Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation
Meaning either temporal salvation, which was a shield to him when
he had no outward one, as when he fought with Goliath; and was
what preserved him in all his battles at other times: or
spiritual salvation, which is of the Lord, of his contriving,
effecting:, and applying, and in which his glory is concerned;
interest in which is a free gift of his, as are the knowledge,
application, and possession of it; and this is as a shield, which
saves from sin, from all sin, and the damning power of it; keeps
off the curses of the law, secures from wrath to come, and repels
Satan's temptations; the words may be applied to Christ, who,
though he was not saved from dying, yet was preserved in the day
of salvation, and was not suffered to see corruption in the
grave, and was quickly delivered from the power and dominion of
it;
and thy right hand hath holden me up;
Christ may be said to be the right hand of God, being as dear to
him as his right hand; and being exalted at it; and because by
him he communicates all good things to his people, and with him
upholds and sustains them; or else it designs the mighty power of
God, which is often signified by it, ( Psalms 20:6 ) (
44:3 ) (
Psalms
118:15 Psalms
118:16 ) ; and may be understood of the sustentation of
David, both in a providential way, with respect to his being, the
preservation of it, the supplies of life, and support in times of
trouble and distress; and in a spiritual sense, maintaining the
principle of grace in him, furnishing him with fresh supplies of
grace, and bearing him up under and through every temptation and
exercise; so upholding him that he stood firm in the true grace
of God, in the exercise of it implanted, and in the doctrine of
grace, so as to go forward in the ways of God, and follow hard
after him, and so as not to fall and utterly perish; and which is
true of all the saints; see ( Psalms 63:8 ) (
37:24
) . The words may be interpreted of Christ, who, as man and
Mediator, as God's righteous servant, was upheld by him, so that
he failed not, nor was he discouraged; the hand of the Lord was
established with him, and his arm also strengthened him, (
Isaiah 42:1
Isaiah 42:4 )
( Psalms
89:21 ) ; this clause is not in ( 2 Samuel
22:36 ) ;
and thy gentleness hath made me great;
David was very mean and low by his birth and occupation, and
while persecuted by Saul; but God of his grace and goodness, of
his sovereign good will and pleasure, raised him to an high
estate, set him on the throne of Israel, and gave him honour
among and above the kings of the earth; so Kimchi interprets the
word for "gentleness" by "goodness" or "merciful" kindness; R.
Jonah by "providence"; and R. Isaac explains it "thy help [and]
good will"; and all shows that his greatness was not owing to his
merits, but to the providential goodness of God; and his special
grace and mercy in Christ Jesus made him still greater, even a
child of God, an heir of God, a joint heir with Christ, a King
and a Priest unto God; gave him a right unto and a meetness for a
crown of glory, an everlasting kingdom, an eternal inheritance,
as it does all the saints. The words may be rendered, "thy
humility hath made me great" F16; which may be understood
either of God's humbling himself to look upon him in his low
estate, and to raise him to such honour and dignity as he did,
both in a temporal and spiritual sense; see ( Psalms
113:6-8 ) ; or of the humility which he had in himself from
God, as Aben Ezra interprets it; of which grace God is the
author; it is a fruit of the Spirit; which he takes great notice
of, gives more grace to them that have it, and exalts them, as he
did David, who was mean and low in his own eyes. The Septuagint,
and those versions which follow that, render it "thy discipline"
or "correction": and so may design the gentleness and lenity of
God in chastising his people, which is always in measure and in
judgment, and for their good; whereby he increases grace in them,
and trains them up for, and brings them to his kingdom and glory.
The Chaldee paraphrase is, "by thy word thou hast increased me";
it may not be improperly interpreted of Christ, who was very low
in his estate of humiliation on earth, but is now highly exalted,
and crowned with glory and honour; who first endured great
sufferings, and then entered into his glory.