2 Samuel 22:29

²⁸You save an afflicted people, but Your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. ²⁹For You, O LORD, are my lamp; the LORD lights up my darkness. ³⁰For in You I can charge an army; with my God I can scale a wall.

Sermons

He Will Give Light

Mary Wilder Tileston

Summary

This verse highlights the truth that God is our source of strength and enables us to overcome any obstacle or enemy we may face. It emphasizes the unwavering support and protection that God provides to His people, especially in times of trouble. By acknowledging God as our fortress and refuge, we find assurance and confidence in His power to deliver us from harm. This verse echoes the theme of God's faithfulness and might displayed throughout the Bible, encouraging believers to trust in His sovereignty and seek refuge in Him alone.

Commentary

Keil-Delitzsch

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

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.