2 Samuel 22
v.1
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.
v.2
He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
v.3
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.
v.4
I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
v.5
“The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
v.6
The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
v.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.
v.8
“The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry.
v.9
Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
v.10
He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
v.11
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
v.12
He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.
v.13
Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.
v.14
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
v.15
He shot arrows and scattered [the enemies], bolts of lightning and routed them.
v.16
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.
v.17
“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
v.18
He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
v.19
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.
v.20
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
v.21
“The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
In verses 21–25 David appears to claim moral perfection and unwavering allegiance to the Lord’s covenant demands. But surely, given his moral failures and shortcomings, David is not claiming to be innocent in an absolute sense. David speaks here in general terms, using covenant terminology that derives from a context where only two extremes (loyalty and disloyalty) exist. As he reflects on his life, he asserts that loyalty to the Lord has characterized his attitudes and actions. Three observations support this interpretation: (1) The heading (v. 1) and style of the song indicate that David is generalizing about his experience. In verses 4–20 he treats his many narrow escapes as if they were one great event in which he experiences divine deliverance. In verses 33–46 he describes his numerous battles as if they were one decisive conflict. (2) Later in the Former Prophets, reflection on David’s career casts him in the role of a loyal, even paradigmatic, follower of the Lord (1 Kings 3:3, 6, 14; 9:4; 11:4, 6, 33–34, 38; 14:8; 15:3, 5, 11; 2 Kings 14:3; 16:2; 18:3; 22:2). (3) In portraying attitudes toward the Lord, the psalms consistently speak of two groups, the righteous and the wicked. In this song these two groups are clearly differentiated (vv. 26–28). Though David at times failed to walk in accordance with God’s covenant, he demonstrated in his attitudes and actions an allegiance to the Lord that was in contrast to the consistent anticovenant behavior of the wicked.
v.22
For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
v.23
All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
v.24
I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
v.25
The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.
v.26
“To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
v.27
to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
The point is that God sometimes uses deception to thwart the purposes of those who are morally and ethically corrupt. The word translated “devious” (‘iqqesh) refers to those who are morally “twisted,” or perverse. The Proverbs frequently use the term of evil men and their words, thoughts, and actions (Prov. 2:15; 8:8; 11:20; 17:20; 19:1; 22:5; 28:6). Their actions are the antithesis of just and upright behavior (8:8; 11:20; 19:1; 28:6). As one reflects on David’s career, one can detect the providential “deceit” of God at work on David’s behalf on several occasions (1 Sam. 16:2–3; 19:11–17; 2 Sam. 16:16–19; 17:7–14).
v.28
You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
v.29
You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.
v.30
With your help I can advance against a troop ; with my God I can scale a wall.
v.31
“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
Here David alludes to the numerous occasions when he inquired of the Lord and received a reliable oracle of victory or protection (1 Sam. 23:2, 4–5, 10–12; 30:8; 2 Sam. 5:19).
v.32
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
v.33
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
v.34
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.
v.35
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
v.36
You give me your shield of victory; you stoop down to make me great.
v.37
You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
v.38
“I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
v.39
I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
v.40
You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
v.41
You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
v.42
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but he did not answer.
v.43
I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
v.44
“You have delivered me from the attacks of my people; you have preserved me as the head of nations. People I did not know are subject to me,
v.45
and foreigners come cringing to me; as soon as they hear me, they obey me.
v.46
They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
v.47
“The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!
v.48
He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me,
v.49
who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.
v.50
Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.
v.51
He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”