Psalm 18 (17):20Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Due to my perseverance through the trials of the flesh, He led Me into the spiritual expanse of faith. He rescued Me out of His love for Me. Even before I sought Him, He freed Me from My formidable foes, those who envied Me when I once longed for Him and from those who detested Me because of My yearning for Him.

He led me out to the expanse of the earth. The Prophet declares, “God has strengthened me, who was humbled and cast aside, transforming constriction into spaciousness, granting me life in place of anticipated demise.” He expresses a similar sentiment in another psalm: “I have been turned away from the mouth of the flock, and the Lord has favored me” (Psalm 117:13). “He will rescue me, as He has desired me.” Therefore, I trust that in times to come, He will provide me with the same aid, enabling me to triumph over those who oppose me, regardless of their great power.

He has lifted me from the confines of grief and brought me into the expansiveness of joy, as another psalm articulates, ‘He hath spread me out in sorrows’ (Psalm 4:2). This passage can also be understood in this way: the prophet describes how adversaries encircled him, overwhelming him with their threats; yet look, I have been freed from this distress, now experiencing a newfound freedom, no longer burdened by their presence. God will rescue me, as He has sought after me, for He has honored me with His care in this moment and will deliver me from all trials to come; for He hath ‘desired’ me, signifying that He has chosen me.

Unconditional salvation does not imply that He changed my heart by highlighting my shame or that He dispatched a prophet to me; rather, it signifies His desire to redeem me. I am fully assured that during His time of righteous judgment, my transgressions will be forgotten, and neither my sinful inclinations will be recalled on the day of my affliction.

He recounts the earlier account of his rescue from adversaries to illustrate how profoundly the goodness of the Lord is etched in his memory. He states that during his time of affliction, his foes conspired together to bring about his downfall, launching their assault before he could raise a warning against them, acting with recklessness. Yet the Lord watched over him, ensuring that their schemes and deceptions were powerless to harm him. The Lord has drawn him into a broad place, meaning He has delivered him from the accusations of his enemies that surrounded him on all sides, guiding him into a vast expanse where he can walk and breathe freely without fear of those who seek to condemn him. He rescued him according to His will, liberating him from all imminent dangers and anxieties, and He did this because of His immense love for him, rooted in His boundless mercy.

Christ the Lord rescued Adam and others from the confines of Hell, leading them into the expanse of Paradise, transforming death into eternal life, and changing corruption into incorruption. Through His willing suffering and death, He delivered them from the bondage of demons and ushered them into the freedom of everlasting grace.