Sermon Prep | 2 Samuel 22

Song of Deliverance!

2 Samuel 22:1-3 “And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul: And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, My saviour; thou savest me from violence.”

"Amazing Grace"

This would not be a complete list without one of the most well-known hymns in the world. "Amazing Grace" was created by John Newton in 1779. The author of the hymn described himself as the "wretch" in the song. He was a slave trader, rebel, blasphemer, and all-around immoral man. He was as far from grace as anyone could ever be and lived a life full of hardship. God was able to get his attention after Newton's slave ship was nearly wrecked in a thunderstorm. As the vessel was taking on water and the crew was crying, Newton fell to his knees and started pleading for God's forgiveness. God's grace saved Newton. Newton became a pastor in Olney, England, where he wrote the song. Today, the song still inspires the world and is sung in churches everywhere.

"How Great Thou Art"

This song was written in 1885 by Carl Gustav Boberg, a 26-year-old pastor from Sweden. Boberg was said to have been caught in a thunderstorm after church one Sunday afternoon. From his place in the mountains, Boberg could see the storm rolling in and noticed the immense power and force it had. Once the storm passed, Boberg observed a beautiful big rainbow cover the valley, over the meadows and grain fields. It took his breath away. He wrote the song "O Store Gud," which was then translated into German, Russian, and English. A stanza in the song was picked up in 1949 by an English missionary named Stuart K. Hine and changed to what we know today. Millions now sing the song of Christians in dozens of languages across the world.

"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"

Joseph Scriven, a young Irishman, completed his college education in 1844. He returned home to marry his sweetheart. He came home to find his bride-to-be tragically lying dead after falling off her horse. Later on, Scriven moved to Canada and fell in love again. Unfortunately, for the second time, his bride-to-be hit a horrible fate. She became ill and died weeks before their marriage. Scriven wrote a poem to his mother in Ireland to describe the tragedy he had faced. He spoke of how his deep friendship with Jesus, which he had cultivated through prayer, helped him get through the loss of his two loved ones. Instead of believing God was punishing him, Scriven thought God was his rock. The poem was published anonymously under the title "Pray Without Ceasing". Later in 1868, attorney Charles Converse set the text to music and changed the name to what we know it as today.

Let Go, Let God

Woods said he contracted HIV after having sex with a woman.He said he was diagnosed with the virus in 1993 during a checkup to determine the cause of fainting spells he had experienced while in Chicago working on a play.He said that for seven years he took the prescribed medicines and some holistic remedies as part of his treatment. It was also during this time that he was more committed to his faith and prayer.

"Worship became one of the strongest things I would do in my life,'' he told Cerullo and the audience during the show. "Every time the doctors would test me, I was singing a (gospel) song. I gave it back to God.''Seven years after he was diagnosed, Woods said he got a clean bill of health from doctors who tested him twice. That was in 2000."They ran the test on me....The very same people that told me I tested positive told me I was completely negative,'' he said on the television show. He says he no longer takes the doctor prescribed medicine for HIV."I want people to know that God definitely cannot lie and cannot fail,'' he said. "When you turn your life over to him know that God is going to work things out for your life.''

Saul tried to Kill David!

1 Samuel 18 (KJV 1900)

And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice. And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

Hideing in Caves

David escaped to the city of Gath, and then sought refuge in one of the caves near Adullam, in the plains of Judah.

Toubled Home

Trouble does come when David’s firstborn son, Amnon, rapes his half-sister, Tamar. In retaliation, Tamar’s brother Absalom kills Amnon. Absalom then flees Jerusalem rather than face his father’s anger. Later, Absalom leads a revolt against David, and some of David’s former associates join the rebellion (chapters 15-16).

David learned to Wait!

David had been anointed king at the tender age of 17, but only sat on the throne at the age of 30.

Joseph who also had to wait 13 years in the opposite of his promised lofty leadership position, in the humiliation of slavery and down in jail.

As Psalm 105:19 puts it, when talking about Joseph’s long wait for his promise to come true,

“Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.”

The wait is an important refining, training and testing time, often in a way that may seem opposite to where you want to be.

Just as David’s time as a shepherd taught him how to fight beasts to prepare him for his epic battle with Goliath, his time leading a bunch of ruffians while trying to avoid death taught him how to fight his inner battles with his ego and lead well. He learned how to truly rely on God in an otherworldly way.

David Learned to Worship!

The word worship comes from the Saxon word weorthscype, which later became worthship. To worship God is to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify His worthiness of praise, or better, to approach and address God as He is worthy.

Worthy- having or showing the qualities or abilities that merit recognition in a specified way:

David Learned to Withdraw!

Withdraw: leave or cause to leave a place or situation