Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 18:25
With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright;
25. With the merciful &c.] The man whose conduct in life is governed by the spirit of lovingkindness will himself experience the lovingkindness of Jehovah. Cp. Mat 5:7; Mat 6:12; Mat 6:14-15; and for the meaning of merciful see notes on Psa 4:3, Psa 12:1, and Appendix, Note I.
with an upright man &c.] Rather as R.V., with the perfect man thou wilt shew thyself perfect. Singlehearted devotion will find a response of unswerving faithfulness.
The text in 2 Sam. has “the perfect hero,” the man who is valiant in maintaining his own integrity. But the reading is questionable.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
With the merciful – From the particular statement respecting the divine dealings with himself the psalmist now passes to a general statement (suggested by what God had done for him) in regard to the general principles of the divine administration. That general statement is, that God deals with men according to their character; or, that he will adapt his providential dealings to the conduct of men. They will find him to be such toward them as they have shown themselves to be toward him. The word merciful refers to one who is disposed to show kindness or compassion to those who are guilty, or to those who injure or wrong us.
Thou wilt show thyself merciful – Thou wilt evince toward him the same character which he shows to others. It is in accordance with this that the Saviour teaches us to pray, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, Mat 6:12. And in accordance also with this he said, For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses, Mat 6:14-15.
With an upright man – literally, a perfect man. See Job 1:1, where the same word is used in the original, and rendered perfect. The idea is that of a man who is consistent, or whose character is complete in all its parts. See the note at Job 1:1.
Thou wilt show thyself upright – Thou wilt deal with him according to his character. As he is faithful and just, so will he find that he has to do with a God who is faithful and just.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 18:25-26
With the merciful Thou wilt show Thyself merciful.
Poetic justice actual justice
What we call poetic justice pervades the whole Bible. We feel ill the advancing civilisations that there is a reaching more and more to a realisation of this justice. In Job we have its full exemplification. There the latter end of the history of the mart vindicates all. It is a dangerous teaching that some people try to wring out of the New Testament, that good people must not expect success in this world; that only the children of this world are wise in their generation, and can secure to themselves worldly prosperity. The opposite teaching is not near so dangerous, and not so wide of the truth, that all things will come out well in this life for those who do right. It does not always so turn out, but this is the tendency. We do not believe it is a good policy even in the material world to be bad. With the merciful God is merciful, and with the pure He is pure, and with the froward He is froward. Let us go beyond the physical world into the moral world. God is present with His world, governing it constantly. I do not believe that He is unknowable. He has wrought Himself in all His work, and is, of all powers, the most perpetually forced upon our attention. All science, all art, all of our studies are theological studies. Now, God reveals Himself as always on the side of right. In the moral world penalty follows wrong, and reward follows right with unfailing certainty. There is no confusion, there is no uncertainty in the moral world. Judgment is present everywhere. Of all scepticism, that is the most dangerous that questions the fundamental difference between right and wrong in their nature and tendencies. Plutarch speaks of the delay of judgment. There is no such delay. It comes, and comes at once. There are various elements that go to make up this penalty. Remorse, which is everywhere present in greater or less degree. Various social and civil penalties. The actual loss in our moral natures. Our idea of God is determined largely by our own character. The vision we have of God in the plain of the intellectual perception is a reflection of our own selves. The God of each man is different from the God of other men. As you are, so is your God. (John W. Chadwick.)
Gods mercy among Christians
It is only in a rough sort of way at the best, as far as observation of individuals will carry us, that we see distinction made by Providence between the upright and the froward. But as no one knew better than the author of this Psalm, it is not to the fortunes of men, but to their whole experience as rational and spiritual beings, that we have to look in order to see how true it is that God shows Himself to every man according to what every man is.
I. In the first place, our life is experience of God; for in Him most literally we live and move and have our being. If we find that this set of actions has one result and that set has another–this, as far as it goes, is a most authentic revelation to us of God. To say, therefore, that life is different to different men, above all as they differ in point of spiritual character, is to say that God shows Himself to them as so many different gods. To an honest man life is different from what it is to a rogue; different to a merciful man from what it is to a churl or a miser; different to a pure man from what it is to a sot or a debauchee. To take the illustration which is nearest at hand–David would have had a different experience from Saul whether he had or had not got Sauls place. The one man could be eminently happy with a shepherds crook, and it mattered little to either so long as each was what he was in character. No two men could have had a more different experience in their lives; but the difference, such as it was, we can see, was in themselves–not made by their fortunes, but by their characters; not by the events of peace or war, but by the quality of mercy in the one case and of wilfulness in the other. Thus justice is done between man and man where justice is sure, and where it is perfect–in themselves. Many good people at the present time are haunted by an alarm which is altogether visionary. Look, they say, how many who live vicious lives know nothing of remorse! If there be no such thing as eternal punishment for the wicked, then there is no punishment; if there be no hell, there is no harm. But this is to take a very narrow view of human experience. There is much more remorse in peoples hearts than they wear upon their sleeves. Many a smiling face, if you could get behind that mask, would show you grim enough features. At the same time, I grant readily that if remorse, so called, were all the difference between man and man on the score of character, the difference might seem to be trifling. It is the best and not the worst natures which know most of remorse. A good man falls into sin, and he knows what hell is. The wicked have no bands in their death. Consciences, which ought to burn, are seared; they should be live coals, and they are white cold ashes. I grant all this. But is there nothing besides remorse in question as between life and life? For apart from remorse and everything like it, and in the nature of things, and everywhere and always, it is one thing to be upright and another to be wilful, it is one thing to be a kind man and another to be an unkind, one thing to be pure and another to be impure. The good of being good is ill being so, and not in having no remorse; and the evil of being evil is in being so, and not in having remorse. Why will people so constantly forget this or overlook it? It is not that these different men have here and there, at odd moments, different or contrary experiences, but that the world in which each lives is a wholly different world. I know, for certain, that he who loves righteousness and truth and goodness would think that fate the cruellest of all possible which condemned him to be a rogue or a hypocrite. Thus, in the first place, because life is experience of God, to different men God is different. But I hasten now to remark that to different men–
II. He is also different as an object of study and reflection. On many other subjects, or rather on most, if people agree they do agree, and if they differ they differ, and there is an end of it. But it is different with regard to the highest object of human thought–God. People may agree, and do agree, in their language respecting Him, who have little or nothing in common in their thought and meaning. In point of fact, I venture to say, in the first place, among us, who all profess the same creed, there are Gods many and Lords many. Wesley, it is said, remonstrated with Whitfield as to his ideas of God, telling him, your God is my devil. And is it not obvious that something of the same sort might be said by sets of Christians at the present day to other sets? It is not what you read in sacred books, but the common notions of men that shape the common beliefs about God. Protestants do not believe in the God of the Romanist, nor he in heirs, though they have the same Bible and the same great articles of faith. To be condemned to think of God, as some men think of Him, and must think of Him, their life being stronger than their creed, not as a being to be loved, but as one to be feared or hated–this is punishment. If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness? If your religion is night, where is your day? If God is a bugbear, what is your life? What other gain, or reward, or happiness, on the other hand, would you desire than the religion of Christ–to love righteousness and truth and goodness with all your heart and soul and strength and mind, and to believe that God, who is over all, and is the Beginning and the End of all, is all that you love? What other reward, gain, happiness would you have than that? Christianity is a sorry gain, I admit, to many who profess it, except it be the only escape from the bottomless pit, and from the lake of fire and brimstone. It is a sorry gain to those, and they are many, whose notion is that something which God can give them, or some place in which He can put them, will be heaven. But that which makes God Himself our heaven is great gain, without reference to any life but this. With this a man might live and die, and doubt if he is to live again, and with his last breath bless God–the merciful mans God, and his exceeding great reward.
III. I have but to add, then, last of all, as the practical lesson which we get from all this–a man may change his Church and his creed and not change his God; but he changes his God when he changes his life. Let us, by trying to do the will of God in our daily life, learn of the truth whether it be of God. Otherwise we shall never learn it. (J. Service.)
The attitude of God towards good and bad men
Even as the sun, which unto eyes being sound and without disease is very pleasant and wholesome, but unto the same eyes, when they are feeble, sore, and weak, is very troublesome and hurtsome, yet the sun is ever all one and the self same that was before; so God hath ever shown Himself benign and bountiful to those who are kind and tender hearted towards His saints, and are merciful to those who show mercy. But unto the same men, when they fall into wickedness, and grow and are full of cruelty, the Lord showeth Himself to be very wrathful and angry, and yet is one and the same immutable God from everlasting to everlasting. (Robert Cawdray.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful] Thou wilt deal with men as they deal with each other. This is the general tenor of God’s providential conduct towards mankind; well expressed by Mr. Pope in his universal prayer: –
“Teach me to feel another’s wo;
To hide the fault I see:
The mercy I to others show,
That mercy show to me.”
It is in reference to this that our Lord teaches us to pray: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.” If we act feelingly and mercifully towards our fellow creatures, God will act tenderly and compassionately towards us. The merciful, the upright, and the pure, will ever have the God of mercy, uprightness, and purity, to defend and support them.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Upright, or sincere, to wit, in performing what thou hast promised to such persons, this being a great part or act of sincerity, when ones deeds and words, or professions, agree together; as, on the contrary, for those that deal hypocritically and wickedly with thee, thou wilt make them to know thy breach of promise, as it is expressed, Num 14:34. The sense of the verse is, Thou metest to every one the same measure which he meteth out to others, and givest to him the fruit of his own doings, and therefore thou wilt perform mercy and truth to those who are merciful and true to others, as through thy mercy I have been.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25-27. God renders to menaccording to their deeds in a penal, not vindictive, sense (Lev 26:23;Lev 26:24).
mercifulor, “kind”(Ps 4:3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful,…. The merciful man is the good, gracious, holy, and godly man, as the word z here used signifies, and is sometimes rendered; one that has received grace and mercy from the Lord, and has principles of grace and goodness wrought in him, and is kind and merciful to others, both to their souls and bodies; and to such men God shows himself merciful: not that they are first merciful to others, and then he is so to them, for it is just the reverse; nor is their mercifulness the cause or condition of his, for he has mercy on whom he will have mercy; but to such he shows fresh mercy, and bestows more grace upon them; they find grace and mercy with him now, and will do hereafter; see Mt 5:7. This may be applied to Christ, all whose ways are mercy and truth; he saw the estate his people would come into; he pitied their case, and became their surety in eternity; he betrothed them to himself in loving kindness and tender mercies; and undertook to feed the flock of slaughter, even the poor of the flock; having, through his merciful lovingkindness, assumed human nature, he went about doing good to the souls and bodies of men; he healed the diseased and fed the hungry, and had compassion on the ignorant, and them that were out of the way; and, as a merciful high priest, he bore the sins and sorrows of his people; and in his love and pity redeemed them, and continues to sympathize with them in all their afflictions and temptations; and though no mercy was shown him while he was suffering for them, for God spared him not, but awoke the sword of justice against him, and used him with the utmost rigour and severity; yet satisfaction being made, he did not leave him in the grave, nor suffer his holy, good, and merciful One to see corruption; but raised him from the dead, prevented him with the blessings of his goodness, and set upon his head a crown of honour and glory;
with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright; an upright man, as the word a used signifies, is a perfect man, not absolutely, but comparatively; not in himself, but in Christ; perfect with a perfection of parts, but not of degrees; he is one that is upright in heart, sincere and without hypocrisy; an Israelite indeed, whose faith, hope, and love, are undisguised; he is a man of integrity, a faithful man, faithful to God, his cause and interest, his word and ordinances, and is faithful with the saints; he walks, uprightly according to the rule of God’s word, and by faith in Christ; and to such upright men God shows himself upright, or faithful, by keeping his covenant with them, fulfilling his promises to them, and not suffering one good thing to fail he has given them reason to expect from him. This may also be interpreted of Christ, who is in the highest and fullest sense perfect, upright, and sincere, and faithful to him that appointed him; and as he has been faithful in all his covenant engagements with his Father, so his Father has been faithful to him in making good all he promised him; both with respect to his own glory, and the happiness of his people; see Isa 53:10.
z “benigno”, Vatablus, Junius Tremellius “bono”, Gejerus, some in Vatablus; “qui bonitati studet”, Tigurine version; “pio”, Munster, Cocceius, Michaelis; “gracious saint”, Ainsworth. a “perfecto”, Pagninus, Montanus; so Ainsworth.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
25. With the merciful, etc. David here prosecutes the same subject. In considering the grace of God by which he had been delivered, he brings it forward as a proof of his integrity, and thus triumphs over the unfounded and disgraceful calumnies of his enemies. Hypocrites, I confess, are also accustomed to act in the same way; for prosperity and the success of their affairs so elates them that they are not ashamed proudly to vaunt themselves not only against men, but even against God. As such persons, however, openly mock God, when, by his long-suffering, he allures them to repentance, their wicked and unhappy presumption has no resemblance to the boasting by which we here see David encouraging himself. He does not abuse the forbearance and mercy of God by palliating or spreading a specious varnish over his iniquities, because God bears with them; but having, by the manifold aids he had received from God, experienced beyond doubt that he was merciful to him, he justly viewed them as evident testimonies of the divine favor towards him. And we ought to mark well this difference between the ungodly and the faithful, namely, that the former, intoxicated with prosperity, unblushingly boast of being acceptable to God, while yet they disregard him, and rather sacrifice to Fortune, and make it their God; (419) whereas the latter in their prosperity magnify the grace of God, from the deep sense of his grace with which their consciences are affected. Thus David here boasts that God had succoured him on account of the justice of his cause. For, in the first place, we must adapt the words to the scope of the whole discourse, and view them as implying that God, in so often delivering an innocent man from death, when it was near him, showed, indeed, that he is merciful towards the merciful, and pure towards the pure. In the second place, we must view the words as teaching the general doctrine, that God never disappoints his servants, but always at length deals graciously with them, provided they wait for his aid with meekness and patience. To this purpose Jacob said, in Gen 30:33,
“
God will make my righteousness to return upon me.”
The scope of the discourse is, that the people of God should entertain good hope, and encourage themselves to practice uprightness and integrity, since every man shall reap the fruit of his own righteousness.
(419) “ Ils sacrifient plustest a Fortune, et en font leur Dieu.” — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) Man.The text of Samuel has hero (gebr instead of gebar).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(25-27) It is better to change all the futures into our present. We cannot explain this description of Gods attitude to man, as if the poet were merely dealing with the conception of the Divine formed in the breast. No doubt his words are amply true in this sense. The human heart makes its God like itself, and to the pure and just He will be a pure and just God, to the cruel and unjust, cruel and unjust. But the definite mention of recompense in Psa. 18:24, and the reference to active interposition in behalf of the just in Psa. 18:27, leave us no option but to understand by shew thyself in Psa. 18:25-26, not an inward conception, but an external manifestation. It is, in fact, nothing more than a re-statement of the truth of which the history of Pharaoh is the most signal historic declaration, and which we maintain whenever we speak of the natural consequences of sin as retributive justice, the truth which is summed up in the text, whatsoever a mau soweth that shall he also reap. We must at the same time remember that the form of the statement in the psalm is due to the view current in Israel before the development of the conception of Satanic agency, that all suggestions, evil as well as good, came from the mind of the Supreme Disposer of events.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
He Declares That What A Man Sows He Will Reap ( Psa 18:25-27 ).
David was confident that righteousness must triumph simply because of what God is. Like him we too can know that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Psa 18:25-26
‘With the merciful you will show yourself merciful,
With the irreproachable man you will show yourself irreproachable,
With the pure you will show yourself pure,
And with the wayward you will show yourself perverse.’
He looks to God and declares that in the end He will respond to what men are. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God sees the heart. All men essentially choose the way in which they will walk, they choose their attitudes and what they set their hearts on. They choose whether they will seek God and serve Him, or whether they will be perverse and wayward. And God sees and responds to what they are.
This is the picture of the ideal. David is not claiming to be sinless. He knows he has at times fallen short. But he is expecting God to be merciful to him, as he seeks to be merciful to others, to behave irreproachably towards him as he seeks to live an irreproachable life, to behave with purity towards him as he strives to keep himself pure. All this is apparent also from his other psalms. He knew as most of us do the periods of darkness and doubt, of self reproach, and deep conviction of sin. But he also knew what it was to rise above it and set his heart on God. And he knew that a true walk with God involved mercy, and irreproachability, and purity, made possible by God’s grace, and that to such God would respond.
This is, of course, looking from the manward side. Men are revealed by how they behave. By their fruits they will be known. If a man walks with God his life will reveal it.
And the contrary side is that ‘with the wayward you will show yourself perverse’. Not for David the idea that God will overlook sin in all. Those who are wayward in respect of God’s ways must expect God to behave waywardly with them (Lev 26:23-24; Isa 29:9-12; Pro 3:34).
Psa 18:27
‘For you will save the afflicted people,
But the haughty eyes you will bring down.’
But he did not doubt that these hopes required the grace and power of God exercised on his behalf. It is God Who will save the afflicted people, and will bring down the haughty. In the end all is of God. The afflicted people are the humble and needy, those whom the world treats badly, those who face the struggles of life, and are aware of their need, and who in their need seek God. And David knows that God will step in to deliver such, and he sees himself as one of them. He puts on no great airs. He is humble before God. Without Him he knows that there is no hope. But the haughty, those who are self-seeking and seek to put God in His place, will discover that in the end they are brought down. For God is over all.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 18:25. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful In this and the two next verses, David lays down the general method of the procedure of God’s moral providence and government, which will be in the issue agreeable to the moral character and conduct of men themselves. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful: similar to that of our Lord: Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. With an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; an invariable friend to his integrity; just to reward it, and faithful in all thy promises to encourage it. With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; the lover of purity, righteousness, and truth, and ever acting towards those whose character this is, according to the perfect rectitude and unspotted purity of thy own nature. But with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. The word ikkesh, rendered, froward signifies one of a perverse disposition, who twists and twines himself just as his humour, passions, and interest lead him; or a crafty wily person, who accustoms himself to all the arts of deceit. With one of this character, the Psalmist says of God, Thou wilt shew thyself froward; as we render the original: it properly signifies to wrestle, and should be rendered, “Thou will shew that thou canst wrestle with, and supplant them too.” The meaning therefore is, that God will deal with designing, crafty, perverse men according to their deserts, disappoint them in all their subtilest devices, and cause them to fall by those very wiles by which they endeavour to deceive and ruin others. See Lev 26:23-24. Chandler, and Schultens’ Instit. Ling. Heb. 482.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 518
EQUITY OF THE DIVINE PROCEDURE
Psa 18:25-26. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; with the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
IN the present dispensations of Providence, we may behold a far greater measure of equality than is generally imagined: for, not only is the happiness of men less dependent upon outward circumstances than we are apt to suppose, but there is more of just retribution manifested in reference to the conduct of mankind. The ungodly are, for the most part, left to involve themselves in many calamities; whilst the godly are preserved in peace and quietness. There is sufficient of equality in Gods dispensations to mark his superintending care; but sufficient inequality to convince us, that there shall be a day of future retribution, when the whole of the divine government shall be justified in the sight of the assembled universe.
The passage before us may be considered as relating to both periods. The Psalmist is returning thanks to God, for having interposed in his behalf to vindicate his integrity against the accusations of his enemies: The Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eye-sight [Note: Psa 18:24.]. He then goes on to speak of the general system of the divine government, as begun on earth, and as completed in the eternal world: With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, &c. &c.
From these words, I shall take occasion to shew the equity of the divine procedure,
I.
In the punishment of the ungodly
The day of judgment is called the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God; because God will then render unto every man according to his deeds [Note: Rom 2:5-6.]. Whatever may have been the conduct of men, the divine conduct towards them shall be in exact accordance with it.
Consider, now, what has been your conduct,
1.
Towards God
[You have felt in your hearts no esteem for him; you have preferred every vanity, and even the basest lust, before him: you have not willingly entertained the thought of him in your minds: you have, in effect, said to him, Depart from me; I desire not the knowledge of thy ways. About his favour you have felt but little concern: nor has it been a matter of any importance in your eyes, whether he was pleased or displeased, honoured or dishonoured. In vain has he called, invited, entreated, expostulated: you have had no disposition to attend to his voice, no heart to comply with his will: and when he has threatened you with his everlasting displeasure, you have set him at nought, and determined to go on in your own ways, whatever might be the consequence.
What now will be the result of this in the last day? God will deal with you as you have dealt with him. You would not have any thing to do with me: I therefore will have nothing to do with you. You put me far from you: now I put you far from me. You preferred every thing before my favour: expect, therefore, no favour at my hands. It was a pain to you to come into my presence: you shall never be troubled with my presence more. You chose sin, with all its consequences, rather than me and my kingdom: take now, and take for ever, the portion you have chosen.]
2.
Towards the Lord Jesus Christ
[The Saviour has died to effect a reconciliation between God and sinful men; and has offered to cleanse you in his own blood, and to clothe you in the spotless robe of his righteousness, that you may stand before God without spot or blemish. But you would not come to him for his benefits: you have not approved of the offers he has made you: they have been too humiliating for your proud hearts. You have not liked to acknowledge your need of him: you have preferred being a Saviour to yourselves: and have chosen rather to stand or fall by your own righteousness than to submit to the righteousness provided for you by him. In vain has he warned you against the danger of unbelief: you would not see any danger attending it. If you have made any use of Christ at all, it has been rather to encourage a hope of salvation in a sinful and unconverted state than to obtain from him the grace of which you have stood in need.
And what will be the return made to you? You have rejected my Son, God will say: you shall therefore have no part in him. You would not submit to be washed by him from your sins: your sins, therefore, shall cleave unto you. You would not seek deliverance from condemnation through him: under condemnation, therefore, shall you lie. You would not take him as a Saviour in any one respect: therefore he shall be no Saviour to you. You made no use of him, but to warrant and justify your continuance in sin: therefore you shall be left for ever in your sins, and have no part with him to all eternity. The whole tenor of your life has been to this effect, We will not have this man to reign over us: and therefore from him and his kingdom you shall be separated for ever.]
3.
Towards your own souls
[You have not cared about them, or sought their happiness. You have been mindful only of earthly things. Your ease, pleasure, interest, honour, with the approbation of men, have been more to you than any concern pertaining to the soul. Pardon, peace, holiness, glory, have all been, in your esteem, of small account, in comparison of some temporal advantage. And, when warned what must be the issue of such a life, you have determined to run the risk, and to endure the consequences of impenitence, rather than put yourselves to the pain and trouble of repenting. Heaven has had no value, in comparison of some vain indulgence; nor hell any terror, in comparison of the pain of self-denial, and the shame of ridicule from an ungodly world.
According, therefore, as you have sowed, you shall reap: You have sown to the flesh, and of the flesh you shall reap corruption. God will say to you, Your soul shall be of as little value in my eyes, as it was in yours, Heaven was not worth seeking: you shall not have it. Hell was not worth avoiding: you shall take your portion in it. You were satisfied with things temporal: you shall have nothing beyond them. You did not even desire a happiness that is eternal: you shall never have it obtruded upon you, but shall be left destitute of it for ever and ever. You chose to wrestle with me, and walk contrary to me: continue now your fruitless contest to all eternity, whilst I walk contrary to you, and wrestle [Note: See the marginal rendering of ver. 26.] with you. You have been the authors of your own destiny: and by your own choice you must abide for ever and ever.]
The same mode of proceeding is observed by God,
II.
In the rewarding of the godly
Mark how he will act towards,
1.
The penitent
[It is a grief to you that you have ever sinned against so good a God: you are ashamed; you blush and are confounded when you look back upon your ways: you even lothe and abhor yourselves in dust and ashes; and if you could, by any means, undo what you have done amiss, you would do any thing, or suffer any thing, that it were possible for you to do or suffer, to effect it.
How, then, will God deal with you? Do you repent of the evil you have done against me? He will say: Then I will repent of all the evil which I have thought to do against you [Note: Exo 32:9-14. Jer 18:7-8; Jer 26:13.]. Are you saying, How shall I appear before my God? He will say, How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee up, Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim? Mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together: I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger [Note: Hos 11:8-9.]. Does he behold you smiting on your thigh, with indignation against yourself, as a vile rebellious wretch? He will construe it as an evidence of your relation to him, and will appeal in your behalf to the whole universe, Is he not a dear son? Is he not a pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord [Note: Jer 31:19-20.]. The moment he sees thee bewailing bitterly the existence of thy sins, he blots them out of the book of his remembrance, and casts them irrecoverably into the depths of the sea.]
2.
The believing
[You are looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, as set forth by God himself to be the propitiation for your sins; and are desiring nothing under heaven so much as an interest in him
What, then, will God say to you? You shall not be disappointed of your hope. Dost thou renounce all dependence on thyself? I will not exact of thee any thing as a justifying righteousness. Dost thou look to what my dear Son has done and suffered for thee, and plead it as the ground of thy hope before me? It shall be imputed to thee, and be accepted in thy behalf. Thou washest in the fountain opened for sin: it shall cleanse thee so perfectly, that thou shalt stand before me without spot or blemish. Thou trustest in my word: and thou shalt find me a God of truth. Thou layest hold on my promises: not one of them shall ever fail thee. Thou art willing to be saved in the way of mine appointment: and according to thy faith it shall be unto thee. Thou art hoping for a crown of righteousness and glory, as the purchase of my Sons blood: thou shalt possess all that he himself possesses, and be a joint heir with him of crowns and kingdoms that shall never fail. Thou hast lived upon him: thou shalt live with him for ever and ever.]
3.
The obedient
[You have given up yourselves to God in a way of holy obedience; and have encountered much, in order to approve your fidelity to him. To you, then, God will say, You have been faithful over a few things: be ye rulers over many things. You acknowledged me as your Master: I acknowledge you as my servants. You regarded me as your Father: I will regard you as my children. To please me was your one aim; and you dared to honour me above all: I will now bless you, and honour you in the sight of the whole assembled universe. You regarded nothing but my favour: you shall have it, and all the tokens of it you can possibly desire. By patient continuance in well-doing, you sought for glory and honour and immortality; and you shall possess them all, even everlasting life.]
Address
[Now choose ye, Brethren, what portion ye will have. I venture to assure you, that it shall be unto you according to your desire, provided only that desire operate practically on your heart and life. I know, indeed, that salvation is altogether of grace: but I know, also, that you can never perish, but by your own consent, and purpose, and will. I mean not to say that any one would choose misery for itself, or in preference to happiness: but if you choose the service of Satan, with all its consequences, in preference to the service of God and its attendant benefits, then are you the authors of your own destruction, as much as you are of the conduct leading to it. God has said, respecting the wicked, Destruction and misery are in their ways: and to when can you ascribe your arrival at their end, when you are willingly and deliberately walking in their ways? If you will persuade yourselves that the broad road, which leadeth to destruction, will bring you to happiness as much as the narrow way that leadeth unto life, you can blame none but yourselves for the disappointment which you will experience. Prepare then for yourselves such an issue to this present state of things, as ye will ere long wish that ye had secured. Hear Gods own direction to you: Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. But woe to the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given to him [Note: Isa 3:10-11.] . To the same effect our blessed Lord speaks in his sermon on the mount, declaring that the merciful, the pure, the upright, shall have a portion accorded to them suited to their respective characters [Note: Luk 6:37-38.]. And remember, that if you obtain not eternal life, the fault was only in yourselves, who, when urged and entreated by your God, refused to walk in the way that would have led you to it.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
All these verses become doubly precious and blessed to the people of Christ, from their personal concern in all that is his. The promise of Jehovah is to the seed of Christ, in Christ as well as to Christ himself. And, as if no child of his should ever find cause to question or doubt it, the Lord himself, in the close of his ministry; left behind him, in that blessed prayer he offered up to the Father concerning his church, so decided a proof as forever silenceth all fears. The glory (saith Jesus) which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Joh 17:22-23 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 18:25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
Ver. 25. With the merciful, &c. ] Hypothesin hic ad thesin transfert. It is as if he should say, I and mine enemies are a pattern of thy truth and justice, that thou wilt do good to those that are good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked paths, thou, Lord, shalt lead them forth with the workers of iniquity, Psa 125:4-5 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 18:25-29
25With the kind You show Yourself kind;
With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
26With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.
27For You save an afflicted people,
But haughty eyes You abase.
28For You light my lamp;
The Lord my God illumines my darkness.
29For by You I can run upon a troop;
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
Psa 18:25-29 These are the wonderful, divine consequences which follow a faithful believer.
1. With the kind (BDB 339), You show Yourself kind (BDB 338, KB 336, Hithpael imperfect; this verse and the parallel in 2Sa 22:26 are the only places in the OT that the verb form of this special covenant noun, hesed, occurs; see Special Topic: Lovingkindness ). Notice that with () introduces Psa 18:25-26, while for () introduces Psa 18:27-29.
2. With the blameless (BDB 1071, cf. Psa 18:23) You show Yourself blameless (BDB 1070, KB 1752, Hithpael imperfect, see Special Topic: Blameless, Innocent, Guiltless, Without Reproach)
3. With the pure (BDB 140, KB 162, Niphal participle, cf. Isa 52:11) You show Yourself pure (BDB 140, KB 162, Hithpael imperfect). Notice the antithetical parallelism of Psa 18:26-27.
4. With the crooked (BDB 786 I) You show Yourself twisted (BDB 836, KB 990, Hithpael imperfect). Crooked is the opposite of righteous, which denoted that which was straight, see Special Topic: Righteousness .
5. For You save (BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil imperfect) an afflicted people. Poor or afflicted people are contrasted with wicked people. See Special Topic: Salvation (OT).
6. But haughty eyes (BDB 926, KB 1202, Qal participle, cf. Isa 2:11; Isa 5:15) You abase (BDB 1050, KB 1631, Hiphil imperfect). Notice the antithetical parallelism of Psa 18:27 (2 Samuel 22 parallel is slightly different).
The strophe affirms the basic biblical truth that one reaps what he/she sows (cf. Job 34:11; Psa 28:4; Psa 62:12; Pro 24:12; Ecc 12:14; Jer 17:10; Jer 32:19; Mat 16:27; Mat 25:31-46; Rom 2:6; Rom 14:12; 1Co 3:8; 2Co 5:10; Gal 6:7-10; 2Ti 4:14; 1Pe 1:17; Rev 2:23; Rev 20:12; Rev 22:12).
Psa 18:28-29 The form of Psa 18:25-27 is altered in Psa 18:28-29. The psalmist makes several assertions about YHWH’s actions.
1. For You light (BDB 21, KB 24, Hiphil imperfect) my lamp (BDB 632, 2Sa 22:29 has You are my Lamp.
2. YHWH my God illumines (BDB 618, KB 667, Hiphil imperfect, synonymous parallelism for verbs) my darkness (objects are antithetical parallelism, i.e., lamp vs. darkness).
3. For by You I can run (i.e., defeat) upon a troop (BDB 151 I, i.e., military unit). Some English translations take (BDB 151) in the sense of bank and translate a phrase which parallels leap over a wall (cf. REB, NIB). The LXX (i.e., A New English Translation of the Septuagint, 2007) has a totally different phrase, because in you I shall be rescued from a pirate’s nest. The 1970 translation of the LXX has the traditional translation. The UBS Text Project gives the word troop an A rating (high probability). The parallel in 2 Samuel 22 also has it.
The AB thinks troop, which is found only here, should be sinew, , which would also parallel the next line (p. 114).
4. By my God I can leap over a wall. Numbers 3, 4 are not synonymous but are two different ways to show the power of God’s empowering.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
merciful = gracious.
With. Some codices, with two early printed editions, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read “And with”.
man = strong man. Hebrew. geber.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 18:25-29
Psa 18:25-29
“With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful;
With the perfect man thou wilt show thyself perfect;
With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure;
And with the perverse thou wilt show thyself froward.
For thou wilt save the afflicted people;
But the haughty eyes thou wilt bring down.
For thou wilt light my lamp:
Jehovah my God will lighten my darkness.
For by thee I run upon a troop;
And by my God do I leap over a wall.”
“Thou wilt show thyself froward.” This word means “perverse,” indicating that God would show himself to the wicked as an enemy, an antagonist, or adversary. This, of course, is just the opposite of the way it is with the merciful, the perfect, and the pure.
God’s lighting his lamp is a reference to the constant enlightenment available to the faithful in God’s Word.
The ability to “leap over a wall,” according to McCaw, may be, “A reference to the incident in 2Sa 5:6-10.
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
With the: Psa 41:1-4, Psa 112:4-6, Neh 9:17, Isa 57:1, Isa 57:2, Isa 58:7, Isa 58:8, Mat 18:33-35, Luk 6:35-38
thou wilt: Isa 26:7, Eze 18:25-30, Rom 9:14
Reciprocal: 1Sa 26:24 – as thy life 1Ki 20:30 – the rest 2Ch 19:11 – the Lord Psa 25:10 – the paths Psa 36:10 – and thy Pro 11:20 – of Mat 5:7 – are Mat 7:2 – General Luk 6:38 – with 2Ti 1:16 – Lord
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 18:25-27. In these verses David lays down the general method of the procedure of Gods providence and moral government, which, in the issue, will be according to the moral character and conduct of men themselves. With the merciful, &c. A declaration similar to that of our Lord, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. With an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright An invariable friend to his integrity; just to reward it, and faithful in all thy promises to encourage it. With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure That is, the lover of purity, righteousness, and truth, and ever acting toward those whose character this is, according to the perfect rectitude and unspotted purity of thy own nature. With the froward thou wilt show thyself froward Hebrew, , gnim gnickesh Tithpattal, cum perverso eluctaris, Buxtorff. With the perverse thou strugglest, or, rather, wilt struggle or wrestle; that is, says Ab. Ezra, donec deviceris, until thou shalt conquer him. The word rendered froward signifies one of a perverse disposition, who twists and twines himself, just as his humour, passions, and interest lead him; or, a crafty, wily person, who accustoms himself to all the wiles of deceit. With one of this character, the psalmist says, God will wrestle. The meaning is, that he will deal with perverse, designing, and crafty men, according to their deserts; will oppose them in their designs, struggle against, and walk contrary to them, Lev 26:23-24; that he will disappoint them in all their subtlest devices, and cause them to fall by those very wiles by which they endeavour to deceive and ruin others. See Chandler and Dodd. For thou wilt save the afflicted people Thou art wont to deliver those who are poor and distressed when they humbly wait upon thee; but wilt bring down high looks Wilt lay those low who, proud of their power, insolently oppress them; or, those proud persons who discover the pride of their hearts by their haughty looks and overbearing conduct.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18:25 With the {t} merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
(t) Here he speaks of God according to our capacity, who shows mercy to his and punishes the wicked, as is also said in Lev 26:21; Lev 26:24.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God responds in kind as people act toward Him (cf. Gal 6:7). He rewards them because of their characters and deeds. He is always just. Those who try to twist God to make Him serve their ends will find that He will bend them to fulfill His will (cf. Jacob and Balaam). [Note: See Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "Does God Deceive?" Bibliotheca Sacra 155:617 (January-March 1998):11-28.] He saves the humble and humbles those who think they can save themselves.
"The psalmist does not say that God shows himself ’shrewd’ ([NASB "astute"] Psa 18:26) in the sense that he deals wisely with the wicked but that he ’acts corruptly’ (’crooked’) with those who are ’crooked.’ Even as God deals lovingly with those who love him, he lets the crooked acts of the wicked boomerang on their own heads. They receive their just deserts." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 174.]
"The way we relate to the Lord determines how the Lord relates to us (Psa 18:25-27)." [Note: Wiersbe, The . . . Wisdom . . ., p. 124.]
God kept the lamp of David’s life burning by delivering his life from the hands of his enemies. Moreover He enabled His servant to advance against his foes and to overcome their defenses.