IiNdumiso 18:2

Izhibhalo Ezingcwele

2 Yehova, ngxondorha yam, mboniselo yam, msindisi wam, Thixo wam, liwa lam endizimela ngalo, Ngweletshetshe yam, luphondo losindiso lwam, ngxonde yam!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Lord: Psalms 28:1, Psalms 62:2, Psalms 62:7, Isaiah 32:2

fortress: Psalms 91:2, Psalms 144:2, Jeremiah 16:19

strength: Heb. rock

whom: Hebrews 2:13

buckler: Psalms 91:4, Proverbs 2:7

horn: Psalms 132:17, 2 Samuel 22:3

high: Proverbs 18:10

Reciprocal: Genesis 15:1 - thy shield Exodus 15:2 - strength Exodus 33:22 - in a clift Deuteronomy 32:4 - the Rock Deuteronomy 33:27 - refuge 1 Samuel 2:1 - mine horn 1 Samuel 2:2 - rock 1 Samuel 17:45 - in the name 2 Samuel 22:2 - General 1 Kings 1:36 - the Lord 1 Chronicles 28:9 - the God Job 22:25 - the Almighty Psalms 3:3 - a shield Psalms 7:1 - in Psalms 7:10 - My Psalms 9:9 - The Lord Psalms 18:30 - a buckler Psalms 18:46 - blessed Psalms 19:14 - strength Psalms 20:1 - defend Psalms 21:7 - For the Psalms 25:2 - O Psalms 27:1 - salvation Psalms 28:7 - strength Psalms 31:2 - my strong rock Psalms 31:14 - Thou Psalms 42:9 - God Psalms 59:9 - his strength Psalms 61:3 - strong Psalms 62:8 - God Psalms 71:3 - my rock Psalms 73:26 - but Psalms 81:1 - our strength Psalms 92:15 - my rock Psalms 94:22 - the rock Psalms 118:14 - is my strength Psalms 140:7 - the strength Psalms 144:1 - my strength Isaiah 17:10 - the rock Isaiah 26:4 - everlasting strength Joel 3:16 - hope Nahum 1:7 - strong hold Luke 1:69 - an Hebrews 13:6 - The Lord

Gill's Notes on the 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, Psalms 61:2;

and my fortress; or garrison; so the saints are kept in and by the power of God as in a garrison, 1 Peter 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 Hebrews 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, Luke 1:69;

[and] my high tower; such is the name of the Lord, whither the righteous run and are safe, Proverbs 18:10; and where they are above and out of the reach of every enemy; see Isaiah 33:16; in 2 Samuel 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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 Judges 6:2; Psalms 27:5; Psalms 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 Isaiah 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 Deuteronomy 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 Psalms 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 Psalms 22:21; Psalms 75:4-5, Psalms 75:10; Psalms 92:10; Psalms 132:17; Psalms 148:14.

And my high tower - He is to me what a high tower is to one who is in danger. Compare Proverbs 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 Psalms 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.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 18:2. 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 סלע 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," Deuteronomy 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. מפלתי 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, אלי Eli, my strong God, not only the object of my adoration, but he who puts strength in my soul.

6. My strength, צורי tsuri. This is a different word from that in the first verse.

Rabbi Maimon has observed that צור 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, מגני 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 1 Samuel 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.