You probably can sing a television theme song, and someone could name that tune right away. The theme song identifies the show. Even when the older shows are gone their theme song live on. If any of us sang Gilligan’s Island or Beverly Hillbillies, then the rest of us could sing along.
Do you have a theme song? King David had one. In fact, he wrote his own life theme song. We will look at King David’s Theme song. When you come across the spiritual depth, love for God, richness of praise and the great expressions of his faith in this song you know, it’s King David’s theme song.
This is David’s theme song, and you can identify him by his depth of love for God, riches of praise and great expressions of his faith. This inspired song can teach us about God, help us to express our love for him, bring us comfort in difficulty. It will help our spirit soar in times of rejoicing.
King David led a diverse life. He experienced the life of a humble shepherd boy to the life of a powerful king. He killed a giant and became a national hero. He fell in sin and created lifelong problems for himself. He experienced being pure of heart and on the other extreme he committed adultery and murder.
He experienced a spiritual high when Almighty God made a covenant with him and told him, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever. Your throne will be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16)
David experienced family troubles to unbelievable lows. One of his sons murdered another and then turned on him in a political coup and David had to flee his kingdom. It was the tragic fulfillment of a prophecy, “the sword will not depart from your house.” (2 Samuel 12:10)
King David experienced the highs and the lows. He was described as a man after God’s own heart. 2 Samuel 22 could be considered David’s theme song. This song was sung when God delivered David from his enemies. The song is a song of reflection on the life of King David. It is the same song found in Psalm 18 only a little different here.
This song has extremely high praise of God and is filled with metaphors. Some of the metaphors describe God as, a Rock, a Fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, salvation, strength and lamp. There are mentioned many of the qualities of God: exalted, perfect, flawless and the power of earthquake, volcano and storm. And with all this verse 50, “Therefore I will praise you, O Lord.”
This inspired song can teach us about God, help us express our love for Him, bring us comfort in difficulty, and help our spirit soar in times of rejoicing. Verse one speaks of the song itself and the occasions that David sung this song. The difference in Psalm 18 is that it starts out, “I love you.” It is a love song to God.
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. (2 Samuel 22:1)
I knew a song writer who wrote lots of songs and commercial jingles. One of his love songs became a big hit record. He wrote these songs before he put his faith in Jesus Christ. After his faith in Christ, he continued to write songs. On one occasion he started writing a love song for his wife. He was overcome with emotion and tears began to flow. The song which began as a love song for his wife became a love song for God and thanksgiving for his spiritual salvation.
This theme song of King David is also a love song he wrote for God. In verse 4 David says that God is worthy of praise. He pours out praise for God. David describes the characteristics of God. The Lord is my rock. The bible gives a contrast of a wise man who builds his house on a rock and a foolish man who builds his house on the sand.
David asked for deliverance in verses 5-7.
The waves of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
6 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 “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.
This song must have been the standard for deliverance. When the prophet Jonah was in the belly of the great fish, he was singing this song or at least he quotes this, “in my distress I called to the Lord, the waves of death swirled around me.” (Jonah 2:2) If Jonah is singing this song in his distress, then we should remember this song too in times of our distress.
David often went with his men into battle, and he had many close calls with death in these battles. Look at the previous chapter (2 Samuel 21:17) to see how intense David’s battle distress was. He not only faced Goliath, but Goliath’s big brother too (2 Samuel 21:19).
What did David do in times of distress? He called to the Lord. The cry of David reached the ears of God (2 Samuel 22:7). When we are in the battle or figuratively in the belly of the great fish of difficult circumstances, we need to sing this song. We need to cry out to the Lord.
In David’s theme song we see the fearful side of an awesome God. During the Middle Ages or “dark ages” they may have overemphasized the angry fearful side of God concentrating on judgement, rebuke and wrath of God. We should not go to the other extreme by underemphasizing the judgement of God.
David speaks of the rebuke of God like an earthquake. The earth trembles and shakes because God is angry. The imagery is that of fire and smoke of a burning volcano. The thunder and lightning are of God’s control.
The earth trembled and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens shook;
they trembled because he was angry. (2 Samuel 22:8)
Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth. (2 Samuel 22:8)
In the movie Sergeant York, a rebellious Alvin York who was prone to drinking and fighting is struck by lightning during a rainstorm and has his Christian faith experience. The movie is based on a true story. I don’t think the lightning strike in the movie was part of York’s real life, but it sure could have been. Lightning is in the control of God who could use that to bring a prodigal to Himself.
Picture a man drowning and God reaching down to save him (2 Samuel 22:17). The same awesome and powerful God reaches down in love to save us. God is patient. He is longsuffering, gracious, merciful and full of compassion. God does not desire anyone to perish. We have an advantage over Jonah and others who sung this song.
“He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters. (2 Samuel 22:17)
We stand on this side of the cross and we have the full revelation of the New Testament. We now see how God’s saving David in the battle corresponds to God’s saving grace on the cross at Calvary. That glorious provision of Jesus shed blood when He died the just for the unjust to bring us to God.
What a blessing God is for the faithful. “To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
to the pure you show yourself pure, (2 Samuel 22:26-27)
Let the Lord God Almighty be your lamp and your light. You, LORD, are my lamp;
the LORD turns my darkness into light. (2 Samuel 22:29) Let the Lord Jesus Christ be your light. Let him illumine your path and trust in nothing else. Jesus is the light of the world.
God not only saves but sustains. He makes your feet like the feet of a deer enabled to stand on the heights. In Christ we walk with God in confidence.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights. (2 Samuel 22:34)
David did not claim his strength was from him. It was the strength God gave him to have victory over the bear, lion, giant Goliath, the Philistine army. God was the reason when his enemies lost heart. There is the story of men in the trees. The enemy hears the sound of marching. David did not take the credit that is due God.
Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 25 So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:22-25).
The praise for God only intensifies as the Psalm goes on. “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior! (2 Samuel 22:47)
Paul in Romans 15:9 quotes David as David remembers the covenant with God. That covenant is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This promise compels us to take the gospel to the nations. Sing the song of salvation in Christ to the ends of the earth.
Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name. (2 Samuel 22:50)
David gave God the credit for his miraculous victories. David remembers the covenant. The covenant fulfilled. David’s theme song honored the Lord. If you know and walk with the Lord, your life theme song will honor Him.
