Introduction

This song of praise was recorded and written by David, possibly written during David’s early days when he was delivered from Saul. It also reflects all the victories he had over the Philistines. The whole chapter can also be read in Psalm 18:1-50.

Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.

‘This song, which is found with scarcely any material variation as Psalm 18, and with the words of this first verse for its title, belongs to the early part of David’s reign when he was recently established upon the throne of all Israel, and when his final triumph over the house of Saul, and over the pagan nations, 2 Samuel 22:44-46, Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Ammonites, and Edomites, was still fresh 2 Samuel 21.’

DAVID’S SONG OF PRAISE

‘David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: ‘The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge, and my saviour—from violent people, you save me. ‘I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies.’ 2 Samuel 22:1-4

In Psalm 18, David begins by saying, ‘I love you, LORD, my strength’ Psalm 18:1. Here, David begins by declaring his love for God, and he uses eight metaphors to describe his relationship with God.

In David’s song, we see that he uses metaphors such as rock, fortress, deliverer, shield, horn, stronghold, refuge, and saviour to describe how God protected him when he was on the run from Saul, 2 Samuel 22:1.

He is his rock, 2 Samuel 23:2-3 / Psalm 18:2 / 2 Samuel 22:47. He is his fortress, 2 Samuel 22:2 / Psalm 18:2. He is his deliverer, 2 Samuel 22:2 / Psalm 18:2. He is his refuge, 2 Samuel 22:3 / Psalm 18:2 / 2 Samuel 22:31 / 2 Samuel 22:33.

He is his shield, 2 Samuel 22:3 / Psalm 18:2 / Psalm 33:20. He is his horn, 2 Samuel 22:3 / Psalm 18:2 / 1 Samuel 2:10. He is his stronghold, 2 Samuel 22:3 / Psalm 18:2. God is his saviour, 2 Samuel 22:3 / Psalm 18:2. God really is worthy of our praise, 2 Samuel 22:4 / Psalm 18:3.

‘The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. ‘In my distress, I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple, he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.’ 2 Samuel 22:5-7

David again describes how he was feeling when he was on the run from Saul. He again uses metaphors to describe how much distress and anguish he was in when he was running from the ungodly, and everywhere he turned, he was facing death. David clearly put the security of his life in God’s hands and he was confident that God would save him from the hands of his enemies, 1 Samuel 27:1.

David is obviously fearing for his life, 2 Samuel 22:5-6 / Psalm 18:4-5, and so, in his distress, he cries out to God for help, Jonah 2:2, and is confident that God heard his prayer. He called out to God while he was in distress and God heard him, 2 Samuel 22:7 / Psalm 18:6.

We must note that the word ‘temple’ used here, can also be translated as the word ‘tabernacle’, 2 Samuel 22:7 / Psalm 18:6 / Exodus 25:9 / Exodus 25:40 / 1 Samuel 1:9 / 1 Samuel 3:3, which would make a lot more sense because as we know the temple hadn’t been built yet, 2 Samuel 5:6-10 / 1 Kings 5-7.

‘The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his canopy around him—the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence, bolts of lightning blazed forth. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning, he routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils. ‘He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.’ 2 Samuel 22:8-19

David remembers the threat to the environment he was in. He remembers the natural forces of nature, like darkness, wind, thunder, and lightning, which God used to save him from death.

David describes God’s deliverance using metaphors of natural phenomena, 2 Samuel 22:8-16 / Psalm 18:7-15, which are used to demonstrate that God is taking action, Exodus 19:16-18 / Judges 5:4-5 / Job 38:1 / Isaiah 29:6 / Zephaniah 1:2.

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.

‘This highly imaginative section suggests to this writer nothing quite so vividly as it does the final judgment of mankind. The Theophany, the coming of God Himself, the mighty earthquake, the mountains being moved, Revelation 6:12-15, the great hail, Revelation 16:21, the darkness, Revelation 6:12, the death of the wicked, as indicated by God’s arrows, the salvation of the righteous, mentioned a little later, all of these things are undoubtedly characteristic of the Final Judgment on the Great Day of God’s wrath, Revelation 6:17.’

David is greatly encouraged because he knows God has the power to control everything, and he knows God has the power to deliver him from his enemies. Although he was going through the greatest of dangers in his life, God protected him and delivered him from them all, 2 Samuel 22:17-19 / Psalm 18:16-18.

‘He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. ‘The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands, he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I am not guilty of turning from my God. All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.’ 2 Samuel 22:20-25

David’s obedience to the Lord and His will is shown here because God once again delivers him from his trials. He also acknowledges that his enemies were way too strong for him and his army, hence why he relied on the Lord’s strength to deliver him, 2 Samuel 22:20 / Psalm 18:19 / Psalm 23:4.

Because David was righteous and his hands were cleansed, 2 Samuel 22:21 / Psalm 18:20, which refers to forgiveness, Romans 3:25 / Colossians 1:28 / 1 John 1:7. He had kept the ways of God; he didn’t ignore the will of God, 2 Samuel 22:22-23 / Psalm 18:21-22, which speaks about his obedience to God.

David says he was ‘blameless’, 2 Samuel 22:24 / Psalm 18:23; to be blameless doesn’t mean sinless. When Paul is arguing with the legalizers in Philippi, he tells them he was blameless, Philippians 3:6; however, he was blameless in the sense that he did everything he had to do to be right with God according to the Law.

The law of Moses demanded that a person had to offer the appropriate sacrifice to be right with God, but now, under the law of Christ, a person needs to be baptised and confess their sins to God. God was obviously pleased with David’s humble and godly character, 1 Samuel 13:14 / Acts 13:22, and so He rewarded him, 2 Samuel 22:25 / Psalm 18:24.

‘To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low. You, LORD, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light. With your help, I can advance against a troop; with my God, I can scale a wall.’ 2 Samuel 22:26-30

David reminds us of God’s mercies. God will show mercy to those who have shown mercy to others, 2 Samuel 22:26 / Psalm 18:25 / Matthew 7:2 / James 2:13. He will forgive those who forgive others, Matthew 5:7 / Matthew 6:14-15 / Matthew 18:23-25.

It’s only those who have a pure heart, 2 Samuel 22:27 / Psalm 18:26, who can really understand just how pre God Himself is, Matthew 5:8 / 1 John 3:3. A devious person is a perverse person, 2 Samuel 22:27 / Psalm 18:26 / Leviticus 26:23-24 / Proverbs 3:32 / Job 5:12. Perhaps the greatest illustration of this was how God used the shrewd Laban to educate the devious Jacob, Genesis 27-28.

Those who are humble will be saved by God, 2 Samuel 22:28 / Psalm 18:27. The humble are those in society who have little or no power, Psalm 10:2 / Psalm 22:24 / Psalm 35:10 / Psalm 68:10. God will bring down the proud, 2 Samuel 22:28 / Psalm 18:27 / Luke 18:14 / James 4:6 / 1 Peter 5:5.

David says the Lord keeps his ‘lamp burning’, 2 Samuel 22:29 / Psalm 18:28, which means his obedience to God would be a light to those who walked in darkness, John 1:5 / John 8:12 / 1 John 1:5-7 / Matthew 5:14-16 / Philippians 2:14-15.

In the context here, this implies that God was going to make it known through David that He was working through him so that he would become the king of Israel.

David was confident that with God’s help, he would be victorious over his enemies, 2 Samuel 22:30 / Psalm 18:29. He truly is the lamp which lightens up our ways if we are obedient to Him, Psalm 119:105 / John 8:12.

‘As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.’ 2 Samuel 22:31-35

David again recognises the importance of obedience to God and His will. David declares God’s ways are perfect, and this is proven through His flawless word, 2 Samuel 22:31 / Psalm 18:30 / 2 Timothy 3:16-17 / Hebrews 4:12. He says that God is a shield to all those who take refuge in Him, 2 Samuel 22:31 / Psalm 18:30, that is, He protects them, Proverbs 30:5.

Notice he asks, ‘For who is God, besides the LORD? 2 Samuel 22:32 / Psalm 18:31. David knows full well who the one and only True Living God is compared to all those false gods of the Philistines, the Moabites and the Edomites.

It was the God of heaven who took David as a shepherd boy and made him the king of Israel, 2 Samuel 2-5. David again uses metaphors of war to describe how he could never be king of Israel without God’s help, 2 Samuel 22:32-35 / Psalm 18:32-34 / Revelation 6:16.

When people are obedient to God and His will, God becomes their strength and they receive power from Him, Ephesians 6:10, and it’s in this way that we become perfect, Ephesians 4:11-15 / Colossians 1:28 / Hebrews 5:14 / James 1:4.

‘You make your saving help my shield; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. ‘I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me. You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but he did not answer. I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets. ‘You have delivered me from the attacks of the peoples; you have preserved me as the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me; foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.’ 2 Samuel 22:36-46

David again uses metaphors of war to describe how he could never be king of Israel without God’s help, 2 Samuel 22:36 / Psalm 18:35 / Revelation 6:16. Notice how David gives God the credit for all the victories he had against all those who opposed him, 2 Samuel 22:36-43 / Psalm 18:37-42.

The very fact that he became king of Israel was proof that God was working in and through him. David was well aware that if he was to become king of Israel, it would involve more than just removing Saul as king; he would also have to remove all of his enemies.

When David became the ‘head of the nations’, 2 Samuel 22:44 / Psalm 18:43, he was so militarily dominant over those who opposed him that God extended his influence to nations that were not of Israel, and his conquest was so forceful that his enemies turned their backs and ran away from him.

This also looks forward beyond the time of David to the throne of David’s Greater Son; this is a Messianic prophecy, parallel with Psalm 2:8. It was during the end of David’s reign as king of Israel when he overpowered the enemies of Israel, 2 Samuel 22:45-46 / Psalm 18:44-45.

His military strength was so great that the surrounding nations were intimidated by the army of Israel, and as a result, no nation attempted to attack Israel, and so, during the reign of Solomon, David’s son, peace prevailed.

‘The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Saviour! He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me, who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me. Therefore, I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. ‘He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.’ 2 Samuel 22:47-51

David now declares that ‘the Lord lives’, 2 Samuel 22:47 / Psalm 18:46. He has no hesitation in giving God all the glory He deserves for what He has done and is doing in David’s life. This is one reason why he is described as ‘a man after God’s own heart’, 1 Samuel 13:14 / Acts 13:22.

David now goes on to praise God, 2 Samuel 22:47-51 / Psalm 18:47-49. The apostle Paul quotes these words in Romans 15:8-12, as the first of four Old Testament prophecies demonstrating that the work of Jesus Christ wasn’t only for the Jewish people, but for the Gentiles also.

Notice also that he says that God shows unfailing love to his ‘anointed’, 2 Samuel 22:51 / Psalm 18:50. This again tells us of the Messianic nature of this verse, and Psalm 18, as it reflects God’s covenant with David and his descendants, 2 Samuel 7:12-16.

God promised David that from his seed, one would arise who would build God’s house, that is, the church, Matthew 16:18, and His Kingdom should be established and that the throne of it would endure forever, Daniel 2:44.

He is fully aware that he was only allowed to be king of Israel because God anointed him. David says if people plotted against him, their plots would come to nothing because they weren’t obedient to God’s anointed king, 2 Samuel 22:51.

David is well aware that he was God’s anointed, 2 Samuel 22:51 / Psalm 18:50 / 1 Samuel 16:13 / 2 Samuel 2:4 / 2 Samuel 5:3, which meant if anyone opposed him, they were actually opposing God, Matthew 5:10-12 / John 15:20.

As long as the anointed walked in the ways of God, God would walk with him and work for him. He knows full well that his authority as king of Israel solely rested on God’s authority. The people may have desired David to be king, but it was God who made him king.

CONCLUSION

David had no hesitation in giving God all the glory for everything He had done and was doing in his life. When we come into God’s presence, there is simply no room for boasting about what we have done, 1 Corinthians 1:31 / 1 Corinthians 4:7 / 1 Corinthians 1:29. We must remember that we were created for His glory, not our own, Isaiah 42:8 / Isaiah 43:7.

Even Jesus Himself reminds us in His prayer that it’s God’s kingdom, it’s God’s power, and all the glory is His, Matthew 6:13. As Christians, we too must give God all the credit for everything He has done, is doing and will do in our lives in the future, James 1:17.

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