John Calvin Commentary Psalms 18:4

"The cords of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid." — Psalms 18:4 (ASV)

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.