Summary
In the first half of Psalm 18, King David praises God, his rock and refuge, for the deliverance which God gave to his people. King David proclaimed for believers of all ages to sing of how God delivers his people from their enemies and protects them.
In the second half of Psalm 18, King David heaps more praise on God. He offers praise for what God has done for him, the King, on behalf of his people. He praises God for his grace, his victory, and his conquering. He completes the Psalm with a concluding praise to God always, for his wonderful deeds.
Our passage explained
v31-36
David’s psalm praises God for his deliverance, and then his goodness. David further praises God’s character by offering praise for God’s grace in verses 31 to 36. He rhetorically asks “who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?” (v.31).
In verses 32 to 34 he elaborates on how God is incomparable. It is God who equipped David with strength and helps him to follow his ways (v.32), who allowed him to escape his enemies like a fleet-footed deer (v.33), and equipped him with the strength and skill to fight (v.34).
But David recognises it was not his own strength and skills which gave him victory, but God. “You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great” (v.35). Spoke poetically, God saved David, supported him, and raised him to greatness. He also made David’s path plain in front of him, so he did not slip and fall injured (v.36).
v37-42
Since David recognises it was God that gave the victory, he gives praise for God’s victory in verses 37 to 42. He records how he pursued his enemies until they were completely defeated, unable to rise again (vv.37-8). It was because God “equipped me with strength for the battle” (v.39) and caused his enemies to fall at his feet, causing them to flee and surrender so they were utterly defeated (or destroyed; v.40).
While David had God on his side, his enemies had nobody. They cried out for salvation, even calling on God himself, but God did not answer them because they were not his faithful servants (v.41) and were only calling on God to save them because of the crisis they were in, as David definitively defeated them, beating them “fine as dust before the wind” (v.42).
v43-45
Not only was it God that gave the victory, but God that enlarged David’s kingdom. So in verses 43 to 45 David gives praise for God’s conquering of his enemies. David’s defeat of enemies was not only external but internal. God “delivered me from strife with the people” ensuring his kingdom was internally secure, and “made me the head of the nations” by placing other nations under David’s reign (v.43).
The victory God gave David was certain enough to bring foreigners trembling to him for peace and rule. They come “cringing to me” and had “lost heart” coming “trembling out of their fortresses” because of David’s victories in God’s power.
v46-50
The victory and kingdom given to David causes him to offer praise to God always, in the concluding verses of Psalm 18. David is clear that God alone lives among all the so-called Gods, and blesses the source of his refuge and salvation (v.46). It is God who gave David vengeance over his enemies, rescued him from them, and established him as ruler over them (vv.47-8).
For these deeds David offers praise to God. He will praise God’s name among the Gentile nations, proclaiming what God has done (v.49). Because God gives salvation to his anointed king, showing his covenant faithfulness to David and his offspring forever (v.50), including the true anointed one of God, Jesus.
Our passage applied
The attitude of David expressed here encourages us to see the big picture. We struggle with our own sin and a world which in various times and ways may seek our harm because we identify ourselves with God. But it is not our own strength that we must rely on, instead it is God who gives us the strength and the skill to overcome. Like David, God equips us for war, but it is war against the flesh and the Devil (Ephesians 6:10-18).
God’s covenant love extends to David’s descendants forever, of whom the true and greatest descendant is Jesus, our king. It is through Jesus that we receive God’s grace and deliverance, through Jesus we receive victory over sin and death, and it is Jesus whose reign extends not only to his chosen people but will extend over all the nations.
Like David, our response should not be to proclaim ourselves but to proclaim God among the nations for what he has done. We praise and worship God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, joining David and other saints who worship God for his covenant love shown in all ages.
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