Psalm 18

The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. And the possible byline “of David,” isn’t necessarily a byline. The vague phrase could mean the song was written by David, about David, or was inspired by David. Almost half of the psalms are attributed to David in this way, 73 of 150. Ancient Jewish history tells of David playing a lyre and writing songs. For one, he wrote a song of mourning at the battlefield death of King Saul and his sons: “How have the mighty fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19-27 New American Standard Bible). An ancient Jewish scroll from about the time of Jesus, discovered among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, reports that David wrote 3,600 songs.

In the story behind this subtitle and this psalm, if the subtitle is correct, King Saul became jealous of David’s popularity and decided to hunt him down and kill him (1 Samuel 19). But David and his men eluded the king and his military posse. Some scholars say it’s possible to translate the word for “Saul” as “Sheol,” a term for death. In that case, this is a thank-you song for being spared, in general, perhaps from a danger that didn’t involve King Saul.

Literally “horn of salvation.” Writers in ancient times used horns of animals, such as rams and bulls, as a metaphor for strength. People weren’t inclined to mess with horned animals charging into them. So, God was the horn leading the charge that plowed over David’s enemies.

Literally, Sheol, a word Old Testament writers used to describe the place of the dead. It is a kind of underworld where the dead are cut off from the living—and from God—and there is no coming back.

Kerubim in Hebrew. “Cherubim” is plural. Celestial beings mentioned throughout the Bible, perhaps a kind of angel. Ancient Middle Eastern creatures with similar names, such as kirubu, reportedly served gods. The creatures were portrayed in statues of beings such as human-headed lions with wings. These statues guarded entrances to cities and palaces. After God evicted Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, cherubim kept them out. “The LORD God drove them out of the Garden of Eden. East of the garden entrance he stationed angel guards called cherubim armed with a fiery, spinning sword. They kept people out of the garden and away from the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).

This Hebrew name for God is Elyon.

The meaning of the Hebrew word in this context is unclear. The word is awon. It can mean guilt, perverse behavior, faults.

“Chose” is literally translated “anointed.” In the original language of Hebrew, the word is “messiah.” Many Christians see some references like this a foreshadowing of Jesus the Messiah a thousand years before he came to earth. But to the readers in King David’s day, the word simply meant their king. Israel’s kings were presented to the nation as God’s chosen leader, literally God’s anointed one. The ritual of crowning someone king involved an anointing—pouring olive oil over the ruler’s head. Samuel anointed young David as Israel’s king (1 Samuel 16:12-13). The ritual sounds messy, but the olive oil would have felt refreshing poured onto someone who had been traveling in ancient Middle Eastern heat.