A Song Of Praise Series

Introduction:

A. How many of you like to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles?

1. One day a man went to the DMV and stood in line for what seemed like eons.

2. When it was finally his turn, the clerk typed his name into the computer and said, “That’s odd.”

3. “What’s wrong?” the man asked.

4. She replied, “My computer says you’re deceased.”

5. The man looked around and muttered to himself, “Great. I died and went to hell.”

B. I wonder if king David didn’t feel that way at times, with all that he went through.

1. We’ve spent the better part of this year studying the life of David that we might learn how to cultivate a heart for God like David had.

2. David’s example shows us that it is possible to live out our spirituality here in the real world.

3. It’s not always easy, and it’s not always pretty.

4. Like David, we stumble and fall along the way.

5. We sin and fall short of God’s purposes for our lives, but in spite of that, the grace of God allows us to pick up the pieces and move forward, toward God.

C. The long shadows of age are beginning to fall across David’s life.

1. He has lived a full life and experienced both the heights and the depths.

2. The twilight years are descending upon him rather quickly.

3. David has often trusted God in impossible and heart-breaking circumstances.

D. Long before David was king, he was a singer of songs.

1. As we have been studying David’s life, we have tried to place a number of his Psalms in their historical context.

2. As we near the end of 2 Samuel and the end of David’s life, we notice that the author of 2 Samuel inserts a psalm of David that spans the entire 22nd chapter.

3. What we are looking at here is perhaps one of his last Psalms.

E. As you recall, David has suffered a lot of grief and anguish during his life.

1. Most recently, in his older years things have been especially difficult.

2. His own son, Absalom conspired to take the kingdom from his father, but it led to his premature death.

3. There has been three years of famine.

3. And added to all that, David also finds himself back at war with his age-old enemy – the Philistines.

4. 2 Samuel 21:15 tells us, “Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted.”

5. In verse 17, David’s men vow to never let David go with them into battle ever again.

F. David is old and weary! After all he had been through, who wouldn’t feel exhausted?

1. A person can only take so much! Right?

2. Thus, the weary David lifts his hands to God and declares his feelings in a song which covers no less than 51 verses.

3. But the tone is not what you might expect, given his weariness.

4. In this song, David testifies to the Lord, and summarizes the major lessons of his own life.

5. Let’s take a look at these lessons that David learned and see how they might be helpful to us.

I. Lesson 1: When Times are Tough, God is Our only Security.

A. David wrote: “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 men you save me.” (2 Sam. 22:2-3)

1. In each of these poetic expressions, David is describing the Lord as his secure heavenly Father.

2. As I’ve said, David was certainly going through a lot, but in the midst of all his trouble, he looked to and clung to the Lord.

B. David wrote: “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 Sam. 22:7)

1. In David’s mind, God was no distant Deity, too preoccupied with other galaxies or other stuff to pay attention to His people.

2. David believed that God heard his voice.

3. David’s pain-filled, guttural cries came into God’s ears.

C. Notice God’s involvement and response to David’s cry.

1. David wrote: “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. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” (2 Sam. 22:17-20)