Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 18:43
Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; [and] thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people [whom] I have not known shall serve me.
43. from the strivings of the people ] 2 Sam. has “from the strivings of my people,” and the reference seems to be to the civil war and internal dissension which disturbed the early years of David’s reign, while Saul’s house still endeavoured to maintain its position. See 2Sa 3:1. Through all these conflicts he had been safely brought, and made the head of the nations, supreme among surrounding peoples, See 2Sa 8:1-14; Psa 2:8.
thou hast made me ] In 2 Sam. “thou hast preserved me to be the head of the nations.”
a people whom I have not known shall serve me ] Rather, a people whom I knew not did serve meb. There is no reason for the sudden transition of the A.V. to the future here and in the two following verses. David is still thankfully recounting how God had raised him to his present eminence. There may be a special reference to the subjugation of the Syrians and their allies, whom he might well describe as “a people whom he had not known.” See 2Sa 8:6; 2Sa 10:19.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
43 45. The establishment of David’s dominion at home and abroad.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people – From the contentions of the people; or, from the efforts which they have made to overcome and subdue me. The allusion is to the efforts made by the people, under the guidance of their leaders. It is not strivings among his own followers, but the efforts, the strivings, the contentions of his enemies, who endeavored to obtain the mastery over him, and to subdue him.
Thou hast made me the head of the heathen – The head of the nations; that is, the nations round about. In other words, he had, by the divine aid, brought them into subjection to him, or so subdued them that they became tributary to him. The word heathen with us expresses an idea which is not necessarily connected with the original word. That word is simply nations – goyim. It is true that those nations were pagans in the present sense of the term, but that idea is not necessarily connected with the word. The meaning is, that surrounding nations had been made subject to him; or that he had been made to rule over them. David, in fact, thus brought the surrounding people under subjection to him, and made them tributary. In 2 Sam. 8 he is said to have subdued Philistia, and Moab, and Syria, and Edom, in all of which countries he put garrisons, and all of which he made tributary to himself.
A people whom I have not known shall serve me – People that I had not before heard of. This is the language of confident faith that his kingdom would be still further extended, so as to embrace nations before unknown to him. His past victories, and the fact that his kingdom had been so established and was already so extended, justified the expectation that it would still be further enlarged; that the fame of his conquests would reach other nations, and that they would willingly yield themselves to him. After the victories which he had achieved, as celebrated in this psalm, that might be expected to follow as a matter of course. It is the triumphant exultation of a conqueror, and it seems to have been his expectation, not that his successors would extend the empire, but, that other nations would become voluntarily subject to him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 43. The strivings of the people] Disaffections and insurrections among my own subjects, as in the revolt of Absalom, the civil war of Abner in favour of Ish-bosheth, c.
The head of the heathen] rosh goyim, “the chief,” or “governor, of the nations” all the circumjacent heathen people; all these were subdued by David, and brought under tribute.
A people whom I have not known] The people whom he knew were those of the twelve tribes; those whom he did not know were the Syrians, Philistines, Idumeans, &c. All these served him, that is, paid him tribute.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
From the strivings of the people; from contentions, and seditions, and tumults of my own people under Saul, and Ish-bosheth, and Absalom.
The head of the heathen; of the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Syrians, and others.
Whom I have not known; whom I had no acquaintance with, nor relation to, no, not by thy promise or grant; even barbarous and remote nations.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
43-45. Not only does He conquercivil foes, but foreigners, who are driven from their places ofrefuge.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people,…. In 2Sa 22:44, it is read “my people”, meaning the people of Israel; either Saul and his men, who contended with David, and sought his life; or rather the tribes of Israel, who, after Saul’s death, refused to acknowledge David as their king, but afterwards came and anointed him in Hebron. The words may very well be interpreted of the contentions of the Scribes and Pharisees with Christ, and of the opposition from sinners, which he for a while endured, but is now delivered from them all;
[and] thou hast made me the head of the Heathen; which, if understood of David, refers to the Philistines, Syrians, Moabites, and Edomites, being subdued by him, and becoming tributaries to him, 2Sa 8:1. But it best agrees with Christ, who is the head of his chosen ones among the Gentiles; the political head, King, and Governor of them, the Heathen being given him for his inheritance and possession; and which appeared in the first ages of Christianity, when the Gospel was first preached to the Gentiles by the apostles; and still continues, and will be more clearly seen in the latter day, when the Lord shall be King over all the earth. Christ was made the head of the Heathen, by the appointment and designation of his Father; and, in fact, was so when multitudes from among the Gentiles were converted and brought to the obedience of him. In 2Sa 22:44 it is, “thou hast kept me [to be] head of the Heathen”; which does not seem so much to intend the designation and constitution of him as such, but the continuation of him; and denotes the stability of his government in the Gentile world, of which there will be no end;
a people [whom] I have not known shall serve me; by whom are meant the Gentiles, who were not the people of God, were without Christ and without God, and without hope in the world: not that there are any people that can be unknown to Christ, as he is the omniscient God; nor were these unknown to him, in such sense as reprobates, nominal professors, and foolish virgins, are said not to be known by him, Mt 7:23. For these people among the Heathen, who are or shall be brought to serve the Lord, are such who were the objects of his love and delight from everlasting; were in his Father’s choice and in his own, and in the gift of his Father to him, and in the covenant of his grace; and therefore must be known by him; moreover, they are the purchase of his blood; and the sheep he knows, for whom he has laid down his life, and of whom he has such an exact and particular knowledge, that he can and does call them by name. But the sense is, these seemed not to be taken notice of and cared for by Christ; they were not owned and acknowledged by him as his people; the Jews were distinguished from all others; they only had the law, the word of God, and his ordinances; the Gentiles were suffered to walk in their own ways; they were neglected, and the times of their ignorance were overlooked and disregarded; so that they were treated as a people that were not known for many hundreds of years: but here it is predicted, that when the Gospel should come among them, and they be called by it, they should “serve” the Lord in righteousness and true holiness, with reverence and godly fear, from a principle of love, in his name and strength, and to his glory; see Isa 55:4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Heb.: 18:44-46) Thus victorious in God, David became what he now is, viz., the ruler of a great kingdom firmly established both in home and foreign relations. With respect to the and the verb which follows, can only be understood of the conflicts among his own people, in which David was involved by the persecution of Saul and the rebellions of Absolom and Sheba the son of Bichri; and from which Jahve delivered him, in order to preserve him for his calling of world-wide dominion in accordance with the promise. We therefore interpret the passage according to in Isa 49:8, and in Isa 26:11; whereas the following comes to have a foreign application by reason of the attributive clause (Ges. 123, 3). The Niph. in Psa 18:45 is the reflexive of , to obey (e.g., Exo 24:7), and is therefore to be rendered: show themselves obedient (= Ithpa. in Dan 7:27). implies more than that they obeyed at the word; means information, rumour, and is the opposite of personal observation (Job 42:5), it is therefore to be rendered: they submitted even at the tidings of my victories; and 2Sa 8:9. is an example of this. to lie, disown, feign, and flatter, is sued here, as it is frequently, of the extorted humility which the vanquished show towards the conqueror. Psa 18:46 completes the picture of the reason of the sons of a foreign country “putting a good face on a bad game.” They faded away, i.e., they became weak and faint-hearted (Exo 18:18), incapable of holding out against or breaking through any siege by David, and trembled, surrendering at discretion, out of their close places, i.e., out of their strongholds behind which they had shut themselves in (cf. Ps 142:8). The signification of being alarmed, which in this instance, being found in combination with a local , is confined to the sense of terrified flight, is secured to the verb by the Arabic harija (root hr , of audible pressure, crowding, and the like) to be pressed, crowded, tight, or narrow, to get in a strait, and the Targumic = (vid., the Targums on Deu 32:25). Arab. hjl , to limp, halt, which is compared by Hitzig, is far removed as to the sound; and the most natural, but colourless Arab. chrj , to go out of (according to its radical meaning – cf. Arab. chrq , chr , etc. – : to break forth, erumpere), cannot be supported in Hebrew or Aramaic. The found in the borrowed passage in Micah, Mic 7:17, favours our rendering.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
43. Thou shalt deliver me from the contentions of the people. David states, in a few words, that he had experienced the assistance of God in all variety of ways. He was in great danger from the tumults which sometimes arose among his own subjects, if God had not wonderfully allayed them, and subdued the fierceness of the people. It also happened, contrary to the general expectation, that David, as is stated in the second clause of the verse, was victorious far and wide, and overthrew the neighboring nations who had a little before discomfited all Israel by their forces. It was an astonishing renovation of things, when he not only suddenly restored to their former estate the people of Israel, who had been greatly reduced by defeat and slaughter, but also made his tributaries the neighboring nations, with whom before, on account of their hostility to the nation of Israel, it was impossible to live in peace. It would have been much to see the kingdom, after having sustained so grievous a calamity, still surviving, and after having again collected strength recovering its former state; but God, contrary to all expectation, conferred upon the people of Israel more than this; he enabled them even to subdue those who before had been their conquerors. David makes mention of both these; he tells us, in the first place, that when the people rose up in tumult against him, it was none other but God who stilled these commotions which took place within the kingdom; and, in the second place, that it was under the authority, and by the conduct and power of God, that powerful nations were subjected to him, and that the limits of the kingdom, which, in the time of Saul, had been weak and half broken, were greatly enlarged. Hence it is evident that David was assisted by God, not less with respect to his domestic affairs, that is to say, within his own kingdom, than against foreign enemies. As the kingdom of David was a type under which the Holy Spirit intended to shadow forth to us the kingdom of Christ, let us remember that, both in erecting and preserving it, it is necessary for God not only to stretch forth his arm and fight against avowed enemies, who from without rise up against him, but also to repress the tumults and strifes which may take place within the Church. This was clearly shown in the person of Christ from the beginning. In the first place, he met with much opposition from the infatuated obstinacy of those of his own nation. In the next place, the experience of all ages shows that the dissensions and strifes with which hypocrites rend and mangle the Church, are not less hurtful in undermining the kingdom of Christ, (if God do not interpose his hand to prevent their injurious effects,) than the violent efforts of his enemies. Accordingly God, to advance and maintain the kingdom of his own Son, not only overthrows before him external enemies, but also delivers him from domestic contentions; that is to say, from those within his kingdom, which is the Church. (436) In the song in 2 Samuel, instead of these words, Thou hast made me the head of the nations, the word employed is תשמרני , tishmereni, which signifies to keep or g uard, and is therefore to be understood in this sense, that David will be securely, and for a long time, maintained in possession of the kingdom. He knew how difficult it is to keep under discipline and subjection those who have not been accustomed to the yoke; and, accordingly, nothing is of more frequent occurrence than for kingdoms which have been lately acquired by conquest to be shaken with fresh commotions. But David, in the song in Samuel, declares that God, having elevated him to such a high degree of power as to make him the head of the nations, will also maintain him in the possession of the sovereignty he had been pleased to confer upon him.
A people whom I have not known shall serve me. The whole of this passage strongly confirms what I have just now touched upon, that the statements here made are not to be restricted to the person of David, but contain a prophecy respecting the kingdom of Christ which was to come. David, it is true, might have boasted that nations, with whose manners and dispositions he was only very imperfectly acquainted, were subject to him; but it is nevertheless certain, that none of the nations which he conquered were altogether unknown to him, nor removed at so great a distance as to render it difficult for him to acquire some knowledge of them. The conquests of David, therefore, and the submission of the people to him, were only an obscure figure in which God has exhibited to us some faint representation of the boundless dominion of his own Son, whose kingdom extends
“
from the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same,” (Mal 1:11,)
and comprehends the whole world.
(436) “ C’est a dire au dedans de son royaume qui est l’Eglise.” — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(43) People.The parallelism favours the interpretation which takes people as equivalent to peoplesthe Gentiles. But as in Samuel it is my people, explain it of the early political troubles of David. Notice also in Samuel preserved, instead of made.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
43. From the strivings of the people This better applies to internal faction, such as was experienced during the seven years that Ishbosheth disputed the throne with David, rather than to foreign war. 2 Samuel 2-3. In the parallel place, (2Sa 22:44,) the people reads “my people.” confirming this view.
Head of the heathen Or, the nations. True of David, and more true of Christ.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
David Describes His Widespread Victories Which Are All Due To God ( Psa 18:43-45 ).
Psa 18:43-45
‘You have delivered me from the strivings of the people,
You have made me the head of the nations,
A people whom I have not known will serve me.
As soon as they hear of me they will obey me,
The foreigners will submit themselves to me.’
The foreigners will fade away,
And will come trembling out of their close places.’
First he was delivered from civil war in Israel and from the strivings of his own people against him, and then from the strivings of those further afield (2 Samuel 22 has ‘from the strivings of my people’, but this widens the idea). But then the ultimate is reached. His throne has been established, he has defeated Israel’s constant enemies, and now his hand reaches wider and he subdues the ever threatening larger neighbours. He has been made the head of the nations, and the people no longer strive to overcome Israel and David (2Sa 8:1-14). Indeed he has become so great that his name has become known to those who had not previously been aware of him. They had not known him, but now they will know him, for they will serve him. As soon as they learn of his name they will submit. The word contains the idea of unwilling submission (compare Psa 66:3). They dare not dispute with him. He has reached the zenith of his power.
‘The foreigners will submit themselves to me. The foreigners will fade away, and will come trembling out of their close places.’ The foreigners are those who were not neighbours. They too will submit. All their courage will fade away, and they will come submissively and tremblingly out of their walled cities and from their previously closed gates, the places which should have kept them close and safe, for they will recognise that there is no point in resistance. Those who would once have mocked at him now fear his name. Such is what God does for His own. Thus was David’s kingdom widely established. Out of unlikely beginnings God can do great things for those who trust Him.
Even when Israel and Judah reached their darkest hours they sang of this as their hope for the future. They were certain that one day God would again work for their deliverance. One day a greater David would arise to bring it all to fruition.
Psa 18:46-50
David Closes The Psalm By Rejoicing in the God Who Has Done So Much For Him And will Continue To Do For His Descendants ( Psa 18:46-50 ).
David finishes the Psalm with a paean of praise to YHWH.
Psa 18:46-47
‘YHWH lives, and blessed be my rock,
And exalted be the God of my salvation,
Even the God who executes vengeance for me,
And subdues peoples under me.’
David reiterates the essence of what he has previously declared. Firstly that Yahweh is the living God, the One Who is. ‘YHWH lives’. Thus all is well for His own. Then he blesses Him that He is to him a Rock, a firm and sure foundation, and exalts Him that He is a Delivering God, a Saviour. Surety and deliverance is the essence of what He is for those who are His.
Thus He executes vengeance for His own against those who have misused him, and subdues all peoples under him. This is not a vindictive statement. It is rather a cry of gratitude and wonder. He had known what it was to be trodden down and in fear of his life. And now the tables have been turned. God has taken vengeance on those who did it, and it is he who subdues people. And what is true for David is true for all His own. God will finally triumph on behalf of all His people.
Psa 18:48
‘He rescues me from my enemies,
Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me,
You deliver me from the violent man.’
And God is the One Who continually rescues him from his enemies. They have been many, but God has delivered him from them all. The thought overwhelms him and he begins speaking directly to God. ‘Yes, you are the One Who lifts me up above those who rise up against me. It is You Who delivers me from the violent man.’ It is YHWH Who is his personal Deliverer.
Psa 18:49
‘Therefore I will give thanks unto you, O YHWH, among the nations,
And will sing praises to your name.’
And because of this he will continually give thanks to YHWH among all the nations, and give universal praise to His name, that all may see his gratitude and honour the One Who has been so good to him. And because of this the people continued to have hope.
Psa 18:50
‘Great deliverance gives he to his king,
And shows covenant love to his anointed,
To David and to his seed, for evermore.’
The ultimate in the Psalm has been reached. God has given great deliverance to His king, the one whom He has chosen to rule the nations, the one whom He has anointed, setting him aside for Himself, the one with whom He has dealings through the covenant, and He will continue to do so. In this is Israel’s confidence.
And this delivering goodness of God is not only for David but also for his seed after him for evermore. His house is to enjoy an everlasting rule. Here is seen the confirmation of God’s promise in 2Sa 7:12-16. In the short term the assumption is, ‘while they are faithful’. But the triumph of God in David is not just a passing thing of history, not something that is left to man’s initiative, it carries within it the seeds of God’s permanent blessing for the whole world, for all who will be His people. Davidic kings may fail temporarily in the future, but in the end God will prevail and a Davidic king will arise Who will be true, triumphant and the source of all God’s blessing. This was the hope of the future.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 18:43. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people From that conflict between the tribes, or the civil war, which was raised by Abner in favour of Ishbosheth, and from the invasions of the Philistines, who attacked him soon after his succession to the kingdom; and thereby put him into peaceable possession of the throne, and made him the head of those nations, which were become tributary by his victories over them. See 2 Samuel 8. 1 Chronicles 18.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
How beautiful are these verses, in reference to the conversion of the Gentiles. Here surely, as before, David’s history falls far short of celebrating such victories. But seen with an eye to Christ, how are the promises of Jehovah fulfilled, and the words of Christ confirmed! Isa_49:18-23; Isa_65:1 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 18:43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; [and] thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people [whom] I have not known shall serve me.
Ver. 43. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people ] viz. In the rebellions under Absalom, and Sheba, the son of Bichri. These, like bubbles which children blow up into the air, were soon blown out; and fell into the eyes of those who with the blasts of disloyalty and ambition held up the same.
Thou hast made me head of the heathen
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 18:43-45
43You have delivered me from the contentions of the people;
You have placed me as head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.
44As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners submit to me.
45Foreigners fade away,
And come trembling out of their fortresses.
Psa 18:43-45 This strophe deals with the King of Israel’s exalted place in YHWH’s plans for the nations. Israel (the people of Psa 18:43 a) was meant to inform the nations and draw them to faith in YHWH (see Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan ). But notice that Israel was contentious (cf. Psa 35:1).
Notice the different phrases that refer to non-Israelites (i.e., Gentiles).
1. the King of Israel (cf. Psa 18:50) was made the head of the nations
2. the nations are a people who the King had not known but now they serve (BDB 712, KB 773, Qal imperfect) him
3. as soon as these nations hear the King they
a. obey (BDB 1033, KB 1570, Niphal imperfect)
b. submit (lit. lying or deceive, but used in the sense of cringe; possibly leanness or their reduced number and influence. The Hebrew verb has both senses) BDB 471, KB 469, Piel imperfect
c. fade away BDB 615, KB 663, Qal imperfect
d. come trembling BDB 353, KB 350, Qal imperfect; only here in the OT out of their fortresses (possibly fatness, BDB 689, or KB 604, prison, cf. Mic 7:17)
Notice all the imperfects (nine) which denote ongoing action (i.e., continual defeat).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
heathen = nations, or Gentile peoples.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 18:43-47
Psa 18:43-47
“Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people;
Thou hast made me the head of the nations:
A people I have not known shall serve me.
As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me;
The foreigners shall submit themselves unto me.
The foreigners shall fade away,
And shall come trembling out of their close places.
Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be the God of my salvation,
Even the God that executeth vengeance for me,
And subdueth peoples under me.”
“Thou has made me the head of the nations.” The word nations is often translated “Gentiles,” and it must be admitted that David was never head of the Gentiles in any significant degree. As Halley said, “`Head of the nations’ could be true of David only in a partial sense. This looks forward beyond the time of David to the Throne of David’s Greater Son. “This is a Messianic prophecy, parallel with Psa 2:8.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 18:1-50. I have made one paragraph of this whole chapter because it is practically identical with 2 Samuel 22. Detailed comments are made on the chapter which is at the regular place in this commentary and will not be repeated here. The reason for giving the comments at the other place is the fact that it came in more direct connection with the history belonging to it. I will call attention to one special circumstance in the differences between the two chapters. The statements that are placed as a heading here are included in the text in 2 Samuel 22. When the collection of the Psalms of David was made into one book, the one he wrote at the time of his conflicts with Saul and other enemies was brought and included in the document. Since the two occurrences of the psalm are alike, the reader of the commentary would have no advantage offered him were I to repeat the comments in this place. I therefore urge him to see my remarks in the other place.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
from: 2Sa 2:9, 2Sa 2:10, 2Sa 3:1, 2Sa 5:1-7, Act 5:31
made: Psa 22:27, Psa 22:28, Psa 108:9, 2Sa 5:1-25, 2Sa 8:1-18, 2Sa 10:1-19, 2Sa 22:44-46, Isa 49:6, Isa 49:22, Isa 49:23, Isa 52:15, Rom 15:12, Rom 15:18, Eph 1:22
a people: Isa 52:15, Isa 55:5, Hos 1:10, Rom 16:26, 1Pe 2:10, Rev 11:15
Reciprocal: Num 24:7 – his king 1Ch 18:6 – became David’s Est 8:17 – many of the people Est 9:4 – was great Psa 10:16 – heathen Psa 18:16 – drew
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 18:43-44. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people From the contentions, seditions, and tumults of my own people under Saul, and during the civil war raised by Abner in favour of Ishbosheth, when the tribes strove with each other; and from the invasions of the Philistines who attacked him soon after his accession to the throne. Thou hast made me the head of the heathen Of the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Syrians, and others, who were become tributary to him by his victories over them: see 2. Samuel Psa 8:1; 1 Chronicles 18. A people whom I have not known Whom I had no acquaintance with nor relation to, not even by thy promise or grant; that is, barbarous and remote nations, shall serve me Shall be subject to me. As soon as they hear of me At the fame of my name and victorious arms, or upon the first tidings of my coming toward them; they shall obey me They shall instantly comply with my will, as soon as they understand it. The strangers shall submit themselves unto me The Hebrew is literally, the sons of the strangers shall lie unto me; that is, shall submit themselves to me, not willingly and cheerfully, as they will pretend, but only out of fear and by constraint. By this it appears, that this is spoken with reference to David, and not (as some would have it) to Christ; because Christs people are a willing people, (Psa 110:3,) and those whom he conquers freely obey him.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18:43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; [and] thou hast made me the head of the {g} heathen: a people [whom] I have not {h} known shall serve me.
(g) Who dwell round about me.
(h) The kingdom of Christ is prefigured in David’s kingdom, who by the preaching of his word brings all to his subjection.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God had even extended David’s victories beyond the borders of Israel. The king had been able to subdue other kingdoms and bring them under his control. David’s greatest Son will be able to echo these sentiments when He rules on earth during the Millennium.