God Delivers the Faithful
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION (Smile): Welcome/Prayer
(Review Chiastic structure of chapters 21-24)
Our passage, 2 Samuel 22:1-30… has us at the climax, the high point of this final section of 2 Samuel
Today, by David’s very own words, not that of the author, but David himself, we read of his faith and his viewpoint of how Yahweh has been good to David through all of these years
By placing this song at the end of 2 Samuel it further highlights that all that we have read, starting back in 1 Samuel and concluding now at the end of 2 Samuel… that all of it, was done under the providential and sovereign hand of God.
We started back in 1 Samuel with judges who were appointed by Yahweh and transitioned to a king requested by the people, though chosen by God… but that first king was not a faithful king, he was a king like the kings of other nations.
After Saul, David rose in his place, again by the hand of God. So here near the end of David’s life, David writes this song to call to mind not simply for himself, but for his people, that it is Yahweh, not him, who is truly the light of Israel.
David’s song here in 2 Samuel 22, is the same song of Psalm 18, with minor differences.
But keep in mind, Psalm 18, was written as a song, meant to be a hymn used in public worship… the song here in 2 Samuel 22 is meant to convey the theology of Israel’s king, not necessarily for public worship. Thus word choice and sentence structures are expected to be different and not exactly the same.
We’re going to split this poem into two parts, with verses 1-30 being covered today, and the remaining verses 31-51 next week.
In verses 1-30, we are going to look at 4 things…
First, in verses 2-3 we will see who God is
Then in verses 4-7, that who God is, is the reason David called upon God for help
As such, in verses 8-19, we’ll read of God’s response to David’s call
And in verses 20-30, we’ll come to understand that such power and treatment is not for anyone… that God does favor some over others.
Let’s begin by reading verses 1-3...., with verses 2-3 being the start of the poem, and verse 1 being an introduction to the poem.
1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, 3 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.
Notice from the outset, we see the contrast between David and Saul highlighted once again, with Saul be specifically named as one who threatened David as an enemy.
This contrast between the two is a key focus of 1 & 2 Samuel, and especially here in the final portion, and we’ll see it played out here in this song.
In verses 2-3 David speaks of the LORD in a variety ways, and remember whenever you see the word “Lord” all caps as you do here, it means Yahweh.
It’s translated that way out of tradition. I prefer Yahweh, and I wish more translations would simply translate it as Yahweh, b/c if you’re reading Scripture out loud, depending on the passage, it can be hard to pick up.
Psalm 110:1 is one small example...
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Here Yahweh is called by David as a...
Rock
Fortress
Deliverer
God
Refuge
Shield
Horn of salvation
Stronghold
And savior
Poetic imagery describing how God has provided protection, stability, security, deliverance… power, and so forth for David.
In this language, notice how personal David makes this understanding to be...
In each of the instances David uses the first person singular possessive pronoun - “my”
My God...
My Rock
My shield
My refuge
My stronghold
My savior
This doesn’t neglect God’s corporate relationship with Israel, rather it highlights that through God’s corporate relationship with His people, He is a very personal God to the individuals who belong to the covenantal community… which in David’s case was Israel through the Old Covenant… and in our case is the church through the New Covenant.
It is important for us to understand that while God desired to save you and I as individuals He did so through the salvation of the church.
Meaning we who are saved, are saved with a group, not simply as individuals.
Let us not create an unbiblical dichotomy between the individual and the church.
The individual and the bride of Christ is not meant to be viewed in separate relations.
Yes, the church is not confined to these walls, but it is confined to a community of people who gather.
We care for one another because he/she is part of the church, part of the body of which we ourselves are part of.
Only in God’s covenant community, the church, the body and bride of Christ, is salvation found, not apart from it.
Not that simply by attending church is one saved… but one through faith in Christ in obedience to the Scriptures, is baptized into a community of covenantal faithfulness, and submits oneself to others out of reverence to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Likewise, even in the Old Covenant… the individual who was faithful to the covenant, would not have only been faithful to Yahweh, but to His people, Israel as well.
So, God saves a people, and He is our God, and not just “my” God… though, He is “my” God.
Meaning you will not get lost in the masses
God will not overlook you in how He loves, in how He disciplines, and how He cares for His people. You will not be neglected.
But at the same time you must remain with His people, you must remain within the covenantal community.
I hope that is clear, or at the very least gives you something to chew on.
Now, why does David ascribe these words to Yahweh?
For it is in Yahweh David takes refuge…
Refuge from what?
Violence
David calls Yahweh all these things because of what Yahweh has done, and what Yahweh will do.
Thus in light of this truth, David is able to call upon Yahweh in time of need… let’s read verses 4-7
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 5 “For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me; 6 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.
Who does David call upon? Yahweh… and who is Yahweh
The one who is worthy to be praised.
And remember who is writing these words… King David… the great and famous and revered King of Israel… the Lord’s anointed...
Praising not himself… not building a monument in Carmel like Saul did… but praising the one true God… the great I Am, Yahweh
David’s rock, shield, stronghold, fortress, refuge… etc.
Verse 4 sums up the main point of the entire song...
I call upon Yahweh… and I am saved from my enemies.
Deliverance for David was and always has been and always will be found in Yahweh.
Verses 5-6 David expounds on the situation of which Yahweh delivered him.
David was engulfed with threats and violence…
Consider some of the situations of David we have read in 1 & 2 Samuel
Saul chasing David and his men into caves...
David being chased out of Jerusalem by Absalom
David almost dying at the hand of the giant, Ishbi-Benob...
And the fight with Goliath… David, might not have felt the fear of battle against Goliath in his youth as he did later in life… but he still called upon Yahweh for deliverance.
And verse 7 speaks of David’s call…
David called for help and “from His temple He heard my voice and my cry came to His ears.”
When David speaks of God’s temple… he could be referring to God’s heavenly dwelling, or he very well could be referring to the ark of the covenant, where the presence of God dwelt among God’s people.
The point is not the precise location of Yahweh… but that Yahweh who is God, who is holy, and who requires so much for a person to sanctify themselves and enter into His presence…
That Yahweh heard the voice of David… He heard the distress of His anointed, He heard the cry of help from the small conspicuous shepherd boy.
David’s cry was rooted in faith… knowing that Yahweh’s ability to help was not limited by geographical distance… nor did David need the Ark the Covenant.
Recall when David fled Jerusalem and the priests brought the Ark, David sent the Ark back, not treating it like a magical talisman or seeking to manipulate the will of God with it. But simply putting his faith in Yahweh and His providence.
When you’re in distress do you call out to God as David did?
Do you have similar faith? Or do you think God is too far to hear?
Or too holy to care? That you are too small for God to be concerned with your cares or worries or whatever problem that is before you… whether it is sin or some form of physical affliction…
Psalm 34:18
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
God is perhaps never closer to us, then when we go to Him in the midst of our suffering.
The Son of God was not spared so that you would neglect His blessings.
Rom 8:32
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
In the context of suffering and the blessing of God’s love and how God is for those who are in Christ Jesus… if God did not spare His Son… how much more so will He not lavish us with all things that are His?
Think too, of Romans 8:26… I love Romans 8, by the way… if I only had one chapter of Scripture to preach from, this might be it.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Or perhaps you’re on the other end of the spectrum...
You don’t call out for help, because you’re too prideful. You think you got this…
1 Cor 10:12-14
12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
In our time of need… whatever we turn to for help… where ever we seek to put our faith of deliverance in that is not placed in Yahweh… whether that be ourselves or other things… that is an idol in our lives and we must flee it.
Let us not ever become prideful and despise the Word of the Lord...
Recall the sins David committed when he despised the Word of the Lord...
And recall the consequence of God’s discipline upon David for those sins...
The death of the infant boy...
Violence among his sons
Rebellion in his home
Therefore, as 1 Thess 5:17 says
17 pray without ceasing,
Make it a habit, a discipline… a practice… a lifestyle
Pray formally with some type of proper posture
While our outward posture may or may not reflect our inward posture
Our outward posture does help form our inward posture
And of course, pray informally as you go about doing life…
If you don’t pray, if you don’t call upon Yahweh… you will miss out on opportunities to witness His power…
8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry. 9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. 10 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. 11 He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen on the wings of the wind. 12 He made darkness around him his canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water. 13 Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth. 14 The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice. 15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them. 16 Then the channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. 17 “He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. 18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.
Incredible imagery here...
David, obviously, is not speaking literally here.. this is poetic imagery.
Anytime we read the Word of God or pull a verse, we must be sure to be aware of its context and how it is meant to be read and understood.
Nowhere in Samuel do we have God riding a cherub to rescue David...
He certainly rescued David… and David chose wonderful words to describe it… to describe the power and the authority of Yahweh in His providential care for David.
Some of this imagery though is probably pulled from Exodus… think of the events of Mount Sinai and how God presented Himself to Israel then… thunder, lightening, shaking of the ground, great fire… or even perhaps the parting of the Red Sea, thus the channels of the sea were seen, the foundations of the world were laid bare.
This power, this authority… is the power that rescued David...
David called for help and this is how God rescued him as described using figurative language
There was no doubt that God would save His anointed one… no doubt that God would be the refuge, the shield, the horn of salvation for David, that David claimed He was...
Imagine if David never cried out? Never called? Would David had known the works of God? Would He have seen in Him in action like this?
Have you seen a person saved from their sin? Their lives turned upside and made anew?
A marriage reborn out of faith, sins forgiven, racism overpowered, feuds ended… these are some of the mighty works of God...
For who can cause a dead man to rise? But God
Who can put in us a new heart? A pure heart? Only God
Who can keep us steadfast and faithful when the world seeks to harm us for His sake? Only God..
Consider the martyrs of our faith… think of Stephen of Acts 7… who’s spirit gave him the power and wisdom to speak as He did moments before being stoned?God’s Spirit.
You want to see God move in you life then call to Him… and call to Him earnestly… the power of the church is not found in religious freedom or liberties…
Nor is it found in power point or powerful music…
It’s not found in grand buildings and wonderful programs
It’s not found in well-crafted, well-delivered, and well-spoken sermons.
It’s found in God, and God alone… and we can only access it when we ask for it.
Mt 7:7-11
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
But we must understand something in all of this… and this is where most of American Christianity departs the train… and by departing the train, they never get to where they wanted to go when they started.
See God doesn’t offer His power just to anyone… He doesn’t treat everyone the same…
Sure… all of this so far has sounded great
Our God, my God, is a rock, a fortress, a stronghold… etc
He hears my cries... when I call upon Him, He answers
And when He answers… boy, does He ever… powerfully, and mightily… He moves mountains, He slays giants… He shakes the earth for me...
But there’s a reason why God has done this for David… there’s a reason why God does it for us… let’s read on… verses 20-30
20 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. 21 “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. 22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all his rules were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside. 24 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt. 25 And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight. 26 “With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; 27 with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. 28 You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. 29 For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness. 30 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
Here we have another picture of David’s faithfulness that contrasts with Saul’s…
Here, Yahweh delights in David…
And David attributes God’s saving work as a response to those who humble themselves before God.
But we must be careful and not think this is a works-righteousness theology… that b/c people do one thing God then acts in response…
We must understand, God acts first… always… the question is how do we respond to God’s first act towards us...
Consider Saul...
Who was Saul before he was king?
An incompetent shepherd who could not track down a pack of large animals.
And a man with no spiritual acuity.
Yet, God chose him. God anointed him as king over Israel. Saul didn’t go to God, God went to Saul
Saul had an opportunity… and God was patient with Saul
God taught Saul through His Word and through Samuel, God disciplined Saul, even worked through Saul, and yet time and time again, Saul refused to humble himself… refused to revere God, to fear God as he ought to… always justifying his actions or making excuses for his sins… thus, Saul’s prayers were not heard.
In his final days seeking guidance God was nowhere to be found for Saul, thus he went to the medium at Endor and consulted the dead… the final sin that led to Saul’s demise on the battlefield.
Now, consider David...
David was a young little shepherd boy that no one, not even Samuel would have selected as the next king, if it were not for the Spirit of God telling him otherwise
David was anointed by God’s grace
David responded completely different than Saul to God’s grace
David committed himself to God’s Word… to God’s righteousness and justice…
He was zealous for God’s Name… which led to victory against Goliath
David was humble… though David was the lamp of Israel, even David confessed, in verse 29 here, that whatever light he provided to the nation was merely a reflection of the light that Yahweh shone upon him, for Yahweh is the lamp to the lamp of Israel.
Unlike Saul… who after a battle victory given to him by Yahweh built a monument to himself in Carmel....
And yes, David was not perfect… he was not without sin… but he was blameless… unlike Saul
Being blameless isn’t about being perfect, it’s about having and exhibiting a pattern of faithfulness throughout your life rooted in trusting God in His mercy and goodness, and especially so when you sin.
A pattern that Saul’s life clearly did not exhibit… but a pattern that David’s life did.
David when he committed the great sins of chapter 11 and 12, how did he respond when confronted? “I have sinned against Yahweh”.
No dancing, no toe-tapping… no beating around the bush. Simple confession of the act, and as such Yahweh put away his sin, thus David remained blameless before God.
See God delighted in David not because David earned it… but because David delighted in God when God showed grace to David.
And to delight in God is to delight in His righteousness and holiness...
Which happened for David when he put the Word of God before himself and walked in the ways of God, then David found himself in the presence of God… for it is in obedience to God’s Holy Word that God reveals Himself to us...
One of the purposes of the Old Covenant was that God’s people would have a way to remain in in the presence of Yahweh… but that would only be maintained if the people kept faithful to the covenant… if they were obedient to it…
And mind you, the covenant did not require perfection… far from it… the covenant was instituted recognizing the shortfall and flaws of man and allowed a merciful way for a relationship to exist.
It was an act of grace…
In principal, it’s no different today...
Yes, the covenant has changed… but the purpose is the same.
Jesus, by the shedding of His blood as the once for all perfect sacrifice of all sin, fulfilled the Old Covenant and ushered in the New Covenant.
That those who have seen God act first by His grace through His Son upon the cross, and do not respond proudly or arrogantly as Saul did… but humbly as David did… the presence of God is given to them to dwell within them forever.
Their bodies… our bodies… have become holy temples for it is in us that the Holy Spirit of God now dwells...
And when God looks at us, He cannot but help to delight in us for in us He sees Himself… He sees the blood of His Son covering our sin, and He sees His Spirit, His righteousness, His holiness… in us.
And because His Spirit is in us… we are no longer enslaved to sin… we now have the ability to serve Him righteously and He can now reveal Himself to us in ways He couldn’t before...
John 14:21
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
If you do not desire to obey God… or if you are comfortable and at peace with engaging in willful sin while professing faith in Christ, it is not Christ you profess and His Spirit is not in you for you do not love Him.
For if you love Him, it’s not that you will not sin, but when you do, you will be convicted of it by the Spirit. You will desire to repent and you will desire to obey His commands to the utmost of your soul. All of His commands… not just the ones you find easy… but the challenging ones as well… even the ones that society mocks you for.
You will do this because you want to know Him more… you want to understand more of who God is… and to know His will… that is found in obedience to His will… not apart from it.
You want to see the power of God in your marriage? You want Him to bless it? Then stop willfully engaging in unfaithfulness with strangers online… or otherwise.
You want more joy and happiness in your life? You want your prayers answered… then live as a living sacrifice… living in full obedience to His Word… then you will know what you ought to pray for and what His will is for your life… which by the way is not a mystery to those who are faithful.
Since we love Him, and we know we love Him for His Spirit is in us, we desire to obey Him… we desire to know Him more… for knowledge of God is knowledge that leads to life eternal… to life everlasting that is abundantly full of unfading joy… and a peace this world cannot give nor cannot it take away.
Romans 8:31-39
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we die… we die with God in Us… thus we die to live… so it truly is a small thing for us to die to ourselves daily… for God delivers the faithful… and the faithful trust in Him in all things.