Psalms 18:45

Psa 18:45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.

Ver. 45. The strangers shall fade away] As do the dry leaves of trees; their vigour and confidence shall perish in a moment.

And be afraid out of their close places] Whence they shall come creeping to me, their conqueror, to seek favour. And this may very fitly also be applied to Christ and his subjects, who must be driven unto him out of their close places, or starting holes of self confidences, self conceitedness, &c., by the spirit of bondage, before they will unfeignedly submit to Christ’s government.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 18:45. The strangers shall fade away — Shall wither and decay in their hopes end strength; and be afraid — That is, shall come trembling, one verb being put for two; out of their close places — Out of their strong holds, where they shall lurk and keep themselves close, for fear of me, not daring to stir out without trembling, lest I should assault and take them. Dr. Waterland renders it, They shall faint away, and come creeping out of their coverts. Grotius’s comment is, “They shall suspect their safety in the very places to which they flee for refuge.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Fear shall cause them to be afraid and come forth of their secret holes and holds to seek pardon.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 45. The strangers shall fade away] בני נכר beney nechar, the same persons mentioned above. They shall not be able to effect any thing against me; יבלו yibbolu, "they shall fall as the leaves fall off the trees in winter."

And be afraid out of their close places.] Those who have formed themselves into banditti, and have taken possession of rocks and fortified places, shall be so afraid when they hear of my successes, that they shall surrender at discretion, without standing a siege. Perhaps all these verbs should be understood in the perfect tense, for David is here evidently speaking of a kingdom at rest, all enemies having been subdued; or, as the title is, when the Lord HAD delivered him from all his enemies.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

What is added immediately after, (verse 45,) the children of strangers shall fade away; they shall tremble The Hebrew word חרג, charag, signifies both to be moved and to tremble, and combining both ideas, to move fearfully. The last appears to be the view which Calvin attaches to the word. “Fear shall cause them to be afraid, and come forth of their secret holes and holds, to seek pardon.” — Note, Bassandyne’s Bible. Walford reads,

“The sons of the stranger lose their strength; Through alarm they quit their strongholds.

Street reads,

“Foreign nations are confounded, and they shudder within their fortresses.”

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(45) Fade away—i.e., wither like vegetation before a scorching blast.

Be afraid out of their close places.—Better, come trembling out of their castles. LXX. and Vulgate have “grow old and came limping from their paths.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

45. The strangers faded away,

And came trembling out of their fastnesses.

Their strength and courage failed like a withering leaf or a fading flower (Isa_28:1; Isa_28:4), and they surrendered at discretion to the triumphant invader. Cp. Mic_7:17; 1Sa_14:11. The obscure reading in 2 Sam. may mean “came limping out of their fastnesses”; a picture of the exhausted defenders of the fortress dragging themselves along with difficulty and reluctant to lay down their arms before the conqueror. The LXX gives this rendering (ἐχώλαναν) in the Psalm.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock,.... This, with what follows, is the concluding part of the psalm, which ends with a celebration of the Divine Being, and with thankfulness for mercies received from him. The psalmist praises him on account of what he is in himself, what he was to him, and had done for him: in himself he is the living God, "the Lord liveth": he has life in himself, essentially, originally, and independently; and is the fountain and author of life to all others, even to all creatures that have life, whether rational or irrational: he is the giver of natural life to all men, and the supporter of it; and of spiritual and eternal life to his chosen people; and he continues to live, and ever will; wherefore the saints may conclude that their life in every sense is safe and secure. Some render the phrase, by way of wish, "may the Lord live" (r); but then it must be understood only that he would show himself more abundantly to be the living God, and that he might be acknowledged so by others. The next clauses are by way of petition; "and blessed be my Rock"; on which he was built and established, to which he betook himself in times of distress, which was his place of defence, and from whence he had a supply; wherefore he desires he might be blessed, not by invoking or conferring a blessing on him, neither of which can be; there being none greater than he to call upon, and he being "Elshaddai", God all sufficient, and in no need of any; but by declaring his blessedness, by celebrating his greatness and goodness, and by ascribing blessing and honour and glory to him;

and let the God of my salvation be exalted; God was the God of his salvation in a temporal sense, saving him daily from his many enemies; and in a spiritual sense, being the contriver, author, and applier of it to him; on which account he would have him be exalted both by himself, and in the high praises of his people; ascribing the whole of salvation to him, and giving him all the glory of it. Some render the words, "the God of my salvation is high" (s); he is the most high God, the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, and is above all others. In Sa2 22:47 the words are read, "and exalted be the God of the Rock of my salvation".

(r) "vivat Jehova", Musculus, Tigurine version, Piscator, Muis; so some in Vatablus, Ainsworth. (s) "excelsus est", Gejerus.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The strangers shall fade away - Hebrew, “The sons of the stranger.” That is, foreigners. The word rendered fade away - נבל nâbêl - means properly to wilt, wither, fall away, as applicable to flowers, leaves, or plants, Psa 1:3; Psa 37:2; Isa 1:30; Isa 28:1. Here it means that those foreign nations would diminish in numbers and in power, until they should wholly disappear. The idea is, that all his foes would vanish, and that he and his kingdom would be left in peace.

And be afraid out of their close places - The word rendered be afraid means to tremble - as those do who are in fear. The word rendered close places means places that are shut up or enclosed, as fortified cities or fortresses. The reference is to their places of retreat, towns, castles, fortresses. The meaning is, that they would find such places to be no security, and would tremble out of them; that is, they would flee out of them in consternation and alarm. The general thought is that of ultimate complete security for himself and his kingdom, or entire deliverance from all his enemies.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Shall fade away, i.e. shall wither and decay in their hopes and strength.

Be afraid, i.e. shall come trembling; one verb being put for two, as Psa 22:21, thou hast heard me, i.e. having delivered me; and Psa 42:1, panteth, i.e. panting hasteneth; and in many other places.

Out of their close places; out of their strong holds, where they shall lurk and keep themselves for fear of me, and whence they dare not stir without trembling. Or, for (as the particle mere is oft used)

their close places, i.e. lest I should assault and take them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

45. The strangers shall fade away—The same class who, in Psa_18:44, yielded an unwilling obedience, shall wither like grass before the hot wind of the desert. Comp. Mic_7:16-17

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. Converts are represented as coming into the Church, not merely from love, but partly from fear. The kingdom of the Redeemer at once attracts and alarms. So Isaiah says, "The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted... The sons also of them that afflict thee shall come kneeling unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet, and they shall call thee, The city of the Holy One of Israel". (Isa_60:12-14; see also Mic_7:16, Mic_7:17)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Close places - Out of their strong holds, where they shall lurk for fear of me.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

As soon as they hear Even in my absence, as long as they hear my message.

they shall obey me They shall give heed to my bidding and obey my orders.

shall lie to me out of fright.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.