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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Psalms 89:18

For to Jehovah belongeth our shield;

And our King to the Holy One of Israel.

Shield, as in Psalms 47:9, is a metaphor for the king as the protector of his people. The king of Israel belongs to Jehovah, because he is appointed by Him to be His representative, as his title Jehovah's anointedtestifies; he derives his authority from Him, and therefore can claim His protection. For Holy One of Israelsee note on Psalms 71:22.

The A.V. is grammatically unjustifiable; and the R.V. marg. rendering of the second line, Even to the Holy One of Israel our King, though grammatically possible, and supported by some Ancient Versions, is less suitable to the context.

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See also Psalms 89:18 in other biblical comments:

  • Albert Barnes' Bible Commentary

    FOR THE LORD IS OUR DEFENSE - Margin, “Our shield is of the Lord.” The original word rendered “defense,” is shield. Compare Psalms 5:12, note; Psalms 33:20, note; Psalms 59:11, note. The meaning is, t...

  • Annotated Bible by A.C. Gaebelein

    Psalms 89 God's Faithfulness: His Oath-bound Covenant with David _ 1. Jehovah's faithfulness (Psalms 89:1)_ 2. His covenant with David (Psalms 89:19) 3. The ruin and desolation ...

  • Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

    LXXXIX. THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. The Ps. may be divided thus: Psalms 89:1. The promise made to David (2 Samuel 7). Yahweh is all-powerful, so that He can, faithful so that He will, fulfil His word. Ps...

  • Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

    DEFENCE. shield. Hebrew. _ganan,_ to cover, or protect....

  • Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

    FOR THE LORD IS OUR DEFENCE, &C.— Mudge connects this with the following verse thus: _Yes, to the Lord belongs our shield, and to the Holy One of Israel our king:_ Psalms 89:19. _From the time that th...

  • College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

    PSALMS 89 DESCRIPTIVE TITLE The Covenant with David Contrasted with the Present Dishonour of David's Heir. ANALYSIS Stanza I., Psalms 89:1-2, The Keynotes of the psalmJehovah's Kindness and Faithfu...

  • Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

    And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. -Inasmuch as the value of a promise depends on the power and the faithfulness of the promi...

  • Darby's translation notes (1890)

    89:18 Holy (m-8) Or 'For of (or from) Jehovah ... and of (or from) the Holy One,' and see Note f, ver. 5....

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    RV 'For our shield belongeth unto the Lord; and our king to the Holy One of Israel.' The 'shield' is the same as the 'king,' who is under God's protecting care....

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    We have here another national and historical Ps., written when the Jewish kingdom and its king had fallen very low before their enemies, contrasting the promises made to David with their seeming lack...

  • EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

    Psalms 73:89 _GORDON CHURCHYARD_ MAKE YOUR *KINGDOM COME SOON! PSALMS 89 Make your *kingdom come soon. Make people obey your rules in the earth as they do in *heaven ...

  • Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

    FOR THE LORD. — Or, rather — “For of Jehovah is our shield, And of Israel’s Holy One our king,” “shield” and “king” being in synonymous parallelism. Jehovah is the source of the theocratic power....

  • ETCBC data on Hebrew bible

    _[Psalms 89:19]_ כִּ֣י לַֽ֭ יהוָה מָֽגִנֵּ֑נוּ וְ...

  • Expositor's Bible Commentary (Nicoll)

    Psalms 89:1 THE foundation of this psalm is the promise in 2 Samuel 7:1 which guaranteed the perpetuity of the Davidic kingdom. Many of the characteristic phrases of the prophecy recur here- _ e.g.,_...

  • Frederick Brotherton Meyer's Commentary

    NO GOD LIKE OUR GOD Psalms 89:1 To understand this psalm we must turn to 2 Samuel 7:1, where God guaranteed that David's kingdom should be continued to his descendants. Nathan's words are quoted in P...

  • G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

    Taken as a whole, this song is one of the finest in the collection as a revelation of how the man of faith is compelled to view circumstances of calamity. In a poem of great beauty he first sets forth...

  • Geneva Study Bible Commentary

    For the LORD [is] our (p) defence; and the Holy One of Israel [is] our king. (p) In that our King has power to defend us, it is the gift of God....

  • Hawker's Poor man's commentary

    These verses come in, as assigning the great cause of all the blessedness described in the foregoing verses. It is all centered in the person, and founded on the complete work, of the glorious Head of...

  • John Calvin's Bible Commentary

    18._For to Jehovah is our buckler. _As the chief protection of the people was in the person of their king, it is here expressly shown, that the maintenance of the welfare of the faithful by his instru...

  • John Darby's Synopsis

    Psalms 89. We have seen that Psalms 88 puts Israel in the presence of Jehovah (when guilty of having been unfaithful to Him), under the judgment of Jehovah, with the sense of wrath, yet in faith in Je...

  • John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

    FOR THE LORD IS OUR DEFENCE,.... From all their enemies, being all around them, as a wall of fire to protect them, and as the mountains were round about Jerusalem, and being kept by his power as in a...

  • John Trapp Complete Commentary

    For the LORD [is] our defence; and the Holy One of Israel [is] our king. Ver. 18. _For the Lord is our defence_] Heb. our shield; the body cannot be wounded, but through the shield. _ And the Holy O...

  • Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    _In thy name shall they rejoice all the day_ That is, in the knowledge and remembrance of thy name, or of thy infinite power and goodness, revealed and imparted to them; _and in thy righteousness_ Whe...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    OF THE MESSIAH AND HIS KINGDOM. Maschil, a didactic poem, of Ethan, the Ezrahite, a descendant of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, 1 Chronicles 2:6; 1 Kings 4:31. He belonged to a great family, or guild,...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    For the Lord is our Defense, and the Holy One of Israel is our King. The confidence of the believers in the ultimate victory of their cause is so great because the Lord is on their side, both as their...

  • Marginal Notes in the King James Version (1611)

    THE LORD IS OUR DEFENSE, AND THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL IS OUR KING: Or, our shield is of the LORD, and our king is of the holy One of Israel...

  • Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible

    15-18 Happy are those who so know the joyful sound of the gospel as to obey it; who experience its power upon their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives. Though believers are nothin...

  • Matthew Poole's Concise Commentary On The Bible

    This verse gives a reason of the psalmist's confidence that their horn would be exalted. THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL IS OUR KING; having therefore so potent a Friend, we have no reason to despair of our re...

  • Patchworkid's Personal Study Bible Notes

    Psalms 89:18 shield H4043 LORD H3068 king H4428 One H6918 Israel H3478 the Lord is - Psalms 47:9,...

  • Spurgeon's Bible Commentary

    Psalms 89:1. _I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness...

  • Spurgeon's Bible Commentary

    Psalms 89:1. _I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness...

  • Spurgeon's Bible Commentary

    Psalms 89:1. Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. That is to say, an instructive Psalm, written by or for one Ethan, one of the great singers of David's day. He sings of the covenant, the covenant with Davi...

  • Summarized Bible Commentary

    CONTENTS: Joy over and praise of God's greatness. Complaint of the seeming failure of the covenant and prayer for redress. CHARACTERS: God, David, Psalmist. CONCLUSION: Though we may find it hard to...

  • Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    The time of this ode is gathered from the text; it was written after Rahab, the proud Egyptian kingdom, Psalms 87:4, was broken to pieces, Psalms 89:10; and after the hedge, the wall of Jerusalem, was...

  • The Biblical Illustrator

    _I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever._ A MAJESTIC SONG This psalm is one of the very choicest songs in the night. Midst a stream of troubled thoughts there stands a fair island of rescue...

  • The Biblical Illustrator

    _Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound._ THE BLESSEDNESS OF KNOWING THE GOSPEL I. The Gospel is a happy message. “The joyful sound.” It is good news. 1. Liberty to the captive. 2. Pardo...

  • The ESV Global Study Bible's Study Notes

    PSALM PSALM—NOTE ON PSALMS 89:1. This is a community lament, but with a distinctive flavor. The people celebrate the Davidic kingship as God’s special gift to his people, but they also mourn the distr...

  • The ESV Global Study Bible's Study Notes

    PSALM—NOTE ON PSALMS 89:15 God has given his people a special place in his plan for the world. They are EXALTED, and God pledges his STRENGTH on their behalf....

  • The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary

    INTRODUCTION _Superscription_.—“_Maschil_,” an instruction, a didactic poem. _“Of Ethan the Ezrahite_,” “one of the four sons of Mahol, whose wisdom was excelled by Solomon (1 Kings 4:31). There is li...

  • The Pulpit Commentaries

    EXPOSITION At first sight, a psalm of praise; but, in reality, one of expostulation and complaint. The praises of God are sung in the opening section (Psalms 89:1); they culminated in the Davidical co...

  • Through The Bible C2000 Serie by Chuck Smith

    I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou est...

  • Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

    Deuteronomy 33:27; Genesis 15:1; Isaiah 1:4; Isaiah 12:6; Isaiah 29:19

  • Wells of Living Water Commentary

    THE PSALM OF WORSHIPFUL PRAISE Psalms 89:1 INTRODUCTORY WORDS By way of introduction we shall take the first two verses of our study and see what God will give us. Let us quote to you these verses i...

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