The psalm begins with praise to God for his help in battle (verses 1–2), followed by a meditation on the frailty and insignificance of the human creature (verses 3–4. The psalmist prays for God’s help in defeating the enemy (verses 5–8), after which he promises to thank him (verses 9–11). In the final verses (verses 12–15) the psalmist prays for the prosperity of the nation.
The psalm has a very close relationship with existent psalmody, reworking a number of verses from Ps. 18 and elsewhere. Thus vv. 1–2 take up 18:2, 34, 46–47 [3, 35, 47–48]; v. 3 takes up 18:4 [5]; vv. 5–11 take up 18:9, 14, 16, 17, 44–45, 50 [10, 15, 17, 18, 45–46, 51], and 33:2–3. There are also phrases that parallel Pss. 39, 102 and 104. Verses 12–15 have no similar parallels elsewhere.[12]