Psalm 18 - A prophetic Psalm
Comments on Psalm 18 by Neville Salvetti
The Psalmist starts off with a statement of faith in the Love and Salvation of God!
(Psalms 18:1-3 NKJV) I will love You, O LORD, my strength The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.
He was in straitened circumstances and oppression from the forces of the world (floods of ungodliness) and had cried to God.
(Psalms 18:4-6 NKJV) The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
God was angry at his people’s oppressors and acted:
He sent earthquakes
(Psalms 18:7 NKJV) Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.
Volcanoes erupted which also caused fires as they spewed out fire. Thunderstorms with hail also resulted from the volcanic activity as did darkness from the dense smoke blotting out the sun
(Psalms 18:8-13 NKJV) Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies. From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire. The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
Floods also occurred
(Psalms 18:15 NKJV) Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
God rescued him From all this disaster
(Psalms 18:16-18 NKJV) He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support.
The Psalmist states why God delivered Him from the Tribulation - God delights in him!.
(Psalms 18:19 NKJV) He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.
The Lord has rewarded Him because He has been obedient (righteously acting)
(Psalms 18:20 NKJV) The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.
He has kept himself Holy in spite of all the polluting evil around him resulting state of evilh3 in the world around him.
(Psalms 18:23 NKJV) I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.
His obedience has resulted in him being blessed by God!
(Psalms 18:24 NKJV) Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
He then discusses how God deals with different types of people
(Psalms 18:25-27 NKJV) With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless: With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks.
He restates his faith in God’s ability to restore him to newness of life
(Psalms 18:28 NKJV) For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
He then talks about his ability to battle again as a result of the restoration God has done to him.
(Psalms 18:29 NKJV) For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall.
He once again states his trust in God’s purposes and declares his God to be the true God!
(Psalms 18:30 NKJV) As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
He then declares what God has done for him in the battle he had gone through
(Psalms 18:32-34 NKJV) It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
(Psalms 18:35 NKJV) You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.
(Psalms 18:36-37 NKJV) You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip. I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. I have wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet.
(Psalms 18:39-42 NKJV) For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me. They cried out, but there was none to save; Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them. Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind; I cast them out like dirt in the streets.
(Psalms 18:43-45 NKJV) You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; You have made me the head of the nations; A people I have not known shall serve me. As soon as they hear of me they obey me; The foreigners submit to me. The foreigners fade away, And come frightened from their hideouts.
He praises God and declares He exists as this has been proved by what God has done for him in the battle!
(Psalms 18:46 NKJV) The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
It is God who avenges him and gives him the victory!
(Psalms 18:47 NKJV) It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me; 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.
He gives God praise and thanks for this
(Psalms 18:49 NKJV) Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.
The deliverance is almost miraculous
(Psalms 18:50 NKJV) Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants for evermore.
Why Psalm 18?
God is Angry at the world and what it has done to His people. This Psalm talks about the Anger of God and how it is poured out on His enemies!
This Psalm also looks to the disasters and punishments of The Tribulation that is now upon us! This psalm is a prophetic psalm of the church and the judgment and victory of God during The Tribulation.
The relationship in the psalm is an allegory of the relationships in The Tribulation:
David Lord God
Church Jesus Father
Why do I state it is a prophetic psalm?
The judgments refer to v7 to 15 can only occur in the Tribulation.
v43 - 45 can only refer to Jesus
v50 places the King (Jesus) above the anointed (anointed servants), king David (elders) and (followers) descendants
The evil described (v4 - 6) is true of the evil of the last days.
Comments on the sections
V1-3 Complete reliance on Jesus will be necessary if one is to be kept safe in The Tribulation.
They will need to know God and His salvation and believe in His Love for them and that God can do anything
v4-6 In spite of all the evil and spiritual darkness that will cause us distress God will hear us and deliver us
Evil was so rampant it was like an overwhelming flood. He despaired of his life there was so much demonic prescience around him!
He cried to the Lord and spite of all the overwhelming evil around him, his cry was not stifled!! God could still hear and help him!
v7-15 Before we are delivered though, God’s anger will be poured out upon the earth!
God was angry at the evil that was being done to His servants and broke forth in Judgment
v16-19 While God’s anger is being poured out He will snatch us away to safety and peace.
In the middle of it all, God took him out of all the evil, just as the church will be taken out of the worst of the tribulation to a place of peace (broad place) where thay are no longer oppressed by the evil that was formerly around them.
v20-24 The redeemed will be people who have kept the laws of God and are in a righteous state with him. (The term ‘my righteousness’ refers to the requirements of people under the sacrificial law to sacrifice animals to be right with God and not to those under Grace whose righteousness is found in Jesus and what He has done!)
In this place he was rewarded for the obedient and holy life style he had lived just as we will be rewarded after we are snatched from the evil current in the world
v25-27 Two classes of people are described - those led by The Spirit and those who are proud (Haughty) who have rebelled against the authority of Jesus (as Satan did)
He shows what type of people will be delivered from the Tribulation.
The first class are merciful and humble. They are people of integrity (blameless) and holy (pure and undefiled by the world). These are the marks of the follower of Jesus. These will be delivered from the wrath of God!
The second class are devious (deceitful and lying) and are proud (haughty) as the demons are. These are the marks of the follower of demons. These will incur the wrath of God!
v28-34 The first type of people will be renewed by the Spirit and enabled to do battle by Jesus in the power and strength He gives them.
He is restored by Jesus whom he declare to be true God.
He also decries how he has been restored in this ‘broad place’ so he would be able to fight the evil again if he had to face it. This battle is not necessary though as Jesus is about to fight them and overcome them.
This is what will happen at Armageddon!
v35-36 Jesus has gently done all this to them. (Saved them, supported them and given them rest)
He declares that Jesus has upheld him and protected him and kept him in a safe place while the judgments are done on his enemies. This is similar to the songs of praise of the saints in heaven sung by them while the Tribulation draws to a climax
v37-45 Talks about the completeness of the victory Jesus
The victory of Jesus over the forces of evil is complete just as the victory over the enemies of the psalmist is complete. Armageddon is over and Jesus has triumphed!
v46-49 A declaration of faith and praise is made in regards to Jesus by the delivered true Ekklessia
He praises the victory of Jesus which is complete and final and praises the name of Jesus amongst the gentiles just as the true Ekklessia will praise the name of Jesus amongst the people born in the millennium who are foreign to all that went before Armageddon and the resumption by Jesus of His rightful place on earth!
v50 The deliverance is great! (one people will marvel at) and it is given to all who would follow Jesus
(Revelation 1:5-6 NKJV) and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
This deliverance is spiritual and for two kings and their descendants. We are spiritual descendants of Jesus have been made kings. Jesus is a descendant of King David
The deliverance is ‘great’! The world which oppressed them is now subject to their kingship & ruled by them under the direction of Chief King Jesus, as it will be in the Millennium
One could almost read the verse in a spiritual sense as follows:
Great and amazing is the deliverance God showed to His King (Jesus) and He shows mercy to His chosen ones (the New Israel) and to King David and His descendants (Jesus and his followers)
The falling away at the end of the Millennium is not covered in this psalm which deals only from deliverance from this present evil age.
(Revelation 22:12-13, 20 KJV) And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
...Even so, come, Lord Jesus.