He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
It is David's song of triumph and thanksgiving for being rescued from Saul and from haters who were too strong for him to face alone, preserved in almost the same words as the song in 2 Samuel 22. When the sufferer in deep trouble cries out, God bows the heavens and comes down with creation power to stay him, to take him from the strong enemy and the day of calamity, including the flesh and the devil, and to bring him into a large place because He delights in him. It is a prophetic picture of Christ's life-and-death struggle with an enemy stronger than He was and of His deliverance from those who hated Him, making it one of His resurrection psalms and the ground of His victory for believers and in them over sin and spiritual foes. That rescuing power gives courage to be brought into personal experience by faith, for faith moves heaven as well as earth, and its instruction is not for the Jewish nation only but for God's people in every age, known by contemplating God's works as the Sabbath was ordained to teach and making the believer glad, triumphant, and full of hope. God sends from above to take the helpless one and draw him out of many waters, even out of the sea of heathenism and from brutal haters at the last moment when life itself is at stake, and help in that deliverance is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth, bringing gratitude, faithful service, kindness even to former enemies, and growth of the better nature under gentleness and love.
David's Song and Setting
Psalm 18:17 belongs to a song of triumph in which David celebrates God's deliverance from his enemies. It reflects his awareness that his own strength was insufficient against them. It expresses his confidence in God's power and goodness to deliver. It is part of his psalm of thanksgiving for being delivered from the hand of Saul.
It describes God delivering David from enemies who hated him and were too strong for him. It sheds light on his experiences during the battles with the Ammonites and Syrians. The psalm is almost the same as the song recorded in 2 Samuel 22, closely paralleling it with only slight changes. It is also recorded there with some difference in language, and the two chapters are not exactly alike. The recording in 2 Samuel 22 shows its historical connection, while Psalm 18 preserves it as part of the collection of David's writings.
It portrays the peril as men rising up in wrath and proud waters that would overwhelm the soul. The enemies were too strong to face alone. From them the soul escapes like a bird out of the fowler's broken snare. It is not given as prey to their teeth, but delivered by the Lord. Help in this deliverance is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth, for which the Lord is to be blessed.
Divine Rescue in Christ
When one in deep trouble cries to the Lord, God bows the heavens and comes down to him, riding upon the heaven in his help. He comes with the same great power displayed in creation, reaching down to take hold of the sufferer and draw him out of his peril. The rescue is from a strong enemy and from haters who are too strong for the sufferer, including the flesh and the devil, and from the day of calamity. In that distress God stays or upholds him, brings him out into a large place, and delivers him because He delights in him.
The verse gives a prophetic picture of Christ's own experience in a life-and-death struggle with the enemy. In that conflict the enemy was stronger than He was in His humanity, and He was delivered from those who hated Him. It thus reveals the suffering and conflict lying behind the triumphant events of Christ's life. Psalm 18 belongs among Christ's resurrection psalms. David's deliverance from enemies too strong for him points onward to Christ's victory won for believers and wrought in them over sin and spiritual foes.
Courage and Transformed Life
The psalm gives courage, and its message is to be brought into personal experience by faith. Faith is the Christian's lever that moves heaven as well as earth because its resting-place is the throne of the eternal God. When in deep trouble the sufferer cries to the Lord, God bows the heavens and comes down, riding upon the heaven in help.
Its moral teaching is not confined to the Jewish people as a nationality but remains instruction concerning God's people in every age, and so remains relevant to Christians. Knowing this rescuing power by contemplating God's works, for which the Sabbath was ordained, makes the believer glad in the Lord, triumphant in the work of His hands, and full of the hope expressed as Thine is the power. That rescue comes with the same great power shown in creation to take hold and save from enemies stronger than the sufferer and from haters, including the flesh and the devil, and from the day of calamity, with God staying him, bringing him into a large place, and delivering him because He delights in him.
Help in this deliverance is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth, for which the Lord is to be blessed. The peril is men rising up in wrath and proud waters that would overwhelm the soul, yet the soul escapes like a bird out of the fowler's broken snare and is not given as prey to their teeth, because the enemies were too strong to face alone. The verse shows God sending from above to take a helpless person and draw him out of many waters. The many waters are the sea of heathenism and being at its bottom, and the haters are brutal kinsmen ready to destroy life, with deliverance coming at the last moment and giving life itself.
Such deliverance brings gratitude and faithful service toward rescuers, and kindness even toward former enemies. Under Christian influence the better nature is steadily strengthened and the old weakened, with gentleness and love drawing the reluctant soul to a better life. It gives hope of becoming a useful, good man and a chosen vessel for God.
It is David's song of triumph and thanksgiving for being rescued from Saul and from haters who were too strong for him to face alone, preserved in almost the same words as the song in 2 Samuel 22. When the sufferer in deep trouble cries out, God bows the heavens and comes down with creation power to stay him, to take him from the strong enemy and the day of calamity, including the flesh and the devil, and to bring him into a large place because He delights in him. It is a prophetic picture of Christ's life-and-death struggle with an enemy stronger than He was and of His deliverance from those who hated Him, making it one of His resurrection psalms and the ground of His victory for believers and in them over sin and spiritual foes. That rescuing power gives courage to be brought into personal experience by faith, for faith moves heaven as well as earth, and its instruction is not for the Jewish nation only but for God's people in every age, known by contemplating God's works as the Sabbath was ordained to teach and making the believer glad, triumphant, and full of hope. God sends from above to take the helpless one and draw him out of many waters, even out of the sea of heathenism and from brutal haters at the last moment when life itself is at stake, and help in that deliverance is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth, bringing gratitude, faithful service, kindness even to former enemies, and growth of the better nature under gentleness and love.
David's Song and Setting
Psalm 18:17 belongs to a song of triumph in which David celebrates God's deliverance from his enemies. It reflects his awareness that his own strength was insufficient against them. It expresses his confidence in God's power and goodness to deliver. It is part of his psalm of thanksgiving for being delivered from the hand of Saul.
It describes God delivering David from enemies who hated him and were too strong for him. It sheds light on his experiences during the battles with the Ammonites and Syrians. The psalm is almost the same as the song recorded in 2 Samuel 22, closely paralleling it with only slight changes. It is also recorded there with some difference in language, and the two chapters are not exactly alike. The recording in 2 Samuel 22 shows its historical connection, while Psalm 18 preserves it as part of the collection of David's writings.
It portrays the peril as men rising up in wrath and proud waters that would overwhelm the soul. The enemies were too strong to face alone. From them the soul escapes like a bird out of the fowler's broken snare. It is not given as prey to their teeth, but delivered by the Lord. Help in this deliverance is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth, for which the Lord is to be blessed.
Divine Rescue in Christ
When one in deep trouble cries to the Lord, God bows the heavens and comes down to him, riding upon the heaven in his help. He comes with the same great power displayed in creation, reaching down to take hold of the sufferer and draw him out of his peril. The rescue is from a strong enemy and from haters who are too strong for the sufferer, including the flesh and the devil, and from the day of calamity. In that distress God stays or upholds him, brings him out into a large place, and delivers him because He delights in him.
The verse gives a prophetic picture of Christ's own experience in a life-and-death struggle with the enemy. In that conflict the enemy was stronger than He was in His humanity, and He was delivered from those who hated Him. It thus reveals the suffering and conflict lying behind the triumphant events of Christ's life. Psalm 18 belongs among Christ's resurrection psalms. David's deliverance from enemies too strong for him points onward to Christ's victory won for believers and wrought in them over sin and spiritual foes.
Courage and Transformed Life
The psalm gives courage, and its message is to be brought into personal experience by faith. Faith is the Christian's lever that moves heaven as well as earth because its resting-place is the throne of the eternal God. When in deep trouble the sufferer cries to the Lord, God bows the heavens and comes down, riding upon the heaven in help.
Its moral teaching is not confined to the Jewish people as a nationality but remains instruction concerning God's people in every age, and so remains relevant to Christians. Knowing this rescuing power by contemplating God's works, for which the Sabbath was ordained, makes the believer glad in the Lord, triumphant in the work of His hands, and full of the hope expressed as Thine is the power. That rescue comes with the same great power shown in creation to take hold and save from enemies stronger than the sufferer and from haters, including the flesh and the devil, and from the day of calamity, with God staying him, bringing him into a large place, and delivering him because He delights in him.
Help in this deliverance is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth, for which the Lord is to be blessed. The peril is men rising up in wrath and proud waters that would overwhelm the soul, yet the soul escapes like a bird out of the fowler's broken snare and is not given as prey to their teeth, because the enemies were too strong to face alone. The verse shows God sending from above to take a helpless person and draw him out of many waters. The many waters are the sea of heathenism and being at its bottom, and the haters are brutal kinsmen ready to destroy life, with deliverance coming at the last moment and giving life itself.
Such deliverance brings gratitude and faithful service toward rescuers, and kindness even toward former enemies. Under Christian influence the better nature is steadily strengthened and the old weakened, with gentleness and love drawing the reluctant soul to a better life. It gives hope of becoming a useful, good man and a chosen vessel for God.