Psalms 18:21
in Psalms 18For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
KJV
For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
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This verse in Psalms 18
Commentary
12 notes on this verseAnd yet subsequently some human merit cooperates there: 1 Cor. 15: "The grace of God in me was not in vain." And therefore he adds, "The Lord will reward me," etc. Where he does three things. First he proposes the merit. Second, in what it …
This site's exposition
rewarded me according to my righteousness
on Psalms 18:20-24
The claim of righteousness is defined by the verses under it. Keeping the ways of the LORD, holding His ordinances in view, and keeping himself from iniquity are what the cleanness of hands means here. Verse 24 adds that all of it stood in His sight.
This site's exposition
have not wickedly departed from my God
Verse 21 gives the first reason for the reward. Charles Spurgeon saw the claim made in two forms, positive and negative, and took wickedly as a departure that is willful and defiant. Matthew Henry added that one who stumbles and repents has made no wicked departure from his God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Because I have kept the ways of the Lord" [Psalm 18:21]. That the breadth of good works, that are by faith, and the long-suffering of perseverance should follow after.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), that is, determining the controversy between him and his enemies, according to the justice of his cause and the cleanness of his hands, from that sedition, treason, and rebellion, with which he was charged. He had often appealed to God concerning his innocency; and now God had given judgment upon the appeal (as he always will) according to equity.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,....
Those that forsake the ways of the Lord do, in effect, depart from their God, and it is a wicked thing to do so. But though we are conscious to ourselves of many a stumble, and many a false step taken, yet if we recover ourselves by repentance, and go on in the way of our duty, it shall not be construed into a departure, for it is not a wicked departure, from our God.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Here the assertion of purity is repeated, both in a positive and a negative form. There is "I have" and "I have not, " both of which must be blended in a truly sanctified life; constraining and restraining grace must each take its share. The words of this verse refer to the saint as a traveler carefully keeping to "the ways of the Lord, " and "not wickedly, "that is, designedly, wilfully, persistently, defiantly forsaking the ordained pathway in which God favours the pilgrim with his presence.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul's persecutions and Absalom's rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God's Church and people.
Here the assertion of purity is repeated, both in a positive and a negative form. There is "I have" and "I have not, " both of which must be blended in a truly sanctified life; constraining and restraining grace must each take its share. The words of this verse refer to the saint as a traveler carefully keeping to "the ways of the Lord, " and "not wickedly, "that is, designedly, wilfully, persistently, defiantly forsaking the ordained pathway in which God favours the pilgrim with his presence. Observe how it is implied in the expression, "and have not wickedly departed from my God, "that David lived habitually in communion with God, and knew him to be his own God, whom he might speak of as "my God." God never departs from his people, let them take heed of departing from him.
I have kept the ways of the Lord - I was neither an infidel nor a profligate; I trusted in God, and carefully observed all the ordinances of his religion.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For I have kept the ways of the Lord - I have obeyed his laws. I have not so violated the laws which God has given to regulate my conduct with my fellow-men as to deserve to be treated by them as a guilty man. And have not wickedly departed from my God - “I have not been a sinner from my God;” an apostate; an open violator of his law. The treatment which I have received, though it would be justly rendered to an open violator of law, is not that which I have merited from the hand of man.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | kisha- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שָׁ֭מַרְתִּי | shamarti | I have kept | H8104 → | 468 times |
| דַּרְכֵ֣י | darkhei | [the] ways of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| רָ֝שַׁ֗עְתִּי | rasha'ti | I have acted wickedly | H7561 → | 34 times |
| מֵאֱלֹהָֽי׃ | meelohai | from God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
כִּֽי־for
kisha-H3588 →4482 times
שָׁ֭מַרְתִּיI have kept
shamartiH8104 →468 times
דַּרְכֵ֣י[the] ways of
darkheiH1870 →707 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
רָ֝שַׁ֗עְתִּיI have acted wickedly
rasha'tiH7561 →34 times
מֵאֱלֹהָֽי׃from God my
meelohaiH430 →2601 times
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
1 John 2:19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of…
it leads to
- Acts 20:30
Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.
- 1 Corinthians 11:19
And indeed, there must be differences among you to show which of you are approved.
- Jude 1:19
These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit.
- Luke 8:13
The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall…
- Acts 20:30
Through
Psalms 119:102I have not departed from Your ordinances, for You Yourself have taught me.
it leads to
- Proverbs 5:7
So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 5:7
Through
Proverbs 8:32Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways.
it leads to
- Luke 11:28
But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
- Luke 11:28
Through
Acts 24:16In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man.
it leads to
- Acts 23:1
Paul looked directly at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have conducted myself before God in all good conscience to this day.”
- 1 Timothy 1:5
The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
- Acts 23:1
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.