2 Samuel 22

2 Samuel 22:1

DAVID’S SONG OF DELIVERANCEIn chapter 22 we have the song David sings after God has delivered him from his enemies. It is the same as Psalms 18. This is a song that David composed, apparently, at the end of his life. As he looked back over his life, he could see how the hand of God had moved and brought him to the place of old age. I believe he composed Psalms 23 about the same time, because at this time of his life he could say, “The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” Paul put it this way, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ” (Php_1:6). God has brought you up to this moment, friend; why in the world do you think he is going to let you down now? God’s loving care for David in the past gives him confidence in the future.

2 Samuel 22:2

“The LORD is my rock.” A rock is a place upon which to rest. Christ is the rock of our salvationHe is the foundation. We rest on Him. “And my fortress.” That is for protection in life. “And my deliverer.” He will deliver us in the time of temptation. “The God of my rock.” The Lord is not only my rock, but He is the God of my rock, that is, of my faith. He is the object of my faith. “In him will I trust: he is my shield.” He protects me from the enemy. “And the horn of my salvation.” He is the One in whom I rest for salvation. He is “my high tower.” That is where I go to view the land. He is my vision. “My refuge, my saviour.” He is the One “who savest me from violence.” We are living in a day when we do not have anything that corresponds to genius in the way of writing. There is no great vision today. In our scientific age everything is run by computers. Everything is already taped. We know that two plus two equals four, but we don’t seem to produce anything really original. How monotonous life is when God is left out of it. In contrast, David recognized God in all the experiences of his life, and his poetic expression of gratitude is a masterpiece of literature.

2 Samuel 22:36

David was a rough and rugged man. He was hotheaded. But God is gentle, and David’s love for and association with God had quieted him. It had made David a gracious man: “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” You and I need to associate more with God. My, how men need God in this hour in which we are now living! This is a great psalm. David’s psalms are wonderful. They open the heart. They open up the mind. They open up life. They let you live, friend. We hear so much about people wanting to “live.” We have comforts and gadgets galore today. Many young people are growing up in homes of affluence where they have every comfort. Many leave all of that and go out and live as vagrants. They say it is because they want to live. Well, my friend, “things” won’t enable you to live. Running off and throwing away all the bands and cords with which God has bound us will not enable us to live either. It is only when we come into a right relationship with God that we are enabled to really live. Second Samuel 22 is a great psalm, one which David composed as he looked back over his life. Also, when we come to Psalms 23, you will find that I take the position that it was not written by a little immature boy. Psalms 23 was not written by a college student who didn’t really know what life was all about. Neither was it written by a middle-aged man who had ambition to get to the top in business or politics. It was not written by someone who wanted to become famous. Psalms 23 was written by an old king who looked back upon his life and could trace the hand of God moving in it. David was a man who had tasted everything. There was nothing that the world afforded that David had not tasted, my friend. David’s conclusion was that the most wonderful thing of all was, “The LORD is my shepherd.” This beautiful song of praise is not only great literature, it opens new vistas for us and lets us see something that is much more glorious than a sunset or the rising of the moon. It speaks of the marvelous relationship one man had with the almighty God. How we need that today!