The Anointed: My Rock

Previously

David Made it Back to Jerusalem to Once Again Take His Thrown

Sheba’s Rebellion was Squashed by Joab and the Army of Judah

Then in Chapter 21, We Finally Left the Story of David’s Sin with Bathsheba and the Consequences that Followed

This Lasted from 2 Samuel 11-20

We Then Looked at 2 Stories from David’s Life Out of Chronological Order

First We Saw How He Brings Justice to the Gibeonites Whom Saul had Tried to Annihilate

And Second We Saw How David’s Men Were Destroyers of Giants Like David Himself was as a Young Boy

2 Samuel 22

This Chapter is a Song of Praise to God by David

It’s Almost Identical with Psalm 18 with Minor Differences

We are Going to Read this Psalm Piece by Piece and See What All We Can Learn

2 Samuel 22:1–7 (NASB)

And David spoke the words of this song to YHWH in the day that YHWH delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

He said, “YHWH is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence. I call upon YHWH, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me; The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon YHWH, Yes, I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears.

This Song was Sung by David Whenever God had Delivered Him from His Enemies

David Gives God Complete Credit for His Salvation from His Enemies

God is His Rock, Fortress, Deliverer, Refuge, Horn of Salvation, Stronghold, and Savior

This is One Thing that Made David the Man After God’s Own Heart

He Didn’t Trust in or Uplift Himself

When He Defeated Goliath, He Gave the Glory to and Praised God, Not Himself

When David Cries Out to God, God Hears from His Temple (Heavenly Throne-Room)

Now We are Going to See Some Strong and Scary Imagery of What Happens When God’s Children are in Need of His Protection

2 Samuel 22:8–20 (NASB)

“Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of heaven were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry. Smoke went up out of His nostrils, Fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet. And He rode on a cherub and flew; And He appeared on the wings of the wind. And He made darkness canopies around Him, A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky. From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled. YHWH thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. And He sent out arrows, and scattered them, Lightning, and routed them. Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were laid bare By the rebuke of YHWH, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils. He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But YHWH was my support. He also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

When a Parent Hears the Cries of Their Child, There is No Thought, There is Only Action

We’ve All Heard of Mothers Lifting Cars to Save Their Children

Well When God Hears the Cries of His Children, the Earth Quakes, His Voice Thunders from the Heavens, and His Breath Kindles Fires

This Imagery is to Show Us that God Not Only Hears Our Cries…

Not Only Does He Care about Our Pain and Suffering

But He Hears and He Cares with a Burning Passion

This is How David Describes God Saving Him

And This is How Paul Describes Jesus Saving Us

2 Thessalonians 1:6–10 (NASB)

For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.

2 Samuel 22:21–25 (NASB)

“YHWH has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of YHWH, And have not acted wickedly against my God. For all His ordinances were before me, And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also blameless toward Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore YHWH has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness before His eyes.”

David Says that God Rescued Him Because He Delighted in David

Why Did God Delight in David?

According to David, Because He was Righteous, Had Clean Hands, Kept the Ways of YHWH, Not Acted Wickedly, Didn’t Depart from God’s Laws, was Blameless, and Kept Himself from Iniquity

After All the Time We Have Spent Studying David, Would You Describe Him in that Way? (No Way!)

Well, How Can He Do Say that About Himself?

Because He was a Man of Faith in God

We Know David Wasn’t Perfect, but, Like Us, He had a Perfect Savior

Romans 3:21–26 (NASB)

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Everyone has Sinned so as Not to be as David Described Himself

But God, in His Patience, Passed Over the Sins Previously Committed, Looking to the Future Sacrifice of Christ

Jesus’ Sacrifice Became the Propitiation for, Not Just Those Who Came After Him, But Those Who Came Before Him as Well

If God Were Only Just, Everyone Up Until Jesus Would be Doomed to Eternal Hell

But God is Also the Justifier, the One Who Makes Innocent Those Who Live by Faith

Was David Perfect?

No, but He was Faithful to a Perfect Savior and God

And So Christ’s Righteousness was Applied to Him

If David can be Confident in Christ’s Perfection, Shouldn’t We be Too?

2 Samuel 22:26–37 (NASB)

“With the kind You show Yourself kind, With the blameless You show Yourself blameless; With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the perverted You show Yourself astute.

And You save an afflicted people; But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase. For You are my lamp, O YHWH; And YHWH illumines my darkness. For by You I can run upon a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is blameless; The word of YHWH is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, besides YHWH? And who is a rock, besides our God? God is my strong fortress; And He sets the blameless in His way. He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, And sets me on my high places. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your help makes me great. You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

David Describes God as a God Who Treats Us the Way We Treat Others

He’s Kind, Blameless, and Pure to Those Who are Kind, Blameless, and Pure

But to Those Who Act Foolishly and Wicked, God Acts, in Return, as if He Were Foolish and Wicked

That is to Say, He Does Good to Those Who Seek Good, and He Does Bad for Those Who Seek Bad

We See These Principles Still Applied Today in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount

God Doesn’t Forgive or Show Mercy to Those Who Don’t Forgive and Show Mercy

But He Judges Harshly Those Who Judge Harshly

David then Begins Again to Praise God for Giving Him Strength and Being His Rock, Shield, and Refuge

2 Samuel 22:38–46 (NASB)

“I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed. And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise; And they fell under my feet. For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, And I destroyed those who hated me. They looked, but there was none to save; Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them. Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets. You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people; You have kept me as head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me. Foreigners pretend obedience to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me. Foreigners lose heart, And come trembling out of their fortresses.

This Section Focuses on David’s Defeat of His Enemies, Foreign and Domestic

David, Like Jesus, Defeated His Enemies in More Ways than One

Some Enemies, He Utterly Destroyed

Some Enemies, He Defeated by Making Them His Allies

Many of His Soldiers Were People from Other Nations

The Anointed David Gives Us a Picture of the Anointed Jesus in this Way

Jesus Will One Day Utterly Destroy His Enemies

But Until Then, They are Welcomed to Join His Kingdom by Giving Their Allegiance to Him

2 Samuel 22:47–51 (NASB)

“YHWH lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation, The God who executes vengeance for me, And brings down peoples under me, Who also brings me out from my enemies; You even lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O YHWH, among the nations, And I will sing praises to Your name. He is a tower of deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.”

David Ends His Song of Thanksgiving a Sort of Recap of All the Things He has Said Throughout the Psalm

Paul Quotes Verse 50 in Romans 15:8-9

Romans 15:8–9 (NASB)

For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, And I will sing to Your name.”

David Vowed to Give God Glory Among the Gentiles so that They Too Could Glorify God for His Mercy

One Day, Gentiles Would be Fully Accepted into God’s Family Through Jesus

The Final Verse of the Song Points Us to the Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7

God Told David that His Lovingkindness Would Never Depart from David’s Seed/Descendant Who Would Build God a House

This Descendant is God’s True Anointed One, Messiah, the Christ

You Can Be a Part of His House and Family