Biblog

Decided to move on in my study to Psalm 19, (even though I am not done with Psalm 18).
The heavens declare the glory of God.

YLT says: The heavens [are] recounting the honour of God.

The heavens declare the glory of God.

The simple meaning appears to be:
-- the heavens (the sun, moon and stars, the blue sky at day; the black sky at night)
-- declare (shout out; tell us; proclaim the message; announce; report; notify; advertise)
-- the glory of God (God's majesty, God's power, God's preeminance, His holiness).

The next questions about this... how, why?

Facing some big issues at work lately....
...and thinking about what people do when facing big challenges.
Sometimes life is so simple and easy... that it get's boring.
Other times, there are so many challenges and troubles, that one
is overwelmed by the size, scope, and variety of problems all happening at once.
Real men, that have lived through WW-II or the VietNam War -- and faced the enemy
in battle -- know what it is to be overwhelmed when facing the enemy -- or being surrounded
by the enemy.

No wars for me to fight right now.... life is going along smooth....
Then my mother died and was laid to rest last month.
My wife's mother has cancer and goes for chemo-therapy every few weeks...
Next, an EFHS/DRD friend fell 18-20 feet, injured his head, and went into a coma.... now for 2 weeks.
Made me think again about the shortness of life...

But here is an interesting verse -- a verse of hope -- in Psalm 18:29.
Picture yourself running away from an enemy army troop - raging through
a dark forest -- running, tripping, falling, running again...
Now, picture yourself running into the troop --
running right into the heat of the battle (not running away)
-- running right through the enemy lines -- every step just inches from death -- and yet spared for another day of life.

Looking at Psalm 18 from another angle, Richard H Johnston makes the case for a more literal,
(rather than purely poetical) interpretation of Psalm 18:1-19,
in his short article: David is delivered by a geological catastrophe.

Mr. Johnston (who holds a PhD in math) also has some interesting articles on
the ages of the patriarchs explaining why they lived so long (some over 900 years),
and why we live so short.. The Biblical Ages of the Patriarchs

The old Matthew Henry commentary divides up Psalm 18 into the following sections:
A. vs. 1-19
B. vs. 20-28
C. vs. 29-50

Here's a notable quotable: "The greater the difficulties, the more glorious the deliverance".

I've struggled a bunch with Psalm 18, and needed to step back and look at the overall structure.
The other thing I observed this morning, is the difficulty in understanding Psalm 18 - without an understanding of how Psalm 18 points to Jesus the Messiah.

My question of Psalm 18:4-12 is -- when did this take place, or what is the setting and context of this? Spurgeon seems to indicate that vs. 4-19 are shadows (in "most poetical language") of the Messiah's battle and ultimate triumph over death.

From Spurgeon's "Treasury of David" -- According to the four metaphors which he employs, he was bound like a malefactor for execution; overwhelmed like a shipwrecked mariner; surrounded and standing at bay like a hunted stag; and captured in a net like a trembling bird. What more of terror and distress could meet upon one poor defenseless head?

Some have said to study Psalm 18 twice as much since it is recorded in scripture 2 times.
(Psalm 18 and 2-Sam.22).