Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

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Psalm 18

What should I learn from this chapter?

• Yᵊhōvâ is….Peace in the midst of fear
• Meaning of Cherub
• Meaning of Darkness
• Meaning of Shield
• Meaning of Bow
• Jesus is David’s ancestor
• Jesus is Davids’ descendant
• God’s wrath
• Hebrew symbolism of bronze

God the Sovereign Savior

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:

Psalm 18:¹ I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

• This is the greatest commandment, to love the Lord your God with all your strength, with all your mind, and with all your soul.

Psalm 18:² The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) is my rock (selaʿ) and my fortress (māṣûḏ) and my deliverer (pālaṭ);
My God (‘ēl), my strength (Lit. rock) (ṣûr), in whom I will trust;
My shield (Lit. Buckler) (māḡēn) and the horn (Strength) (qeren) of my salvation, my stronghold.

@Prophecy Fulfillment Alert: Luke 1:69-71 (The horn of salvation) (Old Testament prophecy fulfilled by Jesus)

See: Topic: Jesus as a Rock and a Stone
See: Topic: Biblical Materials (including Light)

• Shield: Root of māḡēn (to cover) is gânan’; a primitive root; to hedge about, i.e. (generally) protect:—defend, a hedge of thorns.
  • ^{Man is hedged about by Jesus’ crown of thorns and covered by His blood.}
  • ^{Job 1:10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.}

• Horn: qeren from qâran ‘; a primitive root; to push or gore, to push out light rays; figuratively, rays:—have horns, shine.

David depends on Yᵊhōvâ as his:

Rock	Fortress	Deliverer	God	Strength	Shield (Hedge of Thorns)	Horn (Ox) (Light)	Stronghold (High Tower)
selaʿ	māṣûḏ	pālaṭ	‘ēl	ṣûr	māḡēn	qeren	miśgāḇ
h5553	h4686	h6403	h410	h6697	h4043	h7161	h4869

Psalm 18:³ I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Note: Compare the verses below between Jonah, David, and Jesus and note the parallels

Psalm 18:⁴ The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness (Lit. Belial) made me afraid.

• ^{Jonah 2:3 For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.}
• ^{John 10:24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”}

Psalm 18:⁵ The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.

• ^{Jonah 2:2 “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.
  Jonah 2:5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep (Sheol) closed around me; Weeds (like thorns) were wrapped around my head.}
• ^{Psalm 16:10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.}

Psalm 18:⁶ In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple (in heaven),
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

• ^{Jonah 2:7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord;
  And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple.}
• ^{Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.}

Compare verses below with Jesus’ Return to earth: note the parallels

Psalm 18:⁷ Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.

• An earthquake

• ^{Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.}

Psalm 18:⁸ Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it.

Psalm 18:⁹ He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.

• A “bow” is an oath, a covenant
• “darkness” is the hidden things

^{Zephaniah 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness,}

Psalm 18:¹⁰ And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.

• A cherub is a divine steed H3742 – and a guardian angel.

Psalm 18:¹¹ He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.

• The darkness is the place God keeps secrets because men cannot “see” them.

Psalm 18:¹² From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

Psalm 18:¹³ The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.

^{Revelation 16:18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.}

Psalm 18:¹⁴ He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe (Lit. them) (the unrighteous nations),
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.

^{Jesus is the Father’s arrow. An arrow needs a “bow” and a bow is an oath/covenant.}

^{Isaiah 17:13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.}

^{Leviticus 26:7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.}

Psalm 18:¹⁵ Then the channels of the sea (of people) were seen,
The foundations of the world (their beginnings) were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

^{Jonah 2:6 I went down to the moorings (foundations or bases) of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God.}

Psalm 18:¹⁶ He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters (of people).

Psalm 18:¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.

Psalm 18:¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.

Psalm 18:¹⁹ He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

• “A Broad Place” is a place of freedom.
• The root meaning of Yeshua in Hebrew or Jesus in Greek is: H3467 – yāšaʿto be open, wide or free. (A broad place). (Out of the bondage of captivity, salvation)

Psalm 18:²⁰ The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

Psalm 18:²¹ For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.

Psalm 18:²² For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.

Psalm 18:²³ I was also blameless before (with) Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.

Psalm 18:²⁴ Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

Psalm 18:²⁵ With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

Psalm 18:²⁶ With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

• ^{Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.}

Psalm 18:²⁷ For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.

• ^{Proverbs 6:16 These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
  17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,
  18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,
  19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.}

Psalm 18:²⁸ For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

• ^{The Light shines brighter in the darkness.}
• ^{God shares His secrets so that they can be seen by whom He wishes.}

Psalm 18:²⁹ For by You I can run (Or run through) against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.

Psalm 18:³⁰ As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven (Lit. refined);
He is a shield (hedge) to all who trust in Him.

• In Hebrew, a shield is a hedge of thorns.
  Satan accused God of protecting Job with a hedge of thorns:
  ^{Job 1:1 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.}

Psalm 18:³¹ For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?

Psalm 18:³² It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.

Psalm 18:³³ He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.

Psalm 18:³⁴ He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow (oath, covenant) of bronze (symbolic of “men”).

See Topic: Biblical Materials Symbolism- Bronze

Psalm 18:³⁵ You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand (The Prince of the King, Jesus) has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.

• Shield: A hedge of thorns
• Salvation: The root meaning of Yeshua in Hebrew or Jesus in Greek is: H3467 – yāšaʿto be open, wide or free. (A broad place). (Out of the bondage of captivity, salvation)

Psalm 18:³⁶ You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip.

• Enlarged-Broadened.

Psalm 18:³⁷ I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.

Psalm 18:³⁸ I have wounded them, So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet (of authority).

Psalm 18:³⁹ For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued (Lit. caused to bow) under me those who rose up against me.

Psalm 18:⁴⁰ You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.

Psalm 18:⁴¹ They cried out, but there was none to save;
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.

Psalm 18:⁴² Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I cast them out like dirt in the streets.

Psalm 18:⁴³ You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
You have made me the head of the nations (gentiles);
A people I have not known shall serve me.

• Note: The strivings of the people are like muddy waters; stirred up. Satan, a sea monster, “fouls” the waters of people causing them to worry, fret, stew and boil.

• Like David … also Jesus
  ^{Psalm 2:6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” 7 “I will declare the decree:
  The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. (Raised You from the dead) 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You the (gentile) nations for Your inheritance,
  And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron;
  You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”}

Psalm 18:⁴⁴ As soon as they hear of me they obey me; The foreigners (gentiles, heathens, barbarians, dogs) submit (feign submission) to me.

Psalm 18:⁴⁵ The foreigners fade away, And come frightened from their hideouts.

Psalm 18:⁴⁶ The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

• The meaning of Jesus’ name is “salvation” and He loves to use it.

• Rock: See Topic: Jesus as a Rock and a Stone

Psalm 18:⁴⁷ It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me;

• God avenges the enemies of men by becoming a man in order to be one of their “kin”. He then acts as a “kinsman redeemer” according to the law.

Psalm 18:⁴⁸ He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.

• The violent man is also a name for the coming Antichrist.

Psalm 18:⁴⁹ Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles (nations), And sing praises to Your name.

Psalm 18:⁵⁰ Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants (Lit. seed) forevermore.

• ^{David’s ancestor is Jesus.
  (Luke 3:38)}
• ^{David’s descendant is Jesus.
  (Isaiah 11:1) The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring – There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.}
• ^{Psalm 110:1 Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign – A Psalm of David.The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”}