John Calvin Commentary Psalms 18

And he said, etc. I will not stop to examine too minutely the syllables, or the few words, in which this psalm differs from the song recorded in 2 Samuel 22. When, however, we encounter any important difference, we will address it in the proper place. We find one such difference in the remarkable sentence with which this psalm begins: I will love you affectionately, O Jehovah, my strength, which is omitted in the song in Samuel.

As Scripture does not use the verb רהם, racham, for to love, except in the conjugation pihel, and as it is here put in the conjugation kal, some of the Jewish expositors explain it as meaning to seek mercy; as if David had said, "Lord, since I have so often experienced you to be a merciful God, I will trust and rest in your mercies forever."

Certainly, this exposition would not be unsuitable, but I am unwilling to depart from the other, which is more generally received. It is to be observed that love to God is presented here as constituting the principal part of true godliness, for there is no better way of serving God than to love him.

No doubt, the service which we owe him is better expressed by the word reverence, so that his majesty may be prominent in our view in its infinite greatness. But as he requires nothing so expressly as to have all the affections of our heart directed towards him, there is no sacrifice he values more than when we are firmly bound to him by the chain of a free and spontaneous love. On the other hand, there is nothing in which his glory shines forth more conspicuously than in his free and sovereign goodness. Moses, therefore (Deuteronomy 10:12), when he intended to give a summary of the law, says:

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require
of you but to love him?”

In saying this, David also intended to show that his thoughts and affections were not so intently fixed on God's benefits as to be ungrateful to their author—a sin that has been all too common in every age.

Even today, we see how most people casually enjoy God's gifts without paying any regard to him, or, if they think of him at all, it is only to despise him. David, to prevent himself from falling into this ingratitude, in these words makes, so to speak, a solemn vow: "Lord, as you are my strength, I will continue united and devoted to you by unfeigned love."

Jehovah is my rock, etc. When David thus heaps together many titles with which to honor God, it is not a useless or unnecessary accumulation of words. We know how difficult it is for people to keep their minds and hearts steadfast in God. They either imagine that having God on their side is not enough, and consequently, are always seeking support and help elsewhere, or, at the first temptation that assails them, lose the confidence they placed in him.

David, therefore, by attributing to God various methods of saving his people, declares that, provided he has God as his protector and defender, he is effectively fortified against all peril and assault. It is as if he had said, "Those whom God intends to help and defend are not only safe from one kind of danger, but are, as it were, surrounded by impregnable ramparts on all sides, so that, if a thousand deaths were presented to their view, they should not be afraid even of this formidable array."

We see, then, that David's purpose here is not only to celebrate the praises of God, as a sign of his gratitude, but also to fortify our minds with a firm and steadfast faith. This is so that, whatever afflictions befall us, we may always turn to God, and may be fully persuaded that he has the strength and power to assist us in different ways, according to the different methods of doing us harm that the wicked devise.

Nor, as I have observed before, is it without cause that David insists so much on this point and expresses the same thing in different terms. God may have aided us in one way, and yet whenever a new storm arises, we are immediately struck with terror, as if we had never experienced any of his aid.

And those who in one trouble expect protection and help from him, but who afterwards limit his power, considering it limited in other respects, act like a man who, upon going into battle, considers his chest well secured because he has a breastplate and a shield to defend him, and yet is afraid for his head, because he is without a helmet.

David, therefore, here furnishes the faithful with a complete suit of armor, so that they may feel that they are in no danger of being wounded, provided they are shielded by the power of God. That this is his purpose is apparent from the declaration he makes of his confidence in God: I will trust in him. Let us, therefore, learn from his example to apply to our own use those titles that are here attributed to God, and to apply them as an antidote against all the perplexities and distresses that may assail us. Or rather, let them be deeply imprinted on our memory, so that we may be able at once to repel whatever fear Satan may suggest to our mind.

I give this exhortation, not only because we tremble under the calamities with which we are currently assailed, but also because we groundlessly conjure up in our own imaginations dangers concerning the future, and thus needlessly trouble ourselves with the mere creations of fancy. In the song, as recorded in 2 Samuel 22:3, instead of these words, My God, my rock, it is, God of my rock. And after the word refuge, there is, My fortress, my savior, thou shalt preserve me from violence; words that make the sentence fuller, but the meaning amounts to the same thing.

I will call upon the praised Jehovah. Calling upon God, as has been observed elsewhere, frequently includes the whole of His service; but as the effect or fruit of prayer is particularly mentioned in what follows, this phrase in the present passage, I have no doubt, signifies turning to God for protection and asking by prayer for deliverance from Him.

David, having said in the second verse that he trusted in God, now adds this as evidence of his trust; for everyone who confides in God will earnestly seek His aid in time of need. He therefore declares that he will be saved and prove victorious over all his enemies because he will turn to God for help.

He calls God the praised Jehovah, not only to suggest that He is worthy of being praised, as almost all interpreters explain it, but also to point out that when he came to the throne of grace, his prayers would be mingled and interwoven with praises. The context of the passage seems to require that it be understood as meaning that, giving thanks to God for the benefits he has received from Him in times past, he will ask His assistance by renewed supplications. And certainly, no one will ever invoke God in prayer freely and frankly unless he animates and encourages himself by the remembrance of the grace of God. Accordingly, Paul, in Philippians 4:6, exhorts the faithful:

in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, to make their requests known unto God (Philippians 4:6).

...and to unload their cares, as it were, into His bosom. All those whose prayers are not accompanied with the praises of God can be accused of clamoring and complaining against Him when engaged in that solemn exercise.

The cords of death had compassed me about. David now begins to recount the undeniable and glorious proofs by which he had experienced that God's hand is strong and powerful enough to repel all the dangers and calamities with which he might be assailed. And we need not be surprised that these things, which could have been described more simply and plainly, are expressed poetically and presented with all the elegance and ornamentation of language.

To contend against and impact the wicked and perverse dispositions of people, the Holy Spirit equipped David here with eloquence full of majesty, energy, and wonderful power, to awaken humanity to consider God's benefits. There is hardly any assistance God gives, however evident and palpable it may be to our senses, that our indifference or proud disdain does not obscure.

Therefore, to move and penetrate our minds more effectively, David says that the deliverance and help God had granted him had been evident throughout the whole framework of the world. We need to consider his intention here, so that we do not think he goes too far in expressing himself in such a remarkably sublime style. In summary, when in his distresses he had been driven to desperation, he had turned to God for help and had been wonderfully preserved.

We will now make a few observations regarding the words. The Hebrew word חבלי, chebley, means cords or sorrows, or any deadly evil that consumes a person’s health and strength and tends to their destruction. So that the psalm may correspond with the song recorded in 2 Samuel, mentioned earlier, I do not object to this word being understood here as contrition, because the phrase used there is משברי מות, mishberey maveth, and the noun משברי, mishberey, is derived from a verb that means to break. But as the metaphor taken from cords or snares agrees better with the verb compass about, which means that David was on all sides involved and entangled in the perils of death, I am more inclined to adopt this interpretation.

What follows concerning torrents implies that he had been almost overwhelmed by the violent onslaught of his enemies against him, just as someone submerged by floodwaters is almost lost. He calls them the torrents of Belial, because it was wicked and perverse people who had conspired against him.

The Hebrew word Belial has a broad meaning. Expositors have different opinions regarding its etymology. I do not know why Jerome translated it as without yoke. The more generally accepted opinion is that it is composed of these two words, בלי, beli, not, and יעל, yaäl, meaning that the wicked do not rise—in other words, they ultimately gain nothing and obtain no advantage from their foolish course.

The Jews certainly used this word to designate every kind of detestable wickedness, and from this, it is highly probable that David used it to describe his enemies, who despicably and wickedly plotted his destruction. If, however, anyone prefers to translate the phrase as deadly torrents, I am not inclined to oppose this translation.

In the following verse, he repeats, the corruptions or cords of the grave had compassed him about. Since the Hebrew word is the same one he used in the preceding verse, I have considered it proper to translate it as cords here, as I did there, not only because he uses a verb that means to beset, to enclose, or to surround, but also because he immediately adds, the snares of death, which, in my opinion, should be understood in the same sense.

This, then, describes the dangerous circumstances into which he was brought, and it further enhances and magnifies the glory of his deliverance. Since David had been reduced to such a desperate condition that no hope of relief or deliverance seemed possible, it is certain that he was delivered by God's hand, and that it was not something accomplished by human power.

In my distress, etc. It was a very clear proof of uncommon faith in David when, being almost plunged into the gulf of death, he lifted his heart to heaven in prayer. Let us therefore learn from this example set before us that no calamities, however great and oppressive, should hinder us from praying or create an aversion to it.

It was prayer that brought David the fruits or wonderful effects he speaks of a little later, and from this it appears even more clearly that his deliverance was effected by the power of God. In saying that he cried, he means, as we have observed elsewhere, the fervor and earnestness of devotion he had in prayer.

Again, by calling God his God, he separates himself from the flagrant despisers of God, or hypocrites, who, when compelled by necessity, call upon the Divine Majesty in a confused and tumultuous manner, but do not come to God intimately and with a pure heart, since they know nothing of His fatherly favor and goodness.

Therefore, when we approach God, faith goes before to illuminate the way, giving us the full persuasion that He is our Father. Then the gate is opened, and we may converse freely with Him, and He with us. David, by calling God his God and placing Him on his side, also intimates that God was opposed to his enemies; and this serves to show that he was motivated by true piety and the fear of God.

By the word temple, we are not to understand it here as the sanctuary, as in many other places, but as heaven; for the description that immediately follows cannot be applied to the sanctuary. Accordingly, the meaning is that when David was forsaken and abandoned in the world, and all people shut their ears to his cry for help, God stretched out His hand from heaven to save him.