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2 Samuel 22

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¹And David spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.

²And he said, Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;^°

³God is my rock, in him will I trust — My shield, and the horn of my salvation, My high tower, and my refuge, My saviour: thou wilt save me from violence.

⁴I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised; So shall I be saved from mine enemies.

⁵For the waves of death encompassed me, Torrents of Belial made me afraid.

⁶The bands of Sheol surrounded me; The cords of death encountered me;

⁷In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And I cried to my^° God; And he heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry [came] into his ears.

⁸Then the earth shook, and quaked; The foundations of the heavens trembled And shook because he was wroth.

⁹There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals burned forth from it.

¹⁰And he bowed the heavens, and came down; And darkness was under his feet.

¹¹And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; And he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

¹²And he made darkness round about him a tent, Gatherings of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

¹³From the brightness before him Burned forth coals of fire.

¹⁴Jehovah thundered from the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice.

¹⁵And he sent arrows, and scattered [mine enemies]; Lightning, and discomfited them.

¹⁶And the beds of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At the rebuke of Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷He reached forth from above, he took me, He drew me out of great waters;

¹⁸He delivered me from my strong enemy, From them that hated me; For they were mightier than I.

¹⁹They encountered me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.

²⁰And he brought me forth into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

²¹Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

²²For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my^° God.

²³For all his ordinances were before me, And his statutes, I did not depart from them,

²⁴And I was upright before him, And kept myself from mine iniquity.

²⁵And Jehovah hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his sight.

²⁶With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; With the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright;

²⁷With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; And with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary.

²⁸And the afflicted people thou dost save; And thine eyes are upon the haughty, [whom] thou bringest down.

²⁹For thou art my lamp, Jehovah; And Jehovah enlighteneth my darkness.

³⁰For by thee I have run through a troop; By my^° God have I leaped over a wall.

³¹As for^* God, his way is perfect; The word of Jehovah is tried: He is a shield to all that trust in him.

³²For who is^* God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our^° God?^*

³³God is my strong fortress, And he maketh my way perfectly smooth.

³⁴He maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], And setteth me upon my high places.

³⁵He teacheth my hands to war, And mine arms bend a bow of brass.

³⁶And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, And thy condescending gentleness hath made me great.

³⁷Thou enlargedst my steps under me; And mine ankles did not slip.

³⁸I pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them, And I turned not again till they were consumed.

³⁹And I have consumed them and have crushed them, and they rose not again; Yea, they fell under my feet.

⁴⁰And thou girdedst me with strength to battle: Thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me.

⁴¹And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, And those that hated me I destroyed.

⁴²They looked, and there was none to save — Unto Jehovah, and he answered them not.

⁴³And I did beat them small as the dust of the earth, I trod them as the mire of the streets; I stamped upon them.

⁴⁴And thou hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, Thou hast kept me to be head of the nations: A people I knew not doth serve me:

⁴⁵Strangers come cringing unto me: At the hearing of the ear, they obey me.

⁴⁶Strangers have faded away, And they come trembling forth from their close places.

⁴⁷Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the^° God, the rock of my salvation,

⁴⁸The^* God who hath avenged me, And hath brought the peoples under me.

⁴⁹He brought me forth from mine enemies: Yea, thou hast lifted me up above them that rose up against me; From the man of violence hast thou delivered me.

⁵⁰Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, And will sing psalms to thy name.

⁵¹[It is he] who giveth great deliverances to his king, And sheweth loving-kindness to his anointed, To David, and to his seed for evermore.

Footnotes:

³ ^°22.3 Elohim|strong="H0430"

⁷ ^°22.7 Elohim|strong="H0430"

²² ^°22.22 Elohim|strong="H0430"

³⁰ ^°22.30 Elohim|strong="H0430"

³¹ ^*22.31 El|strong="H0410"

³² ^*22.32 El|strong="H0410"

³² ^°22.32 Elohim|strong="H0430"

³³ ^*22.33 El|strong="H0410"

⁴⁷ ^°22.47 Elohim|strong="H0430"

⁴⁸ ^*22.48 El|strong="H0410"

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Keil-Delitzsch
Matthew Henry
Tyndale

Introduction

David's psalm of thanksgiving for God's powerful deliverance and manifold blessings, including prophetic declarations relative to the humiliation and exaltation of the Messiah, vv. 1-51.

Verse 1

David spake unto the Lord the words of this song - This is the same in substance, and almost in words, with Psalm 18:1-50, and therefore the exposition of it must be reserved till it occurs in its course in that book, with the exception of a very few observations, and Dr. Kennicott's general view of the subject.

Verse 5

When the waves of death compassed me - Though in a primary sense many of these things belong to David, yet generally and fully they belong to the Messiah alone.

Verse 11

He rode upon a cherub, and did fly - he was seen upon the things of the wind - In the original of this sublime passage, sense and sound are astonishingly well connected. I shall insert the Hebrew, represent it in English letters for the sake of the unlearned reader, and have only to observe, he must read from the right to the left. רוח כנפי על וירא ויעף כרוב על וירכב ruach canphey al vaiyera vaiyaoph kerub al vayirkab wind the of wings the upon seen was he and; fly did and cherub upon rode he The clap of the wing, the agitation and rush through the air are expressed here in a very extraordinary manner. Other beauties of this kind will be noted in the exposition of the Psalm alluded to above. I now subjoin Dr. Kennicott's remarks on this chapter: - "The very sublime poetry contained in this chapter is universally admired, and yet it cannot be perfectly understood, till it is known Who is the speaker, who the person thus triumphant over mighty enemies, whose Sufferings occasioned such a dreadful convulsion of nature, and, who, upon his deliverance, inflicted such vengeance on his own people, and also became thus a king over the heathen. Should we be told that this person was David, it will be very difficult to show how this description can possibly agree with that character: but if it did in fact agree, yet would it contradict St. Paul, who quotes part of it as predicting the conversion of the Gentiles under Christ the Messiah. Rom 15:9; Heb 2:13; and see Peirce's Commentary, p. 50. Now if the person represented as speaking through this Divine ode be David only, the Messiah is excluded. In consequence of the difficulties resulting from each of these suppositions, the general idea has been that it relates both to David and to the Messiah as a prophecy of a double sense; first, as spoken by David of himself, and yet to be understood in a secondary sense, of the Messiah. But it must be remarked here, that if spoken only of David, it is not a prediction of any thing future, but a thanksgiving for favors past, and therefore is no prophecy at all. And farther, it could not be a prophecy descriptive of David unless the particulars agreed to David, which they evidently do not. If then David be here necessarily excluded from the single sense, he must be excluded also from the double sense, because nothing can be intended by any sacred writer, to relate to two persons, unless it be True of both; but it not being the case here as to David, we must conclude that this song relates only to the Messiah; and on this subject an excellent Dissertation, by the late Mr. Peirce, is subjoined to his comment on the Epistle to the Hebrews. It may be necessary to add here two remarks: the twenty-fourth verse now ends with, I have kept myself from mine iniquity, which words, it is objected, are not proper, if applied to the Messiah. But this difficulty is removed, in part, by the context, which represents the speaker as perfectly innocent and righteous; and this exactly agrees with the proof arising from the Syriac and Arabic versions, and also the Chaldee paraphrase, that this word was anciently מעונים ab iniquitatibus; consequently, this is one of the many instances where the ם final mem is improperly omitted by the Jewish transcribers. See my General Dissertation. Lastly, the difficulty arising from the title, which ascribes the Psalm to David, and which seems to make him the speaker in it, may be removed, either by supposing that the title here, like those now prefixed to several Psalms, is of no sufficient authority; or rather, by considering this title as only meant to describe the time when David composed this prophetic hymn, that when delivered from all his other enemies as well as from the hand of Saul, he then consecrated his leisure by composing this sublime prophecy concerning Messiah, his son, whom he represents here as speaking, (just as in Psalm 22, 40, and other places), and as describing, 1. His triumph over death and hell; 2. The manifestations of Omnipotence in his favor, earth and heaven, trembling at God's awful presence; 3. The speaker's innocence thus divinely attested; 4. The vengeance he was to take on his own people the Jews, in the destruction of Jerusalem; and, 5. The adoption of the heathen, over whom he was to be the head and ruler. "Another instance of a title denoting only the time of a prophecy, occurs in the very next chapter; where a prophecy concerning the Messiah is entitled, The Last words of David; i.e., a hymn which he composed a little before his death, after all his other prophecies. And perhaps this ode in2 Samuel 22, which immediately precedes that in2 Samuel 23, was composed but a little while before; namely, when all his wars were over. Let it be added, that Josephus, immediately before he speaks of David's mighty men, which follow in this same chapter of Samuel, considers the two hymns in2 Samuel 22 and 23, as both written after his wars were over - Jam Davides, bellis et periculis perfunctus, pacemque deinceps profundam agitans, odas in Deum hymnosque composuit. Tom. i., page 401."

Introduction

INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 22 This chapter contains a song or psalm, the same with the eighteenth psalm, and which, according to Jarchi, was composed by David in his old age, and, as Kimchi says, at the end or close of his days; but Abarbinel is of opinion that it was written in his youthful time, in the midst of his troubles, and was sung by him as often as he had a deliverance from any; and which may account for the several variations in it from the eighteenth psalm, which, the same writer observes, are seventy four; and are not to be ascribed to the difference of copies, or neglect of copiers: and very probably, towards the close of his days, he revised it, and made it fit for general use, and sent it with the rest of his psalms to the chief musician; but the particular consideration of it, and of the differences in it from Psa 18:1 are referred to the exposition of that book in its course.

Verse 1

And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul. See Gill on Psa 18:1. . 2 Samuel 22:2 sa2 22:2 sa2 22:2 sa2 22:2And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. See Gill on Psa 18:2.

Verse 2

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. See Gill on Psa 18:2.

Verse 3

I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. See Gill on Psa 18:3. . 2 Samuel 22:5 sa2 22:5 sa2 22:5 sa2 22:5When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. See Gill on Psa 18:4.

Verse 4

The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me. See Gill on Psa 18:5. . 2 Samuel 22:7 sa2 22:7 sa2 22:7 sa2 22:7In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears. See Gill on Psa 18:6.

Verse 5

Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth. See Gill on Psa 18:7. . 2 Samuel 22:9 sa2 22:9 sa2 22:9 sa2 22:9There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. See Gill on Psa 18:8.

Verse 6

He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. See Gill on Psa 18:9. . 2 Samuel 22:11 sa2 22:11 sa2 22:11 sa2 22:11And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. See Gill on Psa 18:10.

Verse 7

And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies. See Gill on Psa 18:11.

Verse 8

Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled. See Gill on Psa 18:12. . 2 Samuel 22:14 sa2 22:14 sa2 22:14 sa2 22:14The Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice. See Gill on Psa 18:13.

Verse 9

And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them. See Gill on Psa 18:14. . 2 Samuel 22:16 sa2 22:16 sa2 22:16 sa2 22:16And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. See Gill on Psa 18:15.

Verse 10

He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. See Gill on Psa 18:16. . 2 Samuel 22:18 sa2 22:18 sa2 22:18 sa2 22:18He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me. See Gill on Psa 18:17.

Verse 11

They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. See Gill on Psa 18:18. . 2 Samuel 22:20 sa2 22:20 sa2 22:20 sa2 22:20He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me. See Gill on Psa 18:19.

Verse 12

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. See Gill on Psa 18:20. . 2 Samuel 22:22 sa2 22:22 sa2 22:22 sa2 22:22For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. See Gill on Psa 18:21.

Verse 13

For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them. See Gill on Psa 18:22. . 2 Samuel 22:24 sa2 22:24 sa2 22:24 sa2 22:24I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity. See Gill on Psa 18:23.

Verse 14

Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight. See Gill on Psa 18:24. . 2 Samuel 22:26 sa2 22:26 sa2 22:26 sa2 22:26With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt show thyself upright. See Gill on Psa 18:25.

Verse 15

With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt show thyself unsavoury. See Gill on Psa 18:26. . 2 Samuel 22:28 sa2 22:28 sa2 22:28 sa2 22:28And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down. See Gill on Psa 18:27.

Verse 16

For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness. See Gill on Psa 18:28. . 2 Samuel 22:30 sa2 22:30 sa2 22:30 sa2 22:30For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall. See Gill on Psa 18:29.

Verse 17

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. See Gill on Psa 18:30. . 2 Samuel 22:32 sa2 22:32 sa2 22:32 sa2 22:32For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God? See Gill on Psa 18:31.

Verse 18

God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. See Gill on Psa 18:32. . 2 Samuel 22:34 sa2 22:34 sa2 22:34 sa2 22:34He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places. See Gill on Psa 18:33.

Verse 19

He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. See Gill on Psa 18:34. . 2 Samuel 22:36 sa2 22:36 sa2 22:36 sa2 22:36Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great. See Gill on Psa 18:35.

Verse 20

Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip. See Gill on Psa 18:36. . 2 Samuel 22:38 sa2 22:38 sa2 22:38 sa2 22:38I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them. See Gill on Psa 18:37.

Verse 21

And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet. See Gill on Psa 18:38. . 2 Samuel 22:40 sa2 22:40 sa2 22:40 sa2 22:40For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me. See Gill on Psa 18:39.

Verse 22

Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me. See Gill on Psa 18:40. . 2 Samuel 22:42 sa2 22:42 sa2 22:42 sa2 22:42They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the Lord, but he answered them not. See Gill on Psa 18:41.

Verse 23

Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad. See Gill on Psa 18:42. . 2 Samuel 22:44 sa2 22:44 sa2 22:44 sa2 22:44Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me. See Gill on Psa 18:43.

Verse 24

Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me. See Gill on Psa 18:44. . 2 Samuel 22:46 sa2 22:46 sa2 22:46 sa2 22:46Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places. See Gill on Psa 18:45.

Verse 25

The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation. See Gill on Psa 18:46. . 2 Samuel 22:48 sa2 22:48 sa2 22:48 sa2 22:48It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me. See Gill on Psa 18:47.

Verse 26

And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. See Gill on Psa 18:48. . 2 Samuel 22:50 sa2 22:50 sa2 22:50 sa2 22:50Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name. See Gill on Psa 18:49.

Verse 27

He is the tower of salvation for his king: and showeth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore. See Gill on Psa 18:50. Next: 2 Samuel Chapter 23

Introduction

David's Psalm of Thanksgiving for Victory over All His Enemies - 2 Samuel 22 In the following psalm of thanksgiving, David praises the Lord as his deliverer out of all dangers during his agitated life and conflicts with his foes (Sa2 22:2-4). In the first half he pictures his marvellous deliverance out of all the troubles which he passed through, especially in the time of Saul's persecutions, under the image of an extraordinary theophany (vv. 5-20), and unfolds the ground of this deliverance (Sa2 22:21-28). In the second half he proclaims the mighty help of the Lord, and his consequent victories over the foreign enemies of his government (vv. 29-46), and closes with renewed praise of God for all His glorious deeds (Sa2 22:47-51). The psalm is thus arranged in two leading divisions, with an introductory and concluding strophe. But we cannot discover any definite system of strophes in the further arrangement of the principal divisions, as the several groups of thoughts are not rounded off symmetrically. The contents and form of this song of praise answer to the fact attested by the heading, that it was composed by David in the later years of his reign, when God had rescued him from all his foes, and helped his kingdom to victory over all the neighbouring heathen nations. The genuineness of the psalm is acknowledged to be indisputable by all the modern critics, except J. Olshausen and Hupfeld, (Note: Even Hitzig observes (die Psalmen, i. p. 95): "There is no ground whatever for calling in question the Davidic authorship of the psalm, and therefore the statement made in the heading; and, in fact, there is all the more reason for adhering to it, because it is attested twice. The recurrence of the psalm as one of Davidic origin in 2 Samuel 22 is of some weight, since not the slightest suspicion attaches to any of the other songs of sayings attributed to David in the second book of Samuel (e.g., Sa2 3:33-34; Sa2 5:8; Sa2 7:18-29; Sa2 23:1-7). Moreover, the psalm is evidently ancient, and suited to the classical period of the language and its poetry. Sa2 22:31 is quoted as early as Pro 30:5, and Sa2 22:34 in Hab 3:19. The psalm was also regarded as Davidic at a very early period, as the 'diaskeuast' of the second book of Samuel met with the heading, which attributes the psalm to David. No doubt this opinion might be founded upon Sa2 22:51; and with perfect justice if it were: for if the psalm was not composed by David, it must have been composed in his name and spirit; and who could have been this contemporaneous and equal poet?" Again, after quoting several thoroughly Davidic signs, he says at p. 96: "It is very obvious with how little justice the words of Sa2 22:51, relating to Sa2 7:12-16, Sa2 7:26, Sa2 7:29, have been pronounced spurious. Besides, the psalm can no more have concluded with למשׁיחו (Sa2 22:51) than with Sa2 22:50; and if David refers to himself by name at the commencement in Sa2 23:1, and in the middle in Sa2 7:20, why should he not do the same at the close?") who, with hypercritical scepticism, dispute the Davidic origin of the psalm on subjective grounds of aesthetic taste. This psalm is found in the Psalter as Ps 18, though with many divergences in single words and clauses, which do not, however, essentially affect the meaning. Commentators are divided in opinion as to the relation in which the two different forms of the text stand to one another. The idea that the text of 2 Samuel. rests upon a careless copy and tradition must decidedly be rejected: for, on the one hand, by far the larger portion of the deviations in our text from that of the Psalter are not to be attributed to carelessness on the part of copyists, but are evidently alterations made with thoughtfulness and deliberation: e.g., the omission of the very first passage (Sa2 22:1), "I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength;" the change of צוּרי אלי (my God, my strength, or rock) into צוּרי אלהי (the God of my rock), as "the God of the rock" occurs again in Sa2 22:47 of the text before us; or the substitution of ויּרא (He was seen, Sa2 22:11) for ויּדא (He did fly), etc. On the other hand, the original reading has undoubtedly been retained in many passages of our text, whilst simpler and more common forms have been substituted in that of the Psalms; e.g., in v. 5, מות משׁבּרי instead of מות fo d חבלי; in v. 8, השּׁמים מוסדות (the foundations of the heavens) for הרים מוסדי (the foundations of the hills); in v. 12, השׁרת־מים for חשׁכת־מים; in v. 16, ים אפיקי for מים אפיקי; in v. 28, תּשׁפּיל על־רמים ועניך for תּשׁפּיל רמות וענים; in v. 33, דּרכּו תמים ויּתּר for דּרכּי תמים ויּתּן; and in v. 44, לראשׁ תּשׁמרני for לראשׁ תּשׂימני, and several others. In general, however, the text of the Psalms bears the stamp of poetical originality more than the text before us, and the latter indicates a desire to give greater clearness and simplicity to the poetical style. Consequently neither of the two texts that have come down to us contains the original text of the psalm of David unaltered; but the two recensions have been made quite independently of each other, one for the insertion of the psalm in the Psalter intended for liturgical use, and the other when it was incorporated into the history of David's reign, which formed the groundwork of our books of Samuel. The first revision may have been made by David himself when he arranged his Psalms for liturgical purposes; but the second was effected by the prophetic historian, whose object it was, when inserting David's psalm of praise in the history of his reign, not so much to give it with diplomatic literality, as to introduce it in a form that should be easily intelligible and true to the sense.

Verse 1

The heading is formed precisely according to the introductory formula of the song of Moses in Deu 31:30, and was no doubt taken from the larger historical work employed by the author of our books. It was probably also adopted from this into the canonical collection of the Psalter, and simply brought into conformity with the headings of the other psalms by the alteration of דּוד וידבּר (and David said) into דּבּר עשׁר לדוד יהוה לעבד ("Of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake:" Eng. ver.), and the insertion of למנצּח ("to the chief musician:" Eng. ver.) at the head (see Delitzsch on the Psalms). "In the day," i.e., at the time, "when Jehovah had delivered him." Deliverance "out of the hand of Saul" is specially mentioned, not because this was the last, but because it was the greatest and most glorious, - a deliverance out of the deepest misery into regal might and glory. The psalm is opened by ויּאמר in both texts.

Verse 2

Sa2 22:2-4 form the introduction. 2 Jehovah is my rock, my castle, and my deliverer to me; 3 My Rock-God, in whom I trust: My shield and horn of my salvation, my fortress and my refuge, My Saviour; from violence Thou redeemest me. 4 I call upon the praised one, Jehovah, And I am saved from my enemies. This introduction contains the sum and substance of the whole psalm, inasmuch as David groups the many experiences of divine deliverance in his agitated life into a long series of predicates, in all of which he extols God as his defence, refuge, and deliverer. The heaping up of these predicates is an expression both of liveliest gratitude, and also of hope for the future. The different predicates, however, are not to be taken as in apposition to Jehovah, or as vocatives, but are declarations concerning God, how He had proved himself faithful to the Psalmist in all the calamities of his life, and would assuredly do so still. David calls God וּמצרתי סלעי (my rock, and my castle) in Psa 31:4 as well (cf. Psa 71:4). The two epithets are borrowed from the natural character of Palestine, where steep and almost inaccessible rocks afford protection to the fugitive, as David had often found at the time when Saul was pursuing him (vid., Sa1 24:22; Sa1 22:5). But whilst David took refuge in rocks, he placed his hopes of safety not in their inaccessible character, but in God the Lord, the eternal spiritual rock, whom he could see in the earthly rock, so that he called Him his true castle. לי מפלטי (my deliverer to me) gives the real explanation of the foregoing figures. The לי (to me) is omitted in Psa 18:2, and only serves to strengthen the suffix, "my, yea my deliverer.' "My Rock-God," equivalent to, God who is my Rock: this is formed after Deu 32:4, where Moses calls the Lord the Rock of Israel, because of His unchangeable faithfulness; for zur, a rock, is a figure used to represent immoveable firmness. In Psa 18:3 we find צוּרי אלי, "my God" (strong one), "my rock," two synonyms which are joined together in our text, so as to form one single predicate of God, which is repeated in Sa2 22:47. The predicates which follow, "my horn and my salvation-shield," describe God as the mighty protector and defender of the righteous. A shield covers against hostile attacks. In this respect God was Abraham's shield (Gen 15:1), and the helping shield of Israel (Deu 33:29; cf. Psa 3:4; Psa 59:12). He is the "horn of salvation," according to Luther, because He overcomes enemies, and rescues from foes, and gives salvation. The figure is borrowed from animals, which have their strength and defensive weapons in their horns (see at Sa1 2:1). "My fortress:" misgab is a high place, where a person is secure against hostile attacks (see at Psa 9:10). The predicates which follow, viz., my refuge, etc., are not given in Psa 18:3, and are probably only added as a rhythmical completion to the strophe, which was shortened by the omission of the introductory lines, "I love thee heartily, Jehovah" (Psa 18:1). The last clause, "My Saviour, who redeemest me from violence," corresponds to אחסה־בּו in the first hemistich. In Psa 18:4, David sums up the contents of his psalm of thanksgiving in a general sentence of experience, which may be called the theme of the psalm, for it embraces "the result of the long life which lay behind him, so full of dangers and deliverances." מהלּל, "the praised one," an epithet applied to God, which occurs several times in the Psalms (Psa 48:2; Psa 96:4; Psa 113:3; Psa 145:3). It is in apposition to Jehovah, and is placed first for the sake of emphasis: "I invoke Jehovah as the praised one." The imperfects אקרא and אוּשׁע are used to denote what continually happens. In Sa2 22:5 we have the commencement of the account of the deliverances out of great tribulations, which David had experienced at the hand of God.

Verse 5

5 For breakers of death had compassed me, Streams of wickedness terrified me. 6 Cords of hell had girt me about, Snares of death overtook me. 7 In my distress I called Jehovah, And to my God I called; And He heard my voice out of His temple, And my crying came into His ears. David had often been in danger of death, most frequently at the time when he was pursued by Saul, but also in Absalom's conspiracy, and even in several wars (cf. Sa2 21:16). All these dangers, out of which the Lord delivered him, and not merely those which originated with Saul, are included in Sa2 22:5, Sa2 22:6. The figure "breakers or waves of death" is analogous to that of the "streams of Belial." His distress is represented in both of them under the image of violent floods of water. In the psalm we find מות חבלי, "snares of death," as in Psa 116:3, death being regarded as a hunger with a net and snare (cf. Psa 91:3): this does not answer to well to the parallel נחלי, and therefore is not so good, since שׁאול חבלי follows immediately. בליּעל (Belial), uselessness in a moral sense, or worthlessness. The meaning "mischief," or injury in a physical sense, which many expositors give to the word in this passage on account of the parallel "death," cannot be grammatically sustained. Belial was afterwards adopted as a name for the devil (Co2 6:15). Streams of wickedness are calamities that proceed from wickedness, or originate with worthless men. קדּם, to come to meet with a hostile intention, i.e., to fall upon (vid., Job 30:27). היכל, the temple out of which Jehovah heard him, was the heavenly abode of God, as in Psa 11:4; for, according to Sa2 22:8., God came down from heaven to help him.

Verse 8

8 Then the earth swayed and trembled, The foundations of the heavens shook And swayed to and fro, because He was wroth. 9 Smoke ascended in His nose, And fire out of His mouth devoured, Red-hot coals burned out of Him. 10 And He bowed the heavens and came down, And cloudy darkness under His feet. Jehovah came down from heaven to save His servant, as He had formerly come down upon Sinai to conclude His covenant with Israel in the midst of terrible natural phenomena, which proclaimed the wrath of the Almighty. The theophany under which David depicts the deliverance he had experienced, had its type in the miraculous phenomenon which accompanied the descent of God upon Sinai, and which suggested, as in the song of Deborah (Jdg 5:4-5), the idea of a terrible storm. It is true that the deliverance of David was not actually attended by any such extraordinary natural phenomena; but the saving hand of God from heaven was so obviously manifested, that the deliverance experienced by him could be poetically described as a miraculous interposition on the part of God. When the Lord rises up from His heavenly temple to come down upon the earth to judgment, the whole world trembles at the fierceness of His wrath. Not only does the earth tremble, but the foundations of the heavens shake: the whole universe is moved. In the psalm we have "the foundations of the hills" instead of "the foundations of the heavens," - a weaker expression, signifying the earth to its deepest foundations. The Hithpael יתגּעשׁ, lit., to sway itself, expresses the idea of continuous swaying to and fro. לו חרה כּי, "for it (sc., wrath) burned to him," it flamed up like a fire; cf. Deu 32:22; Deu 29:19. "Smoke," the forerunner of fire, "ascended in His nose." The figurative idea is that of snorting or violent breathing, which indicates the rising of wrath. Smoke is followed by fire, which devours out of the mouth, i.e., bursts forth devouring or consuming all that opposes it. The expression is strengthened still further by the parallel: "red-hot coals come out of Him," i.e., the flame of red-hot coals pours out of Him as out of a glowing furnace (cf. Gen 15:17). This description is based entirely upon Exo 19:18, where the Lord comes down upon Sinai in smoke and fire. We are not to picture to ourselves flashes of lightning; for all these phenomena are merely the forerunners of the appearance of God in the clouds, which is described in Sa2 22:10, "He bowed the heavens" to come down. ערפל, which is frequently connected with ענן, signifies cloudy darkness, or dark clouds. The substratum of this description is the fact that in a severe storm the heavens seem to sink down upon the earth with their dark clouds. The Lord draws near riding upon black thunder-clouds, "that the wicked may not behold His serene countenance, but only the terrible signs of His fierce wrath and punishment" (J. H. Michaelis).

Verse 11

11 He rode upon a cherub and flew hither, And appeared upon the wings of the wind. 12 He made darkness round about Him as pavilions, Water-gathering, thick clouds. 13 Out of the splendour before Him Burned red-hot coals of fire. These three verses are a further expansion of Sa2 22:19, and Sa2 22:11 of Sa2 22:10. The cherub is not a personified earthly creature, for cherubim are angels around the throne of God (see at Gen 3:22). The poetical figure "riding upon the cherub" is borrowed from the fact that God was enthroned between the two cherubim upon the lid of the ark of the covenant, and above their outspread wings (Exo 25:20-21). As the idea of His "dwelling between the cherubim" (Sa2 6:2; Sa1 4:4; Psa 80:2) was founded upon this typical manifestation of the gracious presence of God in the Most Holy place, so here David depicts the descent of Jehovah from heaven as "riding upon a cherub," picturing the cherub as a throne upon which God appears in the clouds of heaven, though without therefore imagining Him as riding upon a sphinx or driving in a chariot-throne. Such notions as these are precluded by the addition of the term ויּעף, "did fly." The "flying" is also suggested by the wings of the cherubim. As the divine "shechinah" was enthroned above the ark of the covenant upon the wings of the cherubim, David in his poetical description represents the cherub and his wings as carrying the throne of God, to express the thought that Jehovah came down from heaven as the judge and saviour of His servants in the splendour of His divine glory, surrounded by cherubim who stand as His highest servants around His throne, just as Moses in his blessing (Deu 33:2) speaks of Jehovah as coming out of myriads of His holy angels. The elementary substratum of this was the wings of the wind, upon which He appeared. In the psalm we have ויּדא, from דּאה, to soar (Deu 28:39; Jer 48:40), which suggests the idea of flying better than ויּרא (He was seen), though the latter gives the real explanation. In Sa2 22:12 and Sa2 22:13, the "cloudy darkness under His feet" (Sa2 22:10) is still further expanded, so as to prepare the way for the description of thunder and lightning in Sa2 22:14. God in His wrath withdraws His face from man. He envelopes himself in clouds. The darkness round about him is the black thunder-cloud which forms His hut or tent. The plural succoth is occasioned by the plural סביבתיו, "His surroundings:" it is used with indefinite generality, and is more probably the original term than סכּתו in the psalm. The "darkness" is still further explained in the second clause, מים חשׁרת, water-gatherings. חשׁרה (ἁπ. λεγ.) signifies, according to the Arabic, a gathering or collection. The expression used in the psalm is מים חשׁכת, water-darkness, which, if not less appropriate, is at any rate not the original term. שׁחקים עבי, clouds of clouds, i.e., the thickest clouds; a kind of superlative, in which a synonym is used instead of the same noun.

Verse 13

The splendour of the divine nature enveloped in clouds breaks through the dark covering in burning coals of fire. The coals of fire which burst forth, i.e., which break out in flame from the dark clouds, are the lightning which shoots forth from the dark storm-clouds in streams of fire.

Verse 14

14 Jehovah thundered from the heavens, And the Most High gave His voice. 15 He sent arrows, and scattered them; Lightning, and discomfited them. 16 Then the beds of the sea became visible; The foundations of the world were uncovered, Through the threatening of Jehovah, By the snorting of the breath of His nostrils. God sent lightning as arrows upon the enemies along with violent thunder, and threw them thereby into confusion. המם, to throw into confusion, and thereby to destroy, is the standing expression for the destruction of the foe accomplished by the miraculous interposition of God (vid., Exo 14:24; Exo 23:27; Jos 10:10; Jdg 4:15; Sa1 7:10). To the thunder there were added stormy wind and earthquake, as an effect of the wrath of God, whereby the foundations of the sea and land were laid bare, i.e., whereby the depth of the abyss and of the hell in the interior of the earth, into which the person to be rescued had fallen, were disclosed. (Note: In Sa2 22:13-16 the text of the Psalms deviates greatly and in many instances from that before us. In v. 13 we find אשׁ וגחלי בּרד עברוּ עביו instead of אשׁ גּחלי בּערוּ; and after v. 14 אשׁ וגחלי בּרד is repeated in the psalm. In v. 15 we have רב וּברקים for בּרק, and in v. 16 מים אפיקי for ים אפיקי. The other deviations are inconsiderable. So far as the repetition of אשׁ וגחלי בּרד at the end of v. 14 is concerned, it is not only superfluous, but unsuitable, because the lightning following the thunder is described in v. 15, and the words repeated are probably nothing more than a gloss that has crept by an oversight into the text. The מים אפיקי in v. 16 is an obvious softening down of the ים אפיקי of the text before us. In the other deviations, however, the text of the Psalms is evidently the more original of the two; the abridgment of the second clause of v. 13 is evidently a simplification of the figurative description in the psalm, and רב בּרקים in the 15th verse of the psalm is more poetical and a stronger expression than the mere בּרק of our text.)

Verse 17

17 He reached out of the height, He laid hold of me; Drew me out of great waters: 18 Saved me from my enemy strong; From my haters, because they were too strong for me. 19 They fell upon me in my day of calamity: Then Jehovah became my stay, 20 And led me out into a broad place; Delivered me, because He had pleasure in me. The Lord stretched His hand from the height into the deep abysses, which had been uncovered through the threatening of the wrath of God, and drew out the sinking man. ישׁלח without יד is used to denote the stretching out of the hand, and in the sense of reaching out to a thing (as in Sa2 6:6). רבּים מים (great waters) does not refer to the enemy, but to the calamities and dangers (waves of death and streams of Belial, Sa2 22:5) into which the enemies of the Psalmist had plunged him. ימשׁני, from משׁה (Exo 2:10), from which the name of Moses was derived, to whom there is probably an allusion made. As Moses was taken out of the waters of the Nile, so David was taken out of great (many) waters. This deliverance is still further depicted in a more literal terms in Sa2 22:18. עז איבי, my enemy strong, poetical for my strong enemy, does not refer to one single enemy, namely Saul; but, as the parallel "my haters" shows, is a poetical personification of all his enemies. They were stronger than David, therefore the Lord had to deliver him with an almighty hand. The "day of calamity" in which the enemy fell upon him (קדּם: see at Sa2 22:6) was the time when David wandered about in the desert helpless and homeless, fleeing from the pursuit of Saul. The Lord was then his support, or a staff on which he could support himself (vid., Psa 23:4), and led him out of the strait into the broad, i.e., into a broad space where he could move freely, because God had pleasure in him, and had chosen him in His grace to be His servant. This reason for his deliverance is carried out still further in what follows.

Verse 21

21 Jehovah rendered to me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands He recompensed me. 22 For I have observed the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all His rights are before my eyes; And His statutes,-I do not depart from them. 24 And I was innocent towards Him, And kept myself from mine iniquity. גּמל signifies to do to a person good or evil, like the Greek εὖ and κακῶς πράττειν τινά. The righteousness and cleanness of hands, i.e., the innocence, which David attributed to himself, were not perfect righteousness or holiness before God, but the righteousness of his endeavours and deeds as contrasted with the unrighteousness and wickedness of his adversaries and pursuers, and consisted in the fact that he endeavoured earnestly and sincerely to walk in the ways of God and to keep the divine commandments. מן רשׁע, to be wicked from, is a pregnant expression, signifying to depart wickedly from God. לנגדּי, i.e., as a standard before my eye. In the psalm we find עמּו תמים, innocent in intercourse with the Lord, instead of לו תמים (see Deu 18:13); and for the fact itself, David's own testimony in Sa1 26:23-24, the testimony of God concerning him in Kg1 14:8, and the testimony of history in Kg1 15:5. מעוני, from mine iniquity, i.e., from the iniquity which I might have committed.

Verse 25

25 Thus Jehovah repaid me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness before His eyes. 26 Towards the pious Thou showest thyself pious, Towards the perfectly innocent Thou showest thyself innocent. 27 Towards the genuine Thou showest thyself genuine, And towards the perverse Thou showest thyself crooked. 28 And afflicted people Thou helpest, And Thine eyes are against the haughty; them Thou humblest. The motive for deliverance, which was expounded in Sa2 22:21-24, is summed up briefly in Sa2 22:25; and then in Sa2 22:26 and Sa2 22:27 it is carried back to the general truth, that the conduct of God towards men is regulated according to the conduct of men towards God. The vav cons. in ויּשׁב expresses the logical consequence. כּברי is used instead of ידי כּבר in Sa2 22:21, which is repeated in the psalm simply for the sake of variation. The truth that God treats every man in accordance with his conduct towards Him, is expounded in four parallel clauses, in which the conduct of God is expressed in verbs in the Hithpael, formed from the adjectives used to describe the conduct of men towards God. To the חסיד, the pious or devoted to God, He also shows himself pious; and innocent, blameless, to the תמים גּבּור, the man strong in innocence, who walks in perfect innocence. נבר, a Niphal participle, from בּרר, he who keeps himself pure, strives after purity of walk. תּתּבר, an anomalous contraction of תּתבּרר (Ps.), analogous to the formation of נבר for נברר. The form תּתּפּל for תּתפּתּל, to show one's self perverse of crooked, is still more anomalous. God shows himself so towards the perverse, by giving him up to his perverseness (Rom 1:28). This general truth is applied in Sa2 22:28 to the congregation of God, in the contrast which it presents of humble and haughty, and is expounded from the conduct of God, as displayed in the history of Israel, towards these two classes of men, into which the nation was divided. In the psalm, therefore, we find אתּה כּי, for which the simple ו is substituted here, because the verse does not contain any actual reason for what goes before. עני עם, afflicted people, is used to denote the pious and depressed in the nation; רמים, the high, i.e., the haughty, or godless rich and mighty in the nation. תּשׁפּיל is to be taken as a relative: whom Thou humblest (see Ewald, 332, b.; and for the thought, Isa 2:11). In the psalm the unusual mode of expression in the second clause is changed into the more common phrase, "Thou bringest down high, i.e., proud looks" (cf. Pro 6:17; Pro 21:4; Pro 30:13; Psa 131:1, etc.).

Verse 29

Sa2 22:29 commences the description of the help which David had already received from God in his conflict with the enemies of Israel, and which he would still receive. 29 For Thou art my lamp, O Jehovah! And Jehovah maketh my darkness bright. 30 For through Thee I run troops, And through my God I leap walls. 31 God - innocent is His way. The word of Jehovah is refined, A shield is He to all who trust in Him. The explanatory כּי, with which the new description of the divine mercy commences, refers to the thought implied in Sa2 22:28, that David belonged to the "afflicted people," whom the Lord always helps. As the Lord delivered him out of the danger of death, because He took pleasure in him, so He also gave him power over all his enemies. For He was his lamp, i.e., He had lifted him out of a condition of depression and contempt into one of glory and honour (see at Sa2 21:17), and would still further enlighten his darkness, i.e., "would cause the light of His salvation to shine upon him and his tribe in all the darkness of their distress" (Hengstenberg). In the psalm the verse reads thus: "For Thou lightest (makest bright) my lamp (or candle), Jehovah my God enlighteneth my darkness;" the bold figure "Jehovah the lamp of David" being more literally explained. The figure is analogous to the one in Psa 27:1, "The Lord is my light;" whilst the form ניר is a later mode of writing נר.

Verse 30

In the strength of his God he could run hostile troops and leap walls, i.e., overcome every hostile power. ארוּץ, not from רצץ, to smash in pieces, but from רוּץ, to run; construed with the accusative according to the analogy of verbs of motion.

Verse 31

He derives this confidence from the acts of God, and also from His word. האל (God) is written absolutely, like הצּוּר in Deu 32:4. The article points back to בּאלהי. Jehovah is the God (האל), whose way is perfect, without blemish; and His word is refined brass, pure silver (cf. Psa 12:7). He who trusts in Him is safe from all foes. The last two clauses occur again in Agur's proverbs (Pro 30:5). The thought of the last clause is still further explained in Sa2 22:32.

Verse 32

32 For who is God save Jehovah, And who a rock save our God? 33 This God is my strong fortress, And leads the innocent his way. 34 He makes my feet like the hinds, And setteth me upon my high places; 35 He teacheth my hands to fight, And my arms span brazen bows. There is no true God who can help, except or by the side of Jehovah (cf. Deu 32:31; Sa1 2:2). צוּר, as in Sa2 22:2. This God is "my strong fortress:" for this figure, comp. Psa 31:5 and Psa 27:1. חיל, strength, might, is construed with מעוּזי, by free subordination: "my fortress, a strong one," like עז מחסי (Psa 71:7; cf. Ewald, 291, b.). יתּר for יתר, from תּוּר (vid., Ges. 72; Olshausen, Gram. p. 579), in the sense of leading or taking round, as in Pro 12:26. God leads the innocent his way, i.e., He is his leader and guide therein. The Keri דּרכּי rests upon a misunderstanding. There is an important difference in the reading of this verse in Ps 18, viz., "The God who girdeth me with strength, and makes my way innocent." The last clause is certainly an alteration which simplifies the meaning, and so is also the first clause, the thought of which occurs again, word for word, in Sa2 22:40, with the addition of למּלחמה. איּלה or איּלת, the hind, or female stag, is a figure of speech denoting swiftness in running. "Like the hinds:" a condensed simile for "like the hinds' feet," such as we frequently meet with in Hebrew (vid., Ges. 144, Anm.). The reference is to swiftness in pursuit of the foe (vid., Sa2 2:18; Ch1 12:8). רגליו, his feet, for רגלי (my feet) in the psalm, may be accounted for from the fact, that David had spoken of himself in the third person as the innocent one. "My high places" were not the high places of the enemy, that became his by virtue of conquest, but the high places of his own land, which he maintained triumphantly, so that he ruled the land for them. The expression is formed after Deu 32:13, and is imitated in Hab 3:19. למּד is generally construed with a double accusative: here it is written with an accusative and ל, and signifies to instruct for the war. נחת, in the psalm נחתה, on account of the feminine זרועתי, is not the Niphal of חתת, to be broken in pieces, but the Piel of נחת, to cause to go down, to press down the bow, i.e., to set it. The bow of brass is mentioned as being the strongest: setting such a bow would be a sign of great heroic strength. The two verses (Sa2 22:34 and Sa2 22:35) are simply a particularizing description of the power and might with which the Lord had endowed David to enable him to conquer all his foes.

Verse 36

36 And Thou reachest me the shield of my salvation, And Thy hearing makes me great. 37 Thou makest my steps broad under me, And my ankles have not trembled. The Lord bestows the true strength for victory in His salvation. The shield of salvation is the shield which consists of salvation, of the helping grace of the Lord. ענתך, for which we find in the psalm ענותך, thy humility, i.e., God's condescending grace, does not mean "thy humiliation," but "thy hearkening," i.e., that practical hearkening on the part of God, when called upon for help, which was manifested in the fact that God made his steps broad, i.e., provided the walker with a broad space for free motion, removing obstructions and stumbling-blocks out of the way. God had done this for David, so that his ankles had not trembled, i.e., he had not been wanting in the power to take firm and safe steps. In this strength of his God he could destroy all his foes.

Verse 38

38 I will pursue my enemies and destroy them, I will not turn till they are consumed. 39 I will consume them and dash them in pieces, that they may not arise, And may fall under my feet. 40 And Thou girdest me with strength for war, Thou bowest mine adversaries under me. 41 And Thou makest mine enemies turn the back to me; My haters, I root them out. The optative form ארדּפה serves to make the future signification of ארדּף (in the psalm) the more apparent. Consequently it is quite out of the question to take the other verbs as preterites. We are not compelled to do this by the interchange of imperfects c. vav consec. with simple imperfects, as the vav consec. is not used exclusively as expressive of the past. On the contrary, the substance of the whole of the following description shows very clearly that David refers not only to the victories he has already won, but in general to the defeat of all his foes in the past, the present, and the future; for he speaks as distinctly as possible not only of their entire destruction (Sa2 22:38, Sa2 22:39, Sa2 22:43), but also of the fact that God makes him the head of the nations, and distant and foreign nations to him homage. Consequently he refers not only to his own personal dominion, but also, on the strength of the promise which he had received from God, to the increase of the dominion of the throne of his house, whilst he proclaims in the Spirit the ultimate defeat of all the enemies of the kingdom of God. This Messianic element in the following description comes out in a way that cannot be mistaken, in the praise of the Lord with which he concludes in Sa2 22:47-51. ואשׁמידם, "I destroy them," is stronger than ואשּׂיגם, "I reach them" (in the psalm). In Sa2 22:39 the words are crowded together, to express the utter destruction of all foes. In the psalm ואכלּם is omitted. ותּזרני for ותּאזּרני in the psalm is not a poetical Syriasm, and still less a "careless solecism" (Hupfeld), but a simple contraction, such as we meet with in many forms: e.g., מלּפנוּ for מאלּפנוּ (Job 35:11; cf. Ewald, 232, b.). The form תּתּה for נתתּה (in the psalm) is unusual, and the aphaeresis of the נ can only be accounted for from the fact that this much-used word constantly drops its נ as a radical sound in the imperfect (see Ewald, 195, c.). The phrase ערף לּי תּתּה is formed after Exo 23:27. "Giving the enemy to a person's back" means causing them to turn the back, i.e., putting them to flight.

Verse 42

42 They look out, but there is no deliverer; For Jehovah, but He answereth them not. 43 And I rub in pieces as the dust of the earth, Like the mire of the streets I crush them and stamp upon them. The cry of the foe for help is not attended to; they are annihilated without quarter. ישׁעוּ, to look out to God for help (with אל and על; vid., Isa 17:7-8), is more poetical than ישׁוּעוּ, "they cry" (in the psalm); and כּעפר־ארץ is more simple than על־פּני־רוּח כּעפר (in the psalm), "I crush them as dust before the wind," for the wind does not crush the dust, but carries it away. In the second clause of Sa2 22:43, אדקּם is used instead of אריקם in the psalm, and strengthened by ארקעם. אדקּם, from דקק, to make thin, to crush; so that instead of "I pour them out like mire of the streets which is trodden to pieces," the Psalmist simply says, "I crush and stamp upon them like mire of the streets." Through the utter destruction of the foe, God establishes the universal dominion to which the throne of David is to attain.

Verse 44

44 And Thou rescuest me out of the strivings of my people, Preservest me to be the head of the heathen. People that I knew not serve me. 45 The sons of the stranger dissemble to me, Upon hearsay they obey me. 46 The sons of the stranger despair, And tremble out of their castles. By "the strivings of my people" the more indefinite expression in the psalm, "strivings of the people," is explained. The words refer to the domestic conflicts of David, out of which the Lord delivered him, such as the opposition of Ishbosheth and the rebellions of Absalom and Sheba. These deliverances formed the prelude and basis of his dominion over the heathen. Consequently תּשׁמרני (Thou preservest me to be the head of the nations) occurs quite appropriately in the second clause; and תּשׂימני, "Thou settest me," which occurs in the psalm, is a far less pregnant expression. עם before ידעתּי לא is used indefinitely to signify foreign nations. Toi king of Hamath (Sa2 8:10) was an example, and his subjugation was a prelude of the future subjection of all the heathen to the sceptre of the Son of David, as predicted in Ps 72. In v. 45 the two clauses of the psalm are very appropriately transposed. The Hithpael יתכחשׁוּ, as compared with יכחשׁוּ, is the later form. In the primary passage (Deu 33:29) the Niphal is used to signify the dissembling of friendship, or of involuntary homage on the part of the vanquished towards the victor. אזן לשׁמוע, "by the hearing of the ear," i.e., by hearsay, is a simple explanation of אזן לשׁמע, at the rumour of the ears (vid., Job 42:5), i.e., at the mere rumour of David's victories. The foreign nations pine away, i.e., despair of ever being able to resist the victorious power of David. יחגּרוּ, "they gird themselves," does not yield any appropriate meaning, even if we should take it in the sense of equipping themselves to go out to battle. The word is probably a misspelling of יחרגוּ, which occurs in the psalm, חרג being a ἁπ. λεγ. in the sense of being terrified, or trembling: they tremble out of their castles, i.e., they come trembling out of their castles (for the thought itself, see Mic 7:17). It is by no means probable that the word חרג, which is so frequently met with in Hebrew, is used in this one passage in the sense of "to limp," according to Syriac usage. In conclusion, the Psalmist returns to the praise of the Lord, who had so highly favoured him.

Verse 47

47 Jehovah liveth, and blessed is my rock, And the God of my refuge of salvation is exalted. 48 The God who giveth me vengeance, And bringeth nations under me; 49 Who leadeth me out from mine enemies, And exalteth me above mine adversaries, Delivereth me from the man of violence. The formula חי־יהוה does not mean "let Jehovah live," for the word יחי would be used for that (vid., Sa2 16:16; Sa1 10:24), but is a declaration: "the Lord is living." The declaration itself is to be taken as praise of God, for "praising God is simply ascribing to Him the glorious perfections which belong to him; we have only to give Him what is His own" (Hengstenberg). The following clauses also contain simply declarations; this is evident from the word ירוּם, since the optative ירם would be used to denote a wish. The Lord is living or alive when He manifests His life in acts of omnipotence. In the last clause, the expression צוּר (rock) is intensified into ישׁעי צוּר אלהי (the God of my refuge, or rock, of salvation), i.e., the God who is my saving rock (cf. Sa2 22:3). In the predicates of God in Sa2 22:48, Sa2 22:49, the saving acts depicted by David in vv. 5-20 and 29-46 are summed up briefly. Instead of מוריד, "He causes to go down under me," i.e., He subjects to me, we find in the psalm ויּדבּר, "He drives nations under me," and מפלטי instead of מוציאי; and lastly, instead of חמס אישׁ in the psalm, we have here חמסים אישׁ, as in Psa 140:2. Therefore the praise of the Lord shall be sounded among all nations.

Verse 50

50 Therefore will I praise Thee, O Jehovah, among the nations, And sing praise to Thy name. 51 As He who magnifies the salvation of His king, And showeth grace to His anointed, To David, and his seed for ever. The grace which the Lord had shown to David was so great, that the praise thereof could not be restricted to the narrow limits of Israel. With the dominion of David over the nations, there spread also the knowledge, and with this the praise, of the Lord who had given him the victory. Paul was therefore perfectly justified in quoting the verse before us (Sa2 22:50) in Rom 16:9, along with Deu 32:43 and Psa 117:1, as a proof that the salvation of God was intended for the Gentiles also. The king whose salvation the Lord had magnified, was not David as an individual, but David and his seed for ever-that is to say, the royal family of David which culminated in Christ. David could thus sing praises upon the ground of the promise which he had received (Sa2 7:12-16), and which is repeated almost verbatim in the last clause of Sa2 22:51. The Chethib מגדיל is the Hiphil participle מגדּיל, according to Ps. 18:51; and the Keri מגדּול, "tower of the fulness of salvation," is a singular conjecture.

Introduction

This chapter is a psalm, a psalm of praise; we find it afterwards inserted among David's psalms (Ps. 18) with some little variation. We have it here as it was first composed for his own closed and his own harp; but there we have it as it was afterwards delivered to the chief musician for the service of the church, a second edition with some amendments; for, though it was calculated primarily for David's case, yet it might indifferently serve the devotion of others, in giving thanks for their deliverances; or it was intended that his people should thus join with him in his thanksgivings, because, being a public person, his deliverances were to be accounted public blessings and called for public acknowledgments. The inspired historian, having largely related David's deliverances in this and the foregoing book, and one particularly in the close of the foregoing chapter, thought fit to record this sacred poem as a memorial of all that had been before related. Some think that David penned this psalm when he was old, upon a general review of the mercies of his life and the many wonderful preservations God had blessed him with, from first to last. We should in our praises, look as far back as we can, and not suffer time to wear out the sense of God's favours. Others think that he penned it when he was young, upon occasion of some of his first deliverances, and kept it by him for his use afterwards, and that, upon every new deliverance, his practice was to sing this song. But the book of Psalms shows that he varied as there was occasion, and confined not himself to one form. Here is, I. The title of the psalm (Sa2 22:1). II. The psalm itself, in which, with a very warm devotion and very great fluency and copiousness of expression, 1. He gives glory to God. 2. He takes comfort in him; and he finds matter for both, (1.) In the experiences he had of God's former favours. (2.) In the expectations he had of his further favours. These are intermixed throughout the whole psalm.

Verse 1

Observe here, I. That it has often been the lot of God's people to have many enemies, and to be in imminent danger of falling into their hands. David was a man after God's heart, but not after men's heart: many were those that hated him, and sought his ruin; Saul is particularly named, either, 1. As distinguished from his enemies of the heathen nations. Saul hated David, but David did not hate Saul, and therefore would not reckon him among his enemies; or, rather, 2. As the chief of his enemies, who was more malicious and powerful than any of them. Let not those whom God loves marvel if the world hate them. II. Those that trust God in the way of duty shall find him a present help to them in their greatest dangers. David did so. God delivered him out of the hand of Saul. He takes special notice of this. Remarkable preservations should be mentioned in our praises with a particular emphasis. He delivered him also out of the hand of all his enemies, one after another, sometimes in one way, sometimes in another; and David, from his own experience, has assured us that, though many are the troubles of the righteous, yet the Lord delivers them out of them all, Psa 34:19. We shall never be delivered from all our enemies till we get to heaven; and to that heavenly kingdom God will preserve all that are his, Ti2 4:18. III. Those that have received many signal mercies from God ought to give him the glory of them. Every new mercy in our hand should put a new song into our mouth, even praises to our God. Where there is a grateful heart, out of the abundance of that the mouth will speak. David spoke, not only to himself, for his own pleasure, not merely to those about him, for their instruction, but to the Lord, for his honour, the words of this song. Then we sing with grace when we sing to the Lord. In distress he cried with his voice (Psa 142:1), therefore with his voice he gave thanks. Thanksgiving to God is the sweetest vocal music. IV. We ought to be speedy in our thankful returns to God: In the day that God delivered him he sang this song. While the mercy is fresh, and our devout affections are most excited by it, let the thank-offering be brought, that it may be kindled with the fire of those affections.

Verse 2

Let us observe, in this song of praise, I. How David adores God, and gives him the glory of his infinite perfections. There is none like him, nor any to be compared with him (Sa2 22:32): Who is God, save the Lord? All others that are adored as deities are counterfeits and pretenders. None is to be relied on but he. Who is a rock, save our God? They are dead, but the Lord liveth, Sa2 22:47. They disappoint their worshippers when they most need them. But as for God his way is perfect, Sa2 22:31. Men begin in kindness, but end not - promise, but perform not; but God will finish his work, and his word is tried, and what we may trust. II. How he triumphs in the interest he has in this God, and his relation to him, which he lays down as the foundation of all the benefits he has received from him: He is my God; as such he cries to him (Sa2 22:7), and cleaves to him (Sa2 22:22); "and, if my God, then my rock" (Sa2 22:2), that is, "my strength and my power (Sa2 22:33), the rock under which I take shelter (he who is to me as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land), the rock on which I build my hope," Sa2 22:3. Whatever is my strength and support, it is the God of my rock that makes it so; nay, he is the God of the rock of my salvation (Sa2 22:47): my saving strength is in him and from him. David often hid himself in a rock (Sa1 24:2), but God was his chief hiding-place. "He is my fortress, in which I am safe and think myself so - my high tower, or stronghold, in which I am out of the reach of real evils - the tower of salvation (Sa2 22:51), which can never be sealed nor battered, nor undermined. Salvation itself saves me. Am I in distress? he is my deliverer - struck at, shot at? he is my shield - pursued? he is my refuge - oppressed? he is my saviour, that rescues me out of the hand of those that seek my ruin. Nay, he is the horn of my salvation, by which I am strongly protected, and my enemies are strongly pushed." Christ is spoken of as the horn of salvation in the house of David, Luk 1:69. "Am I burdened, and ready to sink? The Lord is my stay (Sa2 22:19), by whom I am supported. Am I in the dark, benighted, at a loss? Thou art my lamp, O Lord! to show me my way, and thou wilt dispel my darkness," Sa2 22:29. If we sincerely take the Lord for our God, all this, and much more, he will be to us, all we need and can desire. III. What improvement he makes of his interest in God. If he be mine, 1. In him will I trust (Sa2 22:3), that is, "I will resign myself to his direction, and then depend upon his power, and wisdom, and goodness, to conduct me well." 2. On him I will call (Sa2 22:4), for he is worthy to be praised. What we have found in God that is worthy to be praised should engage us to pray to him and give glory to him. 3. To him will I give thanks (Sa2 22:50), and that publicly. When he was among the heathen he would neither be afraid nor ashamed to own his obligations to the God of Israel. IV. The full and large account he keeps for himself, and gives to others, of the great and kind things God had done for him. This takes up most of the song. He gives God the glory both of his deliverances and of his successes, showing both the perils he was delivered from and the power he was advanced to. 1. He magnifies the great salvations God had wrought for him. God sometimes brings his people into very great difficulties and dangers, that he may have the honour of saving them and they the comfort of being saved by him. He owns, Thou hast saved me from violence (Sa2 22:3), from my enemies (Sa2 22:4), from my strong enemy, meaning Saul, who, if God had not succoured him, would have been too hard for him, Sa2 22:18. Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation, Sa2 22:36. To magnify the salvation, he observes, (1.) That the danger was very great and threatening out of which he was delivered. Men rose up against him (Sa2 22:40, Sa2 22:49) that hated him (Sa2 22:41), a violent man (Sa2 22:49) namely, Saul, who was malicious in his designs against him and vigorous in his pursuit. This is expressed figuratively, Sa2 22:5, Sa2 22:6. He was surrounded with death on every side, threatened to be overwhelmed, and saw no way of escape. So violently did the waves of death beat upon him, so strongly did the cords and snares of death hold him, that he could not help himself, any more than a man in the grave can. The floods of Belial, the wicked one, and his wicked instruments, made him afraid; he trembled to see not only earth, but death and hell, in arms against him. (2.) That his deliverance was an answer to prayer, Sa2 22:7. He has here left us a good example, when we are in distress, to cry unto God with importunity, as children in a fright cry to their parents; and great encouragement to do so, in that he found God ready to answer prayer out of his temple in heaven, where he is continually served and adored. (3.) That God appeared in a singular and extraordinary manner for him and against his enemies. The expressions are borrowed from the descent of the divine Majesty upon Mount Sinai, Sa2 22:8, Sa2 22:9, etc. We do not find that in any of David's battles God fought for him with thunder (as in Samuel's time), or with hail (as in Joshua's time), or with the stars in their courses (as in Deborah's time); but these lofty metaphors are used, [1.] To set forth the glory of God, which was manifested in his deliverance. God's wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness, his justice and holiness, and his sovereign dominion over all the creatures and all the counsels of men, which appeared in favour of David, were as clear and bright a discovery of God's glory to an eye of faith as such miraculous interpositions would have been to an eye of sense. [2.] To set forth God's displeasure against his enemies, God so espoused his cause that he showed himself an enemy to all his enemies; his anger is set forth by a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth (Sa2 22:9), coals kindled (Sa2 22:13), arrows, Sa2 22:15. Who knows the power and terror of his wrath? [3.] To set forth the extraordinary confusion which his enemies were put into, and the consternation that seized them; as if the earth had trembled and the foundations of the world had been discovered, Sa2 22:8, Sa2 22:16. Who can stand before God when he is angry? [4.] To show how ready God was to help him: He rode upon a cherub and did fly, Sa2 22:11. God hastened to his succour, and came to him with seasonable relief, though he had seemed at a distance; yet he was a God hiding himself (Isa 14:15), for he made darkness his pavilion (Sa2 22:12), for the amazement of his enemies and the protection of his own people. (4.) That God manifested his particular favour and kindness to him in these deliverances (Sa2 22:20): He delivered me, because he delighted in me. The deliverance came not from common providence, but covenant-love; he was herein treated as a favourite: so he perceived by the communications of divine grace and comfort to his soul with these deliverances, and the communion he had with God in them. Herein he was a type of Christ, whom God upheld because he delighted in him, Isa 42:1, Isa 42:2. 2. He magnifies the great successes God had crowned him with. He had not only preserved but prospered him. He was blessed, (1.) With liberty and enlargement. He was brought into a large place (Sa2 22:20), where he had room to thrive, and his steps were enlarged under him, so that he had room to stir (Sa2 22:37), being no longer straitened and confined. (2.) With military skill, and strength, and swiftness. Though he was bred up to the crook, he was well instructed in the arts of war and qualified for the toils and perils of it. God, having called him to fight his battles, qualified him for the service. He made him very ingenious (He teacheth my hands to war, Sa2 22:35. And this ingenuity was as good as strength, for it follows, "so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms," not so much by main force as by dexterity), and very vigorous and valiant. (Thou hast girded me with strength to battle, Sa2 22:40. He gives God the glory of all his courage and ability for service), and very expeditious: He maketh my feet swift like hinds feet (Sa2 22:34), which is of great advantage both in charging and retreating. (3.) With victory over his enemies, not only Saul and Absalom, but the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, Syrians, and other neighbouring nations, whom he subdued and made tributaries to Israel. His wonderful victories are here described, Sa2 22:38-43. They were speedy victories (I turned not again till I had consumed them, Sa2 22:38) and complete victories. The enemies of Israel were wounded, destroyed, consumed, fell under his feet, trampled upon, and disabled to rise, and their necks lay at his mercy. They cried both to earth and heaven for help, but in vain. There was none to save, none that durst appear for them. God answered them, not for they were not on his side, nor did they cry unto him till they were brought to the last extremity. Being thus abandoned, they became an easy prey to David's righteous and victorious sword, so that he beat them as small as the dust of the earth, which is scattered by the wind and trodden on by every foot. (4.) With advancement to honour and power. To this he was anointed before his troubles began, and at length, post tot discrimina rerum - after all his dangers and disasters, he gained his point. God made his way perfect (Sa2 22:33), gave him success in all his undertakings, set him upon his high places (Sa2 22:34), denoting both safety and dignity. God's gentleness, his grace and tender mercy, made him great (Sa2 22:36), gave him great wealth, and great authority, and a name like that of the great men of the earth. He was kept to be the head of the heathen (Sa2 22:44); his signal preservations evinced that he was designed and reserved for something great - to rule over all Israel, notwithstanding the strivings of the people, and so that those whom he had not known should serve him, many of the nations that lay remote. Thus he was lifted up on high, as high as the throne, above those that rose up against him, Sa2 22:49. V. The comfortable reflections he makes upon his own integrity, which God, by those wonderful deliverances, had graciously owned and witnessed to, Sa2 22:21-25. He means especially his integrity with reference to Saul and Ishbosheth, Absalom and Sheba, and those who either opposed his coming to the crown or endeavoured to dethrone him. They falsely accused him and misrepresented him, but he had the testimony of this conscience for him that he was not an ambitious aspiring man, a false and bloody man, as they called him, - that he had never taken any indirect unlawful courses to secure or raise himself, but in his whole conduct had kept in the way of his duty, - and that in the whole course of his conversation he had, for the main, made religion his business, so that he could take God's favours to him as the rewards of his righteousness, not of debt, but of grace. God had recompensed him, though not for his righteousness, as if that had merited any thing at the hand of God, yet according to his righteousness, which he was well pleased with, and had an eye to. His conscience witnessed for him, 1. That he had made the word of God his rule, and had kept to it, Sa2 22:23. Wherever he was, God's judgments were before him as his guide; whithersoever he went, he took his religion along with him, and though he was forced to depart from his country, and sent, as it were, to serve other gods, yet as for God's statutes, he did not depart from them, but kept the way of the Lord and walked in it. 2. That he had carefully avoided the bye-paths of sin. He had not wickedly departed from his God. He could not say but that he had taken some false steps, but he had not deserted God, nor forsaken his way. Sins of infirmity he could not acquit himself from, but the grace of God had kept him from presumptuous sins. Though he had sometimes weakly departed from his God. By this it appeared that he was upright before God, or to God (in his sight, and with an eye to him), that he kept himself from his own iniquity, not only from that particular sin of killing Saul when it was in the power of his hand to do it, but, in general, he was afraid of sin and watchful against it, and made conscience of what he said and did. The matter of Uriah is an exception (Kg1 15:5), like that in Hezekiah's character, Ch2 32:31. Note, A careful abstaining from our own iniquity is one of the best evidences of our own integrity; and the testimony of our conscience for us that we have done so will be such a rejoicing as will not only lessen the griefs of an afflicted state, but increase the comforts of a prosperous state. David reflected with more comfort upon his victories over his own iniquity than upon his conquest of Goliath and all the hosts of the uncircumcised Philistines; and the witness of his own heart to his uprightness was sweeter though more silent music than theirs that sang, David has slain his ten thousands. If a great man be a good man, his goodness will be much more his satisfaction than his greatness. Let favour be shown to the upright and his uprightness will sweeten it, will double it. VI. The comfortable prospects he has of God's further favour. As he looks back, so he looks forward, with pleasure, and assures himself of the kindness God has in store for all the saints, for himself, and also for his seed. 1. For all good people, Sa2 22:26-28. As God had dealt with him according to his uprightness, so he will with all others. He takes occasion here to lay down the established rules of God's procedure with the children of men: - (1.) That he will do good to those that are upright in their hearts. As we are found towards God, he will be found towards us. [1.] God's mercy and grace will be the joy of those that are merciful and gracious. Even the merciful need mercy; and they shall obtain it. [2.] God's uprightness, his justice and faithfulness, will be the joy of those that are upright, just, and faithful, both towards God and man. [3.] God's purity and holiness will be the joy of those that are pure and holy, who therefore give thanks at the remembrance thereof. And, if any of these good people be afflicted people, he will save them, either out of their afflictions or by and after them. On the other hand, (2.) That those who turn aside to crooked ways he will lead forth with the workers of iniquity, as he says in another psalm. With the froward he will wrestle; and those with whom God wrestles are sure to be foiled. Woe unto him that strives with his Maker! God will walk contrary to those that walk contrary to him and be displeased with those that are displeased with him. As for the haughty, his eyes are upon them, marking them out, as it were, to be brought down; for he resists the proud. 2. For himself. He foresaw that his conquests and kingdom would be yet further enlarged, Sa2 22:45, Sa2 22:46. Even the sons of the stranger, that would hear the report of his victories and the tokens of God's presence with him, would be possessed with a fear of him, would be forced to submit to him, though feignedly, and would be obedient to him. The successes which he had had he looked upon as earnests of more and means of more. Who durst oppose him by whom so many had been overcome? Thus the Son of David goes on conquering and to conquer, Rev 6:2. His gospel, which has been victorious, shall be so more and more. 3. For his seed: He showeth mercy to his Messiah (Sa2 22:51), not only to David himself, but to that seed of his for evermore. David was himself anointed of God, not a usurper, but duly called to the government and qualified for it; therefore he doubted not but God would show mercy to him, that mercy which he had promised not to take from him nor from his posterity (Sa2 7:15, Sa2 7:16); on that promise he depends, with an eye to Christ, who alone is his seed for evermore, whose throne and kingdom still continue, and will to the end, whereas the seed and lineage of David are long since extinct. See Psa 89:28, Psa 89:29. Thus all his joys and all his hopes terminate, as ours should, in the great Redeemer.

Verse 1

22:1-51 Although this prayer of thanksgiving (also recorded in Ps 18) is placed near the end of David’s story, David probably offered it to God much earlier in his life. This prayer and Hannah’s (1 Sam 2:1-10) together enclose the book of Samuel with an inclusio (literary bookends). Hannah was saved from barrenness; David was saved from his enemies. The placement of this hymn also provides a parallel to Moses. The stories of both Moses and David end with a song or hymn giving lavish praise to God (see also Deut 31:30–32:43). Both highlight God as a “Rock” (Deut 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31; 2 Sam 22:2, 3, 32, 47). Both are followed by second and shorter poetic pieces—Moses’ final blessing to the Israelite tribes (Deut 33), and David’s last words (2 Sam 23:1-7).

Verse 2

22:2 Hannah had said, “there is no Rock like our God” (1 Sam 2:2), while David said, the Lord is my rock, which recalls God’s rescue of David from Saul at the Rock of Escape (1 Sam 23:28). The Hebrew word translated “rock” in 22:3 (different from 22:2) refers in 1 Sam 24:2 to “the rocks of the wild goats,” where Saul suspected that David was hiding. • fortress: The same word referred to David’s physical “stronghold” (1 Sam 22:4), where David and his men sought refuge from Saul.

Verse 3

22:3 The phrase the power that saves me (literally the horn that has saved me) is similar to Hannah’s “the Lord has made me strong!,” (literally the Lord has exalted my horn, 1 Sam 2:1).

Verse 7

22:7 Although his sanctuary sometimes refers to the Tabernacle or Temple, here it refers to God’s heavenly dwelling; neither the Tabernacle nor the Temple were in existence at this time.

Verse 8

22:8-20 David vividly expands on how God heard him (22:7). David describes God’s rescue as a theophany (manifestation of God’s presence; see study notes on Exod 19:16-25; Deut 1:33) that recalls God’s manifestation at Sinai (Exod 19:16-20; cp. Judg 5:4-5).

Verse 14

22:14 The Lord thundered from heaven: Cp. 1 Sam 2:10.

Verse 21

22:21-30 David’s divine rescue and success were related to his own obedient walk with God. God honors those who order their lives in a way that pleases him (see also Lev 26:1-13; Deut 28:1-14; Ps 1).

Verse 22

22:22-24 David composed these words much earlier (22:1), before his sin with Bathsheba. Still, his claim to being blameless should not be construed as a claim to perfection. David was simply noting that he had kept the covenant and followed its law.

Verse 31

22:31-51 David glorifies God for rescue in the past and for his promises to David’s house for coming generations (see 7:8-16).

Verse 32

22:32 See Isa 43:11; 44:6, 8; 45:5, 21.

Verse 34

22:34 David probably encountered deerduring his many days of hiding out in hilly terrain and caves (1 Sam 19:11–27:12).

Verse 38

22:38-40 David’s military accomplishments before he became king were impressive (see 1 Sam 17:12-58; 18:17-30; 23:1-5; 30:1-31). Yet rather than exalting himself, David glorified God and gave him the credit.

Verse 51

22:51 Cp. 7:5-29; 1 Sam 2:10.

Stand Still and See the Salvation of the Lord

Bringing the Power of God Into Prayer

God Our Fortress - Part 1

David's Actions in Praise for God's Deliverance

God Our Fortress - Part 2

Fit or Misfit? (Part 3)

God Is My Strength and Power - Part 1

(2 Samuel) the Grateful Retrospect

The Progress of the Upright

David's Song of Deliverance Part 1

Affliction With Patience

The Testing of David

Jesus Is the Horn of Salvation

The Message of 2 Samuel

Be Thou Exalted

Psalms 61:2

God Bless and Keep You in Peace

Thy Gentleness Hath Made Me Great.

He Will Give Light

His Heart Is Fixed

The Gift of Showing Mercy

Epistle 337

A Strong Tower

Introduction

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Verse 5

Verse 11

Introduction

Introduction

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Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 25

Verse 26

Verse 27

Introduction

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 5

Verse 8

Verse 11

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 17

Verse 21

Verse 25

Verse 29

Verse 30

Verse 31

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Verse 36

Verse 38

Verse 42

Verse 44

Verse 47

Verse 50

Introduction

Verse 1

Verse 2