Bible Commentaries
2 Samuel 22

2 Samuel2Sa 21 2 Samuel2Sa 2 Samuel2Sa 23

Search for…

Resource Toolbox

Print version Copyright Bibliography

Verses 1-28

INTRO:
1. We welcome back our team from Cambodia(Wed share?). Team left Fri night to Burma.
2. Songs are an important part of our lives!
  1. Weird...I was watching KNBC News, w/Colleen Williams reporting on Sonic drugs – aka “digital drugs” or “i-dosing” that are available online. I-dosing websites claim that listening to specific sound can make someone feel as if they’ve taken actual drugs. Sonic drugs work through binaural(bI-nerel) beats -- the playing of two slightly different tones and frequencies into both ears simultaneously.
3. I don’t know about that, but I do know...Songs are an important part of our lives!
  1. They are key for expression (we express heart & life through them).
  2. They are key for instruction (they impact us deeply).
  3. Songs help us say what we wanted to say.
  4. We put words to the things of our heart. Or, they help us to guide heart into what we should be expressing (i.e. worship).
4. Here is David’s Song of Victory!
  1. Note: 1st Sam started with a song(Hannah’s) & now 2nd Sam bookends w/David’s.
5. This song is repeated, with slight variations in Ps.18.
  1. 2 Sam.22 was intended to reveal his heart as he recalls God’s Faithfulness; Ps.18 seems to have been modified later for use as an aid in public worship.
    1. Its like, if I shared one of my poems on my blog, & then used it later in a sermon in a different context.
  2. This is the longest quote attributed to David in the whole bible.
  3. We learn a lot about watching his life, but here, the sweet psalmist of Israel shares right from his very soul.
6. Outline: God’s Protection; God’s Power; God’s Provision; God’s Perfect Justice.
GOD’S PROTECTION! (1-7)
1. (1) Saul was not listed as an enemy, but was in a different category. What grace!
2. (2) David did not take credit for any of his victories; he gave the glory to God.
3. (3) The writer of Hebrews applies this verse to Jesus! (Heb.2:13)
4. (2,3) My - occurs 9 x’s in 2 vs.
  1. May all of our prayers start off with “praise, adoration, admiration, exaltation.”
  2. It’s simply setting your heart free to sing to God.
  3. How multifaceted our God is! - We can pile 1 expression upon another, but they are all inadequate in trying to explain Him.
5. Rock - reminds of strength & stability. (river swift current in Burma; I remember getting to the other side & holding on with finger tips!)
6. Fortress - stronghold, matsada (Masada).
7. Shield - magen (small shield, protects from attack) [Magen David Adom; like Red Cross] [Star/shield of David]
  1. Red Cross; Red Crystal(diamond w/star of David); Red Crescent; Red Lion w/sun/sword(Iran).
  2. From Deut.15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
8. Stronghold-Prov.18:12 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it & are safe
9. Refuge - think of the battles over the years: w/Philistia, Aram, Ammon. Goliath, Achish, Sheba, his own Absalom...Saul.
  1. In every tempest, David found a shelter in the Lord.
10. Are you trudging through tough times? Comfort your heart w/David’s images of God.
  1. Each speaking of God’s security. [but how do you get this security? see 5-7]
11. (5-7) David now begins with the depth into which he sunk.
  1. (7) Yet, he could cry…& God would hear!
    1. There is no distress so deep, no flood so high, but our cry may rise into the ear of God.
    2. God was no distant deity, preoccupied w/other galaxies or concerned w/the changing of the seasons. His God heard his voice!
  2. What do you do when your’e drowning in a flood of opposition? (vs.7!)
12. Ex: In my salt water fish tank there are 3 options for protection:
  1. Protect yourself! They carry their protection around with them. However doesn’t always work. [lil hermit crabs were dying off. Finally I caught a bigger crab I bought, w/his claw down the shell of a hermit crab eating him like ice cream from a bowl]
  2. Find the protection in others! Symbiotic relationship (clown fish/Nemo & anemone) which is great, till my anemone died. Gangs/Mafia work the same way.
  3. Find your protection from above! Me! This other-worldly help, that sometimes steps in, yet always watching, & removes mean crabs; removes green algae before it takes over their world.
    1. This 3rd option is the best option. It seems foolish at 1st because it is trusting in what you cannot see. So faith is involved. Its what activates this protection. It is divine.
    2. And as you begin to place your faith in a protection you cannot see, you begin to experience your faith. Your faith is proven out in experience.
    3. What we are talking about is faith in the Living God.
GOD’S POWER! (8-16)
1. David describes God’s intervention as “an earthquake, followed by His arrows of lightening, fire, smoke, darkness, thick clouds, His voice like thunder, winds like the angry breath of His nostrils.” God was angry!
2. Doesn’t this make you look at storms in your life a little different, when you find out...dark thick black clouds...are His chariot!
3. What’s God doing? He is responding to those cries. He’s bringing rain(ch.21, 3 yr famine). He’s answering the call for help in the drought & the famine.
  1. Can you picture Him coming in the same way to answer your cries? (powerful!!!)
4. Icebergs: In the frigid waters around Greenland are countless icebergs, some little and some gigantic. If you’d observe them carefully, you’d notice that sometimes the small ice floes move in one direction while their massive counterparts flow in another. The explanation is simple. Surface winds drive the little ones, whereas the huge masses of ice are carried along by deep ocean currents.
  1. When we face trials and tragedies, it’s helpful to see our lives as being subject to two forces - surface winds and ocean currents.
  2. The winds represent everything changeable, unpredictable, & distressing. But operating simultaneously with these gusts & gales is another force that’s even more powerful. It is the sure movement of God’s wise & sovereign purposes, the deep flow of His unchanging love.
IV. GOD’S PROVISION! (17-25)
1. (17) God not only came down(10) he reached down & plucked David out of dangerous waters
2. (19,20) Sums up what he has said so far.
3. (20a) He also brought me out into a broad place - PTL, no longer “tight places!” (Ps.46:1)
4. Madame Guyon(17th cent. French mystic) And what is this "large place"? What can it be but God Himself, that infinite Being in whom all other beings and all other streams of life terminate? God is a large place indeed. And it was through humiliation, through abasement, through nothingness that David was brought into it.
  1. Exod. 19:4 I bare you on eagle's wings, and brought you unto myself.
  2. Fearing to launch on "full surrender's" tide, I asked the Lord where would its waters glideMy little bark, "To troubled seas I dread?" - "Unto Myself," He said. Weeping beside an open grave I stood,In bitterness of soul I cried to God:"Where leads this path of sorrow that I tread?" - "Unto Myself," He said. Striving for souls, I loved the work too well;
    Then disappointments came; I could not tellThe reason, till He said, - "I am thine all; Unto Myself I call."Watching my heroes--those I loved the best-- I saw them fail; they could not stand the test,Even by this the Lord, through tears not few, Unto Himself me drew. Unto Himself! No earthly tongue can tellThe bliss I find, since in His heart I dwell;The things that charmed me once seem all as naught; Unto Himself I'm brought. (Streams in the Desert, Aug.21, Psalms 18:19.)
5. (20b) He delivered me because He delighted in me. [That’s the whole message of Grace!]
  1. Can you say that? Do you even think that? Oh, not that you were so lovable in yourself; no, because He choose to love you.
    1. Ex: I’ve had friends choose the ugliest dogs. I didn’t see anything lovely at all in them. But they really love them. They are family now!
  2. Moses told the Israelites, The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you…Deut.7:7,8a
6. Hang on that truth in the midst of your calamity!
  1. “Caring for you, He feels your ache; Delighting in you, He will be your security.” (Charles Swindoll, David, pg.179.)
  2. Believe it! He delights in you saints. Believe it!
  3. The battle endures & exhausts you! But remember, He rescues you because He delights in you.
7. Tomorrow(Oct.31st, 2011) between 1 & 2pm the population of earth hits 7 billion!
  1. I saw a web site(world population cock)that celebrates this event w/a tee-shirt that reads Oct.31st,2011 6,999,999,999 + ME!
8. (21-24) The theological center of the poem is found here, as David revealed the reason for his deliverance. It is because David was careful to follow the law of the Lord. (Shepherd’s Notes, 1 & 2 Samuel, pg.88.)
9. These verses are not a declaration of sinless perfection, for David was a sinner like any man. These describe David’s integrity of heart.
  1. Ps.78:70-72 He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds; From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
  2. It’s believed it was written before his fall...but nonetheless.
GOD’S PERFECT JUSTICE! (26-28)
1. Before my last point(your homework) Try setting time aside this week to set your heart free to sing to God. Maybe jot down how multifaceted your God is!
2. (28) You will save the humble people - (Dictionary of Biblical Languages) oppressed, poor, i.e., pertaining to being a lowly, needy state, as a class of persons of low status in a society, usually of persons in fiscal poverty, implying a lack of resource.
  1. As Charlotte shared...we are interested in Fair Trade, why? Not nec to protect our ecosystem(yet we should care about Gods backyard) but to improve lives.
  2. To help hard working people, who grow & sew the products we love, in 70 different countries to get fair prices & to help them keep their kids in school.
  3. (28) God will save the humble/the poor, oppressed, those in poverty; & we’re going to team up with Him in what He’s doing. Helping them spiritually...& practically!

return to 'Top of Page'

Verses 29-51

INTRO:
1. We continue in David’s Victory Song at the end of his life.
2. Outline: The Warrior & The Worshipper. Slide #11
THE WARRIOR! (29-46)
1. The picture here is that of a courageous warrior letting nothing stand in the way of victory.
  1. He’s running through a troop or “breaking through the enemies barricades”, even scaling a wall to take a city.
2. (29) You are my lamp - David could say, The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? (Ps.27:1) [Fear? Life, failure, the unknown, financial disaster; being laid off, loosing someone you love]
  1. In the darkest times, David found a Lamp to light his way.
  2. When days are dark, the Lord is our only Light!
3. (31) His Word is...proven - What is God’s Word to you?
  1. Are you more concerned with Getting His Word right, or getting it lived?
  2. Are you more concerned with stacking your theology in neat piles like crackers, or is your desire to squeeze His Word like grapes seeking after its juice?
  3. Are you more concerned with taking His Word into the laboratory to dissect it, or taking it into your soul & assimilating it.
4. (33-35) He makes - David was a gifted warrior, but it was the anointing power of the Lord that enabled him to succeed on the battlefield.
  1. In the strength of the Lord David was invincible.
  2. George Whitefield quote, We are immortal until our work on earth is done
5. (34) God became David’s Strength, Song, & his Salvation!
  1. If my legs were shaking, I probably would be looking for a place to sit down…not bounding up the side of a mountain, like a deer! Slide #13
  2. The Lord gives us “bounding feet” so we can overcome the obstacles of life.
  3. God doesn’t always change the circumstances, but He can change us to meet the circumstances!
  4. Faith gives you the ability to stand sure-footed like a deer, & to be able to run-swiftly & go higher then ever before!
  5. Like the eagle & like the deer, God made us for the heights! Slide #14(blank)
    1. They both will go down into the valley but that’s not where they live! (us too!)
  6. Garibaldi, the great Italian Patriot[Led 1000 volunteers in the capture of Sicily/Naples 1860] appealed for recruits in these terms, “I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles & death. Let him who loves his country in his heart, & not w/his lips only, follow me.”
    1. Jesus didn’t come to make life easy but to make men great!
6. (36) When you look back on your years of difficulties & struggles, do you see the hardness of life, or the gentleness of God?
  1. David affirmed that the yoke was easy & the burden was light. (Mt.11:28-30)
  2. Your life today may seem hard, keep trusting & obeying. One day God will give you your own victory song! (Warren Wiersbe)
  3. Your gentleness has made me great...is David’s amazement that the Lord would stoop down to make him great.
    1. God the Father condescends to work in our lives & to fit us for the work of His choosing.
    2. Is.57:15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
    3. God the Son stooped down, when He came to earth as a man; God the Spirit stooped down, when He came to live in the lives of the people of God.
7. (37) So my feet did not slip(turn an ankle) - with the Lord as your Lamp in a dark forest you don’t see all the trees, but you do see a few steps ahead of you. (Burma night hike/red head lamp)
  1. As the Lord lights your path, He may not shine all the answers to your shadowy questions in your mind, but He will give you the light you need to scale life’s obstacles w/confidence & agility.
8. (38-46) You might cringe as we read his description of his victories (ie. stepping on their necks. 41)
  1. But these are truly battles of the Lord. What we really can term “Just War!”
  2. If these nations had defeated & destroyed Israel, what would happen to God’s great plan of salvation? We wouldn’t have a bible, & we wouldn’t have a Savior!
    1. In rebelling against the Lord & worshiping idols, these pagan nations had sinned against a flood of light, so they were w/o excuse.
    2. The Lord had been patient with them for many years, but they had spurned His grace.
    3. Thus, they were ground to powder (43).
THE WORSHIPPER! (47-51)
1. David’s shout of praise(47-51) was his bold witness to these subjected peoples that their dead idols could not save nor protect them.
  1. Only Jehovah, the God of Israel, is the true & living God.
  2. God was his Champion! Slide #16(blank)
2. (51) To David and his descendants Forevermore - David wraps up his victory song with his toes on the edge of a canyon, looking out into the future, & visualizing Gods eternal promises cutting through the clouds like shafts of sunlight.
3. Review:
  1. What thrilled the heart of David? God Himself! (mentioned at least 19 x’s)
  2. David saw God in the affairs of his life, both sunny days & in stormy seasons.
  3. David saw God’s purposes in his life, w/Israel, w/gentiles & rejoiced to be a part of it.
  4. David saw God’s gentle hand, despite trials, troubles & trauma along the way.
    1. Ps.4:1 You have relieved me in my distress (lit. You have enlarged me in a tight corner)
    2. David’s battleground turned into his proving ground for his faith.
  5. And this can be our experience as well!
4. David, a Warrior that fights on his feet; but equally comfortable as, a Worshiper falling on his face. [Warriors & Worshipers]
  1. Nehemiah’s builders each had a sword in 1 hand & a trowel in the other.
  2. David learned how to wield the sword & the harp.
5. Invite up team/dismiss ushers/Pray: Lord, whom have we but you? Only You can satisfy our thirsty souls...You are an endless spring. Your water is free, all other streams are dry.

return to 'Top of Page'

2 Samuel2Sa 21 2 Samuel2Sa 2 Samuel2Sa 23

Copyright Statement
These files are the property of Brian Bell.
Text Courtesy of Calvary Chapel of Murrieta. Used by Permission.

Bibliographical Information
Bell, Brian. "Commentary on 2 Samuel 22". "Bell's Commentary". https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/2-samuel-22.html. 2017.

Bible Commentaries2 Samuel 22

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-28

Verses 29-51

Bible Commentaries
2 Samuel 22