Praise for God's Deliverance

By Dan & Brenda Cathcart

The video version of this teaching is available at https://youtu.be/jxD9_A6LjiQ

The scripture reading is 2 Samuel 22:1-51

This haftarah portion falls during the Feast of Unleavened Bread following the Feast of Passover. In this haftarah portion, 2 Samuel 22:1-51, David praises God for delivering him from the hand of Saul and all his enemies.

2 Samuel 22:1 NKJV 1 Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

We don’t know when in David’s lifetime that he wrote this Psalm, but this Psalm stands out because it is not just recorded in the book of Psalms as Psalm Eighteen, it is recorded in the narrative of David’s life. David wrote many Psalms throughout his life; he is credited with writing seventy five of the one hundred fifty Psalms recorded in the book of Psalms. So, why is this Psalm recorded in the narrative? What can we learn from David who was far from perfect yet described as a man after God’s own heart? And why was this passage chosen to be read during the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

This record of David’s praise to God is near the end of the book of Second Samuel. Although the book’s title seems to indicate that Samuel wrote it, the death of Samuel is recorded as having occurred in First Samuel chapter twenty five. The NKJV Study Bible explains that Jewish tradition holds that the prophets Nathan and Gad completed the book of First Samuel and wrote the book of Second Samuel.[i] These two prophets, Nathan and Gad, were a constant presence in David’s life as he rose from exile to become Israel’s greatest king.

Although we don’t know specifically when David wrote this Psalm, the Jewish sage Abarbanel believes it was early in David’s life. The Stone Edition Chumash writes:

Abarbanel, in his commentary to Samuel, is of the opinion that David originally composed this song in his youth when he was still enmeshed in his many problems and misfortunes. He created it to be an all-inclusive psalm that would relate to every woe which could possibly occur in his life.[ii]

If Abarbanel is correct, the psalm is appropriately placed next to David’s last words demonstrating David’s faith from the early part of his life until the very end!

The book of Second Samuel opens with the death of Saul and Jonathan. David wrote a lamentation for their deaths. In his song, David points out that the shield of Saul did not protect him. The Stone Edition Tanach translation of 2 Samuel 1:21 reads:

O mountains of Gilboa—let neither dew nor rain be upon you, nor fields of bounty, for rejected there was the shield of the mighty ones, the shield of Saul, as if unanointed with oil.[iii]

In contrast, David opens his song of praise to God with the statement that God is his shield that would always protect him from violence!

2 Samuel 22:2-3 NKJV 2 And he said: "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.

From the time David first faced an enemy, that of the giant Goliath, he affirmed his faith that God was his deliver.

1 Samuel 17:36-37 NKJV 36 "Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!"

God consistently delivered David out of the hands of his enemies. However it was not long after David came to the attention of Saul that Saul became jealous of David’s popularity with the people of Israel. Although Saul sought to kill David, God faithfully delivered David out of Saul’s hand. One such incident happened shortly after David fled from Saul’s court. David had taken refuge among the Ziphites, but his presence was betrayed to Saul. David and the men with him were forced to flee into the wilderness of Maon. Saul and his men pursued David and had nearly succeeded in surrounding him. However, news of the Philistines attacking Israel diverted Saul and his men.

1 Samuel 23:27-28 NKJV 27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hasten and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!" 28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place the Rock of Escape.

In this psalm, David declares that when he calls on God, acknowledging that deliverance only comes from God, then he will be saved from his enemies.

2 Samuel 22:4 (JPGreen)I call on Jehovah, the one to be praised; and I shall be saved from my enemies.

The phrase “to be praised” comes from the word “halal,” number 1984 in Strong’s Concordance meaning to shine, to boast, rave, praise, or celebrate. This is more than just a “good job” and a pat on the back! This is a boasting and celebration of what God does and who He is. David goes on to put this into practice by extoling God using the imagery of crossing the Red Sea.

2 Samuel 22:5-7 NKJV 5 'When the waves of death surrounded me, The floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 6 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears.

David references God hearing from His temple, but if David wrote this psalm early in his life, what temple is David referring to? The word “temple” is from the Hebrew word “heykal,” number 1964 in Strong’s Concordance meaning a large public building in the sense of having a large capacity. This word is first used in the Bible in reference to the tabernacle in 1 Samuel 1:9 where the priest Eli is described as sitting by a post near the “temple of the LORD.” Since the temple had not yet been built, this public building would have been the tabernacle. However, David is not referencing this tabernacle; David’s description of God’s reaction to his plea places this public building on Mt. Sinai.

2 Samuel 22:8-12 NKJV 8 "Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. 9 Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. 10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet. 11 He rode upon a cherub, and flew; And He was seen upon the wings of the wind. 12 He made darkness canopies around Him, Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

David saw himself in the Exodus story and in the events at Mt. Sinai. He saw himself as being present when God brought the children of Israel across the Red Sea. He saw himself as being present when God spoke from Mt. Sinai and tongues of fire touched on all those present at the base of the mountain. He saw himself as present when God took the people as His own people and called them a special treasure.

David continues with the imagery of the Red Sea and Mt. Sinai.

2 Samuel 22:13-16 NKJV 13 From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled. 14 "The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. 15 He sent out arrows and scattered them; Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them. 16 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered, At the rebuke of the LORD, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

These verses, from verse eight to verse sixteen, form a chiasm, an inverted structure that ends where it begins with both sides pointing to a central theme. In verses eight and sixteen, there are wonders on the Earth. Moving in towards the central theme, verses nine and ten correspond to verses thirteen through fifteen about fire coming from heaven. Verses ten and twelve tell us God uses the darkness. This brings us to our central theme in verse eleven that God is swift to answer and bring help.

David explains that God is swift to answer because God delights in him.

2 Samuel 22:20 NKJV 20 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.

The word “delight” is the Hebrew word “chaphets,”  number 2654 in Strong’s Concordance meaning to incline to, to be pleased with or delighted with. God is pleased with David. David elaborates.

2 Samuel 22:21-25 NKJV 21 "The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. 22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all His judgments were before me; And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. 24 I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. 25 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in His eyes.

We might question David’s sanity here. How could David assert that he has kept the ways of the LORD and is blameless before God? David seduced Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah one of his most loyal generals. He, then, conspired to have Uriah murdered! The prophet Nathan, who wrote the words of Second Samuel, was the one who confronted David in his sin. How could David call himself righteous? And why would Nathan include the words of this Psalm in the record of David’s life? It was because David was confident of God’s mercy. He was confident God would see him as clean!

2 Samuel 22:26-29 NKJV 26 "With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; 27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. 28 You will save the humble people; But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down. 29 "For You are my lamp, O LORD; The LORD shall enlighten my darkness.

David acknowledges that in his own strength, he cannot be any of those things. He cannot be righteous, blameless, pure or humble.

2 Samuel 22:32-37 NKJV 32 "For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? 33 God is my strength and power, And He makes my way perfect. 34 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places. 35 He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36 "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great. 37 You enlarged my path under me; So my feet did not slip.

David says that it is only God who enabled him to keep the way of the LORD, to walk in those high places. Similarly, it is only God who can enable us to keep the way of the LORD! Paul laments that, like us, he is unable to keep the way of the LORD. Although his spirit desires the way of the LORD; his flesh is weak. But Paul states he is not defeated; he is victorious in Messiah Yeshua.

Romans 8:1-2 NKJV 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

God was pleased with David’s humble heart and his desire to allow God to light His path. God was also pleased with Yeshua, His own son and a son of David. Yeshua had taken Peter, James and John onto a high mountain where Yeshua was transfigured before them; Yeshua’s face shone like the sun! Moses and Elijah appeared beside him, and Peter desired to build tents for them.

Matthew 17:5 NKJV 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"

The words of the remainder of David’s Psalm of praise could easily apply to Yeshua as well as to David. David writes of his victories in battle and of God placing him as the head of many nations!

2 Samuel 22:44-46 NKJV 44 "You have also delivered me from the strivings of my people; You have kept me as the head of the nations. A people I have not known shall serve me. 45 The foreigners submit to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me. 46 The foreigners fade away, And come frightened from their hideouts.

Unlike the foreigners, David did not serve a God that was dead. He served a God that had the power to act.

2 Samuel 22:47-50 NKJV 47 "The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation! 48 It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me; 49 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. 50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.

David concludes his psalm with a look to the future, with a look at a coming king, God’s anointed.

2 Samuel 22:51 NKJV 51 He is the tower of salvation to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore."

Peter reminds us that we are following the messiah, the anointed one, a king in whom God is well pleased!

2 Peter 1:16-18 NKJV 16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

Nathan and Gad recorded David’s last words after those of his psalm of praise. They introduce David as God’s anointed and the sweet Psalmist of Israel.

2 Samuel 23:1 NKJV 1 Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says the man raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel:

David describes the ideal ruler of Israel who was coming!

2 Samuel 23:2-4 NKJV 2 "The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: 'He who rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God. 4 And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds, Like the tender grass springing out of the earth, By clear shining after rain.'

David goes on to recognize that his house doesn’t live up to that description! Those who rebel against God would be burned with fire! But somehow God would bring about this ideal ruler through David’s house because of God’s commitment to the covenant He made with David.

2 Samuel 23:5 NKJV 5 "Although my house is not so with God, Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things and secure. For this is all my salvation and all my desire; Will He not make it increase?

As mentioned earlier, David’s psalm of praise for God’s deliverance is included near the end of the book of Second Samuel, but it is not at the end. The book of Second Samuel ends with David’s disastrous decision to number the children of Israel which led to the death of thousands of men. Once again, we see that David was not blameless; His hands were not clean. This time, David is confronted by the prophet Gad, the other author of the book of Second Samuel. Once again, David acknowledges his sin.

2 Samuel 24:17 NKJV 17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, "Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father's house."

The book of Second Samuel began with the death of Saul and the end of Saul’s reign over Israel. Saul’s kingship did not continue with his sons because he broke the covenant God had made with him and did not repent. In contrast, the book of Second Samuel ends with the continuation of the reign of David’s line even though David had broken God’s commandments. Throughout the book of Second Samuel, we see David continually turning back to God whenever he strayed. In this last instance, he repented and prayed, not for mercy for himself, but mercy for his people.

David’s psalm of praise is included in the narrative of his life because he lived his life by this psalm. He didn’t live it perfectly, but he lived it consistently. This psalm was chosen as the reading for the Feast of Unleavened Bread because David lived his life as if he, too, was brought out of Egypt by the hand of God and taken into covenant with God at Mt. Sinai. David never doubted in the goodness and mercy of God towards His people.

Yeshua, our Passover sacrifice, was given for us that we could enter into covenant with God. Paul testifies about the new covenant.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NKJV 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.

Like David, we will not be able to keep the covenant perfectly. But like Paul, we can trust that when we walk according to the spirit and not according to the flesh, we will have eternal life.

Romans 8:11 NKJV 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

If the spirit of Messiah truly lives in us, we will have the humble spirit of David. When we fall short, we will repent and turn back to God with all our hearts. We will strive, as David did, from day to day to follow God’s path. Alongside of David, we can testify that our God lives! Blessed be the Rock of our Salvation!

Study Questions:

1. What qualifies Nathan and Gad to be the biographers of David’s reign?

2. Who were some of David’s enemies? What challenges did he face from his enemies?

3. In 2 Samuel 22:26-29, how does David understand the concept of “measure for measure” as it applies to God’s response to our actions?

4. David stated that God was pleased with him in 2 Samuel 22:20. Compare this with Paul’s words about the children of Israel in 1 Corinthians 10:5. In what way or ways was is God pleased with us?

5. Many of David’s psalms are prophetic. How can the words of this psalm, especially verses 37-51 refer to Yeshua?

6. What new insight did you gain by watching this video? How do you respond to this new insight? How will you realign your life based on this new understanding?

© Moed Ministries International. All rights Reserved.

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[i] NKJV Study Bible. Earl D. Radmacher, Th.D, Thomas Nelson. ©1997, 2007. Page 469.

[ii] The Stone Edition Chumash. Rabbi Nosson Scherman and Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz. Mesorah Publications, ltd. ©2007. Page 1226.

[iii] The Stone Edition Tanach. Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Mesorah Publications, ltd. ©2007. Page 725.