translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: PSA

label: NET study note

text: . In this long song of thanks, the psalmist (a Davidic king, traditionally understood as David himself) affirms that God is his faithful protector. He recalls in highly poetic fashion how God intervened in awesome power and delivered him from death. The psalmist’s experience demonstrates that God vindicates those who are blameless and remain loyal to him. True to his promises, God gives the king victory on the battlefield and enables him to subdue nations. A parallel version of the psalm appears in 2 Sam 22:1-51 .


text: My high ridge . This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28 .


text: My stronghold . David often found safety in such strongholds. See 1 Sam 22:4-5; 24:22 ; 2 Sam 5:9, 17; 23:14 .


text: Take shelter . “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord ( Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22 ).


text: The earth heaved and shook . The imagery pictures an earthquake in which the earth’s surface rises and falls. The earthquake motif is common in OT theophanies of God as warrior and in ancient Near Eastern literary descriptions of warring gods and kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of /” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 160-62.


text: The wings of the wind . Verse 10 may depict (1) the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option (2) is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. Yet another option (3) is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10 , see M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.


text: Thunder is a common motif in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of /” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 179-83.


text: Lightning is a common motif in in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of /” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 190-92.


text: I can jump over a wall. The psalmist uses hyperbole to emphasize his God-given military superiority.


text: The Lord ’ s promise . In the ancient Near East kings would typically seek and receive oracles from their god(s) prior to battle. For examples, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of /” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 241-42.


text: Take shelter . See the note on the word “shelter” in v. 2 .


text: He trains my hands . The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement. Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World , 265.


text: They fall at my feet . For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World , 294-97.


text: Those who hate me . See v. 17 , where it is the Lord who delivered the psalmist from those who hated him.


text: I will give you thanks before the nations . This probably alludes to the fact that the psalmist will praise the Lord in the presence of the defeated nations when they, as his subjects, bring their tribute payments. Ideally the Davidic king was to testify to the nations of God’s greatness. See J. H. Eaton, Kingship and the Psalms (SBT), 182-85.


text: If David is the author of the psalm (see the superscription), then he here anticipates that God will continue to demonstrate loyalty to his descendants who succeed him. If the author is a later Davidic king, then he views the divine favor he has experienced as the outworking of God’s faithful promises to David his ancestor.