with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
David came to the throne through almost insurmountable trials, and foreign enemies harassed him even into old age. Rather than boast of his own victories, he exalts God as the true author of them, showing that his reign prefigures Christ's kingdom, one that will triumph over all resistance by the Father's incomprehensible power.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 18:1-50
The sinner's frowardness is rebellion, and God meets it with judicial opposition, acting at cross-purposes with the offender so he sees his wicked whims will not govern all things. When men harden themselves in obstinacy, God hardens Himself still more to break them in pieces; if they are stone, He shows them He is iron.
AI summary
When God visibly took David's part, He both cleared his innocence before men and confirmed the testimony of his own conscience. A wicked departure from God is one done willfully and without recovery; but those who stumble yet repent and press forward have not truly forsaken Him.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 18:20-28