Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 18:16
He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
16. He sent from above ] R.V., He sent from on high: but it seems better to render, He reached forth from on high, as the writer of Psa 144:7 understood the words. He stretched out His hand and caught hold of the sinking man, and drew him out of the floods of calamity which were overwhelming him ( Psa 18:4).
drew me ] The word is found elsewhere only in Exo 2:10, to which there may be an allusion. ‘He drew me out of the great waters of distress, as He drew Moses out of the waters of the Nile, to be the deliverer of His people.’ For many or great waters as an emblem of danger, cp. Psa 32:6, Psa 66:12, Psa 69:2-3.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
16 19. The deliverance which was the object of Jehovah’s manifestation of His power.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He sent from above – He interposed to save me. All these manifestations of the divine interposition were from above, or from heaven; all came from God.
He took me – He took hold on me; he rescued me.
He drew me out of many waters – Margin, great waters. Waters are often expressive of calamity and trouble, Psa 46:3; Psa 69:1; Psa 73:10; Psa 124:4-5. The meaning here is, that God had rescued him out of the many troubles and dangers that encompassed him, as if he had fallen into the sea and was in danger of perishing.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 18:16
He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters.
Divine interpositions
We are not as those who believe in two co-existent forces, each supreme, one of whom shall create disasters, and the other distribute blessings. The prince of evil is, according to our faith, subordinate to the great Lord of all. Everywhere is God, and in all things His hand is present; in the things which seem to us evil, as well as in the events which appear to us good, God is at work. We freely admit that we do not understand this, and therefore we do not attempt to explain it; but we believe and adore. We need not try to justify the ways of God with men, for He asks no defence at our hands. If there is a providence, why are such terrible evils permitted?
I. Miraculous interpositions in the calamities of this life are not to be expected.
1. Such interpositions would change the whole arrangement of the world.
2. If interpositions were given to save the lives of godly men alone, as some would have it, then this world would become the place of judgment, which it is not intended to be.
3. If God were to interpose in the case of all calamities it would involve many evils. It would encourage idleness, neglect of sanitary laws, carelessness, etc.
4. Divine interpositions of a miraculous sort would not be attended with the advantage to the ungodly which we might suppose, because if there were miracles of mercy on the behalf of Gods people to snatch them from a watery grave or other perils, then we might expect to have, and naturally should have, miracles of judgment too.
II. Providential interpositions are frequent among Gods people. They come in the way of deliverance from floods of trouble. He took me, He drew me out of many waters. He does this not by miracles. He violates no law of nature, but yet delivers in a marvellous way. He does not quench the violence of the flame, yet a precious life is saved from a burning building. The Lord allows all the forces of nature to drive on in their ordinary course, and yet the outcome of it all is, that His servant is delivered and his prayers are answered. This He does in various ways. The sick are restored to health. Business is made to prosper. Enemies are turned to friends, or they die, like Haman. Then believe in the unexpected. Believe that God will do for you something which you know nothing about. The Lord always has a plan in reserve. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Deliverance out of deep waters
The testimonies of experience are always welcome to us. In sickness, those of the experienced physician. In battle, those of the proved commander. This Psalm seems to be a leaf taken out of Davids private diary.
I. Let us inquire whence it was that God took David. He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. The term waters is used in the Scriptures to express a state of trouble and mental disquietude. Apart from the naturalness of the imago as descriptive of something which overwhelms, and desolates, and lays waste, to an Eastern mind this image would have a peculiar force and beauty; for in the mountainous parts of Judea, even as in Switzerland to this very day, the people were liable to sudden inundations, which would sweep away flocks and herds, towns and villages, in their disastrous and overwhelming torrent. Well, David says, God drew me out of many waters; intimating, first, his deliverance from the depths of outward danger. And as from many dangers, so from many sorrows had God taken David out. Think of the sorrow of his exile, the sorrows so many and terrible that came upon him through his great sin. And yet God took him out of them all. But sickness, bereavement, exile were not Davids deepest waters; but sin, the displeasure of God, merited condemnation for his offences, who could hold up the bead in such waters? A wounded spirit who can bear? The image in the text is commonly used in connection with Davids sins. The penitential Psalms will be found to abound with such allusions. Out of the depths have I cried, etc. I am come unto deep waters. Thou hast afflicted me with all Thy waves. His sins had plunged him into many deep waters. And as with sorrows, so with sins, have we not known a like experience to that of David? May not the same confession of misery which they caused us, and of Gods God, says Bunyan, gracious deliverance out of them, come truly from our lips? God, says Bunyan, will sometimes cleave a saint with a wedge of his own timber, that is, He will make him feel the consequences of his own sin, in order that the bitterness of his distress may draw him to a better choice. But to draw a struggling man out of the waters and to take no further care of him–to leave him on the brink of the same pit, and liable again to make shipwreck in the same sea, this is not the way of Him whose work is perfect and therefore we inquire, not only whence God took David, but–
II. Whither He took him. This David beautifully expresses in the 40th Psalm. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. Here, then, we have the deliverance perfected. Not only is he raised from the depths, but he is exalted to the heights; not only is he drawn out of the waters, but be is set upon a rock. Fear is superseded by the tranquilities of the promise; a calm conscience stills the agitations of despair. In all your afflictions, therefore, whether of mind, body, or estate, trust to the arm which once drew you out of the waters. You are safe where He would draw you; it is even to the rock of His protection, to the secret of His pavilion, to the covering of His arm, to the tower of His great name. And so your comfort is, that if the waters be many, the succours shall be ninny. God will send from above; grace from above to deliver you, promises from above to cheer you, a Spirit from above to guide you, a Saviour from above to defend and bless you. When your race is over, when your struggles are finished, and when you are landed safely on the eternal shores, then to the God of all grace shall you sing this song of praise. He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. (Daniel Moore, M. A.)
Saved from the depths
Jewels long hidden under the lava flood at Pompeii have been recovered undimmed, and divers have recently been searching for valuable gems lost in the sea near Trieste in 1822. When the river overflowed the summer palace of the Shah of Persia at Lar he fled in such haste that his jewels were forgotten. An astute officer of the court gave orders that the banks of the river were to be searched when the flood had subsided, and by this means he restored the jewels to his master, and was rewarded by being promoted to high rank. (W. Y. Fullerton.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 16. He drew me out of many waters.] Here the allusion is still carried on. The waters thus poured out were sweeping the people away; but God, by a miraculous interference, sent and drew David out. Sometimes waters are used to denote multitudes of people; and here the word may have that reference; multitudes were gathered together against David, but God delivered him from them all. This seems to be countenanced by the following verse.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He sent angels, or assistance otherwise.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16-19. from aboveAs seated ona throne, directing these terrible scenes, God
sentHis hand (Ps144:7), reached down to His humble worshipper, and delivered him.
many waterscalamities(Job 30:14; Psa 124:4;Psa 124:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He sent from above,…. Either his hand, as in Ps 144:7; he exerted and displayed his mighty power in raising Christ from the dead; or he sent help from his sanctuary; as in Ps 20:2; and helped and strengthened him in a day of salvation; or when he wrought out the salvation of his people; or “he sent his word”, as in Ps 107:20; his word of command, to take up his life again, as he had given it to lay it down, Joh 10:18. The Targum is, he sent his prophets; but it may be much better supplied, he sent his angels, or an angel; as he did at his resurrection, who rolled away the stone from the sepulchre, as a token of his justification and discharge: so Jarchi interprets it, he sent his angels; and Aben Ezra supplies it thus,
“he sent his word or his angel:”
unless the sense should be, as Cocceius suggests, he sent a cloud from above, which was done at Christ’s ascension, and which received him out of the sight of the apostles, Ac 1:9. Since it follows,
he took me; that is, up to heaven; thither Christ was carried in a cloud, one of God’s chariots, he sent for him; and where he is received, and will be retained until his second coming; though rather the sense is, he took me by the hand:
he drew me out of many waters. This is said either in allusion to Moses, who had his name from his being drawn out of the water, Ex 2:10; and who was an eminent type of Christ; and this is the only place where the Hebrew word is made use of from whence he had his name; or else to a man plunged in water ready to be drowned; see Ps 69:1. By these “many waters” may be meant the many afflictions, sorrows, and sufferings from which Christ was freed, when raised from the dead, and highly exalted and crowned with glory and honour; and the torrent of sins which flowed in upon him at the time he was made sin for his people, from which he was justified when risen; and so will appear a second time without sin unto salvation; and the wrath of God, the waves and billows of which went over him, and compassed him about as water, at the time of his sufferings; from which he was delivered when he was shown the path of life, and entered into the presence of God, and sat at his right hand, where are joys and pleasures for evermore; and also his grand enemy Satan, with his principalities and powers, who came in like a flood upon him; but he destroyed him and spoiled them; and particularly the floods of ungodly men, spoken of in Ps 18:4; seem to be here designed; compare with this Ps 144:7; “so many waters” signify many people and nations, Re 17:15; and accordingly the Targum is,
“he delivered me from many people.”
This was true of Christ when risen and ascended; he was then separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; and this sense is confirmed by the following words, where what is expressed figuratively here is there literally explained.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Heb.: 18:17-20) Then Jahve stretches out His hand from above into the deep chasm and draws up the sinking one. The verb occurs also in prose (2Sa 6:6) without (Psa 57:4, cf. on the other hand the borrowed passage, Psa 144:7) in the signification to reach (after anything). The verb , however, is only found in one other instance, viz., Exo 2:10, as the root (transferred from the Egyptian into the Hebrew) of the name of Moses, and even Luther saw in it an historical allusion, “He hath made a Moses of me,” He hath drawn me out of great (many) waters, which had well nigh swallowed me up, as He did Moses out of the waters of the Nile, in which he would have perished. This figurative language is followed, in Psa 18:18, by its interpretation, just as in Psa 144:7 the “great waters” are explained by , which, however, is not suitable here, or at least is too limited.
With Psa 18:17 the hymn has reached the climax of epic description, from which it now descends in a tone that becomes more and more lyrical. In the combination , is not an adverbial accusative, but an adjective, like Psa 143:10, and ( Hebrerbrief S. 353). introduces the reason for the interposition of the divine omnipotence, viz., the superior strength of the foe and the weakness of the oppressed one. On the day of his , i.e., (vid., on Psa 31:12) his load or calamity, when he was altogether a homeless and almost defenceless fugitive, they came upon him ( Psa 17:13), cutting off all possible means of delivering himself, but Jahve became the fugitive’s staff (Psa 23:4) upon which he leaned and kept himself erect. By the hand of God, out of straits and difficulties he reached a broad place, out of the dungeon of oppression to freedom, for Jahve had delighted in him, he was His chosen and beloved one. has the accent on the penult here, and Metheg as a sign of the lengthening ( ) beside the e , that it may not be read e .
(Note: In like manner Metheg is placed beside the ee of the final closed syllable that has lost the tone in Psa 22:9, Psa 90:2, vid., Isaiah S. 594 note.)
The following strophe tells the reason of his pleasing God and of His not allowing him to perish. This (for He delighted in me) now becomes the primary thought of the song.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
16. He sent down from above. Here there is briefly shown the drift of the sublime and magnificent narrative which has now passed under our review, namely, to teach us that David at length emerged from the profound abyss of his troubles, neither by his own skill, nor by the aid of men, but that he was drawn out of them by the hand of God. When God defends and preserves us wonderfully and by extraordinary means, he is said in Scripture language to send down succor from above; and this sending is set in opposition to human and earthly aids, on which we usually place a mistaken and an undue confidence. I do not disapprove of the opinion of those who consider this as referring to the angels, but I understand it in a more general sense; for by whatever means we are preserved, it is God who having his creatures ready at his nod to do his will, appoints them to take charge of us, and girds or prepares them for succouring us. But, although every kind of aid comes from heaven, David, with good reason, affirms that God had stretched out his hand from on high to deliver him. In speaking thus, he meant to place the astonishing benefit referred to, by way of eminence, above others of a more common kind; and besides, there is in this expression a tacit comparison between the unusual exercise of the power of God here celebrated, and the common and ordinary means by which he succours his people. When he says, that God drew him out of great waters, it is a metaphorical form of expression. By comparing the cruelty of his enemies to impetuous torrents, by which he might have been swallowed up a hundred times, he expresses more clearly the greatness of the danger; as if he had said, I have, contrary to the expectation of men, escaped, and been delivered from a deep abyss in which I was ready to be overwhelmed. In the following verse he expresses the thing simply and without a figure, declaring that he had been delivered from a strong enemy, (408) who mortally hated and persecuted him. The more to exalt and magnify the power of God, he directs our attention to this circumstance, that no strength or power of men had been able to prevent God from saving him, even when he was reduced to the greatest extremity of distress. As in the end of the verse there is the Hebrew particle כי, ki, which generally denotes the cause of what is predicated, almost all interpreters agree in explaining the verse thus: God has succoured me from above, because my enemies were so numerous and so strong that no relief was to be expected by the mere aid of men. From this we deduce a very profitable doctrine, namely, that the most seasonable time for God to aid his people is when they are unable to sustain the assaults of their enemies, or rather, when, broken and afflicted, they sink under their violence, like the wretched man who having in a shipwreck lost all hope of being able to swim to the shore, sinks with great rapidity to the bottom of the deep. The particle יכ, ki, however, might also be explained by the adversative particle although, in this way: Although the enemies of David were superior to him in number and power, he nevertheless was saved.
(408) Bishop Patrick paraphrases the verse thus:— “He delivered me first from that mighty giant, Goliath, and then from Saul, whose power I was not able to withstand; and afterwards from the Philistines and Syrians, and many other nations, whose forces were far superior unto mine, and whose hatred instigated them to do all they could to destroy me.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(16) He drew me.By an exquisite transition from the real to the figurative the poet conceives of these parted waters as the floods of affliction (Psa. 18:5), from which Jehovah has rescued him by means of the very storm which was sent, in answer to his prayer, to overwhelm his enemies. Render at once more literally and forcibly, He laid hold of me and drew me out of great waters. The conception undoubtedly is that the gates of death are under these floods, and those being now parted, the sufferer can be reached and rescued.
Psa. 18:17-19 show trifling variations between the two copies of the psalm.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. He sent from above See the full expression, Psa 144:7. The dawn of the psalmist’s deliverance breaks from on high.
He drew me out of many waters An expression probably borrowed by David from the deliverance of Moses from the waters of the Nile. A hand “from above” drew him out. The verb , ( to draw out,) occurs nowhere else but in Exo 2:10, and 2Sa 22:17. “Many waters” symbolically denote multitudes of people, especially of different tongues, (Rev 17:15,) such as composed ancient armies. Jer 47:2
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 18:16. He sent from above, &c. This may either denote, in general, that God aided and assisted him by his divine power, or that he sent his angels from heaven, to protect and rescue him from the many dangers that surrounded him; which he figuratively calls drawing him out of many waters; afflictions and great calamities being frequently represented by deep waters and floods in the sacred writings. See Chandler, and Lowth’s 6th Prelection. Theodoret observes, that the Psalmist tells us what waters he means by the next words: He delivered me from my strong enemies; i.e. from Saul and other his persecutors.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
How strong are these expressions to point to one particular foe! Not only was Jesus, in the days of his flesh, delivered from the malice of men, but from the malice of Satan. The human nature of Christ, unassisted by his Godhead, would have found Satan too strong, as is here said. How blessed then to see, in the union of the Godhead with the manhood, the stronger than he coming upon him and overcoming him! Luk 11:22 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 18:16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
Ver. 16. He sent from above, he took me ] He rescued me as by a hand reached me from heaven. Deus , or, he sent his angels to secure me.
He drew me out of many waters
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 18:16-19
16He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17He delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
18They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my stay.
19He brought me forth also into a broad place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me.
Psa 18:16-19 This strophe describes YHWH’s deliverance of the psalmist. Also note the distress of Psa 18:6 is now clarified as those who hate me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity (cf. Psa 59:16-17)!
1. He sent from on high, He took me, cf. Psa 144:7
2. He drew me out of many waters, cf. Psa 32:6
3. He delivered me from my strong enemy
4. He delivered me from those who hate me
5. He brought me forth into a broad place, an idiom for freedom, cf. Psa 4:1; Psa 31:8; Psa 118:5
6. He secured me, because He delighted in me, cf. 2Sa 22:20; Psa 37:23; Psa 41:11; Psa 147:11
Psa 18:16 He drew me out of many waters This root, (BDB 602, KB 642) is found only (1) here [and the parallel in 2Sa 22:17] and (2) in the account of Moses’ rescue in Exo 2:10. It became the popular etymology of the name Moses.
The many waters can be understood in two ways.
1. a contextual metaphor of trouble/problems/attacks (cf. Psa 32:6; Psa 46:1-3; Psa 69:1-2; Psa 124:1-5; Psa 144:5-8; Isa 43:2
2. an allusion to the Genesis account of YHWH defeating the waters of chaos (cf. Psa 74:13-14; Psa 89:9-10; Psa 104:6-7; Isa 51:9-10, see the Jerome Biblical Commentary, p. 578, and my note at Gen 1:2, the deep at www.freebiblecommentary.org in Genesis 1-11)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
many waters. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6, for troubles.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
He sent: Psa 57:3, Psa 144:7
drew: Psa 18:43, Psa 40:1-3, Exo 2:10, 2Sa 22:17
many waters: or, great waters, Jon 2:5, Jon 2:6, Rev 17:15
Reciprocal: 1Sa 17:37 – The Lord Psa 40:2 – brought Psa 130:1 – Out of Pro 17:8 – gift Jer 51:42 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 18:16-18. He sent from above This may either denote, in general, that God assisted him by his divine power to overcome and deliver himself from his enemies, and thereby extricate himself from his troubles, or that he sent his angels from heaven to protect and rescue him from the many dangers that surrounded him; which he figuratively calls drawing him out of great waters Afflictions and great calamities being frequently represented by deep waters and floods in the sacred writings. Or, as Theodoret thinks, by these waters, he means the strong enemies mentioned in the next verse. They prevented me in the day of my calamity They were too crafty for me, and had almost surprised me, coming upon me suddenly, unawares, when I was unprepared and helpless; and would have destroyed me, had not God upheld and supported me when I was in danger of perishing. But God was my stay They could not prevent him; and, what a staff is to one who is ready to fall, that was God to me in the time of my extremity.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18:16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many {m} waters.
(m) Out of many great dangers.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God delivered the writer as a lifeguard rescues a drowning man from the water that threatens to overwhelm him. David’s host of enemies almost swallowed him up, but God removed him from their clutches and brought him to a place of safety out of their reach.