This chapter of 2 Samuel seems to be a memoir or a recap of David’s younger days. It includes pieces of several psalms all rolled together into one epic poem. It may have been written when David was fleeing Saul before he was officially King, or it could have been a compilation of his psalms included here by the prophet Nathan. In any rate, this is a powerful prayer and worship song that we can use today. It’s OK to — and actually a wise thing — to pray God’s words back to Him. You can reword them to include yourself and make it personal. Remember, God wants a relationship with YOU. A relationship takes 2-way conversations. You can pray fervently, in your own words to God, borrow some of His and, of course, be still and listen for His reply. Let’s dig in….
2 Samuel 22 – Praise for God’s Deliverance
David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. 2 He sang:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
3 my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
He is my refuge, my savior,
the one who saves me from violence.
4 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.5 “The waves of death overwhelmed me;
floods of destruction swept over me.
6 The grave(Sheol) wrapped its ropes around me;
death laid a trap in my path.
7 But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
yes, I cried to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry reached his ears.8 “Then the earth quaked and trembled.
The foundations of the heavens shook;
they quaked because of his anger.
9 Smoke poured from his nostrils;
fierce flames leaped from his mouth.
Glowing coals blazed forth from him.
10 He opened the heavens and came down;
dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.
11 Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.
12 He shrouded himself in darkness,
veiling his approach with dense rain clouds.
13 A great brightness shone around him,
and burning coals blazed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot arrows and scattered his enemies;
his lightning flashed, and they were confused.
16 Then at the command of the Lord,
at the blast of his breath,
the bottom of the sea could be seen,
and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.17 “He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
19 They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,
but the Lord supported me.
20 He led me to a place of safety;
he rescued me because he delights in me.
21 The Lord rewarded me for doing right;
he restored me because of my innocence.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I have not turned from my God to follow evil.
23 I have followed all his regulations;
I have never abandoned his decrees.
24 I am blameless before God;
I have kept myself from sin.
25 The Lord rewarded me for doing right.
He has seen my innocence.26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful;
to those with integrity you show integrity.
27 To the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
28 You rescue the humble,
but your eyes watch the proud and humiliate them.
29 O Lord, you are my lamp.
The Lord lights up my darkness.
30 In your strength I can crush an army;
with my God I can scale any wall.31 “God’s way is perfect.
All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
32 For who is God except the Lord?
Who but our God is a solid rock?
33 God is my strong fortress,
and he makes my way perfect.
34 He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
enabling me to stand on mountain heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle;
he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.
36 You have given me your shield of victory;
your help has made me great.
37 You have made a wide path for my feet
to keep them from slipping.38 “I chased my enemies and destroyed them;
I did not stop until they were conquered.
39 I consumed them;
I struck them down so they did not get up;
they fell beneath my feet.
40 You have armed me with strength for the battle;
you have subdued my enemies under my feet.
41 You placed my foot on their necks.
I have destroyed all who hated me.
42 They looked for help, but no one came to their rescue.
They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer.
43 I ground them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I trampled them in the gutter like dirt.44 “You gave me victory over my accusers.
You preserved me as the ruler over nations;
people I don’t even know now serve me.
45 Foreign nations cringe before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they submit.
46 They all lose their courage
and come trembling from their strongholds.47 “The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!
2 Samuel NLT
May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted!
48 He is the God who pays back those who harm me;
he brings down the nations under me
49 and delivers me from my enemies.
You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies;
you save me from violent opponents.
50 For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations;
I will sing praises to your name.
51 You give great victories to your king;
you show unfailing love to your anointed,
to David and all his descendants forever.”
Verses 24-25 seem to refer to Jesus, who never sinned…
21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT
While David was being chased by Saul, who wanted to kill him, he had done nothing wrong. It wasn’t until later that he sinned with Bathsheba and then begged forgiveness in Psalm 51.
The Benefits of Worship
Yesterday we covered the 4 “I wills” of worship: praise, tell, rejoice and sing. Today we have the 4 benefits of worshiping God…
- Spiritual warfare – when we praise God, Satan cringes — it drives him crazy.
- Hope – we are filled with hope when we worship the One True God.
- We have a peace that surpasses all understanding.
- We are filled with a joy that only the Holy Spirit can bring to our souls.
The beauty of a relationship with Jesus is that you can worship Him anywhere and everywhere. At any time of the day or night. Cry out to Him. Pour your heart out to Him.
The Lord Jesus is Our…
Only HE is worthy of praise!
He saves us from our enemies.
Who is our enemy today? It’s not a country, not any one person or a terrorist group. It’s Satan and the evil forces in the unseen world.
Paul wrote….
10 Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:10-12 NLT
Hope is in Jesus Alone!
There’s always reason for hope when God is factored into your life. Hope is not found from within, or around us in the world, but above us in King Jesus! Let your up-look, set your outlook!
If you want to have confident hope, if you want to feel the joy and peace of salvation, you need to surrender your life to Jesus…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
