notes
Main point summary
David thanks God for answering his appeal for help and delivering him from his enemies.
Arc
editing
OT
Psalms 18:1-50
nasb
“I love You, O Lord , a my strength.”
The Lord is a my 1 rock and b my fortress and my c deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My d shield and the e horn of my salvation, my f stronghold.
Synonymous Parallelism
coord
SP
I call upon the Lord , who is a worthy to be praised,
And I am b saved from my enemies.
actionresult
series
The a cords of death encompassed me,
And the b torrents of 1 ungodliness 2 terrified me.
Synonymous Parallelism
The a cords of 1 Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
Synonymous Parallelism
In my a distress I called upon the Lord ,
And cried to my God for help;
Synonymous Parallelism
He heard my voice b out of His temple,
And my c cry for help before Him came into His ears.
Synonymous Parallelism
Then the a earth shook and quaked;
And the b foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken,
Synonymous Parallelism
because He was angry.
ground
Smoke went up 1 out of His nostrils,
And a fire from His mouth devoured;
Synonymous Parallelism
Coals were kindled by it.
He a bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick b darkness under His feet.
actionmanner
He rode upon a a cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the b wings of the wind.
Synonymous Parallelism
He made a darkness His hiding place,
b His 1 canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
Synonymous Parallelism
From the a brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and b coals of fire.
The Lord also a thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.
Synonymous Parallelism
He a sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and 1 routed them.
Synonymous Parallelism
Then the a channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were 1 laid bare
At Your b rebuke, O Lord ,
At the blast of the c breath of Your nostrils.
Synonymous Parallelism
progression
He a sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of b many waters.
Synonymous Parallelism
He a delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were b too mighty for me.
Synonymous Parallelism
They confronted me in a the day of my calamity,
But b the Lord was my stay.
concessive
ideaexplanation
He brought me forth also
into a a broad place;
locative
He rescued me,
Synonymous Parallelism
because b He delighted in me.
The Lord has a rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the b cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
Synonymous Parallelism
For I have a kept the ways of the Lord ,
And have b not wickedly departed from my God.
Antithetic Parallelism
AP
For all a His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His b statutes from me.
Antithetic Parallelism
I was also 1 a blameless with Him,
And I b kept myself from my iniquity.
Synonymous Parallelism
bilateral
Therefore the Lord has a recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
Synonymous Parallelism
With a the kind You show Yourself kind;
With the 1 blameless b You show Yourself blameless;
With the pure You show Yourself a pure,
And with the crooked b You show Yourself 1 astute.
For You a save an afflicted people,
But b haughty eyes You abase.
alternative
For You a light my lamp;
The Lord my God b illumines my darkness.
Synonymous Parallelism
For by You I can 1 a run upon a troop;
And by my God I can b leap over a wall.
Synonymous Parallelism
As for God, His way is 1 a blameless;
The b word of the Lord is tried;
He is a c shield to all who take refuge in Him.
For a who is God, but the Lord ?
And who is a b rock, except our God,
Synonymous Parallelism
The God who a girds me with strength
And 1 makes my way 2 b blameless?
He a makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And b sets me upon my high places.
Synonymous Parallelism
He a trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can b bend a bow of bronze.
actionpurpose
You have also given me a the shield of Your salvation,
And Your b right hand upholds me;
And c Your 1 gentleness makes me great.
You a enlarge my steps under me,
And my 1 b feet have not slipped.
I a pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back b until they were consumed.
I shattered them,
so that they were a not able to rise;
They fell b under my feet.
For You have a girded me with strength for battle;
You have 1 b subdued under me those who rose up against me.
You have also made my enemies a turn their backs to me,
And I 1 b destroyed those who hated me.
They cried for help,
but there was a none to save,
Even to the Lord ,
but b He did not answer them.
Synonymous Parallelism
Then I beat them fine as the a dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
Synonymous Parallelism
You have delivered me from the a contentions of the people;
You have placed me as b head of the nations;
A c people whom I have not known serve me.
As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Synonymous Parallelism
Foreigners 1 a submit to me.
Foreigners a fade away,
And b come trembling out of their 1 fortresses.
inference
The Lord a lives,
and blessed be b my rock;
And exalted be c the God of my salvation,
The God who a executes vengeance for me,
And b subdues peoples under me.
He a delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You b lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the c violent man.
Synonymous Parallelism
Therefore I will a give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord ,
And I will b sing praises to Your name.
Synonymous Parallelism
He gives great 1 a deliverance to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to b His anointed,
To David and c his 2 descendants forever.
Introduction: v1-3
Distress: v4-5
Appeal: v6
Deliverance: v7-19
Testimony: v20-50
Psalm type: Thanksgiving
Synonymous Parallelism: the following lines repeat or reinforce the sense of the first line.
Antithetic Parallelism: the following lines present the same idea as the first by contrast or negation .
discourse
Phrase
Psalms 18:1-50
A. Love for the Rock
“I love You, O Lord, my strength.”
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.
B. Distress Recounted
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
The cords of death encompassed me,
And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.
The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
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.
C. Help Initiated
Then the earth shook and quaked;
And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken,
because He was angry.
Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
He rode upon a cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness His hiding place,
His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire.
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.
He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.
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.
D. The Lord's Deliverance
He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my stay.
He brought me forth also into a broad place;
He rescued me,
because He delighted in me.
E. The Lord's Care for the Righteous
The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
I was also blameless with Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
With the kind You show Yourself kind;
With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.
For You save an afflicted people,
But haughty eyes You abase.
For You light my lamp;
The Lord my God illumines my darkness.
For by You I can run upon a troop;
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
D'. The Lord's Goodness
As for God, His way is blameless;
The word of the Lord is tried;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God,
The God who girds me with strength
And makes my way blameless?
He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And sets me upon my high places.
He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And Your gentleness makes me great.
You enlarge my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped.
C'. Help Received
I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
I shattered them,
so that they were not able to rise;
They fell under my feet.
For You have girded me with strength for battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I destroyed those who hated me.
They cried for help,
but there was none to save,
Even to the Lord,
but He did not answer them.
Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
B'. Victory Recounted
You have delivered me from the contentions of the people;
You have placed me as head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.
As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners submit to me.
Foreigners fade away,
And come trembling out of their fortresses.
A'. Praise for the Rock
The Lord lives,
and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be the God of my salvation,
The God who executes vengeance for me,
And subdues peoples under me.
He delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the violent man.
Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,
And I will sing praises to Your name.
He gives great deliverance to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forever.
phrasing