Psalm 18:30

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(30) Tried.—“Sterling gold,” not dross. (Comp. Psalm 12:6; and for “shield,” Psalm 5:12.) Proverbs 30:5 seems to be taken from this verse.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

18:29-50 When we praise for one mercy, we must observe the many more, with which we have been compassed all our days. Many things had contributed to David's advancement, and he owns the hand of God in them all, to teach us to do likewise. In verse

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

As for God - The declaration in this verse is suggested by the facts narrated in the previous verses. The contemplation of those facts leads the thoughts of the author of the psalm up to the Great Source of all these blessings, and to these general reflections on his character. "As for God," that is, in respect to that Great Being, who has delivered me, his ways are all perfect; his word is tried; he is a shield to all those who trust in him.

His way is perfect - That is, his doings are perfect; his methods of administration are perfect; his government is perfect. There is nothing wanting, nothing defective, nothing redundant, in what he does. On the word perfect, see the note at Job 1:1.

The word of the Lord is tried - Margin, refined. The idea is, that his word had been tested as silver or any other metal is in the fire. The psalmist had confided in him, and had found him faithful to all his promises. Compare the note at Psalm 12:6. In a larger sense, using the phrase the "word of the Lord" as denoting the revelation which God has made to mankind in the volume of revealed truth, it has been abundantly tested or tried, and it still stands. It has been tested by the friends of God, and has been found to be all that it promised to be for support and consolation in trial; it has been tested by the changes which have occurred in the progress of human affairs, and has been found fitted to meet all those changes; it has been tested by the advances which have been made in science, in literature, in civilization, and in the arts, and it has shown itself to be fitted to every stage of advance in society; it has been tested by the efforts which men have made to destroy it, and has survived all those efforts.

It is settled that it will survive all the revolutions of kingdoms and all the changes of dynasties; that it will be able to meet all the attacks which shall be made upon it by its enemies; and that it will be an unfailing source of light and comfort to all future ages. If persecution could crush it, it would have been crushed long ago; if ridicule could drive it from the world, it would have been driven away long ago; if argument, as urged by powerful intellect, and by learning, combined with intense hatred, could destroy it, it would have been destroyed long ago; and if it is not fitted to impart consolation to the afflicted, to wipe away the tears of mourners, and to uphold the soul in death, that would have been demonstrated long ago. In all these methods it has been "tried," and as the result of all, it has been proved as the only certain fact, in regard to a book as connected with the future - that the Bible will go down accredited as a revelation from God to the end of the world.

He is a buckler - Or, a shield, for so the original word means. See the note at Psalm 3:3.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

30-32. God's perfection is the source of his own, which has resulted from his trust on the one hand, and God's promised help on the other.

tried—"as metals are tried by fire and proved genuine" (Ps 12:6). Shield (Ps 3:3). Girding was essential to free motion on account of the looseness of Oriental dresses; hence it is an expressive figure for describing the gift of strength.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

His way is perfect; his counsel and providence, though it may sometimes be dark and hard to be understood, yet is always wise and just, and every way perfect or unbeareable.

The word of the Lord is tried; the truth of God’s promises is certain, and approved by innuerable experiences, and mine among the rest.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

As for God, his way is perfect,.... Or "without spot" (m), as the Septuagint render the word; without any just charge of inequality, or unrighteousness; such is God's way of providence, though sometimes his methods of providence are cavilled at by wicked men, and murmured at by his own people: they are at a loss, at times, to reconcile promises and providences together, and to account for the justice and equity of them; these ways of his are unsearchable, and not to be traced out by them; but when his judgments will be made manifest, the wisdom, goodness, and righteousness of them will be clearly discerned, and they will be admired; for they are all of a piece, and perfectly consistent with the attributes of God: and such also is his way of grace, and method of salvation; it is agreeable to all his perfections, and according to his purposes, counsel, and covenant; this being resolved on in his breast, contrived by his wisdom, and concluded on in the covenant, has been effected and finished by his son; and his inward way of working upon the heart, though at present imperfect, will be completed; he is a rock, and his work is perfect, and all his ways are judgment: whatever way or method he contrives and enters upon, whether in providence or grace, he pursues and brings to an issue; for he is an omnipotent, omniscient, and unchangeable Being, and neither frustrates, nor is he frustrated; nor is there any insincerity, unrighteousness, and unfaithfulness in him; nor can he act contrary to himself, and the perfections of his nature: the way also which he prescribes to others is perfect and plain, whether the path of doctrine or of duty; the path of truth is plain to the enlightened understanding, and the way of holiness is such, in which men, though fools, shall not err; see Proverbs 8:8;

the word of the Lord is tried; as silver in a furnace, and is clear of all dross, of error, and falsehood; is free from human mixtures, and without any impurity and unholiness; nor is God's word of promise chargeable with unfaithfulness; all his promises being yea and amen in Christ, and have been tried and proved by the saints in all ages; and have been found true, faithful, constant, and invariable;

he is a buckler to all those that trust in him; not in man, nor in themselves; in their own righteousness, or in any creature or creature enjoyment or performance; but in the providence and power of God, in his grace and mercy, in his word, and especially in his Son; in his person, blood, and righteousness; to such he is a buckler or shield: his power is all around them, his favour encompasses them, and his truth, or faithfulness in his word, is their shield and buckler: and so is his Son, who is both a sun and shield to them; and such are his precious blood, his spotless righteousness, and stoning sacrifice; which, being held up by faith, repel the fiery darts of Satan.

(m) Sept. "impolluta", V. L. so Syriac. Aethiop.

Geneva Study Bible

As for God, his way is perfect: the {y} word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

(y) No matter how great or many the dangers may be, yet God's promise must take effect.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

30. As for God (El), his way is perfect, flawless and without blemish, like His work (Deuteronomy 32:4), and His law (Psalm 19:7): the word, or promise, of the Lord is tried, refined like pure gold, without dross of uncertainty or insincerity (Psalm 12:6; Psalm 119:140): he is a shield to all them that take refuge in him (Psalm 18:2). The last two lines are quoted in Proverbs 30:5.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 30. - As for God, his way is perfect (comp. Deuteronomy 32:4, "His work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment"). What God does, he does effectually; he does not have recourse to half-measures. The word of the Lord is tried; i.e. the promises of God are sure, they have been tested, and tried as by fire, and will never fail. He is a Buckler to all those that trust in him (comp. ver. 2). Psalm 18:30

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

(Heb.: 18:29-31) The confirmation of what has been asserted is continued by David's application of it to himself. Hitzig translates the futures in Psalm 18:29. as imperfects; but the sequence of the tenses, which would bring this rendering with it, is in this instance interrupted, as it has been even in Psalm 18:28, by כּי. The lamp, נר (contracted from nawer), is an image of life, which as it were burns on and on, including the idea of prosperity and high rank; in the form ניר (from niwr, nijr) it is the usual figurative word for the continuance of the house of David, 1 Kings 11:36, and frequently. David's life and dominion, as the covenant king, is the lamp which God's favour has lighted for the well-being of Israel, and His power will not allow this lamp (2 Samuel 21:17) to be quenched. The darkness which breaks in upon David and his house is always lighted up again by Jahve. For His strength is mighty in the weak; in, with, and by Him he can do all things. The fut. ארץ may be all the more surely derived from רצץ ( equals ארץ), inasmuch as this verb has the changeable u in the future also in Isaiah 42:4; Ecclesiastes 12:6. The text of 2 Samuel 22, however, certainly seems to put "rushing upon" in the stead of "breaking down." With Psalm 18:31 the first half of the hymn closes epiphonematically. האל is a nom. absol., like hatsuwr, Deuteronomy 32:4. This old Mosaic utterance is re-echoed here, as in 2 Samuel 7:22, in the mouth of David. The article of האל points to God as being manifest in past history. His way is faultless and blameless. His word is צרוּפה, not slaggy ore, but purified solid gold, Psalm 12:7. Whoever retreats into Him, the God of the promise, is shielded from every danger. Proverbs 30:5 is borrowed from this passage.