Psa 18:4-19 | TDavid | STEP | EXPOSITION Verse 4-19 . In most poetical language the Psalmist now describes his experience of Jehovah's delivering power. Poesy has in all her treasures no gem more lustrous than the sonnet of the following verses; the sorrow, the cry, the descent of the Divine One, and the rescue of the afflicted, are here set to a music worthy of the golden harps. The Messiah our Saviour is evidently, over and beyond David or any other believer, the main and chief subject of this song; and while studying it we have grown more and more sure that every line here has its deepest and profoundest fulfilment in Him; but as we are desirous not to extend our comment beyond moderate bounds, we must leave it with the devout reader to make the very easy application of the passage to our once distressed but now triumphant Lord. Verse 4 . The sorrows of death compassed me. Death like a cruel conqueror seemed to twist round about him the cords of pain. He was environed and hemmed in with threatening deaths of the most appalling sort. He was like a mariner broken by the storm and driven upon the rocks by dreadful breakers, white as the teeth of death. Sad plight for the man after God's own heart, but thus it is that Jehovah dealeth with his sons. The floods of ungodly men made me afraid. Torrents of ungodliness threatened to swamp all religion, and to hurry away the godly man's hope as a thing to be scorned and despised; so far was this threat fulfilled, that even the hero who slew Goliath began to be afraid. The most seaworthy bark is sometimes hard put to it when the storm fiend is abroad. The most courageous man, who as a rule hopes for the best, may sometimes fear the worst. Beloved reader, he who pens these lines has known better than most men what this verse means, and feels inclined to weep, and yet to sing, while he writes upon a text so descriptive of his own experience. On the night of the lamentable accident at the Surrey Music Hall, the floods of Belial were let loose, and the subsequent remarks of a large portion of the press were exceedingly malicious and wicked; our soul was afraid as we stood encompassed with the sorrows of death and the blasphemies of the cruel. But oh, what mercy was there in it all, and what honey of goodness was extracted by our Lord out of this lion of affliction! Surely God hath heard me! Art thou in an ill plight? Dear friend, learn thou from our experience to trust in the Lord Jehovah, who forsaketh not his chosen. EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS Verse 4 . Sorrows of death . It is heaven's peculiar to be the land of the living; all this life is at most but the shadow of death, the gate of death, the sorrows of death, the snares of death, the terrors of death, the chambers of death, the sentence of death, the savour of death, the ministration of death, the way of death. Matthew Griffith, 1634. Verse 4 . The bands or cords of death encompassed me . It is not very easy to fix the precise meaning of the phrase, "bands" or "cords" of death. It may either be considered as equivalent to "the bands by which the dead are bound," in which case, to be encircled with the bands of death is just a figurative expression for being dead; or it may be considered as equivalent to the bands in which a person is bound in the prospect of a violent death, and by which his violent death is secured, he being prevented from escaping. It has been supposed by some, that the allusion is to the ancient mode of hunting wild animals. A considerable tract of country was surrounded with strong ropes. The circle was gradually contracted till the object of pursuit was so confined as to become an easy prey to the hunter. These cords were the cords of death, securing the death of the animal. The phrase is applicable to our Lord in both senses; but as "the floods" of wickedness, or the wicked, are represented as making him afraid subsequently to his being encircled with the cords of death, I am disposed to understand it in the latter of these two senses. John Brown. Verse 4 . The floods . There is no metaphor of more frequent occurrence with the sacred poets, than that which represents dreadful and unexpected calamities under the image of overwhelming waters. This image seems to have been especially familiar with the Hebrews, inasmuch as it was derived from the peculiar habit and nature of their own country. They had continually before their eyes the river Jordan, annually overflowing its banks, when at the approach of summer the snows of Libanus and the neighbouring mountains melted, and, suddenly pouring down in torrents, swelled the current of the river. Besides, the whole country of Palestine, although it was not watered by many perennial streams, was, from the mountainous character of the greater part of it, liable to numerous torrents, which precipitated themselves through the narrow valleys after the periodical rainy seasons. This image, therefore, however known and adopted by other poets, may be considered as particularly familiar, and as it were, domestic with the Hebrews; who accordingly introduced it with greater frequency and freedom. Robert Lowth (Bishop), 1710-1787. HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS Verse 4-6 . Graphic picture of a distressed soul, and its resorts in the hour of extremity.

Psalms 18:4-19

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. In most poetical language the Psalmist now describes his experience of Jehovah's delivering power. Poesy has in all her treasures no gem more lustrous than the sonnet of the following verses; the sorrow, the cry, the descent of the Divine One, and the rescue of the afflicted, are here set to a music worthy of the golden harps. The Messiah our Saviour is evidently, over and beyond David or any other believer, the main and chief subject of this song; and while studying it we have grown more and more sure that every line here has its deepest and profoundest fulfilment in Him; but as we are desirous not to extend our comment beyond moderate bounds, we must leave it with the devout reader to make the very easy application of the passage to our once distressed but now triumphant Lord.

Verse 4. The sorrows of death compassed me. Death like a cruel conqueror seemed to twist round about him the cords of pain. He was environed and hemmed in with threatening deaths of the most appalling sort. He was like a mariner broken by the storm and driven upon the rocks by dreadful breakers, white as the teeth of death. Sad plight for the man after God's own heart, but thus it is that Jehovah dealeth with his sons.

The floods of ungodly men made me afraid. Torrents of ungodliness threatened to swamp all religion, and to hurry away the godly man's hope as a thing to be scorned and despised; so far was this threat fulfilled, that even the hero who slew Goliath began to be afraid. The most seaworthy bark is sometimes hard put to it when the storm fiend is abroad. The most courageous man, who as a rule hopes for the best, may sometimes fear the worst. Beloved reader, he who pens these lines has known better than most men what this verse means, and feels inclined to weep, and yet to sing, while he writes upon a text so descriptive of his own experience. On the night of the lamentable accident at the Surrey Music Hall, the floods of Belial were let loose, and the subsequent remarks of a large portion of the press were exceedingly malicious and wicked; our soul was afraid as we stood encompassed with the sorrows of death and the blasphemies of the cruel. But oh, what mercy was there in it all, and what honey of goodness was extracted by our Lord out of this lion of affliction! Surely God hath heard me! Art thou in an ill plight? Dear friend, learn thou from our experience to trust in the Lord Jehovah, who forsaketh not his chosen.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 4. Sorrows of death. It is heaven's peculiar to be the land of the living; all this life is at most but the shadow of death, the gate of death, the sorrows of death, the snares of death, the terrors of death, the chambers of death, the sentence of death, the savour of death, the ministration of death, the way of death. Matthew Griffith, 1634.

Verse 4. The bands or cords of death encompassed me. It is not very easy to fix the precise meaning of the phrase, "bands" or "cords" of death. It may either be considered as equivalent to "the bands by which the dead are bound," in which case, to be encircled with the bands of death is just a figurative expression for being dead; or it may be considered as equivalent to the bands in which a person is bound in the prospect of a violent death, and by which his violent death is secured, he being prevented from escaping. It has been supposed by some, that the allusion is to the ancient mode of hunting wild animals. A considerable tract of country was surrounded with strong ropes. The circle was gradually contracted till the object of pursuit was so confined as to become an easy prey to the hunter. These cords were the cords of death, securing the death of the animal. The phrase is applicable to our Lord in both senses; but as "the floods" of wickedness, or the wicked, are represented as making him afraid subsequently to his being encircled with the cords of death, I am disposed to understand it in the latter of these two senses. John Brown.

Verse 4. The floods. There is no metaphor of more frequent occurrence with the sacred poets, than that which represents dreadful and unexpected calamities under the image of overwhelming waters. This image seems to have been especially familiar with the Hebrews, inasmuch as it was derived from the peculiar habit and nature of their own country. They had continually before their eyes the river Jordan, annually overflowing its banks, when at the approach of summer the snows of Libanus and the neighbouring mountains melted, and, suddenly pouring down in torrents, swelled the current of the river. Besides, the whole country of Palestine, although it was not watered by many perennial streams, was, from the mountainous character of the greater part of it, liable to numerous torrents, which precipitated themselves through the narrow valleys after the periodical rainy seasons. This image, therefore, however known and adopted by other poets, may be considered as particularly familiar, and as it were, domestic with the Hebrews; who accordingly introduced it with greater frequency and freedom. Robert Lowth (Bishop), 1710-1787.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 4-6. Graphic picture of a distressed soul, and its resorts in the hour of extremity.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:4" for further information.

Verse 5. The sorrows of hell compassed me about. From all sides the hell hounds barked furiously. A cordon of devils hemmed in the hunted man of God; every way of escape was closed up. Satan knows how to blockade our coasts with the iron warships of sorrow, but, blessed be God, the port of all prayer is still open, and grace can run the blockade bearing messages from earth to heaven, and blessings in return from heaven to earth.

The snares of death prevented me. The old enemy hunts for his prey, not only with the dogs of the infernal kennel, but also with the snares of deadly craft. The nets were drawn closer and closer until the contracted circle completely prevented the escape of the captive: "About me the cords of hell were wound, And snares of death my footsteps bound."

Thus hopeless was the case of this good man, as hopeless as a case could be, so utterly desperate that none but an almighty arm could be of any service. According to the four metaphors which he employs, he was bound like a malefactor for execution; overwhelmed like a shipwrecked mariner; surrounded and standing at bay like a hunted stag; and captured in a net like a trembling bird. What more of terror and distress could meet upon one poor defenceless head?

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 5. The snares of death prevented me. The word snares, signifies such traps or gins as are laid for birds and wild beasts. The English word "prevent" has changed its meaning in some measure since our authorised translation of the Bible was made. Its original meaning is to "come before." John Brown.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 4-6. Graphic picture of a distressed soul, and its resorts in the hour of extremity.

Verse 5. (first clause). The condition of a soul convinced of sin.

Verse 5. (second clause). The way in which snares and temptations are, by Satanic craft, arranged so as to forestall or prevent us.

EXPOSITION

Verse 6. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God. Prayer is that postern gate which is left open even when the city is straitly besieged by the enemy; it is that way upward from the pit of despair to which the spiritual miner flies at once when the floods from beneath break forth upon him. Observe that he calls, and then cries; prayer grows in vehemence as it proceeds. Note also that he first invokes his God under the name of Jehovah, and then advances to a more familiar name, my God; thus faith increases by exercise, and he whom we at first viewed as Lord is soon seen to be our God in covenant. It is never an ill time to pray; no distress should prevent us from using the divine remedy of supplication. Above the noise of the raging billows of death, or the barking dogs of hell, the feeblest cry of a true believer will be heard in heaven.

He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Far up within the bejewelled walls, and through the gates of pearl, the cry of the suffering suppliant was heard. Music of angels and harmony of seraphs availed not to drown or even to impair the voice of that humble call. The king heard it in his palace of light insufferable, and lent a willing ear to the cry of his own beloved child. O honoured prayer, to be able thus through Jesus' blood to penetrate the very ears and heart of Deity. The voice and the cry are themselves heard directly by the Lord, and not made to pass through the medium of saints and intercessors;

My cry came before Him; the operation of prayer with God is immediate and personal. We may cry with confident and familiar importunity, while our Father himself listens.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 6. In my distress. If you listen even to David's harp, you shall hear as many hearse like airs as carols; and the pencil of the Holy Spirit hath laboured more in describing the afflictions of Job than the felicities of Solomon. Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes. We see, in needleworks and embroideries, it is more pleasing to have a lively work upon a sad and solemn ground, than to have a dark and melancholy work upon a lightsome ground; judge, therefore, of the pleasures of the heart by the pleasures of the eye. Certainly virtue is like precious odours -- most fragrant when they are crushed; for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue. Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, etc., 1561-1626.

Verse 6. I called upon the Lord and cried. Prayer is not eloquence, but earnestness; not in the definition of helplessness, but the feeling of it; it is the cry of faith to the ear of mercy. Hannah Moore, 1745-1833.

Verse 6. He heard my voice out of his temple, etc. The Aediles or chamberlains among the Romans, had ever their doors standing open for all who had occasion of request or complaint to have free access to them. "God's mercy doors are wide open to the prayers of his faithful people." The Persian kings held it a piece of their silly glory to deny an easy access to their greatest subjects. It was death to solicit them uncalled. Esther herself was afraid. But the king of heaven manifests himself to his people, he calls to his spouse, with, "Let me see thy face, let me hear thy voice," etc., and assigns her negligence herein as the cause of her soul sickness. The door of the tabernacle was not of any hard or debarring matter, but a veil, which is easily penetrable. And whereas in the temple none came near to worship, but only the high priest, others stood without in the outer court. God's people are now a kingdom of priests, and are said to worship in the temple, and at the altar. Revelation 11:1. "Let us therefore draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith:" "let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 10:22 4:16. Charles Bradbury's "Cabinet of Jewels," 1785.

Verse 6. Oh! how true is that saying, that "Faith is safe when in danger, and in danger when secure; and prayer is fervent in straits, but in joyful and prosperous circumstances, if not quite cold and dead, at least lukewarm." Oh, happy straits, if they hinder the mind from flowing forth upon earthly objects, and mingling itself with the mire; if they favour our correspondence with heaven, and quicken our love to celestial objects, without which, what we call life, may more properly deserve the name of death! Robert Leighton, D.D.

Verse 6-7. The prayer of a single saint is sometimes followed with wonderful effects; In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth: what then can a thundering legion of such praying souls do? It was said of Luther, iste vir potuit cum Deo quicquid voluit, That man could have of God what he would; his enemies felt the weight of his prayers; and the church of God reaped the benefits thereof. The Queen of Scots professed she was more afraid of the prayers of Mr. Knox, than of an army of ten thousand men. These were mighty wrestlers with God, howsoever contemned and vilified among their enemies. There will a time come when God will hear the prayers of his people who are continually crying in his ears, "How long, Lord, how long?" John Flavel.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 4-6. Graphic picture of a distressed soul, and its resorts in the hour of extremity.

Verse 6. The time, the manner, the hearing, and the answering of prayer.

EXPOSITION

Verse 7. There was no great space between the cry and its answer. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, but is swift to rescue his afflicted. David has in his mind's eye the glorious manifestations of God in Egypt, at Sinai, and on different occasions to Joshua and the judges; and he considers that his own case exhibits the same glory of power and goodness, and that, therefore, he may accommodate the descriptions of former displays of the divine majesty into his hymn of praise.

Then the earth shook and trembled. Observe how the most solid and immovable things feel the force of supplication. Prayer has shaken houses, opened prison doors, and made stout hearts to quail. Prayer rings the alarm bell, and the Master of the house arises to the rescue, shaking all things beneath his tread.

The foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because of his wrath. He who fixed the world's pillars can make them rock in their sockets, and can upheave the cornerstones of creation. The huge roots of the towering mountains are torn up when the Lord bestirs himself in anger to smite the enemies of his people. How shall puny man be able to face it out with God when the very mountains quake with fear? Let not the boaster dream that his present false confidence will support him in the dread day of wrath.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 6-7. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:6" for further information.

Verse 7. Then the earth shook and trembled. The word (f[g) signifies, to move or shake violently: it is employed, also, to denote the reeling and staggering of a drunken man. Jer 25:16. John Morison, in loc.

Verse 7. Let no appearing impossibilities make you question God's accomplishment of any of his gracious words. Though you cannot see how the thing can be done, it is enough if God hath said that he will do it. There can be no obstructions to promised salvation which we need to fear. He who is the God of this salvation and the Author of the promise will prepare his own way for the doing of his own work, so that "every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low." Luke 3:5. Though the valleys be so deep that we cannot see the bottom, and the mountains so high that we cannot see the tops of them, yet God knows how to raise the one and level the other. Isa 63:1. "I that speak in righteousness (or faithfulness) am mighty to save." If anything would keep back the kingdom of Christ, it would be our infidelity; but he will come though he should find no faith on the earth. See Romans 3:3. Cast not away your confidence because he defers his performances. Though providences run cross, though they move backwards and forwards, you have a sure and faithful word to rely upon. Promises, though they be for a time seemingly delayed, cannot be finally frustrated. Dare not to harbour such a thought within yourselves as Psalms 77:8; "Doth his promise fail for evermore?" The being of God may as well fail as the promise of God. That which does not come in your time, will be hastened in his time, which is always the more convenient season. Accuse him not of slowness who hath said, "I come quickly," that is, he comes as soon as all things are ready and ripe for his appearance. It is as true that "the Lord is not slack concerning his promise" (2 Peter 3:9), as that he is never guilty of breaking his promise. Wait, therefore, how long soever he tarry; do not give over expecting: the heart of God is not turned though his face be hid; and prayers are not flung back, though they be not instantly answered. Timothy Cruso.

Verse 7-8. The volcanic phenomena of Palestine open a question of which the data are, in a scientific point of view, too imperfect to be discussed; but there is enough in the history and literature of the people to show that there was an agency of this kind at work. The valley of the Jordan, both in its desolation and vegetation, was one continued portent; and from its crevices ramified even into the interior of Judea the startling appearances, if not of the volcano, at least of the earthquake. Their historical effect in the special theatres of their operation will appear as we proceed; but their traces on the permanent feeling of the nation must be noticed here. The writings of the psalmists and prophets abound with indications which escape the eye of a superficial reader. Like the soil of their country, they actually heave and labour with the fiery convulsions which glow beneath their surface. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley.

Verse 7-9. While Jesus hung on the cross, a preternatural "darkness covered all the land;" and no sooner had he yielded up his spirit, than "the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top even to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints that slept arose, and came out of the graves, after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." John Brown.

Verse 7-9. In the night in which the Idumaeans lay before Jerusalem, there arose a prodigious tempest and fierce winds, with most vehement rains, frequent lightnings, and terrible thunderings, and great roarings of the shaken earth; and it was manifest that the state of the universe was disordered at the slaughter of men; so one might guess that these were signs of no small calamity... At the day of Pentecost, when the priests, by night, went into the inner temple, according to their custom, to execute their office, they said they perceived, first of all, a shake and a noise, and after that a sudden voice, "Let us go hence."... A few days after the feast of unleavened bread, a strange and almost incredible sight was seen which would, I suppose, be taken for a mere fable, were it not related by such as saw it, and did not the miseries which followed appear answerable to the signs; for, before the sun set, were seen on high, in the air, all over the country, chariots and armed regiments moving swiftly in the clouds, and encompassing the city. Flavius Josephus, 37-103.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 7. The quaking of all things in the presence of an angry God.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:4" for further information.

Verse 8. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils. A violent oriental method of expressing fierce wrath. Since the breath from the nostrils is heated by strong emotion, the figure portrays the Almighty Deliverer as pouring forth smoke in the heat of his wrath and the impetuousness of his zeal. Nothing makes God so angry as an injury done to his children. He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye. God is not subject to the passions which govern his creatures, but acting as he does with all the energy and speed of one who is angry, he is here aptly set forth in poetic imagery suitable to human understandings. The opening of his lips is sufficient to destroy his enemies; and fire out of his mouth devoured. This fire was no temporary one but steady and lasting;

Coals were kindled by it. The whole passage is intended to depict God's descent to the help of his child, attended by earthquake and tempest: at the majesty of his appearing the earth rocks, the clouds gather like smoke, and the lightning as flaming fire devours, setting the world on a blaze. What grandeur of description is here! Bishop Mant very admirably rhymes the verse thus: -- "Smoke from his heated nostrils came, And from his mouth devouring flame;

Hot burning coals announced his ire, And flashes of careering fire."

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 7-8. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:7" for further information.

Verse 7-9. See Psalms on "Psalms 19:7" for further information.

Verse 8. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, (wkab !f[ hl[). Or there ascended into his nose, as the words literally rendered, signify. The ancients placed the seat of anger in the nose, or nostrils; because when it grows warm and violent, it discovers itself, as it were, by a heated vehement breath, that proceeds from them. Samuel Chandler, D.D., F.R. and A.S.S., 1766.

Verse 8-19. David calls the full force of poetical imagery to aid, to describe in a becoming manner the marvels of his deliverances. He means to say that they were as manifest as the signs of heaven and earth, as sudden and powerful as the phenomena in the kingdom of nature surprise terrified mortals. Deliverance being his theme, he might have taken the figure from the peaceable phenomena of the heavens. But since man heeds heaven more in anger than in blessing, and regards God more when he descends on earth in the storm than in the rainbow, David describes the blessed condescension of God by the figure of a tempest. In order to thoroughly appreciate the beauty and truthfulness of this figure, we should endeavour to realise the full power of an Oriental storm, as it is described in Psalms 29:1-11. Solitary lightning precedes the discharge -- this is meant by the coals in Psalms 18:8: the clouds approach the mountain summits -- the heavens bow, as Psalms 18:9 has it; the storm shakes its pinions; enwraped in thick clouds as in a tent, God descends to the earth; hail (not infrequently attending Eastern storms) and lightning issue from the black clouds, through the dissolving layers of which is seen the fiery splendour which hides the Lord of nature. He speaks, and thunder is his voice; he shoots, and flashes of lightning are his arrows. At his rebuke, and at the blast of his breath the earth recedes -- the sea foams up, and its beds are seen -- the land bursts, and the foundations of the world are discovered. And lo! an arm of deliverance issues forth from the black clouds, and the destructive fire grasps the wretched one who had cried out from the depths, pulls him forth, and delivers him from all his enemies! Yes, the hand of the Lord has done marvellous things in the life of David. But the eye of faith alone could perceive in them all the hand of God. Thousands whose experiences of the delivering hand of God are not less signal than those of David, stop short at the powers of nature, and instead of bending the knee before the All merciful God, content themselves to express with cold hearts their admiration of the changes of the destiny of man. Augustus F. Tholuck, D.D., Ph.D. --1856.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

None.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:4" for further information.

Verse 9. Amid the terror of the storm Jehovah the Avenger descended, bending beneath his foot the arch of heaven.

He bowed the heavens also, and came down. He came in haste, and spurned everything which impeded his rapidity. The thickest gloom concealed his splendour, and darkness was under his feet; he fought within the dense vapours, as a warrior in clouds of smoke and dust, and found out the hearts of his enemies with the sharp falchion of his vengeance. Darkness is no impediment to God; its densest gloom he makes his tent and secret pavilion. See how prayer moves earth and heaven, and raises storms to overthrow in a moment the foes of God's Israel. Things were bad for David before he prayed, but they were much worse for his foes so soon as the petition had gone up to heaven. A trustful heart, by enlisting the divine aid, turns the tables on its enemies. If I must have an enemy let him not be a man of prayer, or he will soon get the better of me by calling in his God into the quarrel.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 7-9. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:7" for further information.

Verse 8-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:9" for further information.

Verse 9. He bowed the heavens also, and came down. As in a tempest the clouds come nearer to the earth, and from the mountains to the valleys, so the psalmist adopts this figure peculiar to such occasions as described God's near approach to judgment (Psalms 144:5, etc.; Hebrews 3:6); and darkness was under his feet. We have here the increase of the horrors of the tempest, and its still nearer approach, but God is not yet revealed, it is darkness under his feet. Thick darkness was the accompaniment of God's descent on Mount Sinai

(Exodus 20:21 Deuteronomy 4:11): and it invests his throne, to veil from us the overwhelming majesty of deity. Psalms 97:2. But this darkness, while it hides his coming judgment, bespeaks sorrow and anguish to the objects of his wrath. Luke 21:25-26. W. Wilson, in loc.

Verse 9-11 "He also bowed the heavens,

And thence he did descend;

And thickest clouds of darkness did

Under his feet attend."

"And he upon a cherub rode,

And thereon he did fly;

Yea, on the swift wings of the wind,

His flight was from on high." "He darkness made his secret place;

About him for his tent

Dark waters were, and thickest clouds

Of the airy firmament." Scotch Version, 1649.

Verse 9-12 "In his descent, bowed heaven with earth did meet,

And gloomy darkness rolled beneath his feet;

A golden winged cherub he bestrid,

And on the swiftly flying tempest rid." "He darkness made his secret cabinet;

Thick fogs and dropping clouds about him set;

The beams of his bright presence these expel,

Whence showers of burning coals and hailstones fell." George Sandys, 1577-1643.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

None.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:4" for further information.

Verse 10. There is inimitable grandeur in this verse. Under the Mosaic system the cherubim are frequently represented as the chariot of God; hence Milton, in "Paradise Lost," writes of the Great Father, -- "He on the wings of cherubim Uplifted, in paternal glory rode

Far into chaos."

Without speculating upon the mysterious and much disputed subject of the cherubim, it may be enough to remark that angels are doubtless our guards and ministering friends, and all their powers are enlisted to expedite the rescue of the afflicted.

He rode upon a cherub, and did fly. Nature also yields all her agents to be our helpers, and even the powers of the air are subservient: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. The Lord comes flying when mercy is his errand, but he lingers long when sinners are being wooed to repent. The flight here pictured is as majestic as it is swift; "flying all abroad" is Sternhold's word, and he is not far from correct. As the eagle soars in easy grandeur with wings outspread, without violent flapping and exertion, so comes the Lord with majesty of omnipotence to aid his own.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 8-19.

Verse 9-11 "He also bowed the heavens,

And thence he did descend;

And thickest clouds of darkness did

Under his feet attend."

"And he upon a cherub rode,

And thereon he did fly;

Yea, on the swift wings of the wind,

His flight was from on high." "He darkness made his secret place;

About him for his tent

Dark waters were, and thickest clouds

Of the airy firmament." Scotch Version, 1649.

Verse 9-12 "In his descent, bowed heaven with earth did meet,

And gloomy darkness rolled beneath his feet;

A golden winged cherub he bestrid,

And on the swiftly flying tempest rid." "He darkness made his secret cabinet;

Thick fogs and dropping clouds about him set;

The beams of his bright presence these expel,

Whence showers of burning coals and hailstones fell." George Sandys, 1577-1643.

Verse 10. Cherub. The Hebrew name hath affinity with Rechub, a chariot, used in Psalms 104:3, almost in like sense as "cherub" is here; and the cherubims are called a chariot, 1 Chronicles 28:18; and God's angels are his chariots, Psalms 68:18, and they seem to be meant in this place; for as angels are said to fly, Daniel 9:21; so the cherubims had wings, Exodus 25:20, and are by the apostle called "cherubims of glory," Hebrews 9:5. In Psalms 80:2, God is said "to sit on the cherubims," as here, to ride; and "a cherub" may be put for many, or all the cherubims, as chariot for chariots, Psalms 68:18. Henry Ainsworth.

Verse 10. Cherubs. The "cherub" with the countenances of man, the lion, the bull, and the eagle (combining in itself, as it were, the intelligence, majesty, strength, and life of nature), was a symbol of the powers of nature. When powerful elements, as in a storm, are serving God, he is said to "ride on a cherub." Augustus F. Tholuck.

Verse 10. Cherub. -- "He on the wings of cherub rode sublime On the crystalline sky."

John Milton.

Verse 10. When God comes to punish his foes and rescue his people, nothing has ever surprised his friends or foes more than the admirable swiftness with which he moves and acts: He flies upon the wings of the wind. William S. Plumer.

Verse 10. Every circumstance that can add to the splendour of Jehovah's descent upon his enemies is thrown into the narrative by the inspired poet. It is not enough that the heavens should bend beneath him, and that clouds of darkness should be seen rolling, in terrible majesty, under his feet; cherubic legions also are the willing supporters of his throne, and swift as air, he flies upon the wings of the wind. Into this amazing scene the awful appendages of the mercyseat are introduced; on the bending heavens, the cloudy chariot rides sublime, and the winds of heaven bear it majestically along. J. Morison.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 10. Celestial and terrestrial agencies subservient to the divine purposes.

EXPOSITION

Verse 11. The storm thickened, and the clouds pouring forth torrents of rain combined to form the secret chamber of the invisible but wonder working God. "Pavilioned in impervious shade" faith saw him, but no other eye could gaze through the thick clouds of the skies. Blessed is the darkness which encurtains my God; if I may not see him, it is sweet to know that he is working in secret for my eternal good. Even fools can believe that God is abroad in the sunshine and the calm, but faith is wise, and discerns him in the terrible darkness and threatening storm.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 8-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:9" for further information.

Verse 9-11 "He also bowed the heavens,

And thence he did descend;

And thickest clouds of darkness did

Under his feet attend."

"And he upon a cherub rode,

And thereon he did fly;

Yea, on the swift wings of the wind,

His flight was from on high." "He darkness made his secret place;

About him for his tent

Dark waters were, and thickest clouds

Of the airy firmament." Scotch Version, 1649.

Verse 9-12 "In his descent, bowed heaven with earth did meet,

And gloomy darkness rolled beneath his feet;

A golden winged cherub he bestrid,

And on the swiftly flying tempest rid." "He darkness made his secret cabinet;

Thick fogs and dropping clouds about him set;

The beams of his bright presence these expel,

Whence showers of burning coals and hailstones fell." George Sandys, 1577-1643.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 11. The darkness in which Jehovah hides, Why? When? What then? etc.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:4" for further information.

Verse 12. Suddenly the terrible artillery of heaven was discharged; the brightness of lightning lit up the clouds as with a glory proceeding from him who was concealed within the cloudy pavilion; and volleys of hailstones and coals of fire were hurled forth upon the enemy. The lightnings seemed to cleave the clouds and kindle them into a blaze, and then hailstones and flakes of fire with flashes of terrific grandeur terrified the sons of men.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 8-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:8" for further information.

Verse 12. Coals of fire. The word signifies, living burning coals. Where the lightning fell, it devoured all before it, and burned whatever it touched into burning embers. Samuel Chandler.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

None.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:4" for further information.

Verse 13. Over all this splendour of tempest pealed the dread thunder.

The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice. Fit accompaniment for the flames of vengeance. How will men bear to hear it at the last when addressed to them in proclamation of their doom, for even now their hearts are in their mouths if they do but hear it muttering from afar? In all this terror David found a theme for song, and thus every believer finds even in the terrors of God a subject for holy praise.

Hailstones and coals of fire are twice mentioned to show how certainly they are in the divine hand, and are the weapons of Heaven's vengeance. Horne remarks that "every thunderstorm should remind us of that exhibition of power and vengeance, which is hereafter to accompany the general resurrection;" may it not also assure us of the real power of him who is our Father and our friend, and tend to assure us of our safety while he fights our battles for us. The prince of the power of the air is soon dislodged when the cherubic chariot is driven through his dominions; therefore let not the legions of hell cause us dismay. He who is with us is greater than all they that be against us.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 8-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:9" for further information.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 13. Hailstones and coals of fire. The terrific in its relation to Jehovah.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:4" for further information.

Verse 14. The lightnings were darted forth as forked arrows upon the hosts of the foe, and speedily scattered them. Boastful sinners prove to be great cowards when Jehovah enters the lists with them. They despise his words, and are very tongue valiant, but when it comes to blows they fly apace. The glittering flames, and the fierce bolts of fire discomfited them. God is never at a loss for weapons. Woe be unto him that contendeth with his Maker! God's arrows never miss their aim; they are feathered with lightning, and barbed with everlasting death. Fly, O sinner, to the rock of refuge before these arrows stick fast in thy soul.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 8-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:8" for further information.

Verse 14. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them, etc. O that you who are now strangers to God would but consider these things! O that you would but think what this battle may be, where the combatants are so unequal! Stand still, O sun, in the valley of Ajalon, till the Lord have avenged him of his enemies! Muster yourselves, O ye stars, and fight in your courses against those miserable sinners that have waged war against their Maker; plant your mighty cannons, shoot down huge hailstones, arrows of fire, and hot thunderbolts! Oh, how do the wounded fall! How many are the slain of the Lord, multitudes in the Valley of Decision, for the day of the Lord is terrible. Behold God's enemies falling by thousands, behold the garments rolling in blood, hear the prancing of his terrible ones, the mountains are covered with horses and chariots of fire. God's soldiers run from one place to another with their flaming swords in their hands, armed with the justice of God, jealousy, power, and indignation! Oh, the dreadful slaughter that is made! Millions, millions fall; they are not able to stand; not one of them can lift up his hand; their hearts fail them; paleness and trembling hath seized upon the stoutest of them all. The bow of the Lord is strong; from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of the Lord turneth not back, the sword of the Almighty returns not empty. How do the mighty ones fall in this battle! A hot battle indeed, in which none escape! Who is he that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? He that is glorious in his apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth the wine fat? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with me. For I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and I will bring down their strength to the earth: the hand of the Lord shall be known, the power of the mighty Jehovah shall be felt, and his indignation toward his enemies. For behold he will come with fire and with chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire; for by fire and by his sword will he plead with all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many, and the saints shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me. For their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and a horrible tempest. This shall be the portion of their cup! This it is to fight against God! This it is to defy the Lord of Hosts! James Janeway.

Verse 14. He shot out his lightnings. (br ~yqrb) 70 astrapus eplhqune· Falgura multiplicavit: Vulgate, and so all the versions. He multiplied his thunderbolts; or, shot them out thick one after another; as the word properly signifies.

Verse 14. (~mhyw) And discomfited them, as we render the word; or rather, as I think it should be translated, and melted them; namely, the heavens. Samuel Chandler.

Verse 14. (last clause). It is written, destroyed them, because the Holy Ghost would not so much as name, by the mouth of his prophet, the evil spirits to whom he refers. Euthymius Zigabenus (1125) quoted by J. M. Neale.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

None.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:4" for further information.

Verse 15. So tremendous was the shock of God's assault in arms that the order of nature was changed, and the bottoms of rivers and seas were laid bare.

The channels of waters was seen; and the deep cavernous bowels of the earth were upheaved till the foundations of the world were discovered. What will not Jehovah's rebuke do? If the blast of the breath of thy nostrils, O Lord, be so terrible, what must thine arm be? Vain are the attempts of men to conceal anything from him whose word unbars the deep, and lifts the doors of earth from their hinges! Vain are all hopes of resistance, for a whisper of his voice makes the whole earth quail in abject terror.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 8-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:8" for further information.

Verse 15. The foundations of the world were discovered; i.e., such large and deep chasms, or apertures, were made by the violence of the earthquake, as one might almost see the very foundations, or as Jonah calls them, the bottoms, or rather, the extremities of the mountains, in the bottom of the sea. Jonah 2:6. Samuel Chandler.

Verse 15. The Lord interposed with the same notoriety of his presence, as when the waters of the sea were driven back by a strong east wind, and the deep turned into dry ground (Exodus 14:21-22), to give the Israelites a safe passage out of their thraldom, and to drown the Egyptians. Henry Hammond.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

None.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:4" for further information.

Verse 16. Now comes the rescue. The Author is divine, He sent; the work is heavenly, from above; the deliverance is marvellous, He drew me out of many waters. Here David was like another Moses, drawn from the water; and thus are all believers like their Lord, whose baptism in many waters of agony and in his own blood has redeemed us from the wrath to come. Torrents of evil shall not drown the man whose God sitteth upon the floods to restrain their fury.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 8-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:8" for further information.

Verse 16. He sent from above, etc. He "sent" angels, or assistance otherwise. Matthew Poole.

Verse 16. He took. God's grasp cannot be broken. None can pluck his chosen out of his hand. William S. Plumer.

Verse 16. Drew me out of many waters. This hath reference to Moses' case, who was "drawn out of the water," and thereupon called Mosheh (Exodus 2:10); that word Mashah is used here by David, and nowhere else in Scripture. "Waters," signify troubles, and sometimes multitudes of people. H. Ainsworth.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 16. The Christian, like Moses, "one taken out of the water." The whole verse a noble subject; may be illustrated by life of Moses.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:4" for further information.

Verse 17. When we have been rescued, we must take care to ascribe all the glory to God by confessing our own weakness, and remembering the power of the conquered enemy. God's power derives honour from all the incidents of the conflict. Our great spiritual adversary is a "strong enemy" indeed, much too strong for poor, weak creatures like ourselves, but we have been delivered hitherto and shall be even to the end. Our weakness is a reason for divine help; mark the force of the for in the text.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 8-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:8" for further information.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 17. The saint's paean of victory over Satan, and all other foes.

Verse 17. (last clause). Singular but sound reason for expecting divine help.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:4" for further information.

Verse 18. It was an ill day, a day of calamity, of which evil foes took cruel advantage, while they used crafty means utterly to ruin him, yet David could say, but the Lord is my stay. What a blessed but which cuts the Gordian knot, and slays the hundred headed hydra! There is no fear of deliverance when our stay is in Jehovah.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 8-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:8" for further information.

Verse 18. They prevented me in the day of my calamity; i.e., came on me suddenly, unawares, when I was unprovided and helpless, and must have destroyed me had not God upheld and supported me when I was in danger of perishing. God was to the psalmist ![fml, for a staff to support him. What the staff is to one that is ready to fall, the means of recovering and preserving him; that was God to David in the time of his extremity. For he several times preserved him from Saul, when he, David, thought his destruction by him almost unavoidable. See 1 Samuel 23:26-27. Samuel Chandler.

Verse 18. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. When Henry the Eighth had spoken and written bitterly against Luther; said Luther, Tell the Henries, the bishops, the Turks, and the devil himself, do what they can, we are the children of the kingdom, worshipping of the true God, whom they, and such as they, spit upon and crucified. And of the same spirit were many martyrs. Basil affirms of the primitive saints, that they had so much courage and confidence in their sufferings, that many of the heathen seeing their heroic zeal and constancy, turned Christians. Charles Bradbury.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 18. The enemy's "craft," They prevented me in the day of my calamity. The enemy chained. But the Lord was my stay.

EXPOSITION

Verse 4-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:19" for further information.

Verse 19. He brought me forth also into a large place. After pining awhile in the prison house Joseph reached the palace, and from the cave of Adullam David mounted to the throne. Sweet is pleasure after pain. Enlargement is the more delightful after a season of pinching poverty and sorrowful confinement. Besieged souls delight in the broad fields of the promise when God drives off the enemy and sets open the gates of the environed city. The Lord does not leave his work half done, for having routed the foe he leads out the captive into liberty. Large indeed is the possession and place of the believer in Jesus, there need be no limit to his peace, for there is no bound to his privilege.

He delivered me, because he delighted in me. Free grace lies at the foundation. Rest assured, if we go deep enough, sovereign grace is the truth which lies at the bottom of every well of mercy. Deep sea fisheries in the ocean of divine bounty always bring the pearls of electing, discriminating love to light. Why Jehovah should delight in us is an question without an answer, and a mystery which angels cannot solve; but that he does delight in his beloved is certain, and is the fruitful root of favours as numerous as they are precious. Believer, sit down, and inwardly digest the instructive sentence now before us, and learn to view the uncaused love of God as the cause of all the lovingkindness of which we are the partakers.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

Verse 8-19. See Psalms on "Psalms 18:8" for further information.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 19. The reason of grace, and the position in which it places its chosen ones.