Psalms in Poetic Form: Psalm 18

Click here to read PSALM 18 in poetic form.

Background

This Psalm includes the title: “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.”  David was pursued by Saul and escaped, by God’s grace, on several occasions.

This Psalm is very similar to II Samuel 22, which may have been its original form. Since Psalm 18 closes with the phrase “To the chief Musician,” some Bible teachers think that it was modified from II Samuel 22 when it was added to the collection of Psalms to fit with its context there.

Structure

(Verses 1,2) Messiah’s love for the Lord’s deliverance

(Verses 3-19) The Lord delivers the Messiah from his enemies

(Verses 20-24) The Lord justly rewards the Messiah for his righteousness

(Verses 25-27) The Lord justly rewards men for their heart attitudes and actions

(Verses 28-48) The Lord delivers the Messiah from his enemies

(Verses 49,50) Messiah’s praise for the Lord’s deliverance

Key Scriptures

Verse 2—“My deliverer.” This Hebrew word is used three times (verses 2,3,48) in this Psalm and means to “slip out” or “escape.” David did that many times with God’s help, as did David’s son, Jesus Christ.

Verse 3—“saved.” This Hebrew word is used three times (verses 3,27,41) in this Psalm and means “to be set free in a wide or open place.” These three verses say that God saves David, and those who are afflicted, but not those who hate the Lord and His Messiah.

Verses 3-19—This section opens (verses 3-6) with the Messiah calling upon the Lord when faced with imminent death. The Lord hears and awesomely displays His mighty power (verses 7-15). The Lord delivers the Messiah (verses 16-19) out of “many waters”—both David and Jesus Christ escaped, by God’s grace, the Devil’s many attacks. God did this because He “delighted,” was pleased, with these men who were after God’s heart. Jesus Christ was well pleasing to his Father (John 8:29; Matthew 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).

Verses 20-24—The Messiah walked righteously before God, and his Father was just to reward him for it. “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness,” “according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me,” “I have kept the ways of the Lord…not wickedly departed from my God,” “all his judgments were before me,” “I did not put away his statutes from me,” “I was also upright before him,” “I kept myself from mine iniquity,” “the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness,” “according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.”

Verses 25-27—The Lord is fair and just to all men, both haughty and humble. He responds in kind to the merciful, upright, and pure (as well as to the froward, or crooked). God saves the lowly and humble, but He brings down the proud and haughty (James 4:6-10; I Peter 5:5-7).

Verses 28-48—God will enlighten the Messiah’s path and show him where to go. He teaches him how to overcome his enemies, which are first and foremost spiritual in nature (Ephesians 6:12). This section concludes with: “He [God] delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent [and unjust] man.”

Verse 50—“Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.” David’s son, Jesus Christ, is the King for all times, and the promised seed, the Messiah.

FOR FURTHER STUDY

All 150 of The Psalms in Poetic Form are available from Amazon in a book, either Large Print or a smaller Bedside Reader. Also available for free with a Kindle Unlimited membership. Enjoy!

The entire blog series is now available in the publication The Psalms: Background & Structure with Key Scriptures Explained.