Psalms 18:42 (GNV)

Passage

Then I did beate them small as the dust before the winde: I did treade them flat as the clay in the streetes.

Nearby Context

Psalms 18:40 And thou hast giuen me the neckes of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.

Psalms 18:41 They cryed but there was none to saue them, euen vnto the Lord, but hee answered them not.

Psalms 18:42 Then I did beate them small as the dust before the winde: I did treade them flat as the clay in the streetes.

Psalms 18:43 Thou hast deliuered me from the contentions of the people: thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people, whom I haue not knowen, shall serue me.

Psalms 18:44 As soone as they heare, they shall obey me: the strangers shall be in subiection to me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "beate", "small", "dust", "before", "winde", "treade", "flat", and "clay". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beate" and "small", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 41's "They cryed but there was none to..." into verse 43's "Thou hast deliuered me from the contentions...", so "beate" and "small" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "beate" and "small" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.