Psalms 18:18
in Psalms 18They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They came upon me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.
KJV
They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
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This verse in Psalms 18
Commentary
12 notes on this verseIt was an ill day, a day of calamity, of which evil foes took cruel advantage, while they used crafty means uterly to ruin him, yet David could say, "but the Lord is my stay." What a blessed but which cuts the Gordian knot, and slays the hundred-headed hydra! There is no fear of deliverance when our stay is in Jehovah.
This site's exposition
He reached down from on high
on Psalms 18:16-19
The storm turns into the rescue of one man. God reached down from on high and drew him out of deep waters, away from an enemy too mighty for him. He rescued him because He delighted in him.
This site's exposition
but the LORD was my support
Verse 18 sets one support against the day of calamity. Albert Barnes read the enemies as men who blocked his path, and the support as a prop that kept him from falling. Matthew Henry added that God bears His people up under their troubles before He brings them out.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"They have prevented Me in the day of My affliction" [Psalm 18:18]. They have first injured Me, in the time when I am bearing a mortal and toilsome body. "And the Lord has become My stay." And since the stay of earthly pleasure was disturbed and torn up by the bitterness of misery, the Lord has become My stay.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"He rescued me." Here he proves how the tribulations are many. And first from the condition of the enemies. Second, from their persecution, at "because they were strengthened." The condition of the enemies is very harmful, because they are powerful and hating; hence, "he rescued …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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. 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.
They prevented me in the day of my calamity,.... Referring to the times of his distress in the garden and upon the cross; the time of his sufferings and death, which was a dark and cloudy day, as the word (x) used suggests, both in a literal and in a spiritual sense; and when the day and hour was come, fixed and determined by the will of God, then his enemies, though not before, met him, laid hold on him, were too mighty for him, condemned, crucified, and insulted him; but the Lord was my stay; or staff, on whom he leaned, relied, and depended, believing he would help him; and by whom he was supported and upheld, Isa 42:1. The Targum is, "the Word of the Lord was my stay.'' (x) ביום אידי "in the day of my cloudy calamity", Ainsworth; "nomen" איד "proprie signifient vaporem vel nubem, ut Gen. vii. 6. hinc per metaphoram transfertur ad obscuras ac terrificas calamitatum nebulas, Prov. i. 26.", Gejerus.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
from above--As seated on a throne, directing these terrible scenes, God-- sent--His hand (Ps 144:7), reached down to His humble worshipper, and delivered him. many waters--calamities (Job 30:14;
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4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
In most poetical language the Psalmist now describes his experience of Jehovah's delivering power. Poesy has in all her treasures no gem more lustrous than the sonnet of the following verses; the sorrow, the cry, the descent of the Divine One, and the rescue of the afflicted, are here set to a music worthy of the golden harps. The Messiah our Saviour is evidently, over and beyond David or any other believer, the main and chief subject of this song; and while studying it we have grown more and more sure that every line here has its deepest and profoundest fulfilment in Him; but as we are desirous not to extend our comment beyond moderate bounds, we must leave it with the devout reader to make the very easy application of the passage to our once distressed but now triumphant Lord.
In most poetical language the Psalmist now describes his experience of Jehovah's delivering power. Poesy has in all her treasures no gem more lustrous than the sonnet of the following verses; the sorrow, the cry, the descent of the Divine One, and the rescue of the afflicted, are here set to a music worthy of the golden harps.
They prevented me in the day of my calamity - They took advantage of the time in which I was least able to make head against them, and their attack was sudden and powerful. I should have been overthrown, but the Lord was my stay. He had been nearly exhausted by the fatigue of the day, when the giant availed himself of this advantage.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They prevented me - They anticipated me, or went before me. See the note at Psa 18:5. The idea here is that his enemies came before him, or intercepted his way. They were in his path, ready to destroy him. In the day of my calamity - In the day to which I now look back as the time of my special trial. But the Lord was my stay - My support, or prop. That is, the Lord upheld me, and kept me from falling.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְקַדְּמ֥וּנִי | yekademuni | they confronted me | H6923 → | 26 times |
| בְיוֹם־ | veyom- | in [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֵידִ֑י | ʾeidi | calamity my | H343 → | |
| וַֽיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and he became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְמִשְׁעָ֣ן | lemishan | <into> a support | H4937 → | |
| לִֽי׃ | li | of me |
יְקַדְּמ֥וּנִיthey confronted me
yekademuniH6923 →26 times
בְיוֹם־in [the] day of
veyom-H3117 →2304 times
אֵידִ֑יcalamity my
ʾeidiH343 →
וַֽיְהִי־and he became
vayhi-H1961 →3559 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְמִשְׁעָ֣ן<into> a support
lemishanH4937 →
לִֽי׃of me
li
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 59:16But I will sing of Your strength and proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning. For You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
it leads to
- Psalms 21:13
Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your power.
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- Romans 15:9
so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name.”
- Psalms 30:5
For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Psalms 143:8
Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.
- Psalms 21:13
Through
Deuteronomy 32:35Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
it leads to
- Romans 12:19
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Hebrews 10:30
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
- Nahum 1:2
The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.
- Romans 12:19
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 18; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.