Psalm 89:18

For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(18) 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.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

89:15-18 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 nothing in themselves, yet having all in Christ Jesus, they may rejoice in his name. May the Lord enable us to do so. The joy of the Lord is the strength of his people; whereas unbelief dispirits ourselves and discourages others. Though it steals upon us under a semblance of humility, yet it is the very essence of pride. Christ is the Holy One of Israel; and in him was that peculiar people more blessed than in any other blessing.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For the Lord is our defense - Margin, "Our shield is of the Lord." The original word rendered "defense," is shield. Compare Psalm 5:12, note; Psalm 33:20, note; Psalm 59:11, note. The meaning is, that protection was to be found in God alone. The true construction of this verse is, "For to Yahweh (belongs) our shield, and to the Holy One of Israel our king." That is, All that they had, and all that they relied on as a defense, belonged to God, or was of God; in other words, their very protectors were themselves protected by Yahweh. They had no other defense; nothing else on which they could depend.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

18. (Margin). Thus is introduced the promise to "our shield," "our king," David.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

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 restitution to our former felicity. Or, as the words may well be, and are by divers, rendered, Of or from the Lord is or was our shield, (to wit, our king, as it is explained in the next branch of the verse, compared with Psalm 47:9) and of or from the Holy One of Israel, i.e. the Lord, who is oft so called, is or was our king. He gave us our king and royal family at first, and therefore he can easily restore it when he sees it fit.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire 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 fortress, strong hold, or garrison, unto salvation; or our shield (f); see Psalm 84:9 as are his favour, righteousness, and salvation, Psalm 5:12 or "to the Lord belongs our defence or shield" (g) our protection and salvation is from him:

and the Holy One of Israel is our King; he who was to be, and is of Israel according to the flesh, and is holy in his nature, life, and office; he is King of saints, that rules over them, protects and defends them, and therefore they must be happy: or "to" or "with the Holy One of Israel is our king" (h); Christ is King of Zion by designation, appointment, and constitution, of God the Holy One of Israel, the holy God that has chosen Israel for his peculiar people; though it rather seems that Christ is the Holy One by what follows.

(f) "clypeus noster", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Tigurine version; "scutum nostrum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (g) "Domino", Pagninus, Montanus. (h) "et sancto Israelis", Pagninus, Montanus.

Geneva Study Bible

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.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

18. For to Jehovah belongeth our shield;

And our King to the Holy One of Israel.

Shield, as in Psalm 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 anointed testifies; he derives his authority from Him, and therefore can claim His protection. For Holy One of Israel see note on Psalm 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.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 18. - For the Lord is our Defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our King; literally, for to Jehovah belongs our shield, and to the Holy One of Israel belongs our king. The meaning seems to be that he who is Israel's king and shield - i.e., the Davidical monarch at the time - being under the constant protection of the Almighty, all must necessarily go well with the people at last. Psalm 89:18

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The poet has now described what kind of God He is upon whose promise the royal house in Israel depends. Blessed, then, is the people that walks in the light of His countenance. הלּך of a self-assured, stately walk. The words ידעי תּרוּעה are the statement of the ground of the blessing interwoven into the blessing itself: such a people has abundant cause and matter for exultation (cf. Psalm 84:5). תּרוּעה is the festive sound of joy of the mouth (Numbers 23:21), and of trumpets or sackbuts (Psalm 27:6). This confirmation of the blessing is expanded in Psalm 89:17-19. Jahve's שׁם, i.e., revelation or manifestation, becomes to them a ground and object of unceasing joy; by His צדקה, i.e., the rigour with which He binds Himself to the relationship He has entered upon with His people and maintains it, they are exalted above abjectness and insecurity. He is תּפארת עזּמו, the ornament of their strength, i.e., their strength which really becomes an ornament to them. In Psalm 89:18 the poet declares Israel to be this happy people. Pinsker's conjecture, קרנם (following the Targum), destroys the transition to Psalm 89:19, which is formed by Psalm 89:18. The plural reading of Kimchi and of older editions (e.g., Bomberg's), קרנינוּ, is incompatible with the figure; but it is immaterial whether we read תּרים with the Chethb (Targum, Jerome), or with the Ker (lxx, Syriac) תּרוּם.

(Note: Zur Geschichte des Karaismus, pp. קפא and קפב, according to which, reversely, in Joshua 5:1 עברוּ is to be read instead of עברם, and Isaiah 33:2 זרענוּ instead of זרעם, Psalm 12:8 תשמרנּוּ instead of תשמרם, Micah 7:19 חטאתנוּ instead of חטאתם, Job 32:8 תביננּוּ instead of תבינם, Proverbs 25:27 כבודנוּ instead of כבודם (the limiting of our honour brings honour, - an unlikely interpretation of the חקר).)

מגנּנוּ and מלכּנוּ in Psalm 89:19 are parallel designations of the human king of Israel; מגן as in Psalm 47:10, but not in Psalm 84:10. For we are not compelled, with a total disregard of the limits to the possibilities of style (Ew. 310, a), to render Psalm 89:19: and the Holy One of Israel, (as to Him, He) is our King (Hitzig), since we do not bring down the Psalm beyond the time of the kings. Israel's shield, Israel's king, the poet says in the holy defiant confidence of faith, is Jahve's, belongs to the Holy One of Israel, i.e., he stands as His own possession under the protection of Jahve, the Holy One, who has taken Israel to Himself for a possession; it is therefore impossible that the Davidic throne should become a prey to any worldly power.