In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, it is psalm 17 in a slightly different numbering system, known as "Diligam te Domine fortitudo mea".

He said: The Jerusalem Bible describes this psalm as "a triumphal ode combining a thanksgiving prayer ... with a royal victory song, ending on a messianic note".

[5] According to Charles and Emilie Briggs in the International Critical Commentary series, this psalm borrowed material from 2 Samuel 22, which may have been written by David himself, with later additions by multiple editors adapting it for use in public worship.

[13] The first line of Psalm 18 was paraphrased in the German hymn "Ich will dich lieben, meine Stärke" by Angelus Silesius in 1657.

Heinrich Schütz set a metred paraphrase of Psalm 18 in German, "Ich lieb dich, Herr, von Herzen sehr", SWV 114, as part of the Becker Psalter.