Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 18:2
The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, [and] my high tower.
2. The imagery which David uses is derived from the features of a country abounding in cliffs and caves and natural strongholds, with which he had become familiar in his flight from Saul. The rock, or cliff ( sela) where he had been so unexpectedly delivered from Saul (1Sa 23:25-28): the fortress or stronghold in the wilderness of Judah or the fastnesses of En-gedi ( 1Sa 22:4 ; 1Sa 23:14; 1Sa 23:19; 1Sa 23:29; 1Sa 24:22); “the rocks of the wild goats” (1Sa 24:2; 1Ch 11:15); were all emblems of Him who had been throughout his true Refuge and Deliverer.
my God ] El, and so in Psa 18:30 ; Psa 18:32 ; Psa 18:47. See note on Psa 5:4.
my strength &c.] Lit., my rock in whom I take refuge. Here first in the Psalter occurs the title Rock ( tsr), so often used to describe the strength, faithfulness, and unchangeableness of Jehovah. See Psa 18:31 ; Psa 18:46; Deu 32:4; Deu 32:15; Deu 32:18; Deu 32:30-31; 1Sa 2:2; Psa 19:14; Psa 28:1; &c. Here, as the relative clause shews, the special idea is that of an asylum in danger. Cp. Psa 94:22; Deu 32:37.
my buckler &c.] As my shield He defends me: as the horn of my salvation He drives my enemies before Him and gives me the victory. The horn is a common symbol of irresistible strength, derived from horned animals, especially wild oxen. See Deu 33:17; and note the use of the phrase in Luk 1:69. Cp. Psa 28:7-8.
my high tower ] See note on Psa 9:9. 2 Sam. adds, “and my retreat, my saviour, who savest me from violence.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The Lord is my rock – The idea in this expression, and in the subsequent parts of the description, is that he owed his safety entirely to God. He had been unto him as a rock, a tower, a buckler, etc. – that is, he had derived from God the protection which a rock, a tower, a citadel, a buckler furnished to those who depended on them, or which they were designed to secure. The word rock here has reference to the fact that in times of danger a lofty rock would be sought as a place of safety, or that men would fly to it to escape from their enemies. Such rocks abound in Palestine; and by the fact that they are elevated and difficult of access, or by the fact that those who fled to them could find shelter behind their projecting crags, or by the fact that they could find security in their deep and dark caverns, they became places of refuge in times of danger; and protection was often found there when it could not be found in the plains below. Compare Jdg 6:2; Psa 27:5; Psa 61:2. Also, Josephus, Ant., b. xiv., ch. xv.
And my fortress – He has been to me as a fortress. The word fortress means a place of defense, a place so strengthened that an enemy could not approach it, or where one would be safe. Such fortresses were often constructed on the rocks or on hills, where those who fled there would be doubly safe. Compare Job 39:28. See also the notes at Isa 33:16.
And my deliverer – Delivering or rescuing me from my enemies.
My God – Who hast been to me a God; that is, in whom I have found all that is implied in the idea of God – a Protector, Helper, Friend, Father, Saviour. The notion or idea of a God is different from all other ideas, and David had found, as the Christian now does, all that is implied in that idea, in Yahweh, the living God.
My strength – Margin, My rock So the Hebrew, although the Hebrew word is different from that which is used in the former part of the verse. Both words denote that God was a refuge or protection, as a rock or crag is to one in danger (compare Deu 32:37), though the exact difference between the words may not be obvious.
In whom I will trust – That is, I have found him to be such a refuge that I could trust in him, and in view of the past I will confide in him always.
My buckler – The word used here is the same which occurs in Psa 3:3, where it is translated shield. See the notes at that verse.
And the horn of my salvation – The horn is to animals the means of their defense. Their strength lies in the horn. Hence, the word is used here, as elsewhere, to represent that to which we owe our protection and defense in danger; and the idea here is, that God was to the psalmist what the horn is to animals, the means of his defense. Compare Psa 22:21; Psa 75:4-5, Psa 75:10; Psa 92:10; Psa 132:17; Psa 148:14.
And my high tower – He is to me what a high tower is to one who is in danger. Compare Pro 18:10, The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. The word used here occurs in Psa 9:9, where it is rendered refuge. (Margin, A high place.) See the notes at that verse. Such towers were erected on mountains, on rocks, or on the walls of a city, and were regarded as safe places mainly because they were inaccessible. So the old castles in Europe – as that at Heidelberg, and generally those along the Rhine – were built on lofty places, and in such positions as not to be easily accessible.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. The Lord is my rock]
2. I stand on him as my foundation, and derive every good from him who is the source of good. The word sela signifies those craggy precipices which afford shelter to men and wild animals; where the bees often made their nests, and whence honey was collected in great abundance. “He made him to suck honey out of the rock,” De 32:13.
3. He was his fortress; a place of strength and safety, fortified by nature and art, where he could be safe from his enemies. He refers to those inaccessible heights in the rocky, mountainous country of Judea, where he had often found refuge from the pursuit of Saul. What these have been to my body, such has the Lord been to my soul.
Deliverer]
4. mephalleti, he who causes me to escape. This refers to his preservation in straits and difficulties. He was often almost surrounded and taken, but still the Lord made a way for his escape – made a way out as his enemies got in; so that, while they got in at one side of his strong hold, he got out of the other, and so escaped with his life. These escapes were so narrow and so unlikely that he plainly saw the hand of the Lord was in them.
5. My God, Eli, my strong God, not only the object of my adoration, but he who puts strength in my soul.
6. My strength, tsuri. This is a different word from that in the first verse.
Rabbi Maimon has observed that tsur, when applied to God, signifies fountain, source, origin, c. God is not only the source whence my being was derived, but he is the fountain whence I derive all my good in whom, says David, I will trust. And why? Because he knew him to be an eternal and inexhaustible fountain of goodness. This fine idea is lost in our translation; for we render two Hebrew words of widely different meaning, by the same term in English, strength.
7. My buckler, maginni, my shield, my defender, he who covers my head and my heart, so that I am neither slain nor wounded by the darts of my adversaries.
8. Horn of my salvation. Horn was the emblem of power, and power in exercise. This has been already explained; see on 1Sa 2:1. The horn of salvation means a powerful, an efficient salvation.
9. My high tower; not only a place of defence, but one from which I can discern the country round about, and always be able to discover danger before it approaches me.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
My rock; to which I flee for refuge, as the Israelites did to their rocks. See Jdg 6:2; 1Sa 13:6.
The horn; by which I have both defended myself, and subdued mine enemies. It is a metaphor from those beasts whose strength lies in their horns. The horn is oft put for power, as Psa 92:10; Amo 6:13, and elsewhere.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2, 3. The various terms useddescribe God as an object of the most implicit and reliable trust.
rockliterally, “acleft rock,” for concealment.
strengtha firm,immovable rock.
horn of my salvationThehorn, as the means of attack or defense of some of the strongestanimals, is a frequent emblem of power or strength efficientlyexercised (compare Deu 33:17;Luk 1:69).
towerliterally, “highplace,” beyond reach of danger.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Lord [is] my rock,…. To whom the saints have recourse for shelter and safety, for supply, support, and divine refreshment; and in whom they are secure, and on whom they build their hopes of eternal life and happiness, and so are safe from all enemies, and from all danger. Christ is called a Rock on all these accounts, Ps 61:2;
and my fortress; or garrison; so the saints are kept in and by the power of God as in a garrison, 1Pe 1:5;
and my deliverer: out of all afflictions, and from all temptations, and out of the hands of all enemies; from a body of sin and death at last, and from wrath to come;
my God; the strong and mighty One, who is able to save, and who is the covenant God and Father of his people;
my strength, in whom I will trust; as Christ did, and to whom these words are applied in Heb 2:13; and as his people are enabled to do even under very distressing and discouraging circumstances, Job 13:15;
my buckler; or shield; who protects and defends them from their enemies, and preserves them from the fiery darts of Satan;
and the horn of my salvation; who pushes, scatters, and destroys their enemies, and saves them; a metaphor taken from horned beasts; so Christ, the mighty and able Saviour, is called, Lu 1:69;
[and] my high tower; such is the name of the Lord, whither the righteous run and are safe, Pr 18:10; and where they are above and out of the reach of every enemy; see Isa 33:16; in 2Sa 22:3, it is added, “and my refuge, my Saviour, thou savest me from violence”. These various epithets show the fulness of safety in Jehovah, the various ways he has to deliver his people from their enemies, and secure them from danger; and the psalmist beholding and claiming his interest in him under all these characters, rendered him exceeding lovely and delightful to him; and each of them contain a reason why he loved him, and why, in the strength of grace, he determined to love him. God may be regarded in all these characters by Christ as man.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. Jehovah is my rock, etc. When David thus heaps together many titles by which to honor God, it is no useless or unnecessary accumulation of words. We know how difficult it is for men to keep their minds and hearts stayed in God. They either imagine that it is not enough to have God for them, and, consequently, are always seeking after support and succor elsewhere, or, at the first temptation which assails them, fall from the confidence which they placed in him. David, therefore, by attributing to God various methods of saving his people, protests that, provided he has God for his protector and defender, he is effectually fortified against all peril and assault; as if he had said, Those whom God intends to succor and defend are not only safe against one kind of dangers, but are as it were surrounded by impregnable ramparts on all sides, so that, should a thousand deaths be presented to their view, they ought not to be afraid even at this formidable array. (388) We see, then, that the design of David here is not only to celebrate the praises of God, in token of his gratitude, but also to fortify our minds with a firm and steadfast faith, so that, whatever afflictions befall us, we may always have recourse to God, and may be fully persuaded that he has virtue and power to assist us in different ways, according to the different methods of doing us mischief which the wicked devise. Nor, as I have observed before, does David insist so much on this point, and express the same thing by different terms without cause. God may have aided us in one way, and yet whenever a new tempest arises, we are immediately stricken with terror, as if we had never experienced any thing of his aid. And those who in one trouble expect protection and succor from him, but who afterwards circumscribe his power, accounting it limited in other respects, act like a man who upon going into battle, considers himself well secured as to his breast, because he has a breastplate and a shield to defend him, and yet is afraid of his head, because he is without a helmet. David, therefore, here furnishes the faithful with a complete suit of armor, (389) that they may feel that they are in no danger of being wounded, provided they are shielded by the power of God. That such is the object he has in view, is apparent from the declaration which he makes of his confidence in God: I will trust in him Let us, therefore, learn from his example, to apply to our own use those titles which are here attributed to God, and to apply them as an antidote against all the perplexities and distresses which may assail us; or rather, let them be deeply imprinted upon our memory, so that we may be able at once to repel to a distance whatever fear Satan may suggest to our mind. I give this exhortation, not only because we tremble under the calamities with which we are presently assailed, but also because we groundlessly conjure up in our own imaginations dangers as to the time to come, and thus needlessly disquiet ourselves by the mere creations of fancy. In the song, as recorded in 2Sa 22:3, instead of these words, My God, my rock, it is, God of my rock. And after the word refuge, there is, My fortress, my savior, thou shalt preserve me from violence; words which make the sentence fuller, but the meaning comes to the same thing.
(388) “ Comme environnez de bons rempars de tous costez, tellement que mille morts, quand autant il s’en presenteroit a eux, ne leur doyvent point faire peur.” — Fr.
(389) “ Et pourtant David equippe yci les fideles de pied en cap comme on dit.” — Fr. “David, therefore, here equips the faithful from head to foot, as we say.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) Rock.Better here, cliff, keeping rock for the next clause. In the first figure the ideas of height and shelter, in the second of broad-based and enduring strength, are predominant.
Fortress.Properly, mountain castle. We have the joint figure of the lofty and precipitous cliff with the castle on its crest, a reminiscenceas, in fact, is every one in this towering of epithetsof scenes and events in Davids early life.
My God . . .Better, my God, my rock, I trust in Him. God is here El, the strong one. In Samuel, God of my rock.
Horn of my salvation.The allusion seems to be not to a means of attack, like the horn of an animal, but to a mountain peak (called horn in all languagesso , Xen. Anab. v. 6; Cornua Parnassi, Statius, Theb. v. 532; and so in Hebrew, Isa. 5:1, see margin), such as often afforded David a safe retreat. Render my peak of safety.
High tower.The LXX. and Vulgate have helper. (Comp. Psa. 9:9.) The word comes in so abruptly, that doubtless the addition in Samuel, and my refuge, my Saviour, thou savest me from violence, was part of the original hymn, completing the rhythm.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. My rock In this verse, which is strikingly similar to Psa 144:2, six terms, signifying the strongest military defences of those times, are used and applied to God, namely: strength, rock, fortress, shield, horn, tower, or high place. Other titles are also given. David’s earnest heart was overflowing.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 18:2. The Lord is my rock, &c. These words, by which David expresses his security under the protection of God’s providence, will appear to be well chosen, if we consider that under Saul, when he was driven into banishment by him, he was forced to conceal himself in rocks and caverns, and to retreat for his safety to steep hills and precipices, rendered by nature almost inaccessible. See 1Sa 19:24; 1Sa 24:2. He further declares, that God is his buckler, or shield; or who, as the shield in the soldier’s hand, protected him from danger in those perilous wars in which he was engaged with his enemies. He adds, The horn of my salvation: i.e. He who by his power saves me from the destruction which my enemies intend; a metaphor taken from the horns of animals, which are their ornament and strength; by which they protect themselves, and assault those who oppose or injure them. The horn is frequently used by the sacred writers, and by the Arabians, to denote riches, strength, dignity, and power. See also Hor. Carm. Lib. 3: Od. 21 and Epod. 6: This verse contains a continued chain of metaphors, and is a sublime paraphrase on the first commandment; declaring that God, the God of Israel alone, was the foundation of the Royal Psalmist’s confidence, and the author of his security and happiness. Dr. Chandler and Patrick.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
How very sweet and gracious the Psalm opens! Jesus in his manhood had an eye to the Father, and his covenant promises, for help and strength, through all his great undertaking. And having found God faithful, he here recounts it, under all the variety of similitudes, by which the grace, and love; and strength of Jehovah could be set forth. He is a rock indeed, his work is perfect. Deu 32:4 . I beg the Reader to remark with me, as a confirmation that David spake the words of this song under the spirit of prophecy, and with reference to the person of Christ, that the apostle Paul quotes from this verse a saying of Christ, as the margin of our old Bibles showeth Heb 2:13 . which, as well as the verse of Paul’s quoting before, Heb 2:12 . taken from Psa 22:22 , evidently refers to the Lord Jesus. Reader, never think it a trouble, but rather a mercy, to be able to turn from one scripture to another, for this is the way which God the Holy Ghost hath blessed, and will bless, in opening his sacred truths, if we delight to compare spiritual things with spiritual. 1Co 2:12-13 ; Psa 25:14 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 18:2 The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, [and] my high tower.
Ver. 2. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, &c. ] i.e. He is all in all for my preservation. Ten words, say the Hebrews, he here heapeth up, in reference to ten signal victories; or rather because his thankful heart was so enlarged, that he could never satisfy himself in saying what God had been to him and done for him; and hence this congeries, or heap of holy expressions; and all to show that God is a rock of refuge, a firm fortress, a receptacle of rest, a sanctuary of safety to all his saints in time of trouble. David had had his share, and had been put to his shifts; glad to hide himself, as he could, in rocks and strong holds that sheltered him from the storm. To these he alludeth when he calls God his rock, fortress, &c.
And my deliverer
And the horn of my salvation
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
rock = fortress. Hebrew. sela’. See notes on Deu 32:13, and Exo 17:6. Note the Figures of speech Anthropopatheia and Exergasia. App-6.
fortress = mountain stronghold. Hebrew. mezad.
My GOD. Hebrew El. App-4.
strength = rock (in original situation): hence, refuge. Hebrew. zur. See Deu 32:13; not same as verses: Psa 18:17, Psa 18:32, Psa 18:39.
trust = flee for refuge. See App-69.
buckler = shield. Hebrew. magen, as in Psa 18:30 and Psa 5:12.
the horn, &c. Quoted in Luk 1:69.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Lord: Psa 28:1, Psa 62:2, Psa 62:7, Isa 32:2
fortress: Psa 91:2, Psa 144:2, Jer 16:19
strength: Heb. rock
whom: Heb 2:13
buckler: Psa 91:4, Pro 2:7
horn: Psa 132:17, 2Sa 22:3
high: Pro 18:10
Reciprocal: Gen 15:1 – thy shield Exo 15:2 – strength Exo 33:22 – in a clift Deu 32:4 – the Rock Deu 33:27 – refuge 1Sa 2:1 – mine horn 1Sa 2:2 – rock 1Sa 17:45 – in the name 2Sa 22:2 – General 1Ki 1:36 – the Lord 1Ch 28:9 – the God Job 22:25 – the Almighty Psa 3:3 – a shield Psa 7:1 – in Psa 7:10 – My Psa 9:9 – The Lord Psa 18:30 – a buckler Psa 18:46 – blessed Psa 19:14 – strength Psa 20:1 – defend Psa 21:7 – For the Psa 25:2 – O Psa 27:1 – salvation Psa 28:7 – strength Psa 31:2 – my strong rock Psa 31:14 – Thou Psa 42:9 – God Psa 59:9 – his strength Psa 61:3 – strong Psa 62:8 – God Psa 71:3 – my rock Psa 73:26 – but Psa 81:1 – our strength Psa 92:15 – my rock Psa 94:22 – the rock Psa 118:14 – is my strength Psa 140:7 – the strength Psa 144:1 – my strength Isa 17:10 – the rock Isa 26:4 – everlasting strength Joe 3:16 – hope Nah 1:7 – strong hold Luk 1:69 – an Heb 13:6 – The Lord
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
18:2 {a} The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, [and] my high tower.
(a) He uses this diversity of names to show that as the wicked have many means to hurt, so God has many ways to help.