of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt in the crossing of the Red Sea.
[29] Exodus 2:10, where Moses’ name is explained as “the one drawn out of the water” is the only other incidence of this verb in the O.T.
[30] cf. Psalm 142:6
[31] Syriac and Targum translations also pluralize this Hebrew singular, perhaps to match the plural in v. 1?