Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Psalms
Book: Psalms
Chapter: 18
Overview:
David rejoices in the deliverances
God wrought for him.
(1-19)
He takes the comfort of his integrity, which
God had cleared up.
(20-28) He gives to
God the
Glory of all his mighty deeds.
(29-50)
1-19 The first words, "I will
Love thee, O
Lord, my strength,"
are the scope and contents of the psalm. Those that truly
Love
God, may triumph in him as their
Rock and
Refuge, and may with
confidence
Call upon him. It is good for us to observe all the
circumstances of a
Mercy which magnify the power of
God and his
Goodness to us in it.
David was a praying
Man, and
God was found
a
Prayer-hearing
God. If we pray as he did, we shall speed as he
did.
God's manifestation of his presence is very fully
described, ver. 7-15. Little appeared of
Man, but much of
God,
in these deliverances. It is not possible to apply to the
history of the son of
Jesse those awful, majestic, and
stupendous words which are used through this description of the
Divine manifestation. Every part of
So solemn a scene of terrors
tells us, a greater than
David is here.
God will not only
deliver his people out of their troubles in due time, but he
will
Bear them up under their troubles in the mean time. Can we
meditate
On ver. 18, without directing one thought to
Gethsemane
and
Calvary? Can we forget that it was in the
Hour of
Christ's
deepest calamity, when
Judas betrayed, when his friends forsook,
when the multitude derided him, and the smiles of his
Father's
Love were withheld, that the powers of
Darkness prevented him?
The sorrows of
Death surrounded him, in his distress he prayed,
Heb 5:7.
God made the
Earth to shake and tremble, and the
rocks to cleave, and brought him out, in his resurrection,
because he delighted in him and in his undertaking.
20-28 Those that forsake the ways of the
Lord, depart from
their
God. But though conscious to ourselves of many a false
step, let there not be a wicked departure from our
God.
David
kept his
Eye upon the rule of
God's commands. Constant care to
keep from that
Sin, whatever it be, which most easily besets us,
proves that we are upright before
God. Those who show
Mercy to
others, even they need
Mercy. Those who are
Faithful to
God,
shall find him all that to them which he has promised to be. The
words of the
Lord are pure words, very sure to be depended
On,
and very sweet to be delighted in. Those who resist
God, and
walk contrary to him, shall find that he will walk contrary to
them, Le 26:21-24. The gracious recompence of which
David
spoke, may generally be expected
By those who act from right
motives. Hence he speaks comfort to the humble, and terror to
the proud; "Thou wilt bring down high looks." And he speaks
encouragement to himself; "Thou wilt
Light my
Candle:" thou wilt
revive and comfort my sorrowful
Spirit; thou wilt guide my way,
that I may avoid the snares laid for me. Thou wilt
Light my
Candle to work
By, and give me an opportunity of serving thee.
Let those that walk in
Darkness, and labour under
discouragements, take courage;
God himself will be a
Light to
them.
29-50 When we praise for one
Mercy, we must observe the many
more, with which we have been compassed all our days. Many
things had contributed to
David's advancement, and he owns the
Hand of
God in them all, to teach us to do likewise. In verse
32, and the following verses, are the
Gifts of
God to the
spiritual warrior, whereby he is prepared for the contest, after
the
Example of his victorious Leader. Learn that we must seek
release out of trouble through
Christ. The
Prayer Put up,
without reconciliation being made through
Christ, shall be rejected.
In
David the
Type, we behold
Jesus our
Redeemer, conflicting
with enemies, compassed with sorrows and with floods of ungodly
men, enduring not only the pains of
Death, but the wrath of
God
for us; yet
Calling upon the
Father with strong cries and tears;
rescued from the
Grave; proceeding to reconcile, or to
Put under
his feet all other enemies, till
Death, the last enemy, shall be
destroyed. We should
Love the
Lord, our Strength, and our
Salvation; we should
Call On him in every trouble, and praise
him for every deliverance; we should aim to walk with him in all
Righteousness and true
Holiness, keeping from
Sin. If we belong
to him, he conquers and reigns for us, and we shall conquer and
reign through him, and partake of the
Mercy of our anointed
King, which is promised to all his seed for evermore.
Amen.