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Psalm 18:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 18:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 18[a]
Thanksgiving for God’s Help
1 For the director.[b] Of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song after the Lord had rescued him from the clutches of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:
I love you, O Lord, my strength,
3 O Lord, my rock,[c] my fortress, my deliverer.
My God is my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
Footnotes
- Psalm 18:1 This song of David occurs also in 2 Sam 22 with minor variations. It is composed of an introduction (vv. 1-4), a conclusion (vv. 47-51), and three major divisions: (1) the Lord’s deliverance of David from mortal enemies (vv. 5-20); (2) the moral grounds for the Lord’s help (vv. 21-30); and (3) the Lord’s help recounted (vv. 31-46).
Already emerging in this splendid psalm, which is both a song of thanksgiving and a song of victory, is the image of the King-Messiah, Jesus, born of the house of David and beloved Son of the Father; he will conquer the forces of evil. This poem is a festal song expressing wonder and thanksgiving and glorifying God.
To the extent that we can allow ourselves to be identified with Christ and become kings in him (see Ps 2), we can use this psalm to praise God the Father for the wonders that Paul celebrates in the hymn of the Letter to the Ephesians (1:3-15). - Psalm 18:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation.
- Psalm 18:3 Rock: a common symbol for God indicating his strength as a refuge or as a deliverer (see Pss 19:15; 31:3f; 42:10; 62:3, 8; 71:3; 73:26; 78:35; 89:27; 92:16; 94:22; 95:1; 144:1; Deut 32:15; Isa 17:10). See Jesus’ use of the word in Mt 16:18. Horn: a symbol of strength (see Deut 33:17; Jer 48:25); it often had Messianic overtones (see Ps 132:17; Ezek 29:21).
