David's Song Of Praise To God In 2nd Samuel 22 Series

If there’s one thing that perfectly sums up David’s life it’s the praise that David sings to the Lord in 2nd Samuel 22. David expresses poetically all that God has done for him. David acknowledges clearly, his life story is not really about David. It’s about his God.

The entire chapter of 2nd Samuel 22 is all about what God has done in King David’s life.

It starts off like this, with an introduction: “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:…”

This song is very similar to Psalm 18 in the book of Psalms, though there are some variations. I think what we’re going to do today is go line by line through this poem, this song, and find some nuggets of truth in it, that will help all of us to walk closely with the God of David in our own lives.

David cries out, verses 2-3: “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 savior— from violent people you save me.”

Three truths about who God is to us: He is our rock. Firm foundation. Second, he is a fortress around us. A place of safety. Thirdly, our deliverer. Someone who comes and rescues is when we’re in trouble.

Verses 4-7: “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and have been saved from my enemies.

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.”

I called to the Lord, it’s important we remember we need to cry out to Him. He wants us to pray. Then he answers. David pictures himself as sinking in a whirlpool down further, and further, helpless and unable to save himself. Eventually he finds himself under the waters, cords of death wrapped around him, and in that pit of darkness David cries out to God, and God hears all the way in heaven. The cry for help echoes up into the highest heaven, and God hears.

It reminds me of a time I was visiting my aunt and uncles cottage in Minocqua, Wisconsin. I was about ten years old, and my cousin and I were playing on the dock. It was late autumn, very cold. And I fell into the water. Now my dad was all the way up about seventy-five steps, straight up, where the cottage rested on the top of a hill. And when my dad heard me calling for help in the water up to my head, he made it down those steps in about three seconds. There's no way he could've done that. But somehow he did. It reminds me of how God comes to us and rescues us in our time of trouble.

The next few verses here, we hear about a very dark situation. And David cries out to God. David certainly faced many difficult situations in his life. Many of us can say the same. We've been through struggles. Life is hard. Crazy stuff happens! So we must cry out to God again and again. It's a repeated process. A spiritual tool we should return to again and again. And for David, and us, it says, our cry reaches his throne room. God hears our cry for help. Just like God hears David's cry for help and moves in to rescue him.

Next in verses 8-16 we see God responding to David’s cry for help. God shows up in a huge way, as David cries out to Him for help.

It says, “8 The earth trembled and quaked,

the foundations of the heavens shook;

they trembled because he was angry.

9 Smoke rose from his nostrils;

consuming fire came from his mouth,

burning coals blazed out of it

10 He parted the heavens and came down;

dark clouds were under his feet.

11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;

he soared on the wings of the wind.

12 He made darkness his canopy around him—

the dark rain clouds of the sky.

13 Out of the brightness of his presence

bolts of lightning blazed forth.

14 The Lord thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded.

15 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,

with great bolts of lightning he routed them.

16 The valleys of the sea were exposed

and the foundations of the earth laid bare