Psalm 18:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.

NIV: They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.

NASB: They confronted me in the day of my disaster, But the Lord was my support.

CSB: They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.

NLT: They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me.

KJV: They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.

NKJV: They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support.

The overall context of these verses is David's rescue from his enemies, for which he credits God's deliverance (2 Samuel 22:1). David's foes confronted him when he felt that his situation was desperate. He confesses that the Lord was his support, so his enemies were unable to kill him. Obviously, David maintained a close, trusting relationship with the Lord throughout his ordeal in the wilderness when a fugitive from Saul, and in other situations against different enemies, and the Lord honored that relationship.

If we depend upon our own wisdom and strength to defeat our enemy, the Devil, we will fail, but if we depend on the Lord for victory, we will enjoy a successful outcome.

We can derive an important lesson on this subject from the life of Samson. When the Spirit of the Lord empowered him, he experienced victory over his enemies. For example, in the power of the Spirit he killed 1,000 Philistines with a donkey's jawbone (Judges 15:15). Soon after the victory, he addressed the Lord and said, "You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant" (Judges 15:18).

However, Samson failed to protect his relationship with the Lord. He allowed Delilah, a pagan woman, to deceive him, causing him to place his confidence in himself instead of in the Lord (Judges 16:15–19). When Samson heard the Philistines had gathered in Delilah's home to seize him, he said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free," however, "he did not know that the LORD had left him" (Judges 16:20); therefore his enemies captured and humiliated him (Judges 16:21). When we stop depending on God, and start taking pride in our own security, we risk dire consequences.

Psalm 18:1–19 expresses David's love for the Lord and his praise to God for delivering him from his enemies. This is very similar—perhaps an updated version—of David's song of praise recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 22. Psalms 3—5 recall David's prayer for deliverance from his foes and his trust in the Lord to deliver him from them. Psalms 48:1; 96:4; 145:3; and 150 also express praise to the Lord. An account of David's deliverance from his enemies is found in 2 Samuel 19—21. Other passages of Scripture that reveal God's deliverance of His people include Exodus 14; Joshua 10; Judges 7; 2 Kings 19:20–37; and Revelation 19:11–21.

In 2 Samuel chapter 22, David expresses praise for all the times in his life where God gave him victory. That prayer or song is copied almost identically here. Psalm 18, itself, might have been adapted for use in public worship. David remembers dire situations where God rescued him. He dramatically recounts how God provided rescue and power. David also credits God with rewarding his obedience by making him a powerful and successful military leader. For these reasons, David commits himself to the praise and worship of the Lord.

This psalm is David's prayer to the Lord in which David praises the Lord for making him victorious over his enemies. Second Samuel 5, 8, and 10 are companion chapters, and 2 Samuel 22 provides another version of this psalm. Second Samuel 22:1 tells us David composed Psalm 18 on the day the Lord delivered him from his enemies and Saul. Second Samuel 19 reports David's victorious return to Jerusalem after David vanquished his enemies.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.