Psalms 18:48

Psa 18:48 He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

Ver. 48. He delivereth me from mine enemies] This David hath never done with, but goeth over it again and again, as desirous to do the Lord all the right that might be.

From the violent man] That is, from Saul, saith R. David, and him he mentioneth last, quia erat principium omnis Davidicae gloriae, because the fall of his house was the rise of all David’s glory. The Chaldee hath it, From Gog and his armies.

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.

49. (Psa 18:48). Saving me from my enemies; yea, from my assailants (or insurgents) thou wilt raise me high; from the man of violence thou wilt deliver me. Here again the construction changes from the participle to the finite verb, but with a further change to the second person, which adds greatly to the life and energy of the expression. The yea may be taken as a simple copulative, and assailants as a mere equivalent to enemies. Some prefer, how ever, to assume a climax, and to understand the verse as meaning that he had not only been delivered from external foes, but from the more dangerous assaults of domestic treason or rebellion. There would then seem to be an allusion to Absalom's conspiracy. Thou wilt raise me, set me up on high, beyond the reach of all my enemies. For a similar expression see below, Psa 59:2 (1), as translated in the margin of the English Bible, The man of violence has, no doubt, reference to Saul, but only as the type of a whole class. Compare Psa 140:2; Psa 140:5 (1, 4).

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, Saul, who of malice persecuted him.

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

liftest me up--to safety and honors.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 48. He delivereth me] That is, he hath delivered me, and continues to deliver me, from all that rise up against me.

The violent man.] Saul; this applies particularly to him.

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

48. My deliverer from mine enemies;

Yea, thou didst set me on high from them that rose up against me,

From the man of violence didst thou rescue me.

My deliverer, as in Psa_18:2. 2 Sam. has “that bringeth me forth.” The man of violence might mean men of violence in general, but it is more natural to regard it as a reference to Saul. Cp. Psa_140:1; Psa_140:4; Psa_140:11.

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.

Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the Heathen,.... These words are cited by the apostle, in Rom 15:9; and applied to the conversion of the Gentiles, which is manifestly prophesied of in some preceding verses of this psalm: there it is rendered, "I will confess to thee among the Gentiles"; and designs not confession of sin, nor profession of the truth, but an acknowledgment of unworthiness, joined with thankfulness for mercies received; done in the most public manner, not only in the congregation of the righteous, but before the Heathen conquered by him; owning before them all, that the victories he had obtained over them were not to be ascribed to his arm and sword, but to the power of the Lord;

and sing praises unto thy name; which is comely for the saints to do, and which Jesus Christ himself did, in the great congregation of his disciples, and among the Gentiles, by his apostles, and others, on the account of the conversion of them.

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

He delivereth me from mine enemies - From all my foes.

Yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me - So that I triumph over them. Instead of being subdued by them, and trampled under their feet, I am exalted, and they are humbled.

Thou hast delivered me from the violent man - Margin, as in Hebrew, man of violence; the man characterized by injustice and wrong; the man who endeavored to overcome and subdue me by force and arms. There is probably a special allusion here by the psalmist to Saul as his great enemy, but perhaps he had also in his eye others of the same kind, and the meaning may be that he had been delivered from all of that class of people.

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

Above those that rise up against me; above their malice and power.

From the violent man; from Saul, whom for honour’s sake he forbears to mention.

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

He delivereth me from mine enemies. The "deliverance" was especially from domestic foes (see vers. 17, 19). His foreign foes seem never to have brought David into much peril. Yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me. The "lifting up" was above enemies of both kinds (see ver. 43). Thou hast delivered me from the violent man (comp. ver. 17). There is no reason to doubt that in both places Saul is intended. He was at once David"s "enemy," and a "man of violence." Were the question open otherwise, it would be closed by the statement in the title.

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

Violent man - From Saul: whom for honour's sake he forbears to mention.

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

I am set free

This can be stated in active form. AT: "God has set me free" (See: Active or Passive)

you lifted me above

Yahweh's protection of the writer is spoken of as if he lifted the writer up so high that his enemies could not reach him to harm him. AT: "you put me in a safe place high above" (See: Metaphor)

who rose against me

"who attacked me" or "who rebelled against me"

violent men

"cruel men" or "savage men"

among the nations

Here the writer means that he will give thanks to Yahweh so that all people will hear of Yahweh's greatness. AT: "so all the nations will hear about it" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

to your name

Here "name" represents God himself. AT: "in honor of your name" or "to you" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

free

adversary

nation

praise

name

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Who grants me vengeance Who gives me strength to avenge myself upon my enemies.

and destroys Heb. וידבר, and He slew, an expression of דבר, pestilence. Another explanation: as (in Exod. 3:1): “and he led (וינהג),” which is translated into Aramaic as וּדְבַר. Menachem (p. 61) too associated it in this manner. Likewise, he associated (below 47:4), “He leads (יַדְבֵּר) peoples under us.”

instead of me Heb. תחתי, in my place and in my stead, as the matter is stated (in Isa. 43:4): “and I give men in your stead (תחתיך), (verse 3), “I have given Egypt as your ransom. [Cush and Seba in your stead (תחתיך)].”

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.