Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 18:11

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 18:11. He made darkness his secret place — God is represented as dwelling in the thick darkness, Deuteronomy 4:11; Psalms 97:2. This representation in the place before us is peculiarly proper; as thick heavy clouds deeply charged, and with lowering aspects, are always the forerunners and attendants of a tempest, and greatly heighten the horrors of the appearance: and the representation of them, spread about the Almighty as a tent, is truly grand and poetic.

Dark waters — The vapours strongly condensed into clouds; which, by the stroke of the lightning, are about to be precipitated in torrents of rain. See the next verse.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 18:0 David’s song of victory

The outpouring of praise recorded in Psalms 18:0 is applicable to many of David’s experiences. It was probably put into its present form after David reached the height of his power as king. He had conquered all his enemies and now controlled all the country from Egypt to the Euphrates (2 Samuel 8:1-18). The psalm is also recorded in 2 Samuel 22:0.

David opens by declaring his love for God (1) and thanking God for hearing his prayers and saving him from death at the hands of his enemies (2-6). God revealed himself in dramatic exhibitions of his mighty power, using earthquakes and storms (7-9), wind and rain (10-11), lightning and thunder (12-15) to deliver his servant (16-19).
The reason God answered David’s prayers was that David walked in God’s ways and kept himself pure and humble (20-24). God’s attitude to people, whether he helped them or opposed them, depended on whether they were devoted to him or rebelled against him (25-27). That is why David was always confident of God’s help (28-30).
God had blessed David with good health, physical strength, natural ability, and the desire to train and practise till he was skilled in the abilities God had given him (31-34). Above all, God gave David his saving power (35-36). As a result David was able to go on to certain victory, conquering his foes (37-42), expanding his kingdom (43-45) and bringing glory to God (46-48). As he looks back on what God did for him in the past, he offers further praise for God’s unfailing kindness (49-50).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations also of the mountains quaked And were shaken because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And thick darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub and did fly; Yea, he soared upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion round about him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, Hailstones and coals of fire. Jehovah also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; Yea, lightnings manifold, and discomfited them."

This highly imaginative section suggests to this writer nothing quite so vividly as it does the final judgment of mankind. The Theophany, the coming of God Himself, the mighty earthquake, the mountains being moved (Revelation 6:12-15), the great hail (Revelation 16:21), the darkness (Revelation 6:12), the death of the wicked (as indicated by God's arrows), the salvation of the righteous (mentioned a little later)… all of these things are undoubtedly characteristic of the Final Judgment on the Great Day of God's wrath; and they could not possibly refer to God's judgment of David's enemies except as tokens of the final judgment of Adam's race. This interpretation of the section here also fits the drift of the psalm into Messianic significance a bit later.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

He made darkness his secret place - Herder has beautifully rendered this verse,

“Now he wrapped himself in darkness;

Clouds on clouds enclosed him round.”

The word rendered “secret place” - סתר sêther - means properly a hiding; then something hidden, private, secret. Hence, it means a covering, a veil. Compare Job 22:14; Job 24:15. In Psalms 81:7 it is applied to thunder: “I answered thee in the secret place of thunder;” that is, in the secret place or retreat - the deep, dark cloud, from where the thunder seems to come. Here the meaning seems to be, that God was encompassed with darkness. He had, as it were, wrapped himself in night, and made his abode in the gloom of the storm.

His pavilion - His tent, for so the word means. Compare Psalms 27:5; Psalms 31:20. His abode was in the midst of clouds and waters, or watery clouds.

Round about him - Perhaps a more literal translation would be, “the things round about him - his tent (shelter, or cover) - were the darkness of waters, the clouds of the skies.” The idea is that he seemed to be encompassed with watery clouds.

Dark waters - Hebrew, darkness of waters. The allusion is to clouds filled with water; charged with rain.

Thick clouds of the skies - The word rendered skies in this place - שׁחקים shachaqiym - means, in the singular, dust, as being fine; then a cloud, as a cloud of dust; then, in the plural, it is used to denote clouds, Job 38:37; and hence, it is used to denote the region of the clouds; the firmament; the sky; Job 37:18. Perhaps a not-inaccurate rendering here would be, “clouds of clouds;” that is, clouds rolled in with clouds; clouds of one kind rapidly succeeding those of another kind - inrolling and piled on each other. There are four different kinds of clouds; and though we cannot suppose that the distinction was accurately marked in the time of the psalmist, yet to the slightest observation there is a distinction in the clouds, and it is possible that by the use of two terms here, both denoting clouds - one thick and dense, and the other clouds as resembling dust - the psalmist meant to intimate that clouds of all kinds rolled over the firmament, and that these constituted the “pavilion” of God.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 18:1-50

The eighteenth psalm has a long title to it. It is to chief musician. It is a psalm of David, the servant of Jehovah, who spake unto Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah delivered him from the hand of all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,

I will love thee, O LORD, my strength ( Psalms 18:1 ).

So that is all an introduction to the psalm, which is written in the Hebrew, just the introduction to the psalm. This evidently is the time when he was pursued and he escaped the hand of Saul and went down to Achish, because he speaks about dwelling, in the latter part, of dwelling among the heathen and all, and no doubt it was as he had fled from Saul to the Philistines so that Saul would not pursue him any more. And so now safe from the pursuit of Saul, having been delivered by the hand of God from Saul.

"I will love thee, O Lord my strength."

The LORD is my rock, and my fortress ( Psalms 18:2 ),

He had been actually been running in that rocky wilderness area around the Dead Sea, Engedi, and those rocky cliffs, hiding in those caves and using the rocks as a place of defense and as a fortress. "The Lord is my rock and my fortress,"

and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; he is my buckler, the horn of my salvation, and my high tower ( Psalms 18:2 ).

All of these are defensive weapons of war. God is all of it. He is my defender. He keeps me. He is my high tower. He is my buckler. He is my strength.

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: and so shall I be saved from my enemies. For the sorrows of death encircled me, the floods of ungodly men ( Psalms 18:3-4 )

All of the troops of Saul, he came out with several thousand men pursuing David. And David looked over there and saw all these guys and he knew they were after my hide. And they had encircled David. He was trapped. "The sorrows of death encircled me."

The sorrows of hell encircled me about: the snares of death prevented to me. And in my distress I called upon the LORD, I cried unto my God: and he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even unto his ears ( Psalms 18:5-6 ).

Now, out of His temple. The temple was not yet built in Jerusalem, but he is talking about God's temple in heaven.

Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also the hills moved and were shaken, because of his anger. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: and coals were kindled by it. And he bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub [one of those angelic beings], and did fly: and he did fly upon the wings of the wind ( Psalms 18:7-10 ).

And all of this is very beautiful poetic and picturesque speech. Of course, this was a song written in Hebrew type of poetry. Very descriptive and very beautiful indeed.

In verse Psalms 18:16 he said,

He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompensed me ( Psalms 18:16-20 ).

Verse Psalms 18:25 ,

With the merciful you will show yourself merciful; with the upright man, you will show yourself upright; with the pure you will show yourself pure; with the forward you will show yourself forward. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but will bring down the high looks. For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all of those that trust in him. For who is God save Jehovah? And who is a rock save our God? It is God that girded me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teaches my hands to war, so that the bow of steel is broken by my arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of my salvation: and thy right hand hath held me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great ( Psalms 18:25-35 ).

Interesting phrase, "Thy gentleness hath made me great." And he goes on and tells how the Lord had subdued his enemies that were rising up against him. And then he, in verse Psalms 18:43 ,

Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; you have made me the head of the heathen ( Psalms 18:43 ):

He had actually gone been down in Ziklag, in the area of the Philistines, and he was the head of the city of Ziklag,

and of people whom I have not known shall serve me ( Psalms 18:43 ).

Now this, of course, David was speaking of himself, but it became prophetic of Jesus and the gospel going unto the Gentiles.

The LORD liveth; blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted ( Psalms 18:46 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 18

As the title indicates, David wrote this psalm after he had subdued his political enemies and had established the kingdom of Israel firmly under his control. In this poem, David expressed his delight in the Lord and thanked Him for giving him the victories he enjoyed. This royal thanksgiving psalm also appears in 2 Samuel 22. The slight variations may be due to changes that Israel’s leaders made, under divine inspiration, when they adapted this poem for use in Israel’s public worship. Other individual psalms of thanksgiving are 30-32, 40, 66, 92, 116, 118, and 120.

"The two components essential to the [individual thanksgiving] genre are: (1) the psalmist’s report about his crisis, and (2) the statement or declaration that the crisis has passed and his deliverance is an accomplished fact. The latter element is that which distinguishes these psalms from the lament." [Note: Bullock, p. 152.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. God’s deliverance 18:4-29

In this extended section, David reviewed how God had saved him in times of danger. In Psalms 18:4-19 he described God’s supernatural deliverance, and in Psalms 18:20-29 he explained it as he saw it through the lens of his faith in God.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

David cried out in terror, and in His heavenly temple God heard his call for help. The Lord came rushing to the psalmist’s defense. His deliverance was as a thunderstorm in that it was the supernatural invading nature. The figures of speech in Psalms 18:7-15 picture a violent storm with lightning, thunder, high winds, torrential rains, black skies, and flooding. [Note: See Michael E. Travers, "The Use of Figures of Speech in the Bible," Bibliotheca Sacra 164:655 (July-September 2007):277-90.] All of this illustrates God’s dramatic intervention for David, punishing those who opposed His anointed.

"The most vivid descriptions of God as warrior occur in so-called theophanic passages, which depict the Lord coming in splendor and power to fight for His people. . . .

"Psalms 18:7-16 is the most detailed of these theophanic texts." [Note: Chisholm, p. 296. Cf. Psalms 18; Psalms 29:11; 68:4, 33; 77:16-19; 97:3-5; 104:3-4; 114:3-7; 144:5-7.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

He made darkness his secret place,.... Which, and the dark waters in the next clause, are the same with the thick clouds in the last, in which Jehovah is represented as wrapping himself, and in which he lies hid as in a secret place; not so as that he cannot see others, as wicked men imagine, Job 22:13; but as that he cannot be beheld by others; the Targum interprets it,

"he caused his Shechinah to dwell in darkness;''

his pavilion round about him [were] dark waters, [and] thick clouds of the skies; these were as a tent or tabernacle, in which he dwelt unseen by men; see Job 36:29; all this may design the dark dispensation of the Jews, after their rejection and crucifixion of Christ; when God departed from them, left their house desolate, and them without his presence and protection; when the light of the Gospel was taken away from them, and blindness happened unto them, and they had eyes that they should not see, and were given up to a judicial darkness of mind and hardness of heart; which were some of the dark, deep, and mysterious methods of divine Providence, with respect to which God may be said to be surrounded with darkness, dark waters, and thick clouds; see Romans 11:7.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

To the chief musician, A psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD

the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies.

      1 I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.   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.   3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.   4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.   5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.   6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.   7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.   8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.   9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.   10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.   11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.   12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.   13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.   14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.   15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.   16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.   17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.   18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.   19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

      The title gives us the occasion of penning this psalm; we had it before (2 Samuel 22:1), only here we are told that the psalm was delivered to the chief musician, or precentor, in the temple-songs. Note, The private compositions of good men, designed by them for their own use, may be serviceable to the public, that others may not only borrow light from their candle, but heat from their fire. Examples sometimes teach better than rules. And David is here called the servant of the Lord, as Moses was, not only as every good man is God's servant, but because, with his sceptre, with his sword, and with his pen, he greatly promoted the interests of God's kingdom in Israel. It was more his honour that he was a servant of the Lord than that he was king of a great kingdom; and so he himself accounted it (Psalms 116:16): O Lord! truly I am thy servant. In these verses,

      I. He triumphs in God and his relation to him. The first words of the psalm, I will love thee, O Lord! my strength, are here prefixed as the scope and contents of the whole. Love to God is the first and great commandment of the law, because it is the principle of all our acceptable praise and obedience; and this use we should make of all the mercies God bestows upon us, our hearts should thereby be enlarged in love to him. This he requires and will accept; and we are very ungrateful if we grudge him so poor a return. An interest in the person loved is the lover's delight; this string therefore he touches, and on this he harps with much pleasure (Psalms 18:2; Psalms 18:2): "The Lord Jehovah is my God; and then he is my rock, my fortress, all that I need and can desire in my present distress." For there is that in God which is suited to all the exigencies and occasions of his people that trust in him. "He is my rock, and strength, and fortress;" that is, 1. "I have found him so in the greatest dangers and difficulties." 2. "I have chosen him to be so, disclaiming all others, and depending upon him alone to protect me." Those that truly love God may thus triumph in him as theirs, and may with confidence call upon him, Psalms 18:3; Psalms 18:3. This further use we should make of our deliverances, we must not only love God the better, but love prayer the better--call upon him as long as we live, especially in time of trouble, with an assurance that so we shall be saved; for thus it is written, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,Acts 2:21.

      II. He sets himself to magnify the deliverances God had wrought for him, that he might be the more affected in his returns of praise. It is good for us to observe all the circumstances of a mercy, which magnify the power of God and his goodness to us in it.

      1. The more imminent and threatening the danger was out of which we were delivered the greater is the mercy of the deliverance. David now remembered how the forces of his enemies poured in upon him, which he calls the floods of Belial, shoals of the children of Belial, likely to overpower him with numbers. They surrounded him, compassed him about; they surprised him, and by that means were very near seizing him; their snares prevented him, and, when without were fightings, within were fears and sorrows, Psalms 18:4; Psalms 18:5. His spirit was overwhelmed, and he looked upon himself as a lost man; see Psalms 116:3.

      2. The more earnest we have been with God for deliverance, and the more direct answer it is to our prayers, the more we are obliged to be thankful. David's deliverances were so, Psalms 18:6; Psalms 18:6. David was found a praying man, and God was found a prayer-hearing God. If we pray as he did, we shall speed as he did. Though distress drive us to prayer, God will not therefore be deaf to us; nay, being a God of pity, he will be the more ready to succour us.

      3. The more wonderful God's appearances are in any deliverance the greater it is: such were the deliverances wrought for David, in which God's manifestation of his presence and glorious attributes is most magnificently described, Psalms 18:7-15; Psalms 18:7-15, c. Little appeared of man, but much of God, in these deliverances. (1.) He appeared a God of almighty power for he made the earth shake and tremble, and moved even the foundations of the hills (Psalms 18:7; Psalms 18:7), as of old at Mount Sinai. When the men of the earth were struck with fear, then the earth might be said to tremble; when the great men of the earth were put into confusion, then the hills moved. (2.) He showed his anger and displeasure against the enemies and persecutors of his people: He was wroth,Psalms 18:7; Psalms 18:7. His wrath smoked, it burned, it was fire, it was devouring fire (Psalms 18:8; Psalms 18:8), and coals were kindled by it. Those that by their own sins make themselves as coals (that is, fuel) to this fire will be consumed by it. He that ordains his arrows against the persecutors sends them forth when he pleases, and they are sure to hit the mark and do execution; for those arrows are lightnings, Psalms 18:14; Psalms 18:14. (3.) He showed his readiness to plead his people's cause and work deliverance for them; for he rode upon a cherub and did fly, for the maintaining of right and the relieving of his distressed servants, Psalms 18:10; Psalms 18:10. No opposition, no obstruction, can be given to him who rides upon the wings of the wind, who rides on the heavens, for the help of his people, and, in his excellency, on the skies. (4.) He showed his condescension, in taking cognizance of David's case: He bowed the heavens and came down (Psalms 18:9; Psalms 18:9), did not send an angel, but came himself, as one afflicted in the afflictions of his people. (5.) He wrapped himself in darkness, and yet commanded light to shine out of darkness for his people, Isaiah 45:15. He is a God that hideth himself; for he made darkness his pavilion,Psalms 18:11; Psalms 18:11. his glory is invisible, his counsels are unsearchable, and his proceedings unaccountable, and so, as to us, clouds and darkness are round about him; we know not the way that he takes, even when he is coming towards us in ways of mercy; but, when his designs are secret, they are kind; for, though he hide himself, he is the God of Israel, the Saviour. And, at his brightness, the thick clouds pass (Psalms 18:12; Psalms 18:12), comfort returns, the face of affairs is changed, and that which was gloomy and threatening becomes serene and pleasant.

      4. The greater the difficulties are that lie in the way of deliverance the more glorious the deliverance is. For the rescuing of David, the waters were to be divided till the very channels were seen; the earth was to be cloven till the very foundations of it were discovered, Psalms 18:15; Psalms 18:15. There were waters deep and many, waters out of which he was to be drawn (Psalms 18:16; Psalms 18:16), as Moses, who had his name from being drawn out of the water literally, as David was figuratively. His enemies were strong, and they hated him; had he been left to himself, they would have been too strong for him, Psalms 18:17; Psalms 18:17. And they were too quick for him; for they prevented him in the day of his calamity,Psalms 18:18; Psalms 18:18. But, in the midst of his troubles, the Lord was his stay, so that he did not sink. Note, God will not only deliver his people out of their troubles in due time, but he will sustain them and bear them up under their troubles in the mean time.

      5. That which especially magnified the deliverance was that his comfort was the fruit of it and God's favour was the root and fountain of it. (1.) It was an introduction to his preferment, Psalms 18:19; Psalms 18:19. "He brought me forth also out of my straits into a large place, where I had room, not only to turn, but to thrive in." (2.) It was a token of God's favour to him, and that made it doubly sweet: "He delivered me because he delighted in me, not for my merit, but for his own grace and good-will." Compare this with 2 Samuel 15:26, If he thus say, I have no delight in thee, here I am. We owe our salvation, that great deliverance, to the delight God had in the Son of David, in whom he has declared himself to be well pleased.

      In singing this we must triumph in God, and trust in him: and we may apply it to Christ the Son of David. The sorrows of death surrounded him; in his distress he prayed (Hebrews 5:7); God made the earth to shake and tremble, and the rocks to cleave, and brought him out, in his resurrection, into a large place, because he delighted in him and in his undertaking.