2 Samuel 22 Commentary

Updated: Sat, 04/01/2023 - 19:42 By admin

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Chart from recommended resource Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission
2 Samuel Chart from Charles Swindoll

TIMELINE OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL, KINGS & CHRONICLES
1107	1011				971	931	853	722		586
1 Samuel	2 Samuel				1 Kings	1 Kings	2 Kings
31	1-4	5-10	11-20	21-24	1-11	12-22	1-17		18-25
1Chr 10		1 Chr 11-19		1 Chr 20-29	2 Chronicles 1-9	2 Chronicles 10-20	2 Chronicles 21-36
Legend: B.C. dates at top of timeline are approximate. Note that 931 BC marks the division of the Kingdom into Southern Tribes (Judah and Benjamin) and Ten Northern Tribes. To avoid confusion be aware that after the division of the Kingdom in 931 BC, the Southern Kingdom is most often designated in Scripture as "Judah" and the Northern Kingdom as "Israel." Finally, note that 1 Chronicles 1-9 is not identified on the timeline because these chapters are records of genealogy.

Map of David's Kingdom-ESV Global Map of Cities in 2 Samuel

HIGHS AND LOWS OF DAVID'S LIFE
Source: Life Application Study Bible (borrow)

2 Samuel 22:1 And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

David: Ps 50:14 103:1-6 116:1-19
words: Ex 15:1 Jdg 5:1
in: 2Sa 22:49 Ps 18:1 *title Ps 34:19 Isa 12:1-6 2Co 1:10 2Ti 4:18 Rev 7:9-17
and out: 1Sa 23:14 24:15 25:29 26:24 27:1

Related Passage:

Psalm 18:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said, “I love You, O LORD, my strength.”

Alexander Whyte says, “Let the psalms dwell richly in the feeblest among us, and the feeblest among us will yet be a man of more spiritual strength than David. Sing a heart-strengthening psalm every morning, and a heartcleansing and a heart-quieting psalm every night. Seven times every remaining day of your earthly pilgrimage sing a psalm. Let no place and no conversation and no occupation delude you out of your heart-refreshing psalm. Fill the house of your pilgrimage with the sound of psalms. Let God hear you. Let Him bow down His ear and hear you. And let Him say to His Son and to His angels and to His saints over you and over your house, ‘I have found a man after my own heart, with my holy oil have I anointed him.’”

DISCLAIMER - Many of the comments on this page will be taken from Spurgeon's comments on the parallel passages in Psalm 18. It's difficult to surpass Spurgeon's comments! We do not know which version came first, Psalm 18 or 2 Samuel 22.

And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered (natsal; Lxx - exaireo) him from the hand of all (how many?) his enemies and from the hand of Saul - When did Yahweh deliver David? When he called upon Him, in humility and trust. This psalm most likely appears to be at the end of his life as David looks back over the years and focusing on the faithfulness of His God, always a good thing for all of us old folks to do (I am 77 yo 2023)! The beauty of this chapter is that David is ending his race with a song in his heart and on his lips, also a example to imitate! David a Spirit empowered man (1Sa 16:13), is given evidence of this Spirit's power by "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord." (Eph 5:19).

Warren Wiersbe - The Lord delivered David from all his enemies. The Hebrew language contains 23 different words for deliverance. The Jewish people knew something about deliverance. Throughout their history God had delivered them. Who delivered David? God did....."Deliver" is a key word in this song (vv. 1, 2, 18, 20, 44, 49), and it carries with it the meanings of "drawing out of danger, snatching, taking away, allowing to escape." For at least ten years before he became king, David was pursued by Saul and his army, and the record shows that Saul tried to kill David at least five times. (See 1 Sam. 18:10-11; 19:8-10, 18-24.) After he became king, David had to wage war against the Philistines, the Ammonites, the Syrians, the Moabites, and the Edomites, and God enabled him to triumph over all his enemies. (Be restored : 2 Samuel & 1 Chronicles)

Boice - Psalm 18 is a thanksgiving song. (I discussed the various genres of psalms in the last chapter, listing hymns, laments, thanksgiving psalms, psalms of confidence, psalms of remembrance, wisdom psalms, and kingship psalms. = Borrow Tremper Longman III, How to Read the Psalms 19–36.) It follows naturally upon Psalm 17, which is a lament. Thanksgiving psalms seem to follow laments. In his lament David described himself as being surrounded by callous enemies who were intent on his destruction. They were like lions “hungry for prey” (v. 12). He cried out for deliverance, and at the end of the psalm he is found confidently expecting that God will come to his aid. In Psalm 18 we find David looking back over a lifetime of such saving interventions by God and praising him for them. At the same time, Psalm 18 is also a kingship psalm. It is a rehearsal of God’s many blessings on the king and his kingdom. This means that it could have been sung, not only by David, but by anyone who had experienced the blessings of David’s rule or the rule of many who later followed him to the throne. Some of the kingship psalms have elements that look beyond the earthly king to God’s promised Messiah. That is the case here. In fact, we have biblical justification for seeing the psalm this way, since in his letter to the Romans the apostle Paul quotes verse 49 as the first of four prophecies to show that Christ came for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews (Rom. 15:9). (Ibid)

Swindoll, when he outlines this particular song, says, “David sums up his life in four themes:

1. When TIMES ARE THOUGH, the Lord is our only SECURITY.

2. When DAYS ARE DARK, the Lord is our only LIGHT.

3. When our WALK IS WEAK, the Lord is our only STRENGTH.

4. When our FUTURE IS FOGGY, the Lord is our only HOPE.

Andrae Crouch captures the truth of the song that David has written in his song entitled “Through It All.”

“I’ve had many tears and sorrow,
I’ve had questions for tomorrow.
There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong.
But in every situation, God gave blessed consolation
That my trials come to only make me strong

Anderson divides this song as follows...

1. WHO IS HE – verses 1-4

2. WHAT HE HAS DONE – verses 5-20

3. HOW HE SEES ME – verses 21-28

4. WHAT HE IS TO ME – verses 29-46

5. WHY I WORSHIP HIM – verses 47-51

Carl Laney says, “There are two categories of praise in the psalms:

1. DESCRIPTIVE PRAISE. - DESCRIPTIVE PRAISE focuses on what God is like, his ATTRIBUTES

2. DECLARATIVE PRAISE.- DECLARATIVE PRAISE emphasizes what God has done, his ACTIONS.

Vos on this chapter and Psalm 18 -, “Many scholars believe that David wrote both and that the Samuel text is the original, and that David altered it slightly for liturgical purposes when it became part of the Psalms. In any case, the message is essentially the same in both works.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

Guzik - David experienced the LORD’s deliverance:

· God delivered David from Goliath.
· God delivered David from Saul.
· God delivered David from backsliding.
· God delivered David from Israel’s enemies.
· God delivered David from Absalom.
· God delivered David from David’s own sinful passions.

Anderson - His difficulties have given birth to a song, and this song comes in response to the Lord’s deliverance from the hand of all his enemies, and from the had of Saul. (You can’t sing in a storm until you have surrendered to his son.) when you stop and think about it, he has been delivered from a lot of enemies. He has been delivered from: Goliath, Saul, the Philistines, the Ammonites, the Syrians or northern tribes, the Edomites, the Moabites, the Amalekites, Abner and Ishbosheth, Nabal,Absalom, Sheba, Adonijah, Shimei, and a host of others.

Boice gives a summary of the context/setting of this chapter - In that book, the psalm appears almost as David’s final words. Hence, it is a summary thanksgiving for God’s many deliverances of him through his long life of service. These deliverances fall into three categories.

First, and most dramatic, there were the deliverances of David from King Saul during the long years David had to hide from him in the wilderness....

Second, God delivered David during his years of fighting against Israel’s enemies and gave him numerous victories. This was the period in which David established the kingdom. Second Samuel 8 lists David’s victories over the Philistines, Moabites, Arameans of Damascus, and Edomites.

Third, God delivered David from the hand of his son Absalom. (Psalms Volume 1)

2 Samuel 22:2 He said, "The LORD is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer

BGT 2 Samuel 22:2 καὶ εἶπεν κύριε πέτρα μου καὶ ὀχύρωμά μου καὶ ἐξαιρούμενός με ἐμοί

LXE 2 Samuel 22:2 And the song was thus: O Lord, my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,

KJV 2 Samuel 22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

NET 2 Samuel 22:2 He said: "The LORD is my high ridge, my stronghold, my deliverer.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:2 He said: The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

ESV 2 Samuel 22:2 He said, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

NIV 2 Samuel 22:2 He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

NLT 2 Samuel 22:2 He sang: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;

NRS 2 Samuel 22:2 He said: The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

NJB 2 Samuel 22:2 He said: Yahweh is my rock and my fortress,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:2 This is what he sang: I "O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,

YLT 2 Samuel 22:2 and he saith: 'Jehovah is my rock, And my bulwark, and a deliverer to me,

De 32:4 1Sa 2:2 Ps 18:2-50 Ps 31:3 Ps 42:9 Ps 71:3 Ps 91:2 Ps 144:2 Mt 16:18

Related Passage:

Deuteronomy 32:4 “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.

1 Samuel 2:2 “There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.

Psalm 18:2 The LORD 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. 3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

Psalm 31:3 (DAVID) For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.

Psalm 42:9 (SONS OF KORAH) I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

Psalm 71:3 Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come; You have given commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress.

Numbers 20:8 “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

1 Samuel 23:25-28+ (DAVID ESCAPED SAUL AT "SLIPPERY ROCK") When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock (sela'; Lxx - petra) and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them. 27 But (GOD'S PROVIDENCE SAVED DAVID) a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.” 28 So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock (sela'; Lxx - petra) of Escape (aka "Slippery Rock"!).

1 Samuel 17:50+ Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David's hand.

MY GOD IS MY ROCK,
FORTRESS, DELIVERER

He said, "The LORD is my Rock (sela'; Lxx - petra) - David's rise to the throne began with a small rock (more accurately a "stone" slung by David, but directed by God) that brought Goliath down (1Sa 17:50+). Later David fled from Saul in the Judean wilderness where he was kept safe in the rocky crags and caves in the rocks. In 1Sa 23:25-27, 28+ David barely escaped capture by Saul at "Slippery Rock (aka "Rock of Escape")!" It is notable that the first use of rock (sela'; Lxx - petra) is found in Nu 20:8+ which Paul teaches us symbolizes Christ, for all Israel "drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the ROCK was Christ." (1Cor 10:4+). The Hebrew word for rock in Exodus 17:6 signifies a low-lying bed-rock while the word in 2Sa 22:2 (and Nu 20:8) is a high and exalted rock. The rock often symbolized security and the defense of an impregnable refuge. God was David's rock Who gave security and safety

CHS - The Lord is my rock and my fortress." Dwelling among the crags and mountain fastnesses of Judea David had escaped the malice of Saul, and here he compares his God to such a place of concealment and security. Believers are often hidden in their God from the strife of tongues and the fury of the storm of trouble. The clefts of the Rock of Ages are safe abodes.

Wiersbe - “Rock” (Ps 18:2, 31, 46) is a familiar metaphor for the Lord, speaking of strength and stability, a place of refuge (Ps 19:14; 28:1; 31:2–3; 42:9; 62:2, 6–7; 71:3; 78:20; 89:26; 92:15; 94:22; 95:1; 144:1; 1 Sam. 23:25). It goes back to Genesis 49:24 and Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30–31.

Goettsche on the LORD as David's Rock - In the Middle Eastern deserts things could get really hot. An over-heated traveler would find respite by resting in the shade of a large rock. When the winds blew a rock formed a shield from the sand and dust. If David was writing this today he might say, “The Lord is my shade tree” or “the Lord is my shelter house”. He might even say “the Lord is my storm shelter.” David had learned this lesson from the experiences of his life. As you read his words he reflects back on those times when it seemed like David was in desperate shape. There were the times when Saul was chasing him in the desert or throwing spears at him in the palace. There were civil wars and the battles with the Philistines. And there was the coup orchestrated by his son. In the Middle Eastern deserts things could get really hot. An over-heated traveler would find respite by resting in the shade of a large rock. When the winds blew a rock formed a shield from the sand and dust. If David was writing this today he might say, “The Lord is my shade tree” or “the Lord is my shelter house”. He might even say “the Lord is my storm shelter.” David had learned this lesson from the experiences of his life. As you read his words he reflects back on those times when it seemed like David was in desperate shape. There were the times when Saul was chasing him in the desert or throwing spears at him in the palace. There were civil wars and the battles with the Philistines. And there was the coup orchestrated by his son. This is an important lesson. The Lord cares for us, He delights in us, He is eager to protect and lead us. We do not have to question His love. He has proved it again and again. Steven Curtis Chapman (who has faced his own heartache) wrote familiar words (Play His Strength is Perfect),

His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on.
Raised in His power, the weak become strong.
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect.

And my Fortress (or stronghold - mesudah; Lxx - ochuroma used in 2Co 10:4+; see also imagery of fortress) and my Deliverer (palat; Lxx - exaireo - set free, rescue) - God as Rock and Fortress speak of David's protection, for he had personally experienced God as his Protector (Play Marty Goetz's moving song "He is My Defense" - Here is a soulful He is My Rock)

David undoubtedly recalls "the cave of Adullam, where David first formed his band of outlaws; a refuge in many crises, and a place of many memories

1 Samuel 22:4 Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold (mesudah)

1 Samuel 24:22 David swore to Saul. And Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold (mesudah).

2 Samuel 5:17 When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek out David; and when David heard of it, he went down to the stronghold (mesudah).

2 Samuel 23:13-14 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam, while the troop of the Philistines was camping in the valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold (mesudah), while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

CHS - "My deliverer," interposing in my hour of peril. When almost captured the Lord's people are rescued from the hand of the mighty by him who is mightier still. This title of "deliverer" has many sermons in it, and is well worthy of the study of all experienced saints.

Wiersbe - “Fortress” pictures God as a stronghold, like the city of Jerusalem on Mount Zion (1Sa 22:4; 24:22; 2 Sam. 5:17; 23:14).

Don't miss David's repetition of the possessive pronoun "MY" (10 times in two verses - 2Sa 22:2-3) which means belonging to or associated with the speaker, indicating personal possession, not an abstract concept. David clearly has a personal relationship with Yahweh. Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus or did you just know about Him intellectually? One question I ask people I meet is "Do you know Jesus as your Savior?" Many answer "Yes," but with more conversation, their answer suggests (and I am NOT their final Judge!) that they seem to know ABOUT Him, but they can't really call Him "MY Jesus," or "MY Lord." We must remember Jesus' strong and frightening warning in Mt 7:21-23

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many (WHAT DOES "MANY" MEAN?) will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never (ABSOLUTELY) knew you (NO PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP); DEPART (COMMAND - DO THIS NOW!) FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE (Present tense = lifestyle, habitual practice) LAWLESSNESS.’

THOUGHT - Can you call God "MY GOD?" Because of what Jesus accomplished at the cross, every believer by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9+) can call the transcendent, infinite, incomprehensible, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God, MY GOD. Now take from time and meditate (see A Primer of Meditation) on each of the "my's" in the following list from chapter 22...how is He your Rock? What does that metaphor depict?, etc. And then offer up your prayers of praise to Him for each of these wonderful pictures of Who He is in our lives (Heb 13:15+)

MY Rock - 2Sa 22:2,3,32,47

MY Fortress - 2Sa 22:2,33

MY Deliverer - 2Sa 22:2,51

MY Shield - 2Sa 22:7,31,36

Horn of MY salvation - 2Sa 22:3

MY Stronghold - 2Sa 22:3

MY Refuge - 2Sa 22:3

MY Savior - 2Sa 22:3

MY Lamp - 2Sa 22:29

If you like an upbeat song listen to My God or the great song by Rich Mullins My Deliverer. or Augustus Toplady's timeless hymn Rock of Ages. James Montgomery Boice writes "The dominant theme of Psalm 18 is that God is our Rock! In the previous chapter, I pointed out that this means He is a shelter beside which we can be protected and prosper, a fortress into which we can run and be safe, a firm foundation upon which our shaking feet can stand and upon which we can build. But I remember also the way in which the great eighteenth-century preacher and songwriter Augustus M. Toplady (1740–1778) handled it in what has since become one of the best-known hymns in our language: “Rock of Ages.” Toplady was traveling in the country when a storm came upon him and he was forced to take shelter in the cleft of a great rock. While he was waiting for the storm to pass he reflected on the situation spiritually, and the words of a hymn began to form in his mind. Looking down at his feet, he discovered a playing card that someone who had been there earlier had dropped. So he picked it up and used it to record these words. The card is still in existence." (Psalms: Volume 1: An Expositional Commentary)

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From thy riven (or ripped) side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.

Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

Rock (05553) sela' is a masculine noun according to Strong refers to 1 crag, cliff, rock. 1A crag, cliff. 1B as stronghold of Jehovah, of security (figurative). TWOT says sela' "refers basically to a cleft in a rock, thence a rock or cliff."

Sela' often speaks of rock faces especially cliffs (Isa 2:21), where eagles (Job 39:28) and hyraxes (rock badgers Pr 30:26) live. People are thrown off sela' (Ps 141:6). Mountain goats is literally "goats of the sela'" (Job 39:1). Sela' is sometimes used as a proper noun: "the rock of Etam" (Jdg 15:8), David's "Rock of Escape" (1Sa 23:28), two rock crags, " name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh" (1Sa 14:4). "Clefts of the rock" in Obadiah 1:3 may refer to Sela, an Edomite fortress city. Sela' is associated with crevices and clefts (Jer 13:4; 49:16), also with fortresses (Isa 33:16). The destruction of Tyre prophesied by God would become like a bare rock (Ezek 26:14). Crypts were carved in sela' (Isa 22:16). Sela' occasionally occurs with tsur the other Hebrew word for rock (4x; Dt 32:13, Ps 18:2, Ps 71:3, Isa 2:21). The Septuagint sometimes translates sela' (Isa 42:11) as Petra, perhaps corresponding to Petra in Jordan.

Fortress (stronghold)(04686) mesudah from tsud = to hunt) means a fastness, stronghold. Mesudah (mesuda) refers to a wilderness or mountainous places for hiding, defense, and gathering supplies for battle (1Sa 22:4, 5; 24:22) especially David's city when he captured the "stronghold of Zion" (2Sa 5:7, 9). Job 39:28 gives us a good word picture of the meaning of this word describing the home of the eagle "On the cliff he dwells and lodges, Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place (mesudah)."

John Hartley adds "Apparently related to meṣād which means "mountain-height" or "summit"; then "fortress, castle" (Arabic maṣādun) so Masada, the fortress-palace plateau of Herod near the Dead Sea. In the rocky crag the eagle makes his stronghold (Job 39:28). But man erects his fortress out of stone or brick to protect himself from external dangers. Nevertheless with great strategy a stronghold may be taken; e.g. David captured the stronghold of Zion (2 Samuel 5:7). For the believer, especially David, God himself was the stronghold in whom he trusted throughout his trials (Psalm 18:2; Psalm 91:2)." (online TWOT )

Metsudah - 17x - fortress(6), inaccessible place(1), stronghold(10). 1Sam. 22:4; 1Sam. 22:5; 1Sam. 24:22; 2Sam. 5:7; 2Sam. 5:9; 2Sam. 5:17; 2Sam. 22:2; 2Sam. 23:14; 1Ch 11:5; 1Ch 11:16; Job 19:6; Job 39:28; Ps. 18:2; Ps. 31:2; Ps. 31:3; Ps. 66:11; Ps. 71:3; Ps. 91:2; Ps. 144:2; Ezek. 12:13; Ezek. 13:21; Ezek. 17:20

Deliverer (escape, preserve, rescue) (06403) palat means to deliver, to escape or help to escape, to rescue, to take to safety, to bring forth (Job 21:10 - "calves" = delivers a calf). The first use is by David in 2 Samuel 22 where he exalts God as "my deliverer," (2 Sa 22:2) and then later testifies "You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people." Most of the uses are in Psalms and speak of God's deliverance in various settings, including several pleas for Him to deliver (Ps 17:13, Ps 43:2, Ps 71:2, 4, Ps 82:4)

ROCK - In the ancient world, where explosives and powerful drills were unknown, rock—abundant and varied in shape and size—was a ready image of impervious solidity. A rock provides a solid foundation, protection and security, but it can be a nuisance when it poses an obstacle to progress and dangerous when it falls. The Bible uses words translated “rock” in all these senses and occasionally in more specialized ways. Much of the OT imagery has the desert as its backdrop. The sight of a rock in a barren, sun-parched wilderness lifted the spirits of the hot and weary traveler or soldier. The ministers of the righteous king, wrote Isaiah (Is 32:2), will be like “the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land” (NIV). The rock might contain a spring of water (see Ex 17:6) as well as providing welcome shade from the burning sun. The hunted, whether human or animal, could find in the rocks a hiding place (1 Sam 13:6; Ps 104:18). Isaiah reveals a horrifying picture of people trying to hide from God among the rocks (Is 2:10, 19, 21). But ideally rock formed a sound foundation; a rock was a stronghold, a fortress and a refuge. “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed” (Is 28:16 NIV). King David knew what it was to be a fugitive in the desert, and he worshiped God as the rock in whom he found shelter (2Sa 22:2–4, 32; Ps 18:1–3, 31, 46). The image is repeated in Psalm 31:3; 62:1–8; and Ps 71:3, 7. It is a short step to seeing God as redeemer, savior and deliverer (Ps 62; 95:1; 78:35). God is not only like a rock, however-he is a rock (Dt 32:30–31). The Israelites had experienced God as a safe refuge, utterly secure and dependable. As Luther was later to express it, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, “a mighty fortress is our God.”....

So the word rock is used in Scripture with a wide variety of meanings, almost all associated with God, either as a secure foundation or stronghold or as an obstacle to evildoers. Twentieth-century city dwellers need to exercise their powers of imagination to feel the full impact of King David’s relief and joy at finding a secure and shady fortress enclosing a spring of water as he was pursued by his enemies in the desert. Our view of God is enriched by the effort. (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

FORTRESS, STRONGHOLD - OT battle stories have as one of their staples fortresses-thick-walled cities, often on high mountains, meant to be impenetrable and intimidating to enemies. Yet of the approximately thirty-five references to fortresses in English Bibles, most are metaphoric pictures of God and his acts of salvation.

The first mention of a fortress comes in the story of David’s capturing Zion, or Jerusalem, from the Jebusites (2 Sam 5:6–7). David made this city his capital: a great, prosperous, central fortress in Israel. David knew many fortresses first-hand, so when he calls the Lord his fortress, he is clearly picturing strong walls and high defenses-a secure place where no evil can enter (2 Sam 22:2; Ps 18:2).

God often protected David physically, but when David and other OT writers call God their fortress, they primarily picture God as the unshakable strength of their souls, the source of hope and salvation that no enemy-physical or spiritual-can ever threaten. David calls God “the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation” (Ps 28:8 NIV). Psalm 62 is a song about finding rest for the soul: “He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken” (Ps 62:2 NIV). In this psalm David uses the metaphor of a besieged fortress to picture himself, with “leaning walls and tottering fence”; his enemies “fully intend to topple him” (Ps 62:3–4). He may be referring to assaults on his kingship in his later years. And yet he looks to the God of his salvation as a refuge and a fortress in which he can place all his trust.

Often rock and fortress are used together to refer to God (2 Sam 22:2; Ps 18:2; 31:3; 71:3). Fortified cities were built, if possible, high on a cliff or mountain, with the rock providing an unshakable foundation and impenetrable defense. Isaiah accuses the Israelites of forgetting God their Savior: “You have not remembered the Rock, your fortress” (Is 17:10 NIV). Without their Rock, he tells them, they will fall to the enemy, both physically and spiritually, and the fortress of Jerusalem will be abandoned (Is 32:14). In a similar vein Nahum compares the fortress of godless Ninevah to fig trees that will spill their ripe fruit into the hands of the enemies who shake them; its gates will be wide open to its enemies (Nahum 3:12–13). By contrast, “he who fears the LORD has a secure fortress” (Prov 14:26 NIV).

Images of fortresses in Scripture turn our eyes from earthly cities, which fall and decay, to a heavenly city, Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21. That city has a “great, high wall,” thick and shining with gold and precious stones. Its gates will never be shut, and “nothing impure will ever enter it” (Rev 21:12, 17–21, 25–27). The enemy will finally be conquered, and God will rule there forever. Scripture pictures this God as the only fortress in which we can surely rest our souls as we look for the eternal city. (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

BADGER BRAINS

"The rock badgers are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags." -- Proverbs 30:26

We could learn a lot from the rock badger. This small animal (also called a coney or hyrax) knows where to go when danger comes. The large ragged crags jutting up from the mountains form a perfect hiding place for the badger. If an eagle swoops down and tries to capture him the little animal is protected by the rock. The eagle would have to tear the mountain apart to get to its prey.

When a lion is on the prowl for lunch, the badger goes undetected by lying close to the rock because he is the color of the mountain.

As long as the badger hides in the rocks, he is safe. If he wanders away into the grassland, he is dead meat. The most courageous badger in the world is no match for even a small lion. The badger is wise enough to know that his strength lies not in working out at the gym but in taking shelter in the crags.

If you have the brains of a badger, you'll figure out where your strength lies. "Be strong in the Lord," the Scripture urges us, "and in the power of His might" (Eph. 6:10). "The Lord is my rock and my fortress," cried David after being hunted by his enemies (2 Samuel 22:2). Badgers know where their strength lies. Do you?-- H W Robinson (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

He cannot fail, your faithful God,
He'll guard you with His mighty power;
Then fear no ill though troubles rise,
His help is sure from hour to hour.
- Henry G. Bosch

You have nothing to fear if you stay close to the Rock of Ages.

Spiritual Weightlifting

I first met Noel when he was in the early stages of overcoming drug dependence. He had put his faith in Christ, and he was becoming a well-established disciple. One day he admitted, "When I first trusted the Lord, I felt powerless and needed to depend on Him for everything. But now that He's made me stronger, I'm afraid I'm not depending on Him as much."

I believed that Noel still depended on the Lord, but I needed to reassure him somehow. So I said, "Noel, when someone starts weightlifting, which weights should be used first?" Noel replied, "The lightest ones."

Then I said, "Though the weights are hard to lift, they feel lighter when the muscles increase. So what should one do next?" With a knowing smile, Noel replied, "Increase the weights!" "That's what the Lord is doing with you," I reasoned. "The loads you first carried feel lighter now, for you are spiritually stronger. But don't become overconfident. The Lord will keep increasing your load to remind you of your limited strength. You'll never outgrow your need to depend on Him!"

What about you? Are you getting stronger as a Christian? Do you still sense your need to call on the Lord and depend on His strength? (2 Samuel 22:2-4). —Joanie Yoder (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Each time that we depend on God
To meet our daily needs,
Our strength in Him will be increased,
Like mighty trees from seeds.
—Sper

We grow stronger as we depend on God's strength.

Hidden In The Rock

The Lord is my rock and my fortress. —Psalm 18:2

Today's Scripture: Psalm 18:30-36

The story is told of a young preacher named Augustus Toplady, who was taking a walk through the English countryside when a sudden storm swept across the landscape. Toplady spotted a wide rock formation with an opening—a cleft—where he sought shelter until the storm passed. As he sat out the deluge, he contemplated the connection between his shelter and God’s help in life’s storms.

He had no paper to write on but found a playing card on the floor of the cavelike structure and began to write the words to the beloved hymn “Rock of Ages.”

Written on that stormy day in 1775, this hymn has been a source of strength for Christians ever since.

Rock of ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.

Think of your struggles. Do you need a place to hide? Do you need Someone to shelter you from life’s assaults? Do you need the assurance that you’ve been forgiven? As Toplady experienced, we can find shelter and assurance in God.

Don’t stand out in life’s storms alone. Seek God’s shelter. Ask Him to protect you. Make sure you have received His forgiveness. Get close to the Rock of Ages. It’s life’s safest spot. By: Dave Branon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

No Contest

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. — Psalm 18:2

Today's Scripture: Psalm 18:1-19

A family friend was deserted by her husband and left to care for her small children alone. I wonder how she’ll make it.

A grandmother wrote Radio Bible Class asking for prayer for her grandchildren who all seem to be throwing their lives away on the things of this world. I feel sadness.

My teenage daughter talked about the poverty she saw among believers in a country she visited on a missions trip. I search for answers. Why such inequities?

Then I look at Psalm 18. David had his own list of troubles. He was threatened by enemies (v.3), surrounded by “the pangs of death” and “the floods of ungodliness” (v.4).

What hope could there be in his situation? Would the help come in the form of money, soldiers, powerful weapons, or people who would come to his aid? No, David’s help came from an inexhaustible source—the Lord, whom David called “my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” (v.2).

Like all of us, David faced adversity. But as Psalm 18 indicates, when our problems are pitted against our Lord’s strength, it’s no contest.

Even in my darkest hour
The Lord will bless me with His power;
His loving grace will sure abound,
In His sweet care I shall be found.
—Brandt

All is not hopeless when your hope is in God.

Running to Our Shelter

The Lord is my rock, . . . He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior. 2 Samuel 22:2–3

Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Samuel 22:1–7

The sixth-grade basketball game was well underway. Parents and grandparents were cheering on their players, while younger brothers and sisters of the boys on the teams entertained themselves out in the school hallway. Suddenly, sirens blared and lights flashed in the gym. A fire alarm had been tripped. Soon the siblings came streaming back into the gym in panic, looking for their parents.

There was no fire; the alarm had accidentally been activated. But as I watched, I was struck by the way the children—sensing a crisis—unashamedly ran to embrace their parents. What a picture of confidence in those who could provide a sense of safety and reassurance in a time of fear!

Scripture presents a time when David experienced great fear. Saul and numerous other enemies (2 Samuel 22:1) pursued him. After God delivered David to safety, the grateful man sang an eloquent song of praise about His help. He called God “my rock, my fortress and my deliverer” (v. 2). When the “cords of the grave” and “the snares of death” (v. 6) hounded him, David “called out” to God and his “cry came to [God’s] ears” (v. 7). In the end, David proclaimed He “rescued me” (vv. 18, 20, 49).

In times of fear and uncertainty, we can run to the “Rock” (v. 32). As we call on God’s name, He alone provides the refuge and shelter we need (vv. 2–3). By: Dave Branon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

What fear are you dealing with these days? How can God help you face it and deal with it?

Dear God, when I’m afraid, remind me to trust You—to depend on You—and praise Your name.

For further study, read Hope: Discovering the One True Source.

Solid-Rock Faith

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. —Psalm 18:2

Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 18:1-3,46

My wife and I both have grandmothers who have lived past 100. Talking with them and their friends, I detect a trend that seems almost universal in the reminiscences of older people: They recall difficult times with a touch of nostalgia. The elderly swap stories about World War II and the Great Depression; they speak fondly of hardships such as blizzards, the childhood outhouse, and the time in college when they ate canned soup and stale bread 3 weeks in a row.

Paradoxically, difficult times may help nourish faith and strengthen personal bonds. Seeing this principle lived out, I can better understand one of the mysteries relating to God. Faith boils down to a question of trust. If I do stand on a solid rock of trust in God (Ps. 18:2), the worst of circumstances will not destroy that relationship.

Solid-rock faith allows me to believe that despite the chaos of the present moment, God does reign. Regardless of how worthless I may feel, I truly matter to a God of love. No pain lasts forever, and no evil triumphs in the end.

Solid-rock faith sees even the darkest deed of all history, the death of God’s Son, as a necessary prelude to the brightest moment in all history—His resurrection and triumph over death. By: Philip Yancey (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Lord, You are the Rock, the object of my faith. My faith stands on You and not on my shifting feelings; otherwise I would be sure to fall.

Christ, the Rock, is our sure hope.

2 Samuel 22:3 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.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:3 ὁ θεός μου φύλαξ ἔσται μου πεποιθὼς ἔσομαι ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ ὑπερασπιστής μου καὶ κέρας σωτηρίας μου ἀντιλήμπτωρ μου καὶ καταφυγή μου σωτηρίας μου ἐξ ἀδίκου σώσεις με

LXE 2 Samuel 22:3 my God; he shall be to me my guard, I will trust in him: he is my protector, and the horn of my salvation, my helper, and my sure refuge; thou shalt save me from the unjust man.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:3 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.

NET 2 Samuel 22:3 My God is my rocky summit where I take shelter, my shield, the horn that saves me, my stronghold, my refuge, my savior. You save me from violence!

CSB 2 Samuel 22:3 my God, my mountain where I seek refuge. My shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:3 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.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:3 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.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:3 my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence.

in Whom: Heb 2:13
My Shield : Ge 15:1 De 33:29 Ps 3:3 Ps 5:12 Ps 28:7 Ps 84:9,11 Ps 115:9-11 Pr 30:5
Horn of my salvation: 1Sa 2:1 Lu 1:69
my Stronghold: 2Sa 22:51 Ps 61:3 144:2 Pr 18:10
my Refuge: Ps 9:9 14:6 18:2 27:5 32:7 46:1,7,11 59:16 71:7 142:4 Isa 32:2 Jer 16:9
My Savior: Isa 12:2 45:21 Lu 1:47,71 Tit 3:4,6
You save me: 2Sa 22:49 Ps 55:9 72:14 86:14 140:1,4,11

Related Passage:

Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.”

Deuteronomy 33:29 “Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, Who is the shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! So your enemies will cringe before you, And you will tread upon their high places.”

Psalm 3:3 But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

Psalm 5:12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.

Psalm 84:9; 11 Behold our shield, O God, And look upon the face of Your anointed....84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Psalm 115:9-11 O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. 11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Psalm 18:2 The LORD 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.

1 Samuel 24:2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks (tsur) of the Wild Goats.

Luke 1:69+ (PROPHECY OF MESSIAH AS THE "HORN") And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant–

My God, my Rock (tsur), in Whom I take refuge (KJV = "In Him will I trust") - All these uses of MY not only speak of personal possession (and relationship) but personal (intimate) experience with God. David's God is not some abstract concept or truth, but is a real and personal God Who he has experienced in manifold ways which accounts for the length of this beautiful song.

God is his (our) personal Rock which David explains means Jehovah is the place (Person) where we can run when we are in need of a safe place (Person)! Pr 18:10+ says it this way - "The Name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe (sagab - means to be raised up)." The thought is that when we run to His Name, which is the essence of all He is (all His attributes), we are high and inaccessible by our adversaries (they are still out there, but they do not have access to the Rock).

Faith must be exercised, or the preciousness of God is not truly known;
and God must be the object of faith, or faith is mere presumption.
-- CHS

My Rock is translated in the Septuagint with with the Greek word phulax which means guard or sentinel, One Who watches or stands as if watching like a soldier stationed as a guard to challenge all comers and prevent a surprise attack! Kirkpatrick says "The title Rock is frequently used to describe the strength, faithfulness, and unchangeableness of God (cf Dt 32:4; Dt 32:37; 1Sa 2:2; Ps 28:1, etc)".

CHS - "My God;" this is all good things in one. There is a boundless wealth in this expression; it means, my perpetual, unchanging, infinite, eternal good. He who can say truly "my God," may well add, "my heaven, my all." (Sing to Him and praise Him with "You are My All in All")

CHS - "My strength;" this word is really "my rock," in the sense of strength and immobility. My sure, unchanging, eternal confidence and support. Thus the word rock occurs twice, but it is no tautology, for the first time it is a rock for concealment, but here a rock for firmness and immutability.

CHS - "In Whom I will trust." (IN WHOM I TAKE REFUGE) Faith must be exercised, or the preciousness of God is not truly known; and God must be the object of faith, or faith is mere presumption. "

My Shield (magen) and the Horn (qeren) of my salvation (yesha; Lxx - soteria), my Stronghold (misgab; Lxx - antilemptor = helper, protector) and my Refuge (manos; Lxx - kataphuge mou soterias = my safe retreat, my sure refuge) - A Shield defends, a Horn (power) saves. Stronghold provides a place of security. Horn is strength or power so the horn of my salvation is God's power which saves me, not just the first time (justification) but every day (sanctification) and Who is this descriptive of but the Holy Spirit, Who provides the "desire and the power" to live pleasing to God (see Php 2:13NLT+). He is not just the horn of salvation but of MY salvation says David. In 2Sa. 22:3; 2Sa. 22:36; 2Sa. 22:47 He is the Horn...Shield...Rock, all related to salvation respectively as the power, the protection, and the foundation. My Stronghold refers to “high place,” beyond reach of danger.

The Septuagint translated Shield (magen) with the noun huperaspistes which literally means one who holds a shield over another and thus is a protector (defender) and it is used in all 3 uses of magen in chapter 24 (2Sa 22:3, 31, 36 - v36 uses the cognate = huperaspismos = covering with a shield) Hyperaspistes is used 19x/19v - 2Sa 22:3; 2 Sa 22:31; Ps. 18:2; Ps. 18:30; Ps. 27:1; Ps. 28:7; Ps. 28:8; Ps. 31:2; Ps. 31:4; Ps. 33:20; Ps. 37:39; Ps. 40:17; Ps. 59:11; Ps. 71:3; Ps. 84:9; Ps. 115:9; Ps. 115:10; Ps. 115:11; Ps. 144:2.

The Almighty God is OUR PERSONAL DEFENDER!

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Amazing Grace

Here is the English translation of the Septuagint which helps picture the sense of each of these descriptions of God - "My God; He shall be to me my guard, I will trust in him: he is my protector, and the horn of my salvation, my helper, and my sure refuge; thou shalt save me from the unjust man. (2Sa 22:3LXE)

Kirkpatrick - The Power which saves and delivers me. The figure of the horn, as a symbol of victorious strength, is derived from horned animals. Cp. Deuteronomy 33:17; Luke 1:69.

CHS - My Buckler," (SHIELD) warding off the blows of my enemy, shielding me from arrow or sword. The Lord furnishes his warriors with weapons both offensive and defensive. Our armoury is completely stored so that none need go to battle unarmed.

THOU MY SHIELD
BY FANNY CROSBY

When the hopes that smile today
With the morrow pass away;
When the flowers that pleasure weaves
Fade and fall like autumn leaves:

Refrain
Thou my shield and strength divine,
Closer draw my love to Thine;
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

When my heart with toils oppressed
Vainly seeks the balm of rest;
When beset with trials deep,
Throbbing cares that will not sleep:

Refrain

When afflictions o’er my soul
Like the waves of ocean roll:
When the clouds above me frown
And my burden weighs me down:

Refrain

When the storms of life shall cease,
When the waves are hushed in peace;
When I reach my home at last,
Every danger safely passed:

Refrain

CHS - "The Horn of my salvation," enabling me to push down my foes, and to triumph over them with holy exultation.

Wiersbe - “Horn” refers to strength (Deut. 33:17; 1 Sam. 2:1, 10; 1 Kings 22:11) and has Messianic connotations (Luke 1:69).

Luke 1:69+ And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant–

CHS - "My High Tower," (MY STRONGHOLD) a citadel high planted on a rocky eminence beyond the reach of my enemies, from the heights of which I look down upon their fury without alarm, and survey a wide landscape of mercy reaching even unto the goodly land beyond Jordan. Here are many words, but none too many; we might profitably examine each one of them had we leisure, but summing up the whole, we may conclude with Calvin, that David here equips the faithful from head to foot.

Wiersbe - “Shield” speaks of God’s protection (Ps 3:3; 7:10; 28:7; 33:20; Ge 15:1; Deut. 33:29), but it also is a symbol of the king (Ps 84:9; 89:18).

Dictionary of Biblical Imagery - The true stronghold in Scripture is indeed a high, lofty place. One can reach that place, however, only by bowing low before the God of salvation. The Bible pictures His presence as the only true stronghold.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown on horn - The horn, as the means of attack or defense of some of the strongest animals, is a frequent emblem of power or strength efficiently exercised (compare De 33:17; Lu 1:69).

My Savior (yesha'; Lxx soteria), You save (yasha' - deliver, help; Lxx sozo) me from violence (chamas/hamas - wrong, malicious) - Lxx has "from the unjust man."

Rock (see also)(06697) tsur is used a few times to describe a literal rock (usually a large rock or boulder), but the figurative uses are more common and usually descriptive of Jehovah. A rock includes ideas of strength and permanence. Figurative expressions include honey from the rock (clefts where bees lived) (Ps. 81:16); Abraham as the ancestral rock of Israel (Isa. 51:1); rock as a symbol of stability (Job 14:18; Nah. 1:6); God as the Rock to look to and depend on as source of strength and refuge (Ps. 31:2 = "Be to me a Rock of strength"; Isa. 17:10 = "have not remembered the Rock of your refuge"); God personified as a Rock of the nation of Israel (2Sa 23:3); of God as the Rock many times (Dt. 32:4, 18; Hab 1:12). It is used of an insufficient rock, a god of the pagan nations (Deut. 32:31).

In Ps 18:2 we find two words for "rock", the first "rock" being "sela'" (see below) and the second "rock" being "tsur." Sela' more frequently suggests a larger, more massive rock structure such as a crag (a steep rugged rock - eg, Job 39:28 uses sela' to describe a safe, resting place for the eagle "upon the rocky crag [sela'], an inaccessible place"), a cliff or a mountainside. Tsur on the other hand refers to smaller rock structures such as a boulder, but these distinctions are not absolute and there is overlap.

Other uses of tsur in 2 Samuel - 2Sa 21:10; 2Sa 22:3; 2Sa 22:32; 2Sa 22:47; 2Sa 23:3

Horn (07161)(qeren) means horn (see also below), literally a bony projection from an animal's head (Ge 22:13 first use - "ram caught...by horns") and is expanded to refer to the horn-like protrusions on the corners or edges of altars, possibly representing strength, power (Ex. 27:2; Jer. 48:25). E.g., blood was applied to the horns of the altar (Ex. 29:12). "Zadok the priest then took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon" (1KI 1:39) Iron horns were manufactured (1Ki 22:11). Horns were used to make musical instruments (Josh. 6:5). Figuratively qeren is symbolic of power strength as related to the strength of an animal. describes strength, honor, rulership, dignity, fertility, descendants (1Sa 2:10); fertility, descendants (1 Sam. 2:1; Ps. 89:17); the power and source of salvation (2Sa 22:3). To raise up one’s horn meant to act arrogantly, insolently (Ps. 75:4). The special anointing oil was sometimes kept in a horn, a container made of a hollowed-out horn (1Ki 1:39).

Gilbrant says qeren "refers literally to the “horns” of animals, figuratively to the “power,” “honor” or “glory.”....Figuratively, a horn symbolized a person’s strength, power or glory, such as Joseph’s (Deut. 33:17), the anointed king’s (1 Sam. 2:10) or Hannah’s (2:1). Usually, the horn was spoken of as being lifted up as a sign of honor, but Job spoke of his horn as defiled in the dust (Job 16:15), and a person could have become sinfully proud of his horn (Ps. 75:4f). The horns of a wild ox are used figuratively of adversity (22:21). Theologically, the horn is a figure of God’s saving power (2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 18:2), and the lifting of a horn is a figure of divine exaltation of favored persons and nations (1 Chr. 25:5; Pss. 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; 112:9; 132:17; 148:14; Lam. 2:17; Ezek. 29:21; Mic. 4:13). On the other hand, breaking a horn is a figure of military defeat (Jer. 48:25; Dan. 8:8) or divine judgment (Lam. 2:3). Prophetically, horns sometimes symbolized kings (Dan. 8:3, 5–9, 20f) or world powers (Zech. 1:18f, 21). The false prophet Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, used iron horns to symbolize military victory (1 Ki. 22:11; 2 Chr. 18:10). Qeren also has a few unusual meanings. For example, in Isa. 5:1, it refers to a fruitful hill for planting a vineyard, and in Hab. 3:4 it refers to a ray of light radiating from the hand of the Messiah coming in his power and glory.

Qeren - 75x/68v hill(1), horn(24), horns(46), might(1), rays(1), strength(1), tusks(1). Ge 22:13; Ex 27:2; Ex 29:12; Ex 30:2; Exod. 30:3; Exod. 30:10; Exod. 37:25; Exod. 37:26; Exod. 38:2; Lev. 4:7; Lev. 4:18; Lev. 4:25; Lev. 4:30; Lev. 4:34; Lev. 8:15; Lev. 9:9; Lev. 16:18; Deut. 33:17; Jos. 6:5; 1 Sam. 2:1; 1 Sam. 2:10; 1 Sam. 16:1; 1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 22:3; 1 Ki. 1:39; 1 Ki. 1:50; 1 Ki. 1:51; 1 Ki. 2:28; 1 Ki. 22:11; 2 Chr. 18:10; Job 16:15; Ps. 18:2; Ps. 22:21; Ps. 69:31; Ps. 75:4; Ps. 75:5; Ps. 75:10; Ps. 89:17; Ps. 89:24; Ps. 92:10; Ps. 112:9; Ps. 118:27; Ps. 132:17; Ps. 148:14; Isa. 5:1; Jer. 17:1; Jer. 48:25; Lam. 2:3; Lam. 2:17; Ezek. 27:15; Ezek. 29:21; Ezek. 34:21; Ezek. 43:15; Ezek. 43:20; Dan. 8:3; Dan. 8:5; Dan. 8:6; Dan. 8:7; Dan. 8:8; Dan. 8:9; Dan. 8:20; Dan. 8:21; Amos 3:14; Mic. 4:13; Hab. 3:4; Zech. 1:18; Zech. 1:19; Zech. 1:21

Salvation (03468)(yesha יֵשַׁע from yasha' = to deliver) means salvation which has a variety of connotations including deliverance, help, liberty, welfare, preserve, rescue, salvation, safety (Ps 12:5, Job 5:11), welfare or keep safe. Yeshua is used most often in the Hebrew "song book," the Ps. (Ps 12:5; 18:2, 35, 46; 20:6; 24:5; 25:5; 27:1, 9; 50:23; 51:12; 62:7; 65:5; 69:13; 79:9; 85:4, 7, 9; 95:1; 132:16). David repeatedly uses yeshua to describe Who God is (intimately) to him (from his experiences) (2Sa 22:3, 36, 47, cp 1Chr 16:35; see also similar uses in Psalms)

TWOT has an informative note (gives us a great picture of "salvation," yeshua/yesuah) on the origin of this Hebrew word group - The root meaning in Arabic is “make wide” or “make sufficient”; this root is in contrast to sārar “narrow,” which means “be restricted” or “cause distress.” That which is wide connotes freedom from distress and the ability to pursue one’s own objectives. (Ed: Compare the great NT verb Jesus used when He said "the truth shall make you free" = eleutheroo) To move from distress to safety requires deliverance. Generally the deliverance must come from somewhere outside the party oppressed. In the OT the kinds of distress, both national and individual, include enemies, natural catastrophes, such as plague or famine, and sickness. The one who brings deliverance is known as the “savior.” The word may be used, however, in everyday life free of theological overtones; e.g., at a well Moses saved the daughters of Reuel from being driven off by the shepherds (Ex 2:17). But generally in the OT the word has strong religious meaning, for it was Yahweh who wrought the deliverance. Thus he is known as the “God of our salvation” (Ps 68:19 [Ed: Hebrew here not 03468 but 03444 - yeshua/yesuah ]). Although salvation could come through a human agent, it was only because God empowered the agent. In the NT the idea of salvation primarily means forgiveness of sin, deliverance from its power and defeat of Satan. Although the OT begins to point in this direction, the majority of references to salvation speak of Yahweh granting deliverance from real enemies and out of real catastrophes.

Shield (04043) magen from ganan = to cover, surround, defend) is a masculine noun which most often refers to a shield, indicating some kind of protection, literal or figurative. A shield is described as a weapon (Jdg. 5:8; 2 Sa 1:21; 1 Ki 14:27; Job 15:26), as an ornament (1 Ki. 10:17; 14:26), as the protective scales of a crocodile (Job 41:15). Krell says "The shield was the primary defensive weapon of the OT warrior. It was a portable fortress, a defensive wall that could be taken with the warrior into battle. It provided a barrier between the vulnerable flesh of the warrior and the dangerous impact of various weapons. It’s a recurring image, particularly in the Psalms, of God’s protection." James Anderson - The word rendered “shield” is in the Hebrew text מָגֵן, magen, which was a short buckler intended merely for defence. The word rendered “buckler” is צִנָּה tsinnah; it was double the weight of the magen, and was carried by the infantry; the magen, being lighter and more manageable, was used by the cavalry. Figuratively magen refers to God as a Source of protection or escape, a refuge. Magen is used figuratively to refer to Israel's king in (Ps 84:9 cp Ps 84:9NLT, Ps 89:18, rulers in Ps 47:9), a shield describes God's truth in (Ps 91:4KJV)

In the Lxx the word for shield when it figuratively refers to God is either the verb huperaspizo = to hold a shield over (Ge 15:1, Dt 33:29, Pr 2:7, ) or the noun huperaspistes = one who holds a shield over, a protector (2 Sa 22:3, 31, 36, Ps 18:2, 30, 35, 28:7, 33:20, 59:11, 115:9-11, 144:2)

Be Thou my battle shield, sword for the fight;
Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight;
Thou my soul’s shelter, Thou my high tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O power of my power.

The most important figurative use of magen is the description of Jehovah as a shield to those who are His, which emphasizes that He is our Protector or our protection. This of course implies we need protection. Indeed, we have 3 enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil , and God is Our Protector from each. THOUGHT - Perhaps you are under attack and fearful like many of God's saints of old (Biblical and not in the Bible). Can I encourage you to pause for a moment and sing a declaration of your faith in the Eternal God as your Shield from the attack...A Shield About Me When (not "if") the attack comes hold on to the truth that Jehovah Himself is your Shield. Then the truth that you are holding on to will hold you fast and secure! See Ephesians 6:16+ " in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Stronghold (04869) (misgab from sagab = to be inaccessibly high, raised up, securely on high) a secure height, retreat, stronghold. Misgab is a masculine noun indicating a stronghold. It refers to a place naturally fortified or fortified by man: a high hill or cliff, a rock (Isa. 33:16; Jer. 48:1); walls built by men (Isa 25:12). It is used often of God as a safe haven, a place of refuge (2Sa 22:3; Ps. 9:9; 18:2; 46:7, 11; 48:3, etc.). A proper noun, Misgab, in Moab. It is taken by some translators as a name for a city (Jer. 48:1KJV).

Gilbrant - Derived from sāgab, "to be high," "to be inaccessible," misgāb is attested elsewhere only in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It appears seventeen times in the Hebrew Bible. In only three of these occurrences is it used literally to denote a "fortification." Twice, it is used to describe the coming demise of Moab, represented by its fortresses being demolished (Isa. 25:12; Jer. 48:1). Once, it is used to illustrate the coming restoration of divine order in the world, as Yahweh will see to it that the righteous will inhabit the heights, the locale of fortifications, safe from those who would economically oppress them (Isa. 33:16). In the remainder of its occurrences, misgāb is used as a metaphor for the sanctuary that the oppressed and persecuted find in Yahweh (e.g., 2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 46:7). Without divine protection, the implication of this imagery is that the victim would surely be at the mercy of those enemies which seek that victim. (Complete Biblical Library)

Gary Cohen - The verb sagab is used in a local sense with reference to a lofty city (Isa 26:5) and high walls (Prov 18:11; Isa 30:13) even as it is used in the Amarna correspondence. Associated with the notion of “height” it frequently has the connotation of security.... The masculine noun miśgāb is derived from the root, śāgab “to be high,” and is found fifteen times in the OT, eleven of these being in Ps. In most appearances of the word it is used in a favorable sense. Miśgāb speaks of God being the believer’s high tower (2Sa 22:3), or his refuge (Ps 46:7, 11), or defense (Isa 33:16). The allusion is to the fact that in the ancient world, safety to either the one fleeing or to the one at rest was synonymous with reaching and remaining upon some fortified height which would be inaccessible to beast and enemy alike. The Psalmist, as well as the prophets, saw this to be the precise picture of the believer’s security in God. Miśgāb “high place,” is not to be confused with the bāmâh “high place,” which signifies a hill consecrated to the pagan Canaanite deities, such as Baal. miśgāb is never used for such a location. (TWOT)

Misgab - 17x/16v - lofty stronghold(1), refuge(1), stronghold(14), unassailable(1). (NOTE MOST USES ARE IN PSALMS) - 2Sa. 22:3; Ps. 9:9; Ps. 18:2; Ps. 46:7; Ps. 46:11; Ps. 48:3; Ps. 59:9; Ps. 59:16; Ps. 59:17; Ps. 62:2; Ps. 62:6; Ps. 94:22; Ps. 144:2; Isa. 25:12; Isa. 33:16; Jer. 48:1

Refuge (04498)(manos from nus = to flee or escape) is masculine noun indicating a refuge, flight, a place of escape or refuge. This noun denotes the place of escape to which one flees. Compare to maḥseh, a place of shelter, maoz, place of strength, hence, of safety, and miśgāb, inaccessible secure place, stronghold. It is used of a location of safety; a place to which to flee. It is used metaphorically of the Lord as one’s refuge (2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 59:16[17]; 142:4[5]); flight itself in a time when one needs refuge, safety (Jer. 46:5). The refuge or escape of the wicked perishes (Job 11:20); and the escape of God’s enemies fails (Jer. 25:35; Amos 2:14).

Gilbrant - Derived from the Hebrew verb, nûs, mānôs means "place of escape" or "refuge." This noun deals with refuge in Yahweh or a place of escape from Yahweh. Those who look to God for their refuge trust in his ability to save from violence (2 Sam. 22:3), from the day of trouble (Ps. 59:16), or from the day of affliction (Jer. 16:19). There is nowhere to escape from God. Thus the wicked will not escape (Job 11:20). The evil leaders (Jer. 25:35) and the swift (Amos 2:14) will not find a place to escape to. (Complete Biblical Library)

Manos - 9x/8v - escape(2), flight(3), refuge(3). 2 Sam. 22:3; Job 11:20; Ps. 59:16; Ps. 142:4; Jer. 16:19; Jer. 25:35; Jer. 46:5; Amos 2:14

REFUGE - A safe place into which to run is a universal need for all creatures, including human beings. We can all remember childhood games in which there was a place where one was “safe” and could not be touched by a pursuer or opponent. “Out there” was danger, but to reach the sanctuary or haven (even if it was only a circle drawn in the dust) meant security. A number of Hebrew words in the OT evoke images of refuge—a place of safety from danger, relief after stress, defense from an enemy, protection from the heat of the sun, overall security. These images incorporate both rocks and fortresses on the one hand and houses or homes on the other. A rock in the desert could be seen as a military outpost and therefore a refuge for those in flight. The home is a refuge of a more permanent nature, one to which a wanderer can finally return. The preponderance of biblical references to refuge declare God to be the believer’s refuge, but other major clusters of references are to the cities of refuge and to the altar as a sanctuary. It is also important to note that the image is largely an OT image. Of ninety-five references in the RSV to “refuge,” the only NT reference is (tellingly) in the book of Hebrews (Heb 6:18–20).

We can get a feel for the range of the image of refuge by noting the leading OT words for it. Maẖseh, “place of refuge,” is frequently used to refer to God (e.g., Ps 14:6; 71:7; 142:5). In Psalm 104:18, though, the word designates the place God has provided for animals, and in Isaiah 4:5–6 it is the canopy that God will spread over Zion. Mānôs, “place of flight,” is a place of safety while one escapes from enemies (2 Sam 22:3; Ps 59:16; 142:4). The heading of Psalm 57 suggests that the Cave of Adullam, where David gathered his forces, was just such a refuge. Mis̄gāb, “high place” or “tower,” was particularly dear to David in his exile (Ps 9:9; 46:7, 11; 48:3). Me’ōnâ, “the arms of the Lord,” comes close to suggesting eternal life, as in Deuteronomy 33:27: “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (RSV).

Refuge from Vengeance. Prominent in the OT notion of refuge are detailed arrangements for dealing with fugitives who had accidentally caused the death of someone (Num 35:9–34; 35:6; Deut 4:41–43; 19:1–13; Josh 20:1–9; 21:13, 21, 27, 32, 28; 1 Chron 6:57, 67). Designed to prevent endless cycles of vengeance, a network of cities of refuge enabled anyone who had unintentionally or accidentally committed a murder to be safe from retaliation by relatives of the murdered person. Something of the aura surrounding these places of refuge can be gleaned from such stipulations as that “the congregation” help to rescue an inadvertent murderer from his pursuers (Num 35:25), that enough cities of refuge be established to make the distance for reaching them a practical possibility (Deut 19:3, 8–10) and that a person fleeing from vengeance would be safe only within a city of refuge and subject to vengeance if he strayed outside it (Num 35:26–28).

What did the image of the city of refuge mean to the ordinary Israelite? It was an image at once of safety, protection from pursuit, a renewal of life that would otherwise be doomed and a kind of salvation. The picture of the harassed fugitive finding safety is central to OT ideas of justice and salvation, and it may partly account for the popularity of the image in Psalms.

A related OT institution is the horns of the altar, to which a person fleeing from blood vengeance might flee. The conditions surrounding this institution are shadowy compared with what we know about the cities of refuge, but we have narrative accounts of two people who attempted to use the horns of the altar as a place of safety from vengeance-Adonijah (1 Kings 1:50–53) and Joab, who was killed while still clinging to the altar because Solomon judged him to be guilty rather than innocent (1 Kings 2:28–34).

God as Refuge. For the writers of the Bible, God is the ultimate refuge. The book of Psalms is the primary text, with nearly fifty references. The writers mainly picture God as someone “in” whom the covenant people take refuge, but sometimes the refuge is given a more specific picture. The refuge afforded by God is thus variously portrayed as a rock (Ps 18:2; 31:2; 62:7; 94:22), wings (Ps 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 91:4), a fortress (Ps 59:16; 71:3; 91:2) and a strong tower (Ps 61:3). Psalm 144:2 is a good composite image: “my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge” (RSV).

Eschatological References. Another leading cluster of images of safe refuge can be found in the eschatological visions of the Bible. In these visions God promises a future place of refuge for his people. People who take refuge in God will “possess the land, and … inherit my holy mountain” (Is 57:13 RSV). The days are coming, wrote Jeremiah, when “Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely” (Jer 23:6); cf. Jer 33:16). Ezekiel paints similar pictures (Ezek 28:26; 34:28), as does Hosea (Hos 2:18). The ultimate “safe place” comes at the end of the book of Revelation, with its picture of a foursquare city with stately walls (Rev 21:9–21), securely beyond the reach of evil (Rev 21:27; 22:15). (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

HORN - The literal image of horn is of the animal horn as an effective defensive weapon. The Bible does not distinguish between horns and antlers, so horn refers to pointed bony structures on the heads of male sheep, goats, deer, cattle, oxen and so forth. They give the animal a regal look and provide such an impressive defense mechanism that their imagery was widely employed to represent power. The metaphorical value of the horn comes primarily from the fact that the size and condition of an animal’s horns are indicative of its power, status and health.

Animal horns were used for a variety of purposes, including the carrying of oil, but no metaphorical development of this function occurs in the Bible. When used as a (quasi-)musical instrument, a horn is, with few exceptions, called a *“trumpet.”

In general, horn represents power or status in a social context. In Deuteronomy 33:17 Moses compares the tribes of Joseph to “a firstborn bull, [whose] horns are the horns of a wild ox” because Ephraim and Manasseh were large and powerful. Therefore, “lifting up the horn” of someone means bestowing power, joy, health and prestige (Ps 92:10; 1 Sam 2:1). Conversely, “cutting off the horn” is the removal of one’s power or influence (Ps 75:10; Jer 48:25). Since God is the source of strength to those who trust in him, David declares, “The LORD is … the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Ps 18:2 NIV par. 2 Sam 22:3). In Revelation 5:6 the lamb has seven horns-his kingly power is perfect.

By metonymy, horn came to symbolize those who had power: political or military. In Mesopotamian art, horns indicate deity and deified kings from Naram-Sin on. Thus in Daniel 7–8 the horns represent successions of kings or multiple branches of military power. The book of Revelation also picks up this kind of imagery: both the dragon and the first beast in Revelation 12–13 have ten horns, which Revelation 17:12 explains as ten kings. In Zechariah 1:18–21 the metaphor is taken both ways: the horns represent both the foreign powers themselves (Zech 1:18) and the condition of their strength and influence (Zech 1:21).

Since horn is a symbol of power, particularly kingly power, it is not unnatural that it represent God’s anointed one (Messiah). Psalm 148:14 and Ezekiel 29:21 possibly use “horn” as a metonym for the expected Messiah.

Horns also became a symbol for radiance. In Habakkuk 3:4 the Lord’s splendor is like the light: “rays flash from his hand” (NIV, lit. “horns are from his hand,” cf. KJV). Psalm 132:17 parallels “horn” and “lamp”-“I will make a horn sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed” (RSV). Thus the Hebrew verb qāran, which may have originally been a verbal form of qeren, the word for horn (cf. Ps 69:31 [69:32 in Heb]), in Exodus 34:29–30 means “to shine.” (This is the source of the medieval idea that Moses had horns.)

The sacrificial altar, similar to other ancient Near Eastern altars, had four horns, which were projections on the four corners of the top (Ex 27:2), on which blood was smeared. The altar of incense also had four horns. The horns of an altar, whatever their original purpose, probably came to symbolize the power of that altar. Just as the cutting off of Moab’s horns was a destruction of Moab’s power, so the cutting off of the horns of the altars at Bethel symbolized the destruction of their religious or cultic power (Amos 3:14). Also, something gave Adonijah the idea that the horns of the altar were a surety against being killed (1 Kings 1:50–53). Probably Adonijah knew that Solomon would hesitate to have him dispatched if it would mean an implicit challenge to the power of God. (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

STRONGHOLD - Although the terms stronghold and fortress are somewhat interchangeable, the former is a more generic image than the latter. Both constitute places of safety from the enemy. Rather than necessarily a walled fortification, though, a stronghold may be any inaccessible place of refuge, especially an elevated one. The KJV generally uses “high tower” rather than the NIV’s and other versions’ “stronghold.” The fifty biblical references to strongholds (NIV; sixty-two in NRSV) fall into two categories: in the narrative and prophetic books strongholds are literal places of military refuge, while in Psalms they tend to be metaphors for God.

The many literal strongholds in the Bible shed light on the metaphorical strongholds the poets celebrate. Having watched David find strongholds in caves, deserts and hills as he flees the pursuing Saul, we grasp the vividness of his picture when he calls God “my stronghold, my refuge and my savior” (2 Sam 22:3 NIV). The stronghold is generally used in scriptural poetry to picture the safe, eternal refuge of the soul in God. Such a picture offers security, strength and confidence: one can almost identify with that eagle God described to Job, which builds “his nest on high,” “dwells on a cliff” and makes a “rocky crag” his “stronghold” (Job 39:27–28 NIV).

The stronghold saves from the enemy, and it is the salvation of God our stronghold that Scripture repeatedly celebrates. Again David speaks of his God as “the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Ps 18:2NIV). “The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD,” he writes, and the next line follows naturally: “he is their stronghold in time of trouble” (Ps 37:39NIV). We can understand the feelings evoked by the image of the stronghold when we observe the threats with which it is often paired: trouble, enemies, oppressors, pursuers. These cannot reach or destroy the one who has found refuge in God’s saving presence.

That presence is often pictured in terms of a temple or tabernacle where God dwells. Often a temple within a city was the city’s highest point and its stronghold; in Shechem, for example, all the citizens under siege went and hid in “the stronghold of the temple” (Judg 9:46). David calls God “the stronghold of my life” and goes on to picture that stronghold in terms of “the house of the LORD, … the shelter of his tabernacle … high upon a rock” (Ps 27:2, 4–5NIV). Elsewhere he calls God “my stronghold” and goes on to picture himself as led by God’s light and truth up to “your holy mountain … the place where you dwell” (Ps 43:2–3). In his holy tabernacle, which signifies the presence of God the Most High, is the stronghold that saves the soul.

Ezekiel addresses the Israelites who put their trust in the literal stronghold of the Jerusalem temple: “the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection” (Ezek 24:21NIV). God tells them through Ezekiel that he is about to desecrate his sanctuary. God’s people had ceased to seek the true spiritual stronghold—God himself—of which the physical temple was only a sign.

Scripture gives pictures of those who have tried to build their own strongholds apart from the presence of God. Such strongholds are generally shown to be high places of pride that will be brought down low in the end. It is predicted that God will “bring … down to everlasting ruin … the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth” (Ps 52:5, 7).

The true stronghold in Scripture is indeed a high, lofty place. One can reach that place, however, only by bowing low before the God of salvation. The Bible pictures His presence as the only true stronghold. (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

SHIELD - The shield was an ancient Near Eastern warrior’s primary defensive weapon. Having the right type of shield in battle could mean the difference between life and death. Shields varied considerably in size and shape from time to time and place to place. Infantrymen without armor preferred longer shields, while those protected by armor could afford to use a smaller shield that allowed greater mobility. Shield bearers accompanying a warrior into battle usually carried long shields. Shields took various shapes, including the circle, rectangle, triangle and figure eight. Some shields were flat, while others were convex, giving better protection against angular thrusts and arrows. Shields were made from a variety of materials, including metal, wood, leather and braided twigs. Sometimes wood and leather shields were reinforced with metal plates or inlays (see Yadin, 13–15).

Because of its importance in battle, the shield became a metaphor for protection in both biblical and other ancient Near Eastern literature. For example, in an Assyrian oracle the goddess Ishtar assures King Esarhaddon of her protective presence: “I am your reliable shield” (ANET, 605). The OT frequently calls God a shield when emphasizing his ability to protect his people. Following Abram’s military victory over the kings of the East (Gen 14), the Lord appeared to him in a vision and declared, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield” (Gen 15:1 NRSV). In the conclusion to his blessing of the tribes, Moses pictured the Lord as Israel’s shield and sword, for he had defeated their enemies (Deut 33:29). The metaphor is especially prominent in Psalms. Like a shield, the Lord protects his people from hostile enemies (Ps 3:3; 5:12; 7:10; 18:2, 30 [par. 2 Sam 22:3, 31]; Ps 28:7; 33:20; 59:11; 115:9–11; 119:114; 144:2). This shieldlike protection is evidence of his faithfulness and enables his people to be confident, not afraid (Ps 91:4–5; see FEAR).

Sometimes the shield metaphor appears as a royal idiom, for kings were responsible for protecting their subjects (Ps 47:9; 84:9 [note the parallelism with “your anointed one,” NIV]; 89:18 [note the parallelism with “our king”]). The author of Psalm 84 uses the image in this idiomatic sense when he declares that “the LORD God is a sun and shield” (Ps 84:11). As the just King of the world, the Lord blesses his loyal subjects. (Ancient Near Eastern kings frequently compared themselves to the sun when speaking of their sovereignty and responsibility to protect their people. For example, Ashur-nasir-apli II of Assyria described himself as one “whose protection spreads like rays of the sun over his land” [see Grayson, 2:184]. Both Hittite kings and Egyptian pharaohs were addressed as “the sun” because they ruled over vast kingdoms.)

In his role as a mighty warrior-king (see DIVINE WARRIOR), the Lord himself is depicted as carrying a shield (Ps 35:2). He shatters the shields of his foes (Ps 76:3) and destroys them with fire (Ps 46:9 NIV—which here follows the reading of the ancient Greek version of the OT). David pictured God giving him a shield for battle (Ps 18:35 par. 2 Sam 22:36). The image of a deity giving a king special weapons is well attested in ancient Near Eastern art and literature. For example, in an Egyptian text the god Amun says to Ramses III, “I give thee my sword as a shield for thy breast, while I remain the (magical) protection of (thy) body in every fray” (see Edgerton and Wilson, 107).

The shield metaphor is rare in the NT. Paul compares faith to a shield, for it is able to protect Christians from satanic attacks, likened to flaming arrows (Eph 6:16).

See also

ARMOR;
PROTECTION;
WEAPONS, HUMAN AND DIVINE.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

W. F. Edgerton and J. A. Wilson, Historical Records of Ramses III (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1936);
A. K. Grayson, Assyrian Royal Inscriptions (Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz, 1972);
Y. Yadin, The art of warfare in Biblical lands : in the light of archaeological study (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1963) 13–15, 48, 64–65, 83–84, 295–96.
Source - Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

Amazing Grace (borrow) - Kenneth Osbeck - HIDING IN THEE William O. Cushing, 1823–1902

But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. (Psalm 94:22)

In childhood when we were frightened we wanted to run and hide in our mother’s or father’s arms until we felt the danger had passed. In the same way when trouble and sorrow disturb our adult lives, we look for a place of consolation or escape. But we can only find the deep satisfying peace of God in the midst of our storms when we are relying on the God of all peace.

William O. Cushing said that, when he wrote this hymn text in 1876, “it was the outgrowth of many tears, many heart conflicts and yearnings of which the world could know nothing.” After the death of his wife in middle age, Cushing was forced to retire from an active ministry because of poor health. He had been a successful pastor in the eastern areas of the United States. He began to be intensely interested in writing hymns, collaborating with many of the leading gospel musicians of that time. One day when Ira Sankey made a special request for a song in his gospel work, Cushing felt it was a direct call from God. He explained:

I prayed, “Lord, give me something that may glorify Thee.” It was while thus waiting that “Hiding in Thee” pressed to make itself known. Mr. Sankey called forth the tune and by his genius gave the hymn wings, making it useful in the Master’s work.

William Cushing knew personally the sorrows and turmoil of life, but he also knew where he could find safety and rest—in the “blest Rock of Ages.” When this hymn was first published, the author prefaced it with Psalm 31:2—“Be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.”

O safe to the Rock that is higher than I my soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly. So sinful, so weary—Thine, Thine would I be: Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.
In the calm of the noon-tide, in sorrow’s lone hour, in times when temptation casts o’er me its pow’r, in the tempests of life, on its wide, heaving sea, Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.
How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe, I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe. How often, when trials like sea billows roll, have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul.
Chorus: Hiding in Thee, Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.

For Today: Psalm 4:8; Psalm 31:2; Isaiah 26:3, 4; 2 Corinthians 1:9, 10
Whenever tempests arise in your sea of life, do not hesitate to fly for refuge to the safety of your “Rock of Ages,” and rest peacefully there. Sing this musical truth as you go—

The Lord Is My Rock

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust. —Psalm 18:2

Today's Scripture: Psalm 18:1-3

It turns out that we humans reason largely by means of our hearts and not by our heads. As French mathematician and theologian Blaise Pascal noted long ago, “The heart has reasons that reason does not know.”

Poets, singers, storytellers, and artists have always known this. They use symbols and metaphors that speak to our hearts rather than to our minds. That’s why their ideas penetrate where everything else has failed. And that’s why we say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Images remain in our minds when all else is forgotten.

David wrote, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress, . . . my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2). He was thinking of physical elements that convey spiritual realities. Each picture expresses a deeper thought, linking the visible world to the invisible realm of the Spirit. David doesn’t wander into definition and explanation, for explanation can blunt imagination. Each picture is left hanging in our minds—images that evoke mystery, arouse our imagination, and deepen our understanding.

David wakes up what is hidden deep within us. It’s good to think long thoughts about it. What does this mean to you: God is my rock, my fortress, my shield? By: David H. Roper

O love of God, our shield and stay
Through all the perils of our way;
Eternal love, in Thee we rest,
Forever safe, forever blest.
—Bonar

Faith bridges chasms that reason cannot fathom.

2 Samuel 22:4 "I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:5 ὅτι περιέσχον με συντριμμοὶ θανάτου χείμαρροι ἀνομίας ἐθάμβησάν με

LXE 2 Samuel 22:5 For the troubles of death compassed me, the floods of iniquity amazed me:

KJV 2 Samuel 22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;

NET 2 Samuel 22:5 The waves of death engulfed me; the currents of chaos overwhelmed me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:5 For the waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of destruction terrified me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:5 "For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me;

NIV 2 Samuel 22:5 "The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:5 "The waves of death overwhelmed me; floods of destruction swept over me.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:5 For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of perdition assailed me;

NJB 2 Samuel 22:5 With Death's breakers closing in on me, Belial's torrents ready to swallow me,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:5 "The breakers of death surged round about me, the floods of perdition overwhelmed me;

YLT 2 Samuel 22:5 When the breakers of death compassed me, The streams of the worthless terrify me,

I will: Ps 116:2,4,13,17
worthy: Ne 9:5 Ps 18:3 66:2 106:2 148:1-4 Rev 4:11 5:12
so: Ps 34:6 50:15 55:16 56:9 57:1-3 Ro 10:13

Related Passage:

Psalm 18:3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

I call upon the LORD, Who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

Alan Carr - David called on the Lord and God heard his cry and delivered him! There were many times in David’s life when the gates of the cities of men were closed off to him. There were times when he could not go into Jerusalem, nor could he run to the Tabernacle. But, even when the cities of earth were closed to him and offered no help or hope; the gates of Heaven, and even the very throne room of God was opened to his cry. When he lifted his cry to God, God heard him and moved in power to help him!

Vos points out, “In the introduction appears to sum and substance of the entire psalm. David heaps up images to convey his confidence of security in God, who is his defender, refuge, and deliverer. The two verbs in verse 4 are in the imperfect, and indicate continued action. “I continually call, and I am continually saved.” What God has done in the past, He would assuredly do in the present and future. David’s experience as a fugitive in the wilds colored his figures of speech both in the introduction and throughout the rest of the psalm. The almost inaccessible rocks and ravines of Palestine offered protection to the harried fugitive, but he placed his real hope in the God whom the geological formations seemed to typify. God was his true fortress, an impregnable place in whom he could hide. And he, like the immoveable rock, was characterized by unchanging faithfulness. Like a shield of the warrior he protected and like a horn of a fierce animal, he defended the righteous.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown on to be praised—for past favors, and worthy of confidence.

Swindoll, in trying to capsulize these first verses in a principle, calls this: “When times are tough, the Lord is our only security.”

Kirkpatrick says "The tenses are frequentative, describing David’s habitual experience of God’s readiness to answer prayer. This verse presents “the theme of the Psalm.”"

CHS - In this verse the happy poet resolves to invoke the Lord in joyful song (ED: Sing it out beloved - I will call upon the LORD) , believing that in all future conflicts his God would deal as well with him as in the past. It is well to pray to God as to one who deserves to be praised, for then we plead in a happy and confident manner. If I feel that I can and do bless the Lord for all his past goodness, I am bold to ask great things of him. That word So has much in it (2Sa 22:4KJV = "So shall I be saved"). To be saved singing is to be saved indeed. Many are saved mourning and doubting; but David had such faith that he could fight singing, and win the battle with a song still upon his lips. How happy a thing to receive fresh mercy with a heart already sensible of mercy enjoyed, and to anticipate new trials with a confidence based upon past experiences of divine love!

"No fearing or doubting with Christ on our side,
We hope to die shouting, 'The Lord will provide.'

2 Samuel 22:5 "For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me;

BGT 2 Samuel 22:5 ὅτι περιέσχον με συντριμμοὶ θανάτου χείμαρροι ἀνομίας ἐθάμβησάν με

LXE 2 Samuel 22:5 For the troubles of death compassed me, the floods of iniquity amazed me:

KJV 2 Samuel 22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;

NET 2 Samuel 22:5 The waves of death engulfed me; the currents of chaos overwhelmed me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:5 For the waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of destruction terrified me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:5 "For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me;

NIV 2 Samuel 22:5 "The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:5 "The waves of death overwhelmed me; floods of destruction swept over me.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:5 For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of perdition assailed me;

NJB 2 Samuel 22:5 With Death's breakers closing in on me, Belial's torrents ready to swallow me,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:5 "The breakers of death surged round about me, the floods of perdition overwhelmed me;

YLT 2 Samuel 22:5 When the breakers of death compassed me, The streams of the worthless terrify me,

GWN 2 Samuel 22:5 The waves of death had surrounded me. The torrents of destruction had overwhelmed me.

waves: or, pangs, 1Th 5:3
the torrents: Ps 18:4 69:14,15 93:3,4 Isa 59:19 Jer 46:7,8 Rev 12:15,16 Rev 17:1,15
ungodly men: Heb. Belial

Related Passage:

Psalm 18:4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.

CHS - Verses 4-19. In most poetical language the Psalmist now describes his experience of Jehovah's delivering power. Poesy has in all her treasures no gem more lustrous than the sonnet of the following verses; the sorrow, the cry, the descent of the Divine One, and the rescue of the afflicted, are here set to a music worthy of the golden harps. The Messiah our Saviour is evidently, over and beyond David or any other believer, the main and chief subject of this song; and while studying it we have grown more and more sure that every line here has its deepest and profoundest fulfilment in Him; but as we are desirous not to extend our comment beyond moderate bounds, we must leave it with the devout reader to make the very easy application of the passage to our once distressed but now triumphant Lord.

THE PSALMIST'S
PERILS ELUCIDATED

For the waves of death encompassed me - Ps 18:4 reads "cords" as in 2Sa 22:6 ("cords of Sheol"). The word waves occurs five times in the Hebrew Bible (2Sa 22:5; Ps 42:7; Ps 88:7; Ps 93:4; Jon 2:3), and refers exclusively to the waves of the deep, which are controlled by Yahweh.

Matthew Poole - The sorrows of death, i.e. dangerous and deadly troubles. Or, the bands or cords of death, which had almost seized me, and was putting its bands upon me. Compare Ps. 73:4. The floods of ungodly men; their great multitudes, and strength, and violent assaults, breaking in upon me like a flood.

Gilbrant on waves - The context of two of the Psalms and the two prophetic passages is that of at least temporary divine judgment. Waves passed over Jonah during his time of judgment and correction (Jon. 2:3). The imagery is of utter abandonment, as being under the waters implies the lowest realm of the universe, the antithetical abode of Yahweh (cf. 2Sa 22:5; Ps 42:7; Ps 88:7). However, Ps. 93:4 asserts the obvious, that Yahweh is "mightier than the... waves of the sea," superior to His created order.

Reformation Study Bible - The image of overflowing water recurs frequently in Old Testament poetry as a symbol of distress and destruction (Ps. 32:6; 69:1, 2, 14; 144:7; Is. 43:2; Jon. 2:5).

CHS - "The sorrows of death compassed me." Death like a cruel conqueror seemed to twist round about him the cords of pain. He was environed and hemmed in with threatening deaths of the most appalling sort. He was like a mariner broken by the storm and driven upon the rocks by dreadful breakers, white as the teeth of death. Sad plight for the man after God's own heart, but thus it is that Jehovah dealeth with his sons.

“Dark the night of sin has settled,
Loud the angry billows roar,
Eager eyes are watching, longing,
For the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning,
Send a gleam across the wave.
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.”

The torrents of destruction (beliyyaal) overwhelmed me - Note that just as "MY" was common in the previous passages, now "ME" is used 4 times in 2Sa 22:5-6 to describe David's distress ("encompassed ME...overwhelmed ME...surrounded ME...confronted ME").

THOUGHT- Have you ever felt like that? That's a rhetorical question as I am sure every person reading this has felt these intensely distressing emotions. But the question is have we responded to them as David did, by calling on the LORD, yea, even crying out to our God (2Sa 22:7)?

NET Note - The noun בְלִיַּעַל (beliyyaal) is used here as an epithet for death. Elsewhere it is a common noun meaning “wickedness, uselessness” (see HALOT 133-34 s.v. בְּלִיַּעַל). It is often associated with rebellion against authority and other crimes that result in societal disorder and anarchy. The phrase “man/son of wickedness” refers to one who opposes God and the order he has established. The term becomes an appropriate title for death, which, through human forces, launches an attack against God’s chosen servant.

CHS - "The floods of ungodly men made me afraid." Torrents of ungodliness threatened to swamp all religion, and to hurry away the godly man's hope as a thing to be scorned and despised; so far was this threat fulfilled, that even the hero who slew Goliath began to be afraid. The most seaworthy bark is sometimes hard put to it when the storm fiend is abroad. The most courageous man, who as a rule hopes for the best, may sometimes fear the worst. Beloved reader, he who pens these lines has known better than most men what this verse means, and feels inclined to weep, and yet to sing, while he writes upon a text so descriptive of his own experience. On the night of the lamentable accident at the Surrey Music Hall, the floods of Belial were let loose, and the subsequent remarks of a large portion of the press were exceedingly malicious and wicked; our soul was afraid as we stood encompassed with the sorrows of death and the blasphemies of the cruel. But oh, what mercy was there in it all, and what honey of goodness was extracted by our Lord out of this lion of affliction! Surely God hath heard me! Art thou in an ill plight? Dear friend, learn thou from our experience to trust in the Lord Jehovah, who forsaketh not his chosen.

2 Samuel 22:6 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:6 ὠδῖνες θανάτου ἐκύκλωσάν με προέφθασάν με σκληρότητες θανάτου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:6 the pangs of death surrounded me, the agonies of death prevented me.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;

NET 2 Samuel 22:6 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me; the snares of death trapped me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:6 The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:6 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:6 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:6 The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:6 the cords of Sheol entangled me, the snares of death confronted me.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:6 Sheol's snares on every side of me, Death's traps lying ahead of me,

sorrows: or, cords, Job 36:8 Ps 18:5 116:3 140:5 Pr 5:22 Jon 2:2 Ac 2:24
the snares: Pr 13:14 14:27

Related Passage:

Psalm 18:5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

MORE PERILS

The cords of Sheol (she'ol; Lxx - thanatos - death) surrounded me - NIV - "The cords of the grave coiled around me" Here Sheol parallels death, for it is the OT name for the place of the dead. David pictures himself completely encircled and entangled by these ropes, especially during the 10 years he was fleeing for his live from Saul. Had David not had these experiences, he would not have been able to write such incredible descriptions of his distress.

CHS - "The sorrows of hell compassed me about." From all sides the hell-hounds barked furiously. A cordon of devils hemmed in the hunted man of God; every way of escape was closed up. Satan knows how to blockade our coasts with the iron war-ships of sorrow, but, blessed be God, the port of all prayer is still open, and grace can run the blockade bearing messages from earth to heaven, and blessings in return from heaven to earth.

Matthew Poole - The cords of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. = Of hell; or, of the grave, which brought me to the brink of the grave. Prevented me; had almost taken hold of me, ere I was aware of my danger.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown on sorrows—literally, “bands as of a net” (Ps 116:3 = The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow.).

NET Note - “Sheol,” personified here as David’s enemy, is the underworld, place of the dead in primitive Hebrew cosmology.

The snares of death confronted me David's personifies death as a hunter laying nets and snares.

CHS - "The snares of death prevented me." The old enemy (DEATH) hunts for his prey, not only with the dogs of the infernal kennel, but also with the snares of deadly craft. The nets were drawn closer and closer until the contracted circle completely prevented the escape of the captive:

"About me the cords of hell were wound,
And snares of death my footsteps bound."

Thus hopeless was the case of this good man, as hopeless as a case could be, so utterly desperate that none but an almighty arm could be of any service. According to the four metaphors which he employs, he was bound like a malefactor for execution; overwhelmed like a shipwrecked mariner; surrounded and standing at bay like a hunted stag; and captured in a net like a trembling bird. What more of terror and distress could meet upon one poor defenseless head

Utley - Every human is fearful of death until they have a personal faith encounter with the God of life and love (cf. 1 John 4:7-21)! Satan does not control death but he does magnify the fear of death.

Sheol (07585) she'ol is the underworld or the place to which people descend at death. The grave, death, the depths, the nether world, the underworld. Sheol was viewed as the place where departed spirits went after death. Sheol was envisioned as a dark region within the earth, the entrance to which was the grave with its steep slopes (cf. Ps 88:4-6). In Job 14:13-22, Job expressed the common view of life beyond death, namely, that in Sheol there is no contact with the living, only separation, but in Sheol there is a conscious awareness of the dreary existence. In Jonah 2:3 Jonah pictures himself in the belly of Sheol, its very center - in other words he is as good as dead. In Ps 22:6 Sheol, the underworld, the place of the dead, is personified as David’s enemy. Abaddon is used as a name for Sheol in Ps 88:11. In Ps 143:3 "dark places" is a synonym for Sheol, pictured as a dark place located deep in the ground. In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol. In Isaiah 7:11, the phrase “Make it as deep as Sheol or make it high upwards” words suggest that Ahaz can feel free to go beyond the bounds of ordinary human experience. The phrase “path of life” stands in contrast to death/Sheol in Pr 2:18-19; 5:5-6; 15:24. Sheol, the place of death, is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). Sheol is the land of the dead localized in Hebrew thought in the earth’s core or the grave. “Sheol” in the Bible can be used four different ways: the grave, the realm of the departed [wicked] spirits or Hell, death in general, or a place of extreme danger (one that will lead to the grave if God does not intervene. (Note: Many of these comments on Sheol are summarized from over 100 comments on "Sheol" in the very helpful resource, NET Notes).

In Hebrew thought, Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead. In ancient Canaanite thought Death was a powerful god whose appetite was never satisfied. In the OT Sheol/Death, though not deified, is personified as greedy and as having a voracious appetite. See Pr 30:15-16; Isa 5:14. According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Ps 30:9; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit” = not same Hebrew word used in Pr 1:12-see below) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Ps 16:10, 49:9 - decay = pit; Ps 55:24; 103:4 = pit of destruction, where our physical body decays).

2 Samuel 22:7 "In my distress I called upon the LORD, Yes, I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:7 ἐν τῷ θλίβεσθαί με ἐπικαλέσομαι κύριον καὶ πρὸς τὸν θεόν μου βοήσομαι καὶ ἐπακούσεται ἐκ ναοῦ αὐτοῦ φωνῆς μου καὶ ἡ κραυγή μου ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν αὐτοῦ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:7 When I am afflicted I will call upon the Lord, and will cry to my God, and he shall hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry shalt come into his ears.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

NET 2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called to the LORD; I called to my God. From his heavenly temple he heard my voice; he listened to my cry for help.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:7 I called to the LORD in my distress; I called to my God. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help reached His ears.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:7 "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.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:7 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.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:7 But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; yes, I cried to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry reached his ears.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:7 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.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:7 I called to Yahweh in my anguish, I cried for help to my God, from his Temple he heard my voice, my cry came to his ears!

NAB 2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD and cried out to my God; From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry reached his ears. III

YLT 2 Samuel 22:7 In mine adversity I call Jehovah, And unto my God I call, And He heareth from His temple my voice, And my cry is in His ears,

my distress: Ps 116:4 Ps 120:1 Mt 26:38,39 Lu 22:44 Heb 5:7
hear: Ex 3:7 Ps 34:6,15-17
out: 1Ki 8:28-30 Ps 18:6 27:4 Jon 2:4,7 Hab 2:20
my cry: Jas 5:4

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

Psalm 116:4+ Then I called upon the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I beseech You, save my life!”

Jeremiah 33:3+  ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Isaiah 65:24 “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

Psalm 120:1+  A Song of Ascents. In my trouble I cried to the LORD, And He answered me.

Psalm 6:8-9 Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping. 9 The LORD has heard my supplication, The LORD receives my prayer.

Psalm 28:2, 6 Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.. ..6 Blessed be the LORD, Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.

Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

THE PRAYER IN
MIDST OF PERILS

David has just described his distress - “waves of death” “torrents of destruction” “cords of the grave” “snares of death”

In my distress (tsar; Lxx - thlibo in present tense) I called upon the LORD, Yes, I cried to my God - David is responding to his sense of impending death. My distress (another personal possessive pronoun! Even my distress is personal!) is rendered in the Septuagint with thlibo in the present tense which pictures people and circumstances continually pressing upon him, crowding against him, continually afflicting, oppressing, causing trouble. Woe!

Reformation Study Bible on distress speaks of "Being in a narrow or tightly confined space is a common figure for distress. In v. 20 relief is described as being brought into a ‘‘broad place.‘"

David's words remind me of the David's great Son Who "In the days of His flesh, offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety" (Heb 5:7+) "And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground." (Lk 22:44+)

Alan Carr - When he lifted his cry to God, God heard him and moved in power to help him (2Sa 22:8ff)! This is the kind of blessing all those who know the Lord enjoy! His ears are ever opened to our cry, Jer 33:3; Isa 65:24. He invites us to flee to Him in the hour of trouble, Mt. 11:28; 1Pe. 5:7; Ps 55:22. When we do, we will find him to be all David declared Him to be and more! He truly is “all we need!”)

CHS - "In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God." Prayer is that postern (back or side) gate which is left open even when the city is straitly besieged by the enemy; it is that way upward from the pit of despair to which the spiritual miner flies at once when the floods from beneath break forth upon him. Observe that he calls, and then cries; prayer grows in vehemence as it proceeds. Note also that he first invokes his God under the name of Jehovah, and then advances to a more familiar name, "my God;" thus faith increases by exercise, and he whom we at first viewed as Lord is soon seen to be our God in covenant. It is never an ill time to pray; no distress should prevent us from using the divine remedy of supplication. Above the noise of the raging billows of death, or the barking dogs of hell, the feeblest cry of a true believer will be heard in heaven.

Guzik - In my distress I called upon the LORD: The enemy of our soul wants us to believe that we can’t call upon the LORD in our distress – as if we had to be right with God and sitting peacefully in a prayer chapel to pray rightly. David knew that God hears our distress signals.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown —He relates his methods to procure relief when distressed, and his success. temple—(Compare Ps 11:4 The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.).

And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help (shavah; Lxx krauge) came into His ears - God in His temple in Heaven, heard David's cries on earth and He hears our cries beloved!

The operation of prayer with God is immediate and personal!

CHS - "He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears." Far up within the bejewelled walls, and through the gates of pearl, the cry of the suffering suppliant was heard. Music of angels and harmony of seraphs availed not to drown or even to impair the voice of that humble call. The king heard it in his palace of light unsufferable, and lent a willing ear to the cry of his own beloved child. O honoured pray-er, to be able thus through Jesus' blood to penetrate the very ears and heart of Deity! The voice and the cry are themselves heard directly by the Lord, and not made to pass through the medium of saints and intercessors; "My cry came before Him;" the operation of prayer with God is immediate and personal. We may cry with confident and familiar importunity, while our Father himself listens.

And my cry for help came into His ears A notable feature of David's "psalm" in this chapter is the description of Yahweh using anthropomorphism, which is the ascribing of human characteristics or actions to Yahweh. You might want to go back through the passages and see how many anthropomorphic descriptions you can identify and then come back and compare it to the list I will put at the bottom of this page. What is the anthropomorphism in verse 7? Here is the list of all the anthropomorphisms in this chapter.

“I was sinking deep in sin,
Far from the peaceful shore,
Very deeply to rise within,
Sinking to rise no more.

But the Master of the sea,
Heard my despairing cry,
From the waters lifted me,
Now safe am I.

Love lifted me, love lifted me,
When nothing else could help,
Love lifted me.”

Distress (trouble, affliction, tribulation) (06862) tsar from tsarar = to bind, tie up, be restricted, be cramped; see related tsarah) is a masculine noun indicating narrowness, tightness, distress, application, misery. It refers to a narrow space or object, not wide, with a small distance across it, this meaning being vividly depicted when the Angel of the Lord confronted Balaam and stood in such a narrow space that Balaam could not pass by (Nu 22:26). Tsar is used figuratively of the personal anguish one encounters in adverse circumstances; e.g. the great distress which comes from the death of a close friend (2 Sa 1:26) or from God's refusal to give help or direction (Job 7:11; cf 1 Sa 28:15; Isa 25:4; 63:9). Tsar describes a person's pain and distress; oppression, a feeling of being hemmed in (Dt 4:30; Job 7:11; 15:24). The Lord delivers the faithful from affliction and distress (Ps 4:1). Tsar describes oppressive political, economic, and military conditions suffered by a group, a people, or a nation (Jdg. 11:7). Tsar describes the threats and destruction that come on something, especially the Lord's house (1 Sa 2:32). It indicates conditions during times of judgment on Israel (Isa. 5:30). Tsar refers to the time, trouble, and effort given to consider an issue (Esth. 7:4). Tsar is used figuratively to describe an adulterous woman as a narrow well with no escape (Pr 23:27). Tsar depicts a cry of destruction as one of great anguish (Jer. 48:5). Affliction may cause a person to seek God (Hos. 5:15).

Cry for help (07775)(shavah from shava'/sawa') The noun is used exclusively of humans who cry out to gods. When the Philistines were plagued by Yahweh after they seized the Ark of the Covenant after the defeat of the Israelites at Aphek, they raised their cries to heaven for deliverance (1Sa 5:12). All other occurrences involve one crying out to Yahweh in distress. (see verse below) The Septuagint uses boe in Ex 2:23 and it means a cry, an outcry or an exclamation as for help. The only NT use of boe is in (James 5:4+) In secular Greek boe referred to a loud cry, shout, a battle-cry, the roar of the sea, the sound of musical instruments, the cry of birds or beasts.

Shavah - 7x in 7v - cry(6), cry for help(5). Exod. 2:23; 1 Sam. 5:12; 2Sa 22:7; Ps. 18:6; Ps 34:15; Ps 39:12; Ps. 40:1; Ps. 102:1; Ps. 145:19; Jer. 8:19; Lam. 3:56

QUESTION - What is an anthropomorphism?

ANSWER - The word anthropomorphism comes from two Greek words, anthropos, meaning “man,” and morphe, meaning “form.” In theological terms, anthropomorphism is making God in some way into the form of man. Mostly, it is the process of assigning human characteristics to God. Human traits and actions such as talking, holding, reaching, feeling, hearing, and the like, all of which are chronicled throughout both the Old and New Testaments, are ascribed to the Creator. We read of God’s actions, emotions, and appearance in human terms, or at least in words we normally accept and associate with humans.

In several places in the Bible, God is described as having the physical attributes of man. He “sets [his] face” against evil (Leviticus 20:6); the Lord will make “His face” to shine on you (Numbers 6:25); He “stretched out his hand” (Exodus 7:5; Isaiah 23:11), and God scattered enemies with His strong arm (Psalm 89:10). He “stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth” (Psalm 113:6). He “keeps his eye” on the land (Deuteronomy 11:12), the “eyes of the Lord” are on the righteous (Psalm 34:15), and the earth is His “footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). Do all these verses mean that God literally has eyes, a face, hands and feet? Not necessarily. God is spirit, not flesh and blood, but because we are not spirit, these anthropomorphisms help us to understand God’s nature and actions.

Human emotions are also ascribed to God: He was “sorry” (Genesis 6:6), “jealous” (Exodus 20:5), “moved to pity” (Judges 2:18), and “grieved” over making Saul Israel’s first king (1 Samuel 15:35). We read that the Lord “changed His mind” (Exodus 32:14), “relented” (2 Samuel 24:16), and will “remember” when He sees a rainbow in the sky (Genesis 9:16). God is “angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11), and He “burned with anger” against Job’s friends (Job 32:5). Most precious to us is God’s love, in which He predestines us to salvation (Ephesians 1:4-5) and because of which He gave His only Son in order to save the world (John 3:16).

Anthropomorphisms can be helpful in enabling us to at least partially comprehend the incomprehensible, know the unknowable, and fathom the unfathomable. But God is God, and we are not, and all of our human expressions are intrinsically inadequate in explaining fully and properly the divine. But human words, emotions, features, and knowledge are all that our Creator provided us, so these are all that we can understand in this earthly world at this time.

Yet anthropomorphisms can be dangerous if we see them as sufficient to portray God in limited human traits and terms, which could unintentionally serve to diminish in our minds His incomparable and incomprehensible power, love, and mercy. Christians are advised to read God’s Word with the realization that He offers a small glimpse of His glory through the only means we can absorb. As much as anthropomorphisms help us picture our loving God, He reminds us in Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”gotquestions.org

ANTHROPOMORPHIC LANGUAGE TO DESCRIBE DEITY - from Bob Utley

This type of language (i.e., Deity described in human terms) is very common in the OT (some examples)
1. Physical body parts
  1. eyes ‒ Gen. 1:4,31; 6:8; Exod. 33:17; Num. 14:14; Deut. 1:12; Zech. 4:10
  2. hands ‒ Exod. 15:17; Num. 11:23; Deut. 2:15
  3. arm ‒ Exod. 6:6; 15:16; Deut. 4:34; 5:15
  4. ears ‒ Num. 11:18; 1 Sam. 8:21; 2 Kgs. 19:16; Ps. 5:1; 10:17; 18:6
  5. face ‒ Exod. 33:11; Lev. 20:3,5,6; Num. 6:25; 12:8; Deut. 31:17; 32:20; 34:10
  6. finger ‒ Exod. 8:19; 31:18; Deut. 9:10; Ps. 8:3
  7. voice ‒ Gen. 3:9,11,13; Exod. 15:26; 19:19; Deut. 26:17; 27:10
  8. feet ‒ Exod. 24:10; Ezek. 43:7
  9. human form ‒ Exod. 24:9-11; Psalm 47; Isa. 6:1; Ezek. 1:26
  10. the angel of the Lord ‒ Gen. 16:7-13; 22:11-15; 31:11,13; 48:15-16; Exod. 3:4,13-21; 14:19; Jdgs. 2:1; 6:22-23; 13:3-22
2. Physical actions (see examples)
  1. speaking as the mechanism of creation ‒ Gen. 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26
  2. walking (i.e., sound of) ‒ Gen. 3:8; Lev.26:12; Deut. 23:14; Hab. 23:14
  3. closing the door of Noah's ark ‒ Gen. 7:16
  4. smelling sacrifices ‒ Gen. 8:21; Lev. 26:31; Amos 5:21
  5. coming down ‒ Gen. 11:5; 18:21; Exod. 3:8; 19:11,18,20
  6. burying Moses ‒ Deut. 34:6
3. Human emotions (some examples)
  1. regret/repent ‒ Gen. 6:6,7; Exod. 32:14; Jdgs. 2:18; 1 Sam. 15:29,35; Amos 7:3,6
  2. anger ‒ Exod. 4:14; 15:7; Num. 11:10; 12:9; 22:22; 25:3,4; 32:10,13,14; Deut. 6:15; 7:4; 29:20
  3. jealousy ‒ Exod. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24; 5:9; 6:15; 32:16,21; Josh. 24:19
  4. loathe/abhor ‒ Lev. 20:23; 26:30; Deut. 32:19
4. Family terms (some examples)
  1. Father
    1. of Israel ‒ Exod. 4:22; Deut. 14:1; Isa. 1:2; 63:16; 64:8; Jer. 31:9; Hos. 11:1
    2. of the king ‒ 2 Sam. 7:11-16; Ps. 2:7
    3. metaphors of fatherly action ‒ Deut. 1:31; 8:5; 32:6-14; Ps. 27:10; Pro. 3:12; Jer. 3:4,22; 31:20; Hosea 11:1-4; Mal. 3:17
  2. Parent ‒ Hosea 11:1-4
  3. Mother ‒ Isa. 49:15; 66:9-13 (analogy to nursing mother)
  4. Young faithful lover ‒ Hosea 1-3
5. Physical objects used to describe YHWH
  1. a rock ‒ Deut. 32:37; 2 Sam. 22:2,3; Ps. 18:2
  2. a fortress ‒ 2 Sam. 22:2; Ps. 144:2
  3. a stronghold ‒ Ps. 18:2; 62:2; 144:2; see SPECIAL TOPIC: REFUGE
  4. a deliverer ‒ 2 Sam. 22:2; Ps. 144:2
  5. a shield ‒ Gen. 15:1; 2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 3:3; 18:2; 144:2; Prov. 30:5
  6. a horn of salvation ‒ 2 Sam. 22:26; Ps. 18:2; 75:10
  7. a mother bird ‒ Ps. 17:8; 36:7 (also note Deut. 32:10-11); 57:1; 63:7; 91:4
  8. shadow ‒ see SPECIAL TOPIC: SHADOW
Reasons for the use of this type of language
1. It is a necessity for God to reveal Himself to human beings. There is no other vocabulary than fallen, worldly words. The very pervasive concept of God as male is one example an anthropomorphism because God is spirit!
2. God takes the most meaningful aspects of human life and uses them to reveal Himself to fallen humanity (father, mother, parent, lover).
3. Though necessary at times (i.e., Ge 3:8), God does not want to be limited to any physical form (cf. Exodus 20:1-5; Deuteronomy 5:8)
4. The ultimate anthropomorphism is the incarnation of Jesus! God became physical, touchable (cf. 1 John 1:1-3). The message of God became the Word of God (cf. John 1:1-18).

For a good brief discussion, see G. B. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible (borrow book), chapter 10, "Anthropomorphism," in The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, pp. 152-154

The Whispering Gallery

In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. Psalm 18:6

Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 18:1–6, 16–19

In the towering dome of London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, visitors can climb 259 steps to access The Whispering Gallery. There you can whisper and be heard by another person anywhere along the circular walkway, even across the enormous abyss nearly one hundred feet away. Engineers explain this anomaly as a result of the spherical shape of the dome and the low intensity sound waves of a whisper.

How we long to be confident that God hears our agonized whispers! The Psalms are filled with testimonies that He hears us—our cries, prayers, and whispers. David writes, “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help” (Psalm 18:6). Over and over again, he and other psalmists plead, “Hear my prayer” (4:1), my voice (5:3), my groans (102:20). Sometimes the expression is more of a whispered, “Hear me” (77:1), where the “heart meditated and [the] spirit asked” (77:6).

In answer to these pleas, the psalmists—like David in Psalm 18:6—reveal that God is listening: “From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” Since the actual temple wasn’t yet built, might David have been referring to God listening in His heavenly dwelling?

From His very own “whispering gallery” in the dome of the heavens above the earth, God bends to our deepest murmurs, even our whispers . . . and listens. By: Elisa Morgan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

What do you long to whisper to God today? How can you know that He hears?

Dear God, give me courage to whisper to You today, trusting You to hear and respond.

The Listener

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice. — Psalm 18:6

Today's Scripture: Psalm 18:1-6

I read about a machine repairman who had an unusual knack for correctly diagnosing where the trouble was in faulty factory equipment. And he could fix it quickly.

His co-workers noticed that he normally left the lunchroom 10 minutes early. One day someone followed him to see what he did before the others started working again. The repairman didn’t touch a wrench or screwdriver. Instead, while everyone else was gone and there was no sound of conversation, he stood in the middle of the large room, closed his eyes, and listened to the machinery. His ear caught every subtle sound, every click, every change in pitch or vibration. He could identify the first signs of a problem before it became apparent to others. It’s as if he knew each machine personally.

God knows us personally and intimately. He monitors our thoughts and feelings all the time. As King David declared, we can be sure that when we cry out to Him, He hears us (Psalm 18:6). He hears the shouts and the groans of our hearts. He knows when we are “broken” or “out of tune.” And when we call on Him, He knows exactly what we need.

Facing a problem today? Cry out to the Lord. You can be sure that He will hear you. — David C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
—Scriven

God's help is only a prayer away.

When The Ground Shakes

In my distress, I called upon the Lord. — Psalm 18:6

Today's Scripture: Psalm 18:1-6

Several days after a devastating earthquake in the San Francisco area, a young boy was seen rocking and swaying on the school playground. His principal asked him if he was okay, and the boy nodded yes and said, “I am moving like the earth, so if there’s another earthquake I won’t feel it.” He wanted to prepare himself for another shaking of the ground.

Sometimes after a trauma, we brace ourselves for what might be coming next. If we’ve had a phone call that brought bad news, every time the phone rings we feel panicky and wonder, What has happened now?

The “ground was shaking” for the psalmist David after King Saul tried to kill him (1 Sam. 19:10). He ran and hid. He thought death was next and told his friend Jonathan, “There is but a step between me and death” (20:3). He wrote, “The pangs of death surrounded me, and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid” (Ps. 18:4).

David cried to the Lord in his distress (v.6) and found that He was a stabilizer, One he could trust would always be with him. He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; . . . my stronghold” (v.2). The Lord will be that for us also when the ground shakes under us. By: Anne Cetas (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide, A shelter in the time of storm; Secure whatever ill betide, A shelter in the time of storm. —Charlesworth

To survive the storms of life, be anchored to the Rock of Ages.

The Right Help

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; . . . my cry came before Him, even to His ears. —Psalm 18:6

Today's Scripture: Psalm 18:6-13

On a recent radio program, the hosts spoke with a “crisis management” expert about how a celebrity can recover from a public relations disaster. This specialist said one of the keys was to build strong allies who can help the star rehabilitate his or her image. In other words, it is vital when in trouble to get the right help.

That is wise counsel, for at the heart of all crisis management is recognizing that we can’t accomplish everything on our own. Some challenges are too big. Some mountains are too high. In our own seasons of crisis, it is critical that we have help. That’s why it’s comforting to know that we have the strongest ally possible.

King David knew about that ally. In Psalm 18:6, he affirmed, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.” There is no greater help in our time of need than God. He alone can carry us through the trials and crises of life, and we have His word that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).

When crisis hits, we don’t have to stand alone. We have the right help. We can depend on God to be the greatest ally we could ever know. Lean on Him. By: Bill Crowder (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

When a crisis looms before you,
Don’t face it on your own;
Seek advice from godly counsel,
And take it to God’s throne.
—Sper

Our greatest hope here below is to get help from God above.

Open Arms

In my distress I called to the Lord . . . . My cry came to his ears. 2 Samuel 22:7

Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Samuel 22:1–7, 17–20

Saydee and his family have an “open arms and open home” philosophy. People are always welcome in their home, “especially those who are in distress,” he says. That’s the kind of household he had growing up in Liberia with his nine siblings. Their parents always welcomed others into their family. He says, “We grew up as a community. We loved one another. Everybody was responsible for everybody. My dad taught us to love each other, care for each other, protect each other.”

When King David was in need, he found this type of loving care in God. Second Samuel 22 (and Psalm 18) records his song of praise to God for the ways He had been a refuge for him throughout his life. He recalled, “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” (2 Samuel 22:7). God had delivered him from his enemies, including King Saul, many times. He praised God for being his fortress and deliverer in whom he took refuge (vv. 2–3).

While our distresses may be small in comparison to David’s, God welcomes us to run to Him to find the shelter we long for. His arms are always open. Therefore we “sing the praises of [His] name” (v. 50). By: Anne Cetas (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

When has God been your refuge? How can you help someone else run to Him?

God, I’m grateful You’ve always been and will always be my secure place to land.

Before the Phone

In my distress I called to the Lord. Psalm 18:6

Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 18:1-6

As a mom of young children I’m sometimes susceptible to panic. My first reaction is to call my mom on the phone and ask her what to do with my son’s allergy or my daughter’s sudden cough.

Mom is a great resource, but when I read the Psalms, I’m reminded of how often we need the kind of help that no mortal can give. In Psalm 18 David was in great danger. Afraid, close to death, and in anguish, he called on the Lord.

David could say, “I love you, Lord” because he understood God was a fortress, a rock, and a deliverer (vv. 1-2). God was his shield, his salvation, and his stronghold. Maybe we cannot understand David’s praise because we have not experienced God’s help. It may be that we reach for the phone before going to God for advice and help.

Surely God puts people in our lives to give us help and comfort. But let’s also remember to pray. God will hear us. As David sang, “From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears” (v. 6). When we go to God, we join David’s song and enjoy Him as our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer.

Dear Lord, help me to remember You are my deliverer, and You always hear my cry.

Prayer is the bridge between panic and peace.

2 Samuel 22:8 "Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of heaven were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:8 καὶ ἐταράχθη καὶ ἐσείσθη ἡ γῆ καὶ τὰ θεμέλια τοῦ οὐρανοῦ συνεταράχθησαν καὶ ἐσπαράχθησαν ὅτι ἐθυμώθη κύριος αὐτοῖς

LXE 2 Samuel 22:8 And the earth was troubled and quaked, and the foundations of heaven were confounded and torn asunder, because the Lord was wroth with them.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.

NET 2 Samuel 22:8 The earth heaved and shook; the foundations of the sky trembled. They heaved because he was angry.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:8 Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they shook because He burned with anger.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:8 "Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:8 "The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:8 "Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the heavens shook; they quaked because of his anger.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:8 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:8 Then the earth quaked and rocked, the heavens' foundations shuddered, they quaked at his blazing anger.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:8 "The earth swayed and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and shook when his wrath flared up.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:8 And shake and tremble doth the earth, Foundations of the heavens are troubled, And are shaken, for He hath wrath!

the earth: Jdg 5:4 Ps 18:7 77:18 97:4 Hab 3:6-11 Mt 27:51 28:2 Ac 4:31
foundations: Job 26:11 Na 1:5

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:7 Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.

GOD'S DRAMATIC
ANSWER TO PRAYER

Then - Don't miss this one! Then marks progression in a narrative. In this case it is a song or psalm and what has David just declared as his state? In distress which prompted him to cry out and God heard. So what does then express? David is graphically expressing an instantaneous response from His loving, powerful heavenly Father. As Spurgeon says "There was no great space between the cry and its answer."

Prayer rings the alarm bell,
and the Master of the house arises to the rescue,
shaking all things beneath his tread.
-- CHS

The earth shook and quaked - This describes God's response to the David's prayer. God is arousing Himself for action! It is worth noting that the follows actions are the same phenomena that take place when Jesus Christ is dying on the cross and when He is risen again. (see Mt 27:51, Mt 28:2)

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — God’s coming described in figures drawn from His appearance on Sinai (compare De 32:22 For a fire is kindled in My anger, And burns to the lowest part of Sheol, And consumes the earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains. ).

CHS - There was no great space between the cry and its answer. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, but is swift to rescue his afflicted. David has in his mind's eye the glorious manifestations of God in Egypt, at Sinai, and on different occasions to Joshua and the judges; and he considers that his own case exhibits the same glory of power and goodness, and that, therefore, he may accommodate the descriptions of former displays of the divine majesty into his hymn of praise. Then the earth shook and trembled." Observe how the most solid and immovable things feel the force of supplication. Prayer has shaken houses (Acts 4:31), opened prison doors (Acts 12:5-10), and made stout hearts to quail. Prayer rings the alarm bell, and the Master of the house arises to the rescue, shaking all things beneath his tread.

Kidner - Everything in the description speaks of judgment, but as this is directed against the powers of evil it means salvation to their victim. Smoke, as in Isaiah 6:4, dramatizes the reaction of holiness to sin, and nostrils are in Hebrew the organ of anger. Devouring fire is synonymous in Deuteronomy 4:24 with divine ‘jealousy’ or intolerance; coals are rained down from God’s chariot-throne on the doomed city in Ezekiel 10:2. So the list continues, as the storm approaches, darkens, and finally unleashes itself. (Borrow Psalms 1-72 : an introduction and commentary)

NET NOTE - The earth heaved and shook. The imagery pictures an earthquake, in which the earth’s surface rises and falls. The earthquake motif is common in Old Testament theophanies of God as warrior and in ancient Near eastern literary descriptions of warring gods and kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 160-62.

The foundations of heaven (Ps 18:7 "of the mountains") were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry (charah; Lxx - thumoo - provoked to anger). God is ready to act, and the earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook. Because (term of explanation) introduces the explanation of why we see these incredible phenomena -- God is angry!

CHS - "The foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because of his wrath." He who fixed the world's pillars can make them rock in their sockets, and can upheave the corner-stones of creation. The huge roots of the towering mountains are torn up when the Lord bestirs himself in anger to smite the enemies of his people. How shall puny man be able to face it out with God when the very mountains quake with fear? Let not the boaster dream that his present false confidence will support him in the dread day of wrath.

2 Samuel 22:9 "Smoke went up out of His nostrils, Fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:9 ἀνέβη καπνὸς ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ καὶ πῦρ ἐκ στόματος αὐτοῦ κατέδεται ἄνθρακες ἐξεκαύθησαν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:9 There went up a smoke in his wrath, and fire out of his mouth devours: coals were kindled at it.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

NET 2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke ascended from his nose; fire devoured as it came from his mouth; he hurled down fiery coals.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; coals were set ablaze by it.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke rose from his nostrils, from his mouth devouring fire (coals were kindled at it).

NAB 2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke rose from his nostrils, and a devouring fire from his mouth; he kindled coals into flame.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:9 Gone up hath smoke by His nostrils. And fire from His mouth devoureth, Brands have been kindled by it.

went: 2Sa 22:16 Ex 15:7,8 19:18 24:17 De 32:22 Job 4:9 41:20,21 Ps 18:8,15 Ps 97:3-5 Isa 30:27,33 Jer 5:14 15:14 Heb 12:29
out of his: Heb. by his, etc
coals: Hab 3:5

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it.

Nahum 1:6 Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire And the rocks are broken up by Him.

Hebrews 12:29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Smoke went up out of His nostrils,

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — smoke out … his nostrils—bitter in His wrath (compare Ps 74:1 A Maskil of Asaph. O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? ).

CHS - Verse 8. "There went up a smoke out of his nostrils." A violent oriental method of expressing fierce wrath. Since the breath from the nostrils is heated by strong emotion, the figure portrays the Almighty Deliverer as pouring forth smoke in the heat of his wrath and the impetuousness of his zeal. Nothing makes God so angry as an injury done to his children. He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye. God is not subject to the passions which govern his creatures, but acting as he does with all the energy and speed of one who is angry, he is here aptly set forth in poetic imagery suitable to human understandings.

Fire from His mouth devoured - It was the God who answers by fire on Mount Carmel and the glorious words after ELIJAH had prayed "Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench." (1Ki 18:38)

CHS -The opening of his lips is sufficient to destroy his enemies; "and fire out of his mouth devoured." This fire was no temporary one but steady and lasting;

Coals were kindled by it

CHS -"Coals were kindled by it." The whole passage is intended to depict God's descent to the help of his child, attended by earthquake and tempest: at the majesty of his appearing the earth rocks, the clouds gather like smoke, and the lightning as flaming fire devours, setting the world on a blaze. What grandeur of description is here! Bishop Mant very admirably rhymes the verse thus:—

"Smoke from his heated nostrils came,
And from his mouth devouring flame;
Hot burning coals announced his ire,
And flashes of careering fire."

2 Samuel 22:10 "He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:10 καὶ ἔκλινεν οὐρανοὺς καὶ κατέβη καὶ γνόφος ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:10 And he bowed the heavens, and came down, and there was darkness under his feet.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

NET 2 Samuel 22:10 He made the sky sink as he descended; a thick cloud was under his feet.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:10 He parted the heavens and came down, a dark cloud beneath His feet.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:10 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:10 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:10 He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:10 He bowed the heavens, and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:10 He parted the heavens and came down, a storm-cloud underneath his feet;

NAB 2 Samuel 22:10 He inclined the heavens and came down, with dark clouds under his feet.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:10 And He inclineth heaven, and cometh down, And thick darkness is under His feet.

GWN 2 Samuel 22:10 He spread apart the heavens and came down with a dark cloud under his feet.

BBE 2 Samuel 22:10 The heavens were bent, so that he might come down; and it was dark under his feet.

bowed: Ps 144:5 Isa 64:1-3
darkness: Ex 20:21 De 4:11 1Ki 8:12 Ps 97:2 104:3 Mt 27:45 Lu 23:44,45

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet.

YAHWEH COMES DOWN
IN ANSWER TO DAVID'S PRAYER

In 2Sa 22:10-16 we see a poetic description of God's response to his prayer, a response that is characterized by the imagery of a thunderstorm.

Boice comments "“What is most impressive…is the magnificent way the psalmist describes God rising from his throne in heaven in response to his servant’s cry, parting the clouds, and descending to fight the king’s battles accompanied by earthquakes, thunder, storms, and lightning.” (Boice)

He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet - CSB = "He parted the heavens and came down."

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — darkness—or, a dense cloud (Ex 19:16; De 5:22).

Anderson - O what a glorious anticipation for we who are believers to rest in the blessed hope that one day “the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1Th 4:16,17)

2 Samuel 22:11 "And He rode on a cherub and flew; And He appeared on the wings of the wind.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:11 καὶ ἐπεκάθισεν ἐπὶ Χερουβιν καὶ ἐπετάσθη καὶ ὤφθη ἐπὶ πτερύγων ἀνέμου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:11 And he rode upon the cherubs and did fly, and was seen upon the wings of the wind.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

NET 2 Samuel 22:11 He mounted a winged angel and flew; he glided on the wings of the wind.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:11 He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:11 He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen on the wings of the wind.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:11 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:11 Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:11 He rode on a cherub, and flew; he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:11 riding one of the winged creatures, he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.

a cherub: Ge 3:24 Ex 25:19 1Sa 4:4 Ps 18:10 68:17 80:1 99:1 Eze 9:3 Eze 10:2-14 Heb 1:14
upon the: Ps 104:3 139:9

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:10 He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind.

Ezekiel 10:19 When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD’S house, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.

Ezekiel 11:22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.

And He rode on a cherub and flew; And He appeared on the wings of the wind - We have similar pictures of this in Isaiah 6, Rev. 4, and also in the book of Ezekiel when the presence of God is pictured, these cherubim are present. David continues his description of Yahweh coming in answer to his cries, to meet his need. Rode on a cherub and flew pictures the speed with which Yahweh responds, in fact He was so rapid that it was like He was traveling on the wings of the wind.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — cherub—angelic agents (compare Ge 3:24), the figures of which were placed over the ark (1 Sa 4:4), representing God’s dwelling; used here to enhance the majesty of the divine advent. Angels and winds may represent all rational and irrational agencies of God’s providence (compare Ps 104:3, 4). did fly—Rapidity of motion adds to the grandeur of the scene.

Vos points out, “The heavens seemed to sink down as Jehovah came riding on the storm clouds. He mounted the cherubim, a winged lion creature, and seemed to swoop like a vulture toward its prey.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

CHS - There is inimitable grandeur in this verse. Under the Mosaic system the cherubim are frequently represented as the chariot of God; hence Milton, in "Paradise Lost," writes of the Great Father,—

"He on the wings of cherubim
Uplifted, in paternal glory rode
Far into chaos."

Without speculating upon the mysterious and much-disputed subject of the cherubim, it may be enough to remark that angels are doubtless our guards and ministering friends, and all their powers are enlisted to expedite the rescue of the afflicted.

CHS - "He rode upon a cherub, and did fly." Nature also yields all her agents to be our helpers, and even the powers of the air are subservient: "yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind." The Lord comes flying when mercy is his errand, but he lingers long when sinners are being wooed to repent. The flight here pictured is as majestic as it is swift; "flying all abroad" is Sternhold's word, and he is not far from correct. As the eagle soars in easy grandeur with wings outspread, without violent flapping and exertion, so comes the Lord with majesty of omnipotence to aid his own.

NET NOTE - cherub - A winged angel. Cherubim, as depicted in the Old Testament, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Pss 80:1; 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubim suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubim in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind (see the next line). The wings of the wind. Verse 10 may depict the Lord mounting a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. A third option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10, see M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

2 Samuel 22:12 "And He made darkness canopies around Him, A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:12 καὶ ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ ἡ σκηνὴ αὐτοῦ σκότος ὑδάτων ἐπάχυνεν ἐν νεφέλαις ἀέρος

LXE 2 Samuel 22:12 And he made darkness his hiding-place; his tabernacle round about him was the darkness of waters, he condensed it with the clouds of the air.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

NET 2 Samuel 22:12 He shrouded himself in darkness, in thick rain clouds.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:12 He made darkness a canopy around Him, a gathering of water and thick clouds.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:12 He made darkness around him his canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:12 He made darkness his canopy around him-- the dark rain clouds of the sky.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:12 He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dense rain clouds.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:12 He made darkness around him a canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:12 He wrapped himself in darkness, his pavilion dark waters and dense cloud.

made: 2Sa 22:10 Ps 18:11,12 27:5 97:2

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

And He made darkness canopies around Him, A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky. David is picturing the coming of a rainstorm.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — dark waters—or, clouds heavy with vapor.

CHS - The storm thickened, and the clouds pouring forth torrents of rain combined to form the secret chamber of the invisible but wonder-working God. "Pavilioned in impervious shade" faith saw him, but no other eye could gaze through the "thick clouds of the skies." Blessed is the darkness which encurtains my God; if I may not see him, it is sweet to know that he is working in secret for my eternal good. Even fools can believe that God is abroad in the sunshine and the calm, but faith is wise, and discerns him in the terrible darkness and threatening storm.

NET NOTE - Heb “he made darkness around him coverings.” The parallel text in Ps 18:11 reads “he made darkness his hiding place around him, his covering.” 2 Sam 22:12 omits “his hiding place” and pluralizes “covering.” Psalm 18:11 may include a conflation of synonyms (“his hiding place” and “his covering”) or 2 Sam 22:12 may be the result of haplography/homoioarcton. Note that three successive words in Ps 18:11 begin with the letter ס (samek): סִתְרוֹ סְבִיבוֹתָיו סֻכָּתוֹ (sitro svivotayv sukkato). Thick rain clouds - Heb “a sieve of water, clouds of clouds.” The form חַשְׁרַת (khashrat) is a construct of חַשְׁרָה (khashrah, “sieve”), which occurs only here in the OT. A cognate Ugaritic noun means “sieve,” and a related verb חשׁר (“to sift”) is attested in post-biblical Hebrew and Aramaic (see HALOT 363 s.v. *חשׁר). The phrase חַשְׁרַת־מַיִם (khashrat mayim) means literally “a sieve of water.” It pictures the rain clouds as a sieve through which the rain falls to the ground. (See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in ancient Yahwistic poetry, 146, note 33.)

Don Anderson - David, right along with Elijah, could sing, “I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain” - - and it wasn’t from a drug trip, either. It came from the very presence and activity of God. He came in fire to consume, and in rain to refresh.

2 Samuel 22:13 "From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:13 ἀπὸ τοῦ φέγγους ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ ἐξεκαύθησαν ἄνθρακες πυρός

LXE 2 Samuel 22:13 At the brightness before him coals of fire were kindled.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.

NET 2 Samuel 22:13 From the brightness in front of him came coals of fire.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:13 From the radiance of His presence, flaming coals were ignited.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:13 Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:13 Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:13 A great brightness shone around him, and burning coals blazed forth.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:13 Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:13 A brightness lit up before him, hail and blazing fire.

coals of fire: 2Sa 22:9

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire.

From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — from the brightness - Out of this obscurity, which impresses the beholder with awe and dread, He reveals Himself by sudden light and the means of His terrible wrath (Jos 10:11; Ps 78:47).

CHS - Suddenly the terrible artillery of heaven was discharged; the brightness of lightning lit up the clouds as with a glory proceeding from him who was concealed within the cloudy pavilion; and volleys of hailstones and coals of fire were hurled forth upon the enemy. The lightnings seemed to cleave the clouds and kindle them into a blaze, and then hailstones and flakes of fire with flashes of terrific grandeur terrified the sons of men.

NET NOTE - coals of fire - The parallel text in Ps 18:12 reads “from the brightness in front of him his clouds came, hail and coals of fire.” The Lucianic family of texts within the Greek tradition of 2 Sam 22:13 seems to assume the underlying Hebrew text: מִנֹּגַהּ נֶגְדּוֹ עָבְרוּ בָּרָד וְגַחֲלֵי אֵשׁ (minnogah negdo ʿavru barad vgakhale ʾesh, “from the brightness in front of him came hail and coals of fire”) which is the basis for the present translation. The textual situation is perplexing and the identity of the original text uncertain. The verbs עָבְרוּ (ʿavru; Ps 18:12) and בָּעֲרוּ (baʿaru, 2 Sam 22:13) appear to be variants involving a transposition of the first two letters. The noun עָבָיו (ʿavayv, “his clouds”; Ps 18:12) may be virtually dittographic (note the following עָבְרוּ), or it could have accidentally dropped from the text of 2 Sam 22:13 by virtual haplography (note the preceding בָּעֲרוּ [baʿaru], which might have originally read עָבְרוּ). The term בָּרָד (barad, “hail”; Ps 18:12) may be virtually dittographic (note the preceding עָבְרוּ), or it could have dropped from 2 Sam 22:13 by virtual haplography (note the preceding בָּעֲרוּ, which might have originally read עָבְרוּ). For a fuller discussion of the text, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 74-76.

2 Samuel 22:14 "The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:14 ἐβρόντησεν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ κύριος καὶ ὁ ὕψιστος ἔδωκεν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:14 The Lord thundered out of heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.

NET 2 Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from the sky; the sovereign One shouted loudly.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the Most High projected His voice.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the Most High uttered his voice.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:14 Yahweh thundered from the heavens, the Most High made his voice heard.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:14 "The LORD thundered from heaven; the Most High gave forth his voice.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:14 Thunder from the heavens doth Jehovah, And the Most High giveth forth His voice.

thundered: Ex 19:16 Jdg 5:20 1Sa 2:10 7:10 1Sa 12:17-18 Job 37:2-5 40:9 Ps 29:3-9 77:16-19 Isa 30:30 Eze 10:5 Rev 11:19

Related Passages:

Exodus 19:16 So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Psalm 18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

1 Samuel 2:10; “Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed (DAVID FIRST THEN THE MESSIAH IN THE FUTURE).”

1 Samuel 12:17-18 (LORD'S THUNDER AT THE CALL OF SAMUEL TO YAHWEH) “Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that He may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the LORD by asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

Revelation 11:19 (IN THE FUTURE WHEN GOD'S WRATH IS POURED OUT ON THE GODLESS WORLD) And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

John 12:28-29 “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

GOD ROARS IN
THE THUNDER

The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High (Elyon) uttered His voice - Although this was before David was king, it is representative of his description here "Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel." (1Sa 7:10) Yahweh's voice is often likened to thunder (Job 37:4, 5; 40:9; Ps 29:3; Is 33:3).

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — The storm breaks forth—thunder follows lightning, and hail with repeated lightning, as often seen, like balls or coals of fire, succeed (Ex 9:23).

CHS - Over all this splendour of tempest pealed the dread thunder. "The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice." Fit accompaniment for the flames of vengeance. How will men bear to hear it at the last when addressed to them in proclamation of their doom, for even now their hearts are in their mouths if they do but hear it muttering from afar? In all this terror David found a theme for song, and thus every believer finds even in the terrors of God a subject for holy praise.

NET NOTE - This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2. Thunder is a common motif in Old Testament theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 179-83. THUNDER - Heb “offered his voice.” In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. Note the preterite form in the preceding line. The text of Ps 18:13 adds at this point, “hail and coals of fire.” These words are probably accidentally added from v. 12b; they do not appear in 2 Sam 22:14.

2 Samuel 22:15 "And He sent out arrows, and scattered them, Lightning, and routed them.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:15 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν βέλη καὶ ἐσκόρπισεν αὐτούς ἀστραπὴν καὶ ἐξέστησεν αὐτούς

LXE 2 Samuel 22:15 And he sent forth arrows, and scattered them, and he flashed lightning, and dismayed them.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.

NET 2 Samuel 22:15 He shot arrows and scattered them, lightning and routed them.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:15 He shot arrows and scattered them; He hurled lightning bolts and routed them.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:15 He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:15 He shot arrows and scattered his enemies; his lightning flashed, and they were confused.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:15 He sent out arrows, and scattered them-- lightning, and routed them.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:15 He shot his arrows and scattered them, his lightning flashed and routed them.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:15 He sent forth arrows to put them to flight; he flashed lightning and routed them.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:15 And He sendeth forth arrows, And scattereth them; Lightning, and troubleth them;

arrows: De 32:23 Jos 10:10 Ps 7:12,13 18:14 45:5 144:6,7 Hab 3:11

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.

GOD'S LIGHTNING
SHOOTING LIKE ARROWS

And He sent out arrows, and scattered them, Lightning, and routed them

CHS - The lightnings were darted forth as forked arrows upon the hosts of the foe, and speedily "scattered them." Boastful sinners prove to be great cowards when Jehovah enters the lists with them. They despise his words, and are very tongue-valiant, but when it comes to blows they fly apace. The glittering flames, and the fierce bolts of fire "discomfited them." God is never at a loss for weapons. Woe be unto him that contendeth with his Maker! God's arrows never miss their aim; they are feathered with lightning, and barbed with everlasting death. Fly, O sinner, to the rock of refuge before these arrows stick fast in thy soul.

NET NOTE - Lightning is a common motif in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. Arrows and lightning bolts are associated in other texts (see Pss 77:17-18; 144:6; Zech 9:14), as well as in ancient Near Eastern art. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 187, 190-92.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — the fiery brightness of lightning, in shape like burning arrows rapidly shot through the air, well represents the most terrible part of an awful storm. Before the terrors of such a scene the enemies are confounded and overthrown in dismay.

2 Samuel 22:16 "Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were laid bare By the rebuke of the LORD, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:16 καὶ ὤφθησαν ἀφέσεις θαλάσσης καὶ ἀπεκαλύφθη θεμέλια τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐν τῇ ἐπιτιμήσει κυρίου ἀπὸ πνοῆς πνεύματος θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:16 And the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his anger.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

NET 2 Samuel 22:16 The depths of the sea were exposed; the inner regions of the world were uncovered by the LORD's battle cry, by the powerful breath from his nose.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:16 The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:16 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.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:16 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.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:16 Then at the command of the LORD, at the blast of his breath, the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:16 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.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:16 The very springs of ocean were exposed, the world's foundations were laid bare, at the roaring of Yahweh, at the blast of breath from his nostrils!

NAB 2 Samuel 22:16 Then the wellsprings of the sea appeared, the foundations of the earth were laid bare, At the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the wind of his wrath.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:16 And seen are the streams of the sea, Revealed are foundations of the world, By the rebuke of Jehovah, From the breath of the spirit of His anger.

the channels: Ex 14:21-27 15:8-10 Ps 18:15-17 114:3-7
rebuking: Ex 15:8 Job 38:11 Ps 106:9 Na 1:4 Hab 3:8-10 Mt 8:26,27
nostrils: or, anger, 2Sa 22:9 Ps 74:1

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:15 Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were laid bare By the rebuke of the LORD, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils

CHS - So tremendous was the shock of God's assault in arms that the order of nature was changed, and the bottoms of rivers and seas were laid bare. "The channels of waters was seen;" and the deep cavernous bowels of the earth were upheaved till "the foundations of the world were discovered." What will not Jehovah's "rebuke" do? If "the blast of the breath of thy nostrils," O Lord, be so terrible, what must thine arm be? Vain are the attempts of men to conceal anything from him whose word unbars the deep, and lifts the doors of earth from their hinges! Vain are all hopes of resistance, for a whisper of his voice makes the whole earth quail in abject terror.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — the tempest of the air is attended by appropriate results on earth. The language, though not expressive of any special physical changes, represents the utter subversion of the order of nature. Before such a God none can stand.

Anderson - How similar is the picture in the book of Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ bringing about that great judgment upon fallen man in the last days.

NET NOTE - The noun is derived from the verb גָעַר (gaʿar) which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

2 Samuel 22:17 "He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:17 ἀπέστειλεν ἐξ ὕψους καὶ ἔλαβέν με εἵλκυσέν με ἐξ ὑδάτων πολλῶν

LXE 2 Samuel 22:17 He sent from above and took me; he drew me out of many waters.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;

NET 2 Samuel 22:17 He reached down from above and grabbed me; he pulled me from the surging water.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:17 He reached down from heaven and took hold of me; He pulled me out of deep waters.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:17 "He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:17 "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:17 "He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:17 He reached from on high, he took me, he drew me out of mighty waters.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:17 He reached down from on high, snatched me up, pulled me from the watery depths,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:17 "He reached out from on high and grasped me; he drew me out of the deep waters.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:17 He sendeth from above -- He taketh me, He draweth me out of many waters.

sent: Ps 18:16 144:7
he drew: Ps 32:6 59:1,2 93:3,4 124:4,5 130:1 Isa 43:2 La 3:54 Rev 17:15
many: or, great

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:16 He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

Galatians 1:4 (JESUS) Who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — As seated on a throne, directing these terrible scenes, God—sent—His hand (Ps 144:7), reached down to His humble worshipper, and delivered him.-- many waters—calamities (Job 30:14; Ps 124:4, 5).

CHS - Now comes the rescue. The Author is divine, "He sent;" the work is heavenly, "from above;" the deliverance is marvelous, "He drew me out of many waters." Here David was like another Moses, drawn from the water; and thus are all believers like their Lord, whose baptism in many waters of agony and in his own blood has redeemed us from the wrath to come. Torrents of evil shall not drown the man whose God sitteth upon the floods to restrain their fury.

Vos points out, “The waters that threatened to engulf the psalmist retreated before the presence of God. ‘He drew me out of deep waters.’ As Moses was pulled out of the waters of the Nile so David was rescued from the waters of tribulation.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

Anderson - God the great lifesaver in the sky reached down and made a human rescue. He went himself and took hold of me, and he drew me out of deep waters.

Henry Morris - Neither David nor Christ were drawn out of "many waters" in any literal sense, though this could be understood figuratively as applicable to either one. Noah, however, and those preserved by God in the ark, were indeed really drawn by God out of many waters.

NET NOTE Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see v. 5 and Ps 144:7).

Where’s Your Anchor?

In You, O Lord, I put my trust. — Psalm 71:1

Today's Scripture: 2 Samuel 22:1-7

An unknown author made this analogy: “Can you imagine the captain of a ship, driven about by rough winds and desiring to drop anchor, trying to find a suitable place to do so right on board his own vessel? Such a thing seems ridiculous, but for the sake of a lesson let’s picture the skipper doing that. He hangs the anchor at the bow, but still the boat drives before the wind. He sets it on the deck, but this too fails to hold it steady. At last he puts it down into the hold, but has no better success.

“You see, an anchor resting on the storm-driven craft will never do the job. Only as it is thrown into the deep can it be effective against the wind and tide. In the same way, the person whose confidence is in himself will never experience true peace and safety. His actions are as futile as one who keeps the anchor aboard his own ship. Cast your faith into the great depths of God’s eternal love and power. Place your trust in the infinitely faithful One.”

This is excellent advice! Remember, if your hope for riding out the storms of life is anchored on your own capabilities, your confidence has been tragically misplaced. Instead, with the psalmist declare, “In You, O Lord, I put my trust” (Ps. 71:1). By: Richard DeHaan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Though waves and billows o’er me roll
In crushing floods of ill,
Within the haven of God’s love
My soul is anchored still.
—Anon.

We’ll be steady in the storm if we’re anchored to Christ the rock.

Pulled to Safety

He reached down from on high and took hold of me. 2 Samuel 22:17

Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Samuel 22:13–20

A little girl waded in a shallow creek while her father watched. Her rubber boots reached her knees. As she sloshed downstream, the water deepened until it flowed over the top of her waders. When she couldn’t take another step, she yelled, “Daddy, I’m stuck!” In three strides, her father was at her side, pulling her to the grassy bank. She yanked her boots off and laughed as water poured onto the ground.

After God rescued the psalmist David from his enemies, he took a moment to sit down, “pull off his boots,” and allow the relief to flood his soul. He wrote a song to express his feelings. “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies,” he said (2 Samuel 22:4). He praised God as his rock, fortress, shield, and stronghold (vv. 2–3), and then went on to narrate a poetic response of God’s response: The earth trembled. God came down from heaven. Lightning bolts flew from His presence. His voice thundered, and He drew him out of deep water (vv. 8, 10, 13–15, 17).

Maybe today you feel opposition around you. Maybe you’re stuck in sin that makes it hard to advance spiritually. Reflect on how God has helped you in the past, and then praise Him and ask Him to do it again! Thank Him especially for rescuing you by bringing you into His kingdom (Colossians 1:13). By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Why is it easy to overlook the good things God’s done for you in the past when you’re in the midst of trouble? How does praising God increase your faith in Him?

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for coming to my aid so many times. Help me to know I can face any battle with You by my side.

Deep-Water Rescue

He drew me out of deep waters. Psalm 18:16

Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 18:1–3, 16–19

A record rainfall more than tripled what was forecasted in Waverly, Tennessee, in August 2021. In the wake of the powerful storm, twenty people lost their lives and hundreds of homes were destroyed. Had it not been for the compassion and skill of helicopter pilot Joel Boyers, the loss of human life would’ve been even greater.

The pilot took flight in response to a phone call from a woman who was concerned about her loved ones. In addition to seeing houses on fire and cars in trees, Boyers noted, “It was nothing but [muddy], raging water below me.” The pilot, however, bravely proceeded to rescue twelve people from the roofs of their homes.

More often than not in life, the swirling floods we face aren’t literal—but oh, how real! In days of uncertainty and instability, we can feel overwhelmed, unsafe—“in over our heads” mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But we don’t need to despair.

In Psalm 18, we read how David’s enemies were many and mighty, but his God was greater. How great? So great and powerful (v. 1) that he used multiple metaphors (v. 2) to describe Him. God was mighty enough to rescue from deep waters and strong enemies (vv. 16–17). How great? Great enough for us to call upon Him in the name of Jesus, regardless of the volume and depth of the "waters" surrounding us in life (v. 3). By: Arthur Jackson (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

What deep waters are you facing that compel you to call upon God? What keeps you from calling on Him?

Strong, saving, rescuing God, in the midst of my distress, when life’s waters are raging, grant me the faith to see You and cleave to You in every storm.

For further study, read Clinging to Hope in the Storm.

2 Samuel 22:18 "He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:18 ἐρρύσατό με ἐξ ἐχθρῶν μου ἰσχύος ἐκ τῶν μισούντων με ὅτι ἐκραταιώθησαν ὑπὲρ ἐμέ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemies, from them that hated me, for they were stronger than I.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.

NET 2 Samuel 22:18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hate me, for they were too strong for me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:18 He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:18 rescued me from my mighty foe, from my enemies who were stronger than I.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:18 He rescued me from my mighty enemy, from my foes, who were too powerful for me.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:18 He delivereth me from my strong enemy, From those hating me, For they were stronger than I.

delivered: 2Sa 22:1 Ps 3:7 56:9 2Co 1:10 2Ti 4:17

Related Passages:

Psalm 18:17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me "David in his picture refers first to his powerful enemy Saul, and then from many others foes who were too strong for him. The last one when Abishai rescued him by slaying the Philistine!" (Anderson)

CHS - When we have been rescued, we must take care to ascribe all the glory to God by confessing our own weakness, and remembering the power of the conquered enemy. God's power derives honour from all the incidents of the conflict. Our great spiritual adversary is a "strong enemy" indeed, much too strong for poor, weak creatures like ourselves, but we have been delivered hitherto and shall be even to the end. Our weakness is a reason for divine help; mark the force of the "for" in the text.

NET NOTE strong enemy - The singular refers either to personified death or collectively to the psalmist’s enemies. The following line, which refers to “those [plural] who hate me,” favors the latter.

Rescued from Powerful Enemies

[God] rescued me from my powerful enemy. 2 Samuel 22:18

Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Samuel 22:17–20

In 2010, at the age of ninety-four, George Vujnovich was awarded the bronze star for organizing what the New York Times called “one of the greatest rescue efforts of World War II.” Vujnovich, son of Serbian immigrants to the US, had joined the US Army. When word arrived that downed American airmen were being protected by rebels in Yugoslavia, Vujnovich (who wanted to go on the mission himself, but could not) put together a three-man team that parachuted into the country and located the pilots. The soldiers were divided into small groups and taught how to blend in with the Serbs (wearing Serbian clothes and eating Serbian food). Then, over months, each small group was walked out one at a time to C-47 transport planes waiting at a landing strip they’d cut out of the woods. Vujnovich helped rescue 512 elated, joyful men.

David described the elation of being rescued by God from enemies who’d hemmed him in with no escape. God “reached down from on high and took hold of me,” David said, “he drew me out of deep waters” (2 Samuel 22:17). King Saul, enraged with jealousy, hounded David, ruthlessly seeking blood. But God had other plans. “He rescued me from my powerful enemy,” David recounted, “from my foes, who were too strong for me” (v. 18).

God rescued David from Saul. He rescued Israel from Egypt. And in Jesus, God came to rescue all of us. Jesus rescues us from sin, evil, and death. He’s greater than every powerful enemy. By: Winn Collier (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Where do you feel hemmed in, with no escape from lies you believe or sin that binds you? How do you see Jesus coming to rescue you?

All-powerful God, I need to be rescued. If You don’t help me, I’m finished. I have no escape. So I’m turning to You. Please help me.

2 Samuel 22:19 "They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:19 προέφθασάν με ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θλίψεώς μου καὶ ἐγένετο κύριος ἐπιστήριγμά μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:19 The days of my affliction prevented me; but the Lord was my stay.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

NET 2 Samuel 22:19 They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD helped me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:19 They confronted me in the day of my distress, but the LORD was my support.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:19 They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the LORD supported me.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:19 They came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my stay.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:19 They assailed me on my day of disaster, but Yahweh was there to support me,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:19 They attacked me on my day of calamity, but the LORD came to my support.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:19 They are before me in a day of my calamity, And Jehovah is my support,

prevented: 2Sa 15:10-13 1Sa 19:11-17 23:26,27 Ps 18:18,19 118:10-13 Mt 27:39-44
the Lord: Ps 71:20,21 Isa 26:19 50:10

Related Passage:

2 Timothy 4:16-18+ (HE RESCUED PAUL) At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support.

CHS - It was an ill day, a day of calamity, of which evil foes took cruel advantage, while they used crafty means utterly to ruin him, yet David could say, "but the Lord is my stay." What a blessed but which cuts the Gordian knot, and slays the hundred-headed hydra! There is no fear of deliverance when our stay is in Jehovah.

2 Samuel 22:20 "He also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:20 καὶ ἐξήγαγέν με εἰς πλατυσμὸν καὶ ἐξείλατό με ὅτι εὐδόκησεν ἐν ἐμοί

LXE 2 Samuel 22:20 And he brought me into a wide place, and rescued me, because he delighted in me.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:20 He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

NET 2 Samuel 22:20 He brought me out into a wide open place; he delivered me because he was pleased with me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:20 He brought me out to a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:20 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:20 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:20 He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:20 He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:20 he freed me, set me at large, he rescued me, because he loves me.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:20 He set me free in the open, and rescued me, because he loves me. IV

YLT 2 Samuel 22:20 And He bringeth me out to a large place, He draweth me out for He delighted in me.

brought: Ge 26:22 1Ch 4:10 Ps 31:8 118:5 Ho 4:16
delighted: 2Sa 15:26 Ps 22:8 147:11 149:4 Isa 42:1 Mt 3:17 17:5 27:43 Ac 2:32-36

Ryrie notes that in 2Sa 22:20-28 "David presented the reasons for God's condescension and deliverance."

He also brought me forth into a broad place - Earlier David was in distress (literally a tight place), but here God brought him out of the tight space into a broad space.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — large place—denotes safety or relief, as contrasted with the straits of distress (Ps 4:1). All his deliverance is ascribed to God, and this sublime poetical representation is given to inspire the pious with confidence and the wicked with dread. (aka "Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable!")

CHS - He brought me forth also into a large place." After pining awhile in the prison-house Joseph reached the palace, and from the cave of Adullam David mounted to the throne. Sweet is pleasure after pain. Enlargement is the more delightful after a season of pinching poverty and sorrowful confinement. Besieged souls delight in the broad fields of the promise when God drives off the enemy and sets open the gates of the environed city. The Lord does not leave his work half done, for having routed the foe he leads out the captive into liberty. Large indeed is the possession and place of the believer in Jesus, there need be no limit to his peace, for there is no bound to his privilege.

He rescued me, because He delighted in me "“To God be the glory, great things He hath done.” He not only REACHED DOWN, TOOK HOLD, DREW HIM and RESCUED HIM, but he also BROUGHT HIM OUT into a spacious place. The reason for his rescue is because “he delighted in him.” Yes, David was a man after God’s own heart" (Anderson)

Vos points out, “What an absolutely mind-boggling description of God’s intervention on behalf of his servant. Of course, God did not actually employ natural phenomena in this way to rescue David. But he evidently so intervened on various occasions to protect him or give him the victory, that David practically describe God’s interpositions in this majestic fashion.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

CHS - "He delivered me, because he delighted in me." Free grace lies at the foundation. Rest assured, if we go deep enough, sovereign grace is the truth which lies at the bottom of every well of mercy. Deep sea fisheries in the ocean of divine bounty always bring the pearls of electing, discriminating love to light. Why Jehovah should delight in us is an answerless question, and a mystery which angels cannot solve; but that he does delight in his beloved is certain, and is the fruitful root of favours as numerous as they are precious. Believer, sit down, and inwardly digest the instructive sentence now before us, and learn to view the uncaused love of God as the cause of all the lovingkindness of which we are the partakers.

Freed from Our Cage

[God] brought me out into a spacious place. Psalm 18:19

Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 18:3–6, 16–19

While out taking walks, writer Martin Laird would often encounter a man with four Kerry Blue Terriers. Three of the dogs ran wild through the open fields, but one stayed near its owner, running in tight circles. When Laird finally stopped and asked about this odd behavior, the owner explained that it was a rescue dog that had spent most of his life locked in a cage. The terrier continued to run in circles as though contained inside a confined box.

The Scriptures reveal that we’re trapped and hopeless unless God rescues us. The psalmist spoke of being afflicted by an enemy, entrapped by “the snares of death” with the “cords of death . . . coiled around” him (Psalm 18:4–5). Enclosed and shackled, he cried to God for help (v. 6). And with thundering power, He “reached down . . . and took hold” of him (v. 16).

God can do the same for us. He can break the chains and release us from our confining cages. He can set us free and carry us “out into a spacious place” (v. 19). How sad it is, then, when we keep running in small circles, as if we’re still confined in our old prisons. In His strength, may we no longer be bound by fear, shame, or oppression. God has rescued us from those cages of death. We can run free. By: Winn Collier (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

What are the cages that have you confined?
How are you living as though an old cage still traps and holds you?

God, You say You set the captives free. Help me to believe it. Help me to live it. I want to be free. I want to be in Your spacious place.

2 Samuel 22:21 "The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:21 καὶ ἀνταπέδωκέν μοι κύριος κατὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην μου κατὰ τὴν καθαριότητα τῶν χειρῶν μου ἀνταπέδωκέν μοι

LXE 2 Samuel 22:21 And the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness; even according to the purity of my hands did he recompense me.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

NET 2 Samuel 22:21 The LORD repaid me for my godly deeds; he rewarded my blameless behavior.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; He repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:21 "The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:21 "The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:21 The LORD rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:21 Yahweh rewards me for my uprightness, as my hands are pure so he repays me,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:21 "The LORD rewarded me according to my justice; according to the cleanness of my hands he requited me.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:21 Jehovah recompenseth me, According to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands, He doth return to me.

rewarded: 2Sa 22:25 1Sa 26:23 1Ki 8:32 Ps 7:3,4,8 18:20-25 Ps 19:11 1Co 15:58
cleanness: Job 17:9 Ps 24:4 Jas 4:8

THE LORD REWARDS
FAITHFULNESS

The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me - Hands suggest activity and behavior. David not saying he is sinless, but as I like to say, because he is a believer and because he has the Spirit in his life (1Sa 16:13+), he would sin less. Sadly one of his costliest sins was the death of 70,000 Israelites because of his sin of numbering the military forces (2Sa 24). But even there, he confessed and repented of his sin. This passage reiterates 1 Samuel 26:23+ in which Saul prophetically says of David “The LORD will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I refused to stretch out my hand against the LORD’S anointed." Clearly God is not speaking of positional righteousness which is a gift of God and not our merit. But once we are saved, the practical outworking of our position (perfect righteousness in Christ by grace through faith) results is experiential righteousness which is just another way to describe progressive sanctification, or growth in holiness (in NT terms grown in Christlikeness).

Rev 22:12+ Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.

Kirkpatrick - This is no vain-glorious boasting of his own merits, but a testimony to the faithfulness of Jehovah to guard and reward His faithful servants. David does not lay claim to a perfect righteousness, but to sincerity and single-heartedness in his devotion to God. Compare his own testimony (1 Samuel 26:23), God’s testimony (1 Kings 14:8), and the testimony of history (1 Kings 11:4; 1 Kings 15:5), to his essential integrity.

Vos points out, “David spoke of being rewarded according to his righteousness, according to the cleanness of his hands. It should not be thought that he was claiming perfect holiness before God. Rather, he was characterized by integrity of character, and his hands were clean because he had not raised them to shed the blood of Saul, God’s anointed. He had kept the ways of the Lord.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

Guzik - According to the cleanness of my hands: These words are one reason why many people believe David could only sing this psalm before his sin with Bathsheba. Yet the text seems to indicate that David sang this towards the end of his days, when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies (2 Samuel 22:1). We might say that David simply believed what the prophet Nathan told him in 2 Samuel 12:13: The LORD also has put away your sin. David knew he was a forgiven man, and that the cleanness of his hands was because God cleansed them, not because they had never been dirtied.

Boice - “If we were to remind David of his sin with Bathsheba, he would claim it as an illustration and a proof of this principle since he suffered in a variety of ways as a consequence of that great sin. But even though that happened, just as similar transgressions are committed by us all, on the whole he was nevertheless a man after God’s own heart and was greatly blessed by God.”

CHS - "The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness." Viewing this psalm as prophetical of the Messiah, these strongly-expressed claims to righteousness are readily understood, for his garments were as white as snow; but considered as the language of David they have perplexed many. Yet the case is clear, and if the words be not strained beyond their original intention, no difficulty need occur. Albeit that the dispensations of divine grace are to the fullest degree sovereign and irrespective of human merit, yet in the dealings of Providence there is often discernible a rule of justice by which the injured are at length avenged, and the righteous ultimately delivered. David's early troubles arose from the wicked malice of envious Saul, who no doubt prosecuted his persecutions under cover of charges brought against the character of "the man after God's own heart." These charges David declares to have been utterly false, and asserts that he possessed a grace-given righteousness which the Lord had graciously rewarded in defiance of all his calumniators. Before God the man after God's own heart was a humble sinner, but before his slanderers he could with unblushing face speak of the "cleanness of his hands" and the righteousness of his life. He knows little of the sanctifying power of divine grace who is not at the bar of human equity able to plead innocence. There is no self-righteousness in an honest man knowing that he is honest, nor even in his believing that God rewards him in providence because of his honesty, for such is often a most evident matter of fact; but it would be self-righteousness indeed if we transferred such thoughts from the region of providential government into the spiritual kingdom, for there grace reigns not only supreme but sole in the distribution of divine favours. It is not at all an opposition to the doctrine of salvation by grace, and no sort of evidence of a Pharisaic spirit, when a gracious man, having been slandered, stoutly maintains his integrity, and vigorously defends his character. A godly man has a clear conscience, and knows himself to be upright; is he to deny his own consciousness, and to despise the work of the Holy Ghost, by hypocritically making himself out to be worse than he is? A godly man prizes his integrity very highly, or else he would not be a godly man at all; is he to be called proud because he will not readily lose the jewel of a reputable character? A godly man can see that in divine providence uprightness and truth are in the long run sure to bring their own reward; may he not, when he sees that reward bestowed in his own case, praise the Lord for it? Yea rather, must he not show forth the faithfulness and goodness of his God? Read the cluster of expressions in this and the following verses as the song of a good conscience, after having safely outridden a storm of obloquy, persecution, and abuse, and there will be no fear of our upbraiding the writer as one who sets too high a price upon his own moral character.

NET Note - Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-25 make clear, David refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. He explains that the Lord was pleased with him and willing to deliver him because he had been loyal to God and obedient to his commandments. Ancient Near Eastern literature contains numerous parallels. A superior (a god or king) would typically reward a subject (a king or the servant of a king, respectively) for loyalty and obedience. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 211-13.

2 Samuel 22:22 "For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not acted wickedly against my God.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:22 ὅτι ἐφύλαξα ὁδοὺς κυρίου καὶ οὐκ ἠσέβησα ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:22 Because, I kept the ways of the Lord, and did not wickedly depart from my God.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

NET 2 Samuel 22:22 For I have obeyed the LORD's commands; I have not rebelled against my God.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not turned from my God to wickedness.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not turned from my God to follow evil.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:22 since I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and not fallen away from my God.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:22 For I kept the ways of the LORD and was not disloyal to my God.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:22 For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not done wickedly against my God.

I have kept: Nu 16:15 1Sa 12:3 Job 23:10-12 2Co 1:12
the ways: Ge 18:19 Ps 119:1 128:1 Pr 8:32
have not: Ps 36:3 125:5 Zep 1:6 Joh 15:10 Heb 10:38,39

WALKING IN THE DIRECTION
OF THE LORD

For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not acted wickedly against my God - Now I know what you are thinking -- David did not keep many of the ways of the LORD and he did act wickedly against him doing evil in His sight (2Sa 11:27b+). Some commentators think statements like this indicate this was written before his great sin with Bathsheba, but that is not likely because there were a number of occasions prior to that sin in which David clearly manifest sinful behavior. No, it is better to see it written as looking back on the long life of a sinful man who willingly, repeated confessed his sin and repented, giving all of us similar great sinners a wonderful example of the incredible grace, mercy and forgiveness of God in David's life, so that we too by a similar pattern of confession and repentance might hear those same words "This is a man or woman after My Own heart!"

THOUGHT - Here is the point -- God is not calling any of us to walk with PERFECTION (Only His Son accomplished that! 2Co 5:21, Heb 4:15, Heb 7:26, etc), but He does call those who say they believe in Him to demonstrate it by the DIRECTION they walk. That is, enabled by the Holy Spirit (even as David was, albeit he did not have the Spirit permanently indwelling him) a believer's walk should be progressively toward holiness, not unholiness. So if you think you are a genuine believer and you are not showing some progress in the DIRECTION of your walk toward holiness, then you need to have a serious heart checkup using 2Cor 13:5+ to assess whether you are truly born again. You could also read How do I know if I am a Christian? | GotQuestions.org.

CHS - Here the assertion of purity is repeated, both in a positive and a negative form. There is "I have" and "I have not," both of which must be blended in a truly sanctified life; constraining and restraining grace must each take its share. The words of this verse refer to the saint as a traveler carefully keeping to "the ways of the Lord," and "not wickedly," that is, designedly, wilfully, persistently, defiantly forsaking the ordained pathway in which God favours the pilgrim with his presence. Observe how it is implied in the expression, "and have not wickedly departed from my God," that David lived habitually in communion with God, and knew him to be his own God, whom he might speak of as "my God." God never departs from his people, let them take heed of departing from him.

NET NOTE - Heb “for I have kept the ways of the Lord.” The phrase “ways of the Lord” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord (see HALOT 232 s.v. דֶרֶךְ). In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.

2 Samuel 22:23 "For all His ordinances were before me, And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:23 ὅτι πάντα τὰ κρίματα αὐτοῦ κατεναντίον μου καὶ τὰ δικαιώματα αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπέστην ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν

LXE 2 Samuel 22:23 For all his judgments and his ordinances were before me: I departed not from them.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:23 For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.

NET 2 Samuel 22:23 For I am aware of all his regulations, and I do not reject his rules.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:23 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind and have not disregarded His statutes.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:23 For all his rules were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:23 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:23 I have followed all his regulations; I have never abandoned his decrees.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:23 For all his ordinances were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:23 His judgements are all before me, his statutes I have not put away from me;

NAB 2 Samuel 22:23 For his ordinances were all present to me, and his statutes I put not from me;

YLT 2 Samuel 22:23 For all His judgments are before me, As to His statutes, I turn not from them.

For all: Ps 119:6,86,128 Lu 1:6 Joh 15:14
statutes: De 6:1,2 7:12 Ps 19:8,9 119:13,30,102
I did not: De 8:11

Related Passages:

Deuteronomy 6:6-9+ “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7“You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9“You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Psalm 119:30+ I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me.

Psalm 119:102+ ( I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me.

NOT PERFECTION
BUT DIRECTION!

For - Term of explanation. Pause and ponder - what is David explaining (this usually forces you to re-read the previous passage)? Here he actually gives 2 answers to explain his previous statement - (1) kept His Word before him (good practice!) and (2) kept His word which he read! In other words, David was a doer of the Word and not merely a hearer only, knowing that the latter individual is actually deluding themselves into thinking they are "okay" just because they read the Word! Wrong! (see James 1:22+).

All His ordinances were before me, And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them - As discussed in the previous verse, clearly David did depart from some of God's statutes, but when he did, he recognized it as sin, confessed his sin and repented.

As Kirkpatrick explains "God’s commandments were continually present to his mind as the rule of life. Cp. Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalm 119:30; Psalm 119:102."

CHS - "For all his judgments were before me." The word, the character, and the actions of God should be evermore before our eyes; we should learn, consider, and reverence them. Men forget what they do not wish to remember, but the excellent attributes of the Most High are objects of the believer's affectionate and delighted admiration. We should keep the image of God so constantly before us that we become in our measure conformed unto it. This inner love to the right must be the main spring of Christian integrity in our public walk. The fountain must be filled with love to holiness, and then the streams which issue from it will be pure and gracious. "I did not put away his statutes from me." To put away the Scriptures from the mind's study is the certain way to prevent their influencing the outward conversation. Backsliders begin with dusty Bibles, and go on to filthy garments.

Vos points out, “David has not allowed his anger and frustration to cloud his judgment concerning the law of God, and thus to trample it underfoot. Moreover, all his ordinances were before me. He has studied and meditated on them. This passage indicates that David had a copy of at least part of the Old Testament with him during his desert wanderings, and read it or had the help of Abiathar the priest in his efforts to know God and His will more fully through his recorded word.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

2 Samuel 22:24 "I was also blameless toward Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:24 καὶ ἔσομαι ἄμωμος αὐτῷ καὶ προφυλάξομαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνομίας μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:24 And I shall be blameless before him, and will keep myself from my iniquity.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity.

NET 2 Samuel 22:24 I was blameless before him; I kept myself from sinning.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:24 I was blameless before Him and kept myself from sinning.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:24 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:24 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:24 I am blameless before God; I have kept myself from sin.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:24 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:24 I am blameless before him, I keep myself clear of evil.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:24 But I was wholehearted toward him, and I was on my guard against guilt.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:24 And I am perfect before Him, And I keep myself from mine iniquity.

blameless: Ge 6:9 17:1 Job 1:1 Ps 51:6 84:11 Joh 1:47 2Co 5:11
kept: Pr 4:23 Heb 12:1

Related Passages:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Jude 1:24; 25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

SAY WHAT???

I was also blameless (tamim having integrity; Lxx - amomos) toward Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity - Ah, you say to yourself, now you're really erring in your declaration David! What about the skeletons in your closet David? What about Bathsheba? What about Uriah? What about the 70,000 who died because of your sin David? No, David has not erred, because the life of a believer like David is not about perfection, but about direction. It is a life that has spiritual ups and downs, but is generally going up (look at the diagram of his life above and note how he ends his life!). Are you moving toward holiness, toward Christlikeness (cf 2Cor 3:18+), toward Heaven or are you moving the opposite direction and eternal destination! Do not be deceived! We all sin, but the question is what do we do when we sin? Do we hide it under a rug (so to speak) or do we put it under the blood (cf 1Jn 1:7, 9+)? David was not too proud to say to God "I have sinned." Are you quick to confess your sins to God? Do you even confess sins to God? If not you need to ponder 2Cor 13:5+. Romans 1:17+ says " THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Think of the numerous times David lived by faith, in desperation crying out to God for His guidance and help and/or crying out to Him in confession and repentance. David would say that he had experienced amazing grace (unmerited favor) and that is why he could say he was blameless. And he would say the only way he could keep himself from iniquity was the same way you and I can keep ourselves from iniquity, by putting to death the deeds of the body (aka SIN) by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ro 8:13+, cf 1Sa 16:13+), a New Testament passage, but an Old Testament principle!

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul’s persecutions and Absalom’s rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God’s people. blameless with Him —In my relation to God I have been perfect as to all parts of His law. The perfection does not relate to degree. iniquity—perhaps the thought of his heart to kill Saul (1 Sa 24:6). That David does not allude to all his conduct, in all relations, is evident from Ps 51:1, etc.

CHS - "I was also upright before him." Sincerity is here claimed; sincerity, such as would be accounted genuine before the bar of God. Whatever evil men might think of him, David felt that he had the good opinion of his God. Moreover, freedom from his one great besetting sin he ventures also to plead, "I kept myself from mine iniquity." It is a very gracious sign when the most violent parts of our nature have been well guarded. If the weakest link in the chain is not broken, the stronger links will be safe enough. David's impetuous temper might have led him to slay Saul when he had him within his power, but grace enabled him to keep his hands clean of the blood of his enemy; but what a wonder it was, and how well worthy of such a grateful record as these verses afford! It will be a sweet cordial to us one of these days to remember our self-denials, and to bless God that we were able to exhibit them.

Blameless (without defect or blemish, perfect, integrity) (08549) tamim from the verb tamam = to be complete, entire or whole (literal sense in Lev 3:9, Ezek 15:5), refers to a action which is completed) has both physical (without defect) and spiritual (blameless, devout, upright) significance. Tamim has the fundamental idea of completeness or wholeness. Tamim deals primarily with a state of moral or ceremonial purity (e.g., animal sacrifices - 51x tamim refers to unblemished animals - Passover lamb in Ex 12:5 picturing of course Christ sinless perfection - 1Cor 5:7, "knew no sin" =2Cor 5:21) Tamim can mean blameless, complete, whole, full, perfect. Tamim can refer to the "entirety" of a period of time (7 complete Sabbaths = Lev 23:15; full year = Lev 25:30). Joshua 10:13 records the miracle of the sun standing still for a "whole (tamim) day," allowing Joshua to extract vengeance on the Amorite coalition that had attacked him. Pr 1:12 refers metaphorically to the fate of the innocent being swallowed "whole" by the wicked, even as happens to those who go to the grave.

The first OT use of tamim describes Noah "These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless (Lxx = teleios = "meeting the highest standard" [BDAG]) in his time; Noah walked with God." (Ge 6:9) In the second use God tells Abraham " “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless." And remember God's commandments always include His enablements! It is thus fitting that David describes the Law of the LORD" as "perfect" (Lxx = amomos = without defects) (Ps 19:7). In fact, not only is His Word perfect, but His work is perfect (Dt 32:4) and His way is blameless (Ps 18:30) David says that the man who "may abide in" God's tent and "dwell on" His "holy hill" is the man "who walks with integrity (Lxx = amomos = without fault, morally blameless)." (Ps 15:2) Joshua in some of his parting words of wisdom to Israel declared "Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity (Lxx = euthutes = rectitude, honesty, integrity, uprightness) and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD." (Josh 24:14) The psalmist offers a great prayer we would all be wise to echo "May my heart be blameless (Lxx = amomos) in Thy statutes, that (expresses purpose or result of a blameless heart) I may not be ashamed." (Ps 119:80) One of my favorite verses in Psalms uses tamim - "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Lxx = akakia = guilelessness, innocence, integrity; "state of not being inclined to that which is base" [BDAG])." (Ps 84:11) The psalmist links tamim with a state of blessedness writing " How blessed are those whose way is blameless (Lxx = amomos), Who walk in the law of the LORD. (Ps 119:1) Ephesians 1:4 (note) "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless (amomos) before Him. In love"

Integrity (English word) (from Latin - integritas - from integer = a whole number as opposed to a fraction . Ponder that thought when it comes to our spiritual heart! Think "singleness of purpose", cp "this one thing" - Php 3:13-note, undivided heart - see great prayer - Ps 86:11-note) - 1. Wholeness; entireness; unbroken state. The constitution of the U. States guaranties to each state the integrity of its territories. The contracting parties guarantied the integrity of the empire. 2. The entire, unimpaired state of any thing, particularly of the mind; moral soundness or purity; incorruptness; uprightness; honesty. Integrity comprehends the whole moral character, but has a special reference to uprightness in mutual dealings, transfers of property, and agencies for others. (Webster - 1828) (See Integrity - A Few Thoughts)

2 Samuel 22:25 "Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness before His eyes.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:25 καὶ ἀποδώσει μοι κύριος κατὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην μου καὶ κατὰ τὴν καθαριότητα τῶν χειρῶν μου ἐνώπιον τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:25 And the Lord will recompense me according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hands in his eye-sight.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:25 Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.

NET 2 Samuel 22:25 The LORD rewarded me for my godly deeds; he took notice of my blameless behavior.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:25 So the LORD repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:25 And the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:25 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:25 The LORD rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:25 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:25 Hence Yahweh repaid me for acting uprightly because he could see I was pure.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:25 And the LORD requited me according to my justice, according to my innocence in his sight.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:25 And Jehovah returneth to me, According to my righteousness, According to my cleanness before His eyes.

recompensed: 2Sa 22:21 Isa 3:10 Ro 2:7-8 2Co 5:10
before his eyes, Pr 5:21

Related Passages:

Romans 2:7-8+ to those who by perseverance in doing good (BELIEVERS DO GOOD BY GOD'S POWER) seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but (A SAD CONTRAST) to those who are selfishly (NOTE THE WORD "SELF" IS FLESH SPELLED BACKWARDS MINUS THE "H"!) ambitious and do not obey the truth (TRUE FAITH SHOWS ITSELF GENUINE BY OBEDIENCE - OBEDIENCE DOES NOT SAVE BUT SHOWS WE HAVE THE SPIRIT WITHIN WHO ENABLES US TO OBEY - WE STILL HAVE TO CHOOSE TO OBEY OF COURSE - SEE "Paradoxical Principle of 100% Dependent and 100% Responsible), but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.

2 Corinthians 5:10+ For (explains 2Co 5:9) we must (not may or might) all (no exceptions) appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one (each and every one!) may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (not sin but just more like worthless - done in our power for our glory, not His power for His glory!).

Revelation 22:14+ “Behold, I am coming quickly (See Vertical Vision), and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.

Psalm 118:23 This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.

RIGHTEOUS LIVING PAIDS
TEMPORAL & ETERNAL DIVIDENDS!

Therefore - Term of conclusion. David now draws his conclusion based on his conduct described in 2Sa 22:22-24.

The LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness (tsedaqah; Lxx - dikaiosune), According to my cleanness before His eyes - David was credited righteousness the same way Abraham was in Genesis 15:6+ - "Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." That passage describes imputed (reckoned) righteousness or positional righteousness (aka "justification") but our new position in Christ is always intrinsically, intimately linked to our daily working out of practical, progressive righteousness (aka progressive sanctification). Before His eyes reminds us that "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good." (Pr 15:3)

CHS - God first gives us holiness, and then rewards us for it. We are his workmanship; vessels made unto honour; and when made, the honour is not withheld from the vessel; though, in fact, it all belongs to the Potter upon whose wheel the vessel was fashioned. The prize is awarded to the flower at the show, but the gardener reared it; the child wins the prize from the schoolmaster, but the real honour of his schooling lies with the master, although instead of receiving he gives the reward.

For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD,
And He watches all his paths
--Proverbs 5:21

2 Samuel 22:26 "With the kind You show Yourself kind, With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

BGT 2 Samuel 22:26 μετὰ ὁσίου ὁσιωθήσῃ καὶ μετὰ ἀνδρὸς τελείου τελειωθήσῃ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:26 With the holy thou wilt be holy, and with the perfect man thou will be perfect,

KJV 2 Samuel 22:26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.

NET 2 Samuel 22:26 You prove to be loyal to one who is faithful; you prove to be trustworthy to one who is innocent.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:26 With the faithful You prove Yourself faithful; with the blameless man You prove Yourself blameless;

ESV 2 Samuel 22:26 "With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

NIV 2 Samuel 22:26 "To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

NLT 2 Samuel 22:26 "To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:26 With the loyal you show yourself loyal; with the blameless you show yourself blameless;

NJB 2 Samuel 22:26 Faithful you are to the faithful, blameless with the blameless,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:26 "Toward the faithful you are faithful; toward the wholehearted you are wholehearted;

YLT 2 Samuel 22:26 With the kind Thou shewest Thyself kind, With the perfect man Thou shewest Thyself perfect,

the kind (merciful; faithful, loyal): Mt 5:7 Jas 2:13

Related Passages:

Matthew 5:7+ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

James 2:13+ For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

GOD'S RIGHTEOUS
CHARACTER

With the kind (hasid; Lxx = hósios) You show Yourself kind - CSB = With the faithful You prove Yourself faithful KJV -"With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful" LXX = "With the holy thou wilt be holy." Note that even the merciful need mercy; no amount of generosity to the poor, or forgiveness to enemies, can set us beyond the need of mercy.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — God renders to men according to their deeds in a penal, not vindictive, sense (Le 26:23, 24)." This is a great comment as it links this passage with the previous one in which recompense for the righteous is described. The one who conducts himself or herself righteously will be recompensed in kind.

With the blameless (tamim having integrity; Lxx - teleios) You show Yourself blameless

Morgan - In these words we have revealed the principles of relationship between God and man. God is to man what man is to God.” ED COMMENT - Yes, that is true, but let's be honest, none of us could be kind/loyal/faithful unless the Spirit of the LORD carried out a miraculous supernatural work in our heart (the first time and then daily)!

Vos points out, “God reciprocates in like fashion. But the haughty, or godless, of David’s enemies he would bring down in defeat. Presumably, the illusion to David’s righteousness in this passage refers primarily to his early life and wilderness wanderings. His later life with its sins of adultery and murder do not seem to be in view. Victories over foreign enemies and the context of which those sins occurred, figure in the following section.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

CHS - The dealings of the Lord in his own case, cause the grateful singer to remember the usual rule of God's moral government; he is just in his dealings with the sons of men, and metes out to each man according to his measure. "With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright." Every man shall have his meat weighed in his own scales, his corn meted in his own bushel, and his land measured with his own rod. No rule can be more fair, to ungodly men more terrible, or to the generous man more honourable. How would men throw away their light weights, and break their short yards, if they could but believe that they themselves are sure to be in the end the losers by their knavish tricks! Note that even the merciful need mercy; no amount of generosity to the poor, or forgiveness to enemies, can set us beyond the need of mercy. Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner.

Kind (godly) (02623) hasid from hasad = to be good, kind) is an adjective that means kind, benevolent, merciful. Hasid is in the same Hebrew word group as heced, which describes loyal lovingkindness. Thus the main idea of hasid is faithful kindness and piety that springs from mercy.

Hasid is used to describe Jehovah as "kind (hasid) in all His deeds" (Ps 145:17 - Lxx = hósios = persons who live right before God, used of Jesus - Acts 2:27, 13:35) and as "gracious" (Jer 3:12 - Lxx = eleemon = actively compassionate leading to acts of mercy to relieve suffering or misery of the object of compassion). In Psalm 16:10 hasid is a prophecy fulfilled in Jesus ("Holy One"; Lxx = hósios). God will keep (preserve - same verb shamar in Ps 121:3, 5, 7, 8-note) "the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. " (1Sa 2:9) "With the kind (hasid; Lxx = hósios) Thou dost show Thyself kind, With the blameless Thou dost show Thyself blameless." (2Sa 22:26)

Most of the OT uses of hasid are translated in the Lxx with hósios. The first use of hasid which was a reference to Levi - "And of Levi he said, “[Let] Thy Thummim and Thy Urim [belong] to Thy godly man, whom Thou didst prove at Massah, with whom Thou didst contend at the waters of Meribah." (Dt 33:8)

TWOT has this note on hasid - Holy one, saint. Whether God’s people in the OT were called hasid because they were characterized by heced (as seems likely) or were so called because they were objects of God’s heced may not be certain. The word is used thirty-two times, twenty-five of them in the Psalms. It is used in sing.. and pl. Once, Ps 16:16, it refers to the Holy One to come. The word became used for the orthodox party in the days of the Maccabeans.

Baker - Hasid carries the essential idea of the faithful kindness and piety that springs from mercy. It is used of the Lord twice: once to convey His holiness in the sense that His works are beyond reproach (Ps 145:17); and once to declare His tender mercy (Jer. 3:12).

Hasid - 34x/33v - godly(2), godly man(3), godly ones(20), godly person(1), gracious(1), Holy One(1), kind(3), love(1), ungodly*(1). Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 2:9; 2 Sam. 22:26; 2 Chr. 6:41; Job 39:13; Ps. 4:3; Ps. 12:1; Ps. 16:10; Ps. 18:25; Ps. 30:4; Ps. 31:23; Ps. 32:6; Ps. 37:28; Ps. 43:1; Ps. 50:5; Ps. 52:9; Ps. 79:2; Ps. 85:8; Ps. 86:2; Ps. 89:19; Ps. 97:10; Ps. 116:15; Ps. 132:9; Ps. 132:16; Ps. 145:10; Ps. 145:17; Ps. 148:14; Ps. 149:1; Ps. 149:5; Ps. 149:9; Prov. 2:8; Jer. 3:12; Mic. 7:2

2 Samuel 22:27 With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the perverted You show Yourself astute.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:27 καὶ μετὰ ἐκλεκτοῦ ἐκλεκτὸς ἔσῃ καὶ μετὰ στρεβλοῦ στρεβλωθήσῃ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:27 and with the excellent thou wilt be excellent, and with the froward thou will be froward.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward (habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition) thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.

NET 2 Samuel 22:27 You prove to be reliable to one who is blameless, but you prove to be deceptive to one who is perverse.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:27 with the pure You prove Yourself pure, but with the crooked You prove Yourself shrewd.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:27 with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:27 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:27 To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the wicked you show yourself hostile.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:27 with the pure you show yourself pure, and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:27 sincere to the sincere but cunning to the crafty,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:27 Toward the sincere you are sincere; but toward the crooked you are astute.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:27 With the pure Thou shewest Thyself pure, And with the perverse Thou shewest Thyself a wrestler.

GWN 2 Samuel 22:27 with pure people you are pure. In dealing with devious people you are clever.

BBE 2 Samuel 22:27 He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge.

the pure: Mt 5:8
And with the perverted : Lev 26:23-28 De 28:58-61 Ps 125:5
You show Yourself astute, Ex 18:11 Ps 18:26 Isa 45:9

Related Passage:

Leviticus 26:21-24+ ‘If then, you act with hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins. 22 ‘I will let loose among you the beasts of the field, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your cattle and reduce your number so that your roads lie deserted. 23 ‘And if by these things you are not turned to Me, but act with hostility against Me, 24 then I will act with hostility against you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins.

BASIS FOR RECOMPENSE
FOR GOOD & EVIL

With the pure (barar) You show Yourself pure (barar), And with the perverted You show Yourself astute (pathal) - Those who insist on devious ways are given up to their perversity (cf. Ro 1:28). Astute is literally "twisted" which fits with perverted, so the idea would be that those who pervert (or twist) His word and ways, will themselves be twisted. The Septuagint translates pathal with the verb strebloo which literally means to twist or wrench limbs on an instrument for torturing people (instrument called a rack) and hence to torture or torment, which is exactly how the perverted will be recompensed (cf eternal punishment)! Here in 2Sa 22:27 perverted is translated in the Septuagint with the word streblos which means twisted or crooked and in context figuratively refers to their continually godless lifestyle. The KJV uses the archaic word froward which means habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition. In other words their lifestyle was continually godless. Their twisted behavior will be repaid with divine, just, righteous "twisting" (torture)!

Boice - David expresses the second half of the parallel by a somewhat ambiguous word, the root meaning of which is ‘twisted.’ The verse actually says, ‘To the twisted (or crooked) you will show yourself twisted (or crooked)’…. The idea seems to be that if a person insists in going devious ways in his dealings with God, God will outwit him, as that man deserves.”

Gilbrant on show Yourself astute (literally "twisted") - The significance of the twisted metaphor is expressed more clearly in two other occurrences, as it is clear that the simple, humble and honest are contrasted with those who are devious and devise complex schemes. Job 5:13 asserts that Yahweh will quickly end the complex devious plans of those who are wise. Psalm 18:26 declares that the humble will be delivered by Yahweh, but the twisted will be brought down.

CHS - "With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward (difficult to deal with; contrary) thou wilt shew thyself froward." The sinner's frowardness is sinful and rebellious, and the only sense in which the term can be applied to the Most Holy God is that of judicial opposition and sternness, in which the Judge of all the earth will act at cross-purposes with the offender, and let him see that all things are not to be made subservient to wicked whims and wilful fancies. Calvin very forcibly says, "This brutish and monstrous stupidity in men compels God to invent new modes of expression, and as it were to clothe himself with a different character." There is a similar sentence in Leviticus 26:21-24, where God says, "and if ye walk contrary unto (or perversely with) me, then I will also walk contrary unto (or perversely, or roughly, or at random with) you." As if he had said that their obstinacy and stubbornness would make him on his part forget his accustomed forbearance and gentleness, and cast himself recklessly or at random against them. We see then what the stubborn at length gain by their obduracy; it is this, that God hardens himself still more to break them in pieces, and if they are of stone, he causes them to feel that he has the hardness of iron." The Jewish tradition was that the manna tasted according to each man's mouth; certainly God shows himself to each individual according to his character.

Pure (purify, cleanse, choice, test) (01305) barar means to purify (as one's lips Zeph 3:9), purge out (Ezek 20:38 - which describes the future judgment of Jews at the end of the Great Tribulation to determine who enters the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah = only saved will enter [read Ezek 20:34, 35, 36, 37, 38]), to test (Ec 3:18) or to select or choose (1Chr 7:40, 9:22, 16:41). Barar can describe a sifting or sorting out (sifting - Jer 4:11 to describe the "sifting" produced by the Babylonian invasion), which is exactly what the time of Jacob's distress (Heb = tsarah = tightness, trouble, root deals with harassment and torment engendered by an enemy, intense inner turmoil; same word used in Da 12:1 "time of distress") (Jer 30:7-note) will accomplish among the Jews. This pressure filled time of distress will produce a separation of the repentant and regenerate from the unrepentant, unregenerate. Barar is used twice in Psalm 18:26 to describe God and men - "With the pure You show Yourself pure And with the crooked You show Yourself astute."

Perverted (crooked) (06141) 'iqqesh from aqash = to twist, make crooked, pervert) means twisted, perverted. The passages iqqesh is found in give a sense of the meaning - the moral, religious, and social perversion and crookedness of Israel (Dt. 32:5), the perverse in general (2Sa 22:27; Ps. 18:26; Pr 2:15; 17:20), a deceitful, perverse heart, the source of evil (Ps 101:4), as a character trait that destroys the rich (Pr 28:6), as that which is not found in wisdom (Pr 8:8), as that which God hates (Pr 11:20), as speech from a fool (Pr. 19:1).

'Iqqesh - 12v - crooked(2), crooked*(1), perverse(4), perverted(2), who is perverse(1), who has(1), who has a crooked(1). Deut. 32:5; 2 Sam. 22:27; Ps. 18:26; Ps. 101:4; Prov. 2:15; Prov. 8:8; Prov. 11:20; Prov. 17:20; Prov. 19:1; Prov. 22:5; Prov. 28:6

Astute (06617)(pathal) means to twist and figuratively means to be shrewd, to be cunning, to be devious; to wrestle. It is used to describe spiritual and relational tensions that arise, difficult situations, wrestlings (Ge 30:8). It refers to being understanding about things (2Sa 22:27; Ps. 18:26); but this can become a vice (Job 5:13; Prov. 8:8).

Gilbrant - Occurring five times in the Hebrew Bible, pāthal has cognates attested in Akkadian, Ethiopic, Tigre, Arabic, Middle Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic. The verbal cognates generally connote the act of winding or entangling. The verb appears in most contexts in the sense of cunning thought. It is found four times in contrast to righteous, humble thought and action. It appears in Prov. 8:8 as a description of the words of the righteous, as a quality which is lacking in righteous speech. In the Davidic psalm of 2 Sam. 22:27, Yahweh is praised as One Who treats the pure with purity, and to the twisted (employing the synonym ʿiqqesh), He shows himself to be twisted. The significance of the twisted metaphor is expressed more clearly in two other occurrences, as it is clear that the simple, humble and honest are contrasted with those who are devious and devise complex schemes. Job 5:13 asserts that Yahweh will quickly end the complex devious plans of those who are wise. Psalm 18:26 declares that the humble will be delivered by Yahweh, but the twisted will be brought down. A physical usage of pāthal is found in Gen. 30:8, in the course of the narrative of the choosing of a name for Naphtali. Here, Rachel claims she has become entwined with her sister and has prevailed through the birth of this son (likely a wrestling metaphor). Naphtali was the second son of Rachel’s household slave, Bilhah. According to the legal context of the day, the child was legally considered to be Rachel’s. (Complete Biblical Library)

Pathal - 5v - crooked(1), cunning(1), show yourself astute(2), wrestled(1). Gen. 30:8; 2 Sam. 22:27; Job 5:13; Ps. 18:26; Prov. 8:8

2 Samuel 22:28 "And You save an afflicted people; But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:28 καὶ τὸν λαὸν τὸν πτωχὸν σώσεις καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐπὶ μετεώρων ταπεινώσεις

LXE 2 Samuel 22:28 And thou wilt save the poor people, and wilt bring down the eyes of the haughty.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

NET 2 Samuel 22:28 You deliver oppressed people, but you watch the proud and bring them down.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:28 You rescue an afflicted people, but Your eyes are set against the proud-- You humble them.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:28 You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:28 You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:28 You rescue the humble, but your eyes watch the proud and humiliate them.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:28 You deliver a humble people, but your eyes are upon the haughty to bring them down.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:28 you save a people that is humble and humiliate those with haughty looks.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:28 You save lowly people, though on the lofty your eyes look down.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:28 And the poor people Thou dost save, And Thine eyes on the high causest to fall.

afflicted: Ex 3:7,8 Ps 12:5 72:12,13 140:12 Isa 61:1-3 63:9 Mt 5:3
but Your eyes: Ex 9:14-17 10:3 18:11 Job 40:11,12 Ps 138:6 Pr 21:4 Isa 2:11 Isa 5:15 37:23,28,29 Da 4:37 Jas 4:6,7 1Pe 5:5,6

Related Passages:

Psalm 101:5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure (WOE!!!).

Psalm 131:1 A Song of Ascents, of David. O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me.

SALVATION FOR THE POOR IN SPIRIT
HUMILIATION FOR THE PROUD AT HEART

And You save (yasha'; Lxx - sozo - save, rescue) an afflicted (ani; Lxx - ptochos = one dependent on others for support) people - Better = ESV = "You save a humble people." How does He save? David may have meant physical deliverance, but the greater sense and greatest need is spiritual deliverance. The Lxx translates afflicted with ptochos which means poor in this world's goods, literally begging, of one dependent on others for support poor, destitute. Isaiah prophesies of the spiritual deliverance of the poor (cf poor in spirit Mt 5:3+) declaring "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me (MESSIAH), because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted (ptochos); He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners." (Isa 61:1-3+) which was fulfilled by Jesus in His first "sermon" in Lk 4:18+ "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR (ptochos)."

Guzik - David proclaims his confidence in the principle repeated in Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, and 1 Peter 5:5: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. There is something in true humility that prompts the grace and mercy of God and there is something in pride and haughtiness that prompts His resistance and displeasure.. Humility isn’t necessarily a low opinion of self; it is a combination of an accurate opinion of self and simple self-forgetfulness. Humility is others-centered not self-centered.

CHS - "For thou wilt save the afflicted people." This is a comforting assurance for the poor in spirit whose spiritual griefs admit of no sufficient solace from any other than a divine hand. They cannot save themselves nor can others do it, but God will save them.

But Your eyes are on the haughty (prideful - Heb = rum - to be high, exalted) whom You abase (shaphel; Lxx tapeinoo - assign to lower place in order to humble)

CHS - "But will bring down high looks." Those who look down on others with scorn shall be looked down upon with contempt ere long (ED: AND WORST OF ALL THE ONE WHO LOOKS DOWN ON THEM IS THE MOST HIGH GOD!). The Lord abhors a proud look. What a reason for repentance and humiliation! How much better to be humble than to provoke God to humble us in his wrath! A considerable number of clauses occur in this passage in the future tense; how forcibly are we thus brought to remember that our present joy or sorrow is not to have so much weight with us as the great and eternal future!

Afflicted (06041)(ani) means poor, afflicted, weak, humble. An adjective meaning poor, afflicted. It refers to those who are suffering, in a state of poverty, oppression, misery from various causes: from being poor, needy (Ex. 22:25 - "If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you"); unfortunate, in want (Dt. 24:15; 2Sa 22:28; Job 24:4). They cry out for help and for their needs (Ps 9:12; 12:5; 37:14). Hope for deliverance is from the Lord (Ps. 69:29) Who "gives grace to the afflicted" (Pr 3:34; cf Pr 14:21). The 'ani are constantly abused by rich and oppressive leaders (Isa. 3:14; Amos 8:4; Hab. 3:14). God had commanded His people not to oppress the poor (Zech 7:10); for their true King is humble Himself (Zech. 9:9).

Leonard Coppes - The ʿānî is primarily a person suffering some kind of disability or distress. (Gray, G. B., Isaiah, ICC, I, p. 310). The ʿānî, although frequently in synonymous parallelism with ʾebyôn and dal, differs from both in that it connotes some kind of disability or distress. In Deut 24:14–15 the hired servant is described as ʾebyôn and ʿānî. Israel is told not to oppress their hired servant by withholding the wages due him because he is ʿānî. Furthermore, if he is oppressed he may call on God his defender. We see that financially the ʿānî lives from day to day, and that socially he is defenseless and subject to oppression. Consequently, this word is used frequently in connection with ʾebyôn expressing the difficulty accompanying a lack of material possessions. The people are commanded to give alms to the ʿānî under sanction of God’s blessing (Deut 15:11). God instructs his people to grant loans to the ʿānî of Israel even when they have only their outer garment as collateral or pledge (see ʿābaṭ) and not to further afflict them by keeping that garment overnight because the ʿānî would need it to keep warm (Ex 22:25–26), for it was his only outer garment. In Lev 19:10 the ʿānî is classed with the stranger as having a right to the gleanings of the field. ʿānî is distinguished from dal (the poor) in Prov 22:22, “Rob not the poor (dal) for he is poor (dal), neither oppress the afflicted (ʿānî) in the gate.” God is set forth as the protector and deliverer of the afflicted, and he enjoins his people to be the same. So the one who complies is considered godly (Ezk 18:17), while those who do not are considered ungodly (Job 24:9; Prov 14:21; Isa 58:7).

F. Hauck and S. Schulz argue that this much discussed word is “in the first instance a social and economic term like ʾebyôn, dal, rāš, ‘one who is in the position of a servant.’ It describes a man who has no property and who has thus to earn his bread by serving others” (TDNT, VI, p. 647). They allow that a more developed usage refers to lowliness, distress, reduced circumstances (ibid., 888). They argue that in the Pentateuch it refers to a man with no inheritance, to one wrongfully impoverished whom the Lord therefore especially protects.

It is questionable if there is enough evidence to make these fine distinctions. The Pentateuch, on orthodox dating, was written when no Israelite had landed property, but all were to be given some in due time. The legislation does indeed envision times when people would become poor and would have to sell their land—until the jubilee. Many times these poor people would have been wrongfully impoverished; some times there were other factors. They were not to be discriminated against in judgment. God was their protector as he was the protector of the widow who was a widow through no one’s fault. But that the word refers to a particular social class rather than to a social condition seems questionable and difficult to establish.

Material deprivation and the resulting difficulty are closely associated with social oppression. Social affliction is clearly in mind in Isa 3:14 and Ezk 18:17. So, God instructs his people to deal justly with the ʿānî (Isa 10:2). The king is especially charged with overseeing their rights forever (Ps 82:3).

This word can also describe the one afflicted physically as with the Exile (Isa 51:21) or by sickness (Ps 88:15 [H 16]).
Often physical affliction is closely tied to spiritual affliction, as in Ps 22:24 [H 25]. In many instances external affliction engenders inner affliction issuing in a cry to God for help (Ps 25:16; 34:6 [H 7]; 69:29 [H 30]). God’s people are frequently described as afflicted (Ps 68:10 [H 11]). God does not forget them (Ps 9:18 [H 19], 74:19). He has pity on them (Isa 49:13), saves them (Ps 34:6 [H 7]), delivers them (Ps 35:10) and bestows favors upon them (Ps 72:2, 4).

Finally, the word is used in the sense of humble or lowly. It describes the Messiah in Zech 9:9. It is in contrast to the scoffers (Prov 3:34; cf. Jas 4:6) and the haughty (Ps 18:27 [H 28]; II Sam 22:28). Such a one has a contrite spirit (Isa 66:2), is God’s turtledove (Ps 74:19), trusts God (Ps 14:6), and is assured of deliverance (II Sam 22:28).

ʿānî (afflicted) is often confused withʿānāw (humility), each being written for the other (or translated for the other as is reflected in the ASV and RSV). Perhaps this is an incidence of the famous yod-waw interchange (GKC, sec. 17c; Ernst Würthwein, The Text of the Old Testament, p. 72), although not necessarily so. This interchange appears frequently in the plural of the words. Isaiah seems to make no distinction between ʿānî and ʿānāw. (from TWOT)

Ani - 72v - afflicted(42), afflicted one(1), humble(3), lowly(1), needy(2), needy and poor(1), oppressed(1), poor(19), poor man(2), who is humble(1), wretched(1). Exod. 22:25; Lev. 19:10; Lev. 23:22; Deut. 15:11; Deut. 24:12; Deut. 24:14; Deut. 24:15; 2 Sam. 22:28; Job 24:4; Job 24:9; Job 24:14; Job 29:12; Job 34:28; Job 36:6; Job 36:15; Ps. 9:18; Ps. 10:2; Ps. 10:9; Ps. 12:5; Ps. 14:6; Ps. 18:27; Ps. 22:24; Ps. 25:16; Ps. 34:6; Ps. 35:10; Ps. 37:14; Ps. 40:17; Ps. 68:10; Ps. 69:29; Ps. 70:5; Ps. 72:2; Ps. 72:4; Ps. 72:12; Ps. 74:19; Ps. 74:21; Ps. 82:3; Ps. 86:1; Ps. 88:15; Ps. 109:16; Ps. 109:22; Prov. 15:15; Prov. 16:19; Prov. 22:22; Prov. 30:14; Prov. 31:9; Prov. 31:20; Eccl. 6:8; Isa. 3:14; Isa. 3:15; Isa. 10:2; Isa. 10:30; Isa. 14:32; Isa. 26:6; Isa. 32:7; Isa. 41:17; Isa. 49:13; Isa. 51:21; Isa. 54:11; Isa. 58:7; Isa. 66:2; Jer. 22:16; Ezek. 16:49; Ezek. 18:12; Ezek. 18:17; Ezek. 22:29; Amos 8:4; Hab. 3:14; Zeph. 3:12; Zech. 7:10; Zech. 9:9; Zech. 11:7; Zech. 11:11

Abase (humble, make low) (08213) shaphel from Semitic root word which means to be low) means literally to be low or become low (to sink down). Most uses in the OT are figurative and mean to be humiliated or to be abased. To make humble, to humiliate; to bring down. Shaphel is used literally/figuratively of bringing down trees representing the powerful, influential people of a society (Isa 10:33); of humbling persons (Isa 2:9; 5:15); even a city (Isa 32:19). Shaphel describes being humiliated or placed lower (Pr 25:7; 29:23; Jer. 13:18). Shaphel describes a sound as being low in Eccl 12:4. In its causative sense, shaphel means to bring down (Ezek 17:24), to lay something low (Isa 25:12); to put lower (Pr 25:7); to humiliate (1Sa 2:7). God lowers or humbles Himself to observe the things of earth (Ps. 113:6). In the Septuagint (Lxx) shaphel is represented by the word group of tapeinos or tapeinoo.

2 Samuel 22:29 "For You are my lamp, O LORD; And the LORD illumines my darkness.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:29 ὅτι σὺ ὁ λύχνος μου κύριε καὶ κύριος ἐκλάμψει μοι τὸ σκότος μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:29 For thou, Lord, art my lamp, and the Lord shall shine forth to me in my darkness.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:29 For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.

NET 2 Samuel 22:29 Indeed, you are my lamp, LORD. The LORD illumines the darkness around me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:29 LORD, You are my lamp; the LORD illuminates my darkness.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:29 For you are my lamp, O LORD, and my God lightens my darkness.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:29 You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:29 O LORD, you are my lamp. The LORD lights up my darkness.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:29 Indeed, you are my lamp, O LORD, the LORD lightens my darkness.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:29 Yahweh, you yourself are my lamp, my God lights up my darkness;

NAB 2 Samuel 22:29 You are my lamp, O LORD! O my God, you brighten the darkness about me.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:29 For Thou art my lamp, O Jehovah, And Jehovah doth lighten my darkness.

lamp: Job 29:3 Ps 27:1 Ps 84:11 Joh 8:12 Rev 21:23
illumines: Ps 4:6 Ps 18:28 Ps 97:11 112:4 Isa 50:10 Isa 60:19,20 Mic 7:9 Mal 4:2 Joh 12:46

Related Passages:

Psalms 27:1+ A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?

Psalms 84:11+ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Psalm 119:105 Nun. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Revelation 21:23+ And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

1 John 1:5; 6 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;

THE ETERNAL LIGHT
THAT NEVER BURNS OUT

Kirkpatrick - After celebrating God’s goodness in delivering him from all the dangers which threatened his life, David goes on to describe how God had made him victorious over all his enemies.

For You are my lamp, O LORD; And the LORD illumines my darkness - You (thou in KJV) is emphatic as if to say, I can fully confide in You for help. Remember the "Every Ready Battery" advertisement and the "Energizer Bunny" symbolizing the battery power that never fails. We have an energizing God (His Spirit), Who in His infinite omnipotence is ever ready to illumine our darkness, especially our times of spiritual darkness when the way we are to go is obscured by doubt or despair. He is our Light in that darkness as we run to Him and rest in Him, in His perfect timing, His perfect ways. Sounds easy, but it is always a walk of faith (2Cor 5:7), trusting that He will light the way in which we are to walk, saying "This is the way, walk ye in it" (Isa 30:21, cf 2Ch 6:27).

David could well say to the Lord, “You light up my life.”

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — To give one light is to make prosperous (Job 18:5, 6; 21:17).

Goettsche - When we are in the darkness it confuses our senses. It is easy to be disoriented (who of us haven’t gotten up in the night and banged our shin against some object?) In the darkness we often become fearful. Strange sounds combined with a vivid imagination can terrify. However, when we turn on the light, the confusion goes away. John wrote, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all”. (1 John 1:5) Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) The Bible describes non-Christians as those who are in darkness. They are lost, confused, and aimless in life. The light of the Lord makes it possible for us to see. In Psalm 119 David wrote that the Word of God is a “lamp to our feet and a light for our path”. In this Psalm David says “the Word of the Lord is flawless” David had come to understand that God’s word is an infallible guide. The Bible is given to us as God’s infallible GPS. If we will follow His directions we will arrive at our destination. David learned throughout his life that when he did what God told him to do he found blessing. When he ignored the directions, he became lost. The same is true for us. The things we tend to turn to for guidance in life will fall short. People will disappoint and deceive you. Our conscience is warped. Academia is biased. Our feelings are fickle. Other religions fall short of answering life’s basic questions. None of these things are reliable guides for our lives. Only the Lord Himself can give us light. Only the Word of God is an infallible guide. It alone is the light that will not grow dim. If we want to live with direction and purpose we need to follow His light.

CHS - "For thou wilt light my candle." Even the children of the day sometimes need candle-light. In the darkest hour light will arise; a candle shall be lit, it will be comfort such as we may fittingly use without dishonesty—it will be our own candle; yet God himself will find the holy fire with which the candle shall burn; our evidences are our own, but their comfortable light is from above. Candles which are lit by God the devil cannot blow out. All candles are not shining, and so there are some graces which yield no present comfort; but it is well to have candles which may by and by be lit, and it is well to possess graces which may yet afford us cheering evidences. The metaphor of the whole verse is founded upon the dolorous nature of darkness and the delightfulness of light; "truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun;" and even so the presence of the Lord removes all the gloom of sorrow, and enables the believer to rejoice with exceeding great joy. The lighting of the lamp is a cheerful moment in the winter's evening, but the lifting up of the light of God's countenance is happier far. It is said that the poor in Egypt will stint themselves of bread to buy oil for the lamp, so that they may not sit in darkness; we could well afford to part with all earthly comforts if the light of God's love could but constantly gladden our souls.

Vos points out, “As David faced his many enemies, God made his darkest light, lifted him out of a condition of weakness and depression, and caused the light of his salvation or victory to shine on him.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

Greater than the Mess

You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light. 2 Samuel 22:29

Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Samuel 22:26-37

A major theme of the Old Testament book of 2 Samuel could easily be “Life is a mess!” It has all the elements of a blockbuster TV miniseries. As David sought to establish his rule as king of Israel, he faced military challenges, political intrigue, and betrayal by friends and family members. And David himself was certainly not without guilt as his relationship with Bathsheba clearly showed (chs. 11–12).

Yet near the end of 2 Samuel we find David’s song of praise to God for His mercy, love, and deliverance. “You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light” (2Sa 22:29).

In many of his difficulties, David turned to the Lord. “With your help I can advance against a troop [run through a barricade]; with my God I can scale a wall” (v. 30).

Perhaps we identify with David’s struggles because he, like us, was far from perfect. Yet he knew that God was greater than the most chaotic parts of his life.

With David we can say, “As for God, his way is perfect: the Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him” (v. 31). And that includes us!

Lord, we cannot read about the failures and difficulties of others without being reminded of our own. We bring them all to You, seeking forgiveness and Your power for a fresh start.

It’s not too late to make a fresh start with God.

Light in the Dark

You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. Psalm 18:28

Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 18:28–36, 46–49

A severe thunderstorm passed through our new town, leaving high humidity and dark skies in its wake. I took our dog, Callie, for an evening stroll. The mounting challenges of my family’s cross-country move grew heavier on my mind. Frustrated by the countless ways things had strayed so far from our high hopes and expectations, I slowed to let Callie sniff the grass. I listened to the creek that runs beside our house. Tiny lights flashed on and off while hovering over the patches of wildflowers climbing up the creek’s bank. Fireflies.

The Lord wrapped me in peace as I watched the blinking lights cutting through the darkness. I thought of the psalmist David singing, “You, Lord, keep my lamp burning” (Psalm 18:28). Proclaiming that God turns his darkness into light, David demonstrated confident faith in the Lord’s provision and protection (Ps 18:29–30). With God’s strength, he could handle anything that came his way (Ps 18:32–35). Trusting the living Lord to be with him through all circumstances, David promised to praise Him among the nations and sing the praises of His name (Ps 18:36–49).

Whether we’re enduring the unpredictable storms in life or enjoying the stillness after the rains have passed, the peace of God’s constant presence lights our way through the darkness. Our living God will always be our strength, our refuge, our sustainer, and our deliverer. Xochitl Dixon (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

What verses help you trust God’s constant presence? How can relying on God’s sovereign goodness help you walk through storms with confident faith?

Father, please help me trust Your goodness and love even when I sometimes can’t see You in the dark circumstances in life.

Our Guiding Light

You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light. 2 Samuel 22:29

Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Samuel 22:26–30

At a museum, I lingered near a display of ancient lamps. A sign revealed they were from Israel. Decorated with carved designs, these oval-shaped clay vessels had two openings—one for fuel, and one for a wick. Although the Israelites commonly used them in wall alcoves, each was small enough to fit in the palm of a person’s hand.

Perhaps a little light like this inspired King David to write a praise song in which he said, “You Lord are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light” (2 Samuel 22:29). David sang these words after God gave him victory in battle. Rivals from both inside and outside his own nation had been stalking him, intending to kill him. Because of his relationship with God, David didn’t cower in the shadows. He moved forward into enemy confrontations with the confidence that comes from God’s presence. With God helping him, he could see things clearly so he could make good decisions for himself, his troops, and his nation.

The darkness David mentioned in his song likely involved fear of weakness, defeat, and death. Many of us live with similar worries, which produce anxiety and stress. When the darkness presses in on us, we can find peace because we know God is with us too. The divine flame of the Holy Spirit lives in us to light our path until we meet Jesus face to face. By: Jennifer Benson Schuldt Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Why can you trust God to help you with your fears? What can you do to seek God’s guidance in your life?

God, please assure me of Your presence when I’m afraid. Help me to remember that You’ve defeated spiritual darkness through Your death and resurrection.

2 Samuel 22:30 "For by You I can run upon a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:30 ὅτι ἐν σοὶ δραμοῦμαι μονόζωνος καὶ ἐν τῷ θεῷ μου ὑπερβήσομαι τεῖχος

LXE 2 Samuel 22:30 For by thee shall I run as a girded man, and by my God shall I leap over a wall.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:30 For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall.

NET 2 Samuel 22:30 Indeed, with your help I can charge against an army; by my God's power I can jump over a wall.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:30 With You I can attack a barrier, and with my God I can leap over a wall.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:30 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:30 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:30 In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:30 By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:30 with you I storm the rampart with my God I can scale any wall.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:30 For with your aid I run against an armed band, and by the help of my God I leap over a wall.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:30 For by Thee I run -- a troop, By my God I leap a wall.

run through: or, broken, Ps 18:29 118:10-12 Ro 8:37 Php 4:13

CHS - Verses 29-45. Some repetitions are not vain repetitions. Second thoughts upon God's mercy should be and often are the best. Like wines on the lees our gratitude grows stronger and sweeter as we meditate upon divine goodness. The verses which we have now to consider are the ripe fruit of a thankful spirit; they are apples of gold as to matter, and they are placed in baskets of silver as to their language. They describe the believer's victorious career and his enemies' confusion.

Kirkpatrick suggests that "Two memorable events in David’s life seem to be here alluded to: the successful pursuit of the predatory “troop” of Amalekites which had sacked Ziklag (1 Samuel 30) and the capture of Zion, effected with such ease that he seemed to have leapt over the walls which its defenders trusted were impregnable (2Sa 5:6-8)."

For by You I can run upon a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall - Note the pattern - God's provision (by You), David's response (I can run) (David's responsibility). The only way David could run upon a troop or leap over a wall was by the power of God (the Spirit). Note David did not say "Let go, let God," but more accurately (and Biblical) said in effect "Let God, let's go!" God's part, David's (our) part. See the "Paradoxical Principle of 100% Dependent and 100% Responsible" (100/100). Notice this pattern in the well known verse Philippians 4:13+ "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Can you see your part (I)? And what is God's part (Him...me)?

CHS - For by thee have I run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall." Whether we meet the foe in the open field or leap upon them while they lurk behind the battlements of a city, we shall by God's grace defeat them in either case; if they hem us in with living legions, or environ us with stone walls, we shall with equal certainty obtain our liberty. Such feats we have already performed, hewing our way at a run through hosts of difficulties, and scaling impossibilities at a leap. God's warriors may expect to have a taste of every form of fighting, and must by the power of faith determine to quit themselves like men; but it behoves them to be very careful to lay all their laurels at Jehovah's feet, each one of them saying, "by my God" have I wrought this valiant deed. Our spolia optima, the trophies of our conflicts, we hereby dedicate to the God of Battles, and ascribe to him all glory and strength.

Guzik - David knew the principle of Ephesians 6:10 long before Paul penned the words: Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. God has a resource of power (His might) that He makes available to us by faith. We don’t have to be strong in our might, but we can be strong in His might.

2 Samuel 22:31 "As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:31 ὁ ἰσχυρός ἄμωμος ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτοῦ τὸ ῥῆμα κυρίου κραταιόν πεπυρωμένον ὑπερασπιστής ἐστιν πᾶσιν τοῖς πεποιθόσιν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:31 As for the Mighty One, his way is blameless: the word of the Lord is strong and tried in the fire: he is a protector to all that put their trust in him.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

NET 2 Samuel 22:31 The one true God acts in a faithful manner; the LORD's promise is reliable; he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:31 God-- His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:31 This God-- his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:31 "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.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:31 "God's way is perfect. All the LORD's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:31 This God-- his way is perfect; the promise of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:31 This God, his way is blameless; the word of Yahweh is refined in the furnace, for he alone is the shield of all who take refuge in him.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:31 God's way is unerring; the promise of the LORD is fire-tried; he is a shield to all who take refuge in him." I

YLT 2 Samuel 22:31 God! Perfect is His way, The saying of Jehovah is tried, A shield He is to all those trusting in Him.

his way: De 32:4 Da 4:37 Mt 5:48 Rev 15:3
the word: Ps 12:6 Ps 18:30 Ps 119:140 Pr 30:5
a shield: 2Sa 22:3 Ps 35:2 91:4 2:7

Related Passage:

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Psalms 119:140 Your word is very pure, Therefore Your servant loves it.

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

THE PERFECT GOD
& PERFECT WORD

As for God, His way is blameless (tamim having integrity; Lxx - amomos) - God is without defect or blemish. He is perfect. The Lxx translates blameless with amomos which Peter uses in 1Pe 1:19+ to explain we were redeemed with the "precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished (amomos) and spotless, the blood of Christ."

Anderson - As David looks back over his long and stressful life, he can make a summary statement that carries a powerful impact: “As for God, His way is perfect.” (It’s my ways that have made the messes in my life.) The difficulties in our lives are the results of missing this perfect way which David has described.

CHS - "As for God, his way is perfect." Far past all fault and error are God's dealings with his people; all his actions are resplendent with justice, truth, tenderness, mercy, and holiness. Every way of God is complete in itself, and all his ways put together are matchless in harmony and goodness. Is it not very consolatory to believe that he who has begun to bless us will perfect his work, for all his ways are "perfect." Nor must the divine "word" be without its song of praise.

The word of the LORD is tested - Tested like pure gold, with no taint of earthly dross, tested by fire to prove the metal is genuine. In Ps 12:6+ David writes "The words of the LORD are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times."

CHS - "The word of the Lord is tried," like silver refined in the furnace. The doctrines are glorious, the precepts are pure, the promises are faithful, and the whole revelation is superlatively full of grace and truth. David had tried it, thousands have tried it, we have tried it, and it has never failed. It was meet that when way and word had been extolled, the Lord himself should be magnified; hence it is added,

He is a shield (see magen) to all who take refuge (chasah) in Him - He is our Protector which is the function of a shield. Take a moment and praise Him as "The Protector of Your Soul." Thank You Jesus. Amen. Ephesians 6:16+ "in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." In 2Sa 22:31 the Septuagint translates take refuge (chasah) with peitho (in the perfect tense) meaning all who come to a settled persuasion, are persuaded, or have become convinced and are certain concerning some truth or fact. Here the idea would be steadfast confidence in God and for those He is their shield, their Protector.

CHS - "He is a Buckler (shield) to all those that trust in him." No armour of proof or shield of brass so well secures the warrior as the covenant God of Israel protects his warring people. He himself is the buckler of trustful ones; what a thought is this! What peace may every trusting soul enjoy!

The Lord, He is our sun and shield,
Our buckler and our guard,
And hence we stand and will not yield,
Though enemies press hard.

Like as a shield the blow keeps off
The enemy lays on,
So He prevents all hurt to us,
And saves us every one.

Let foes strike at us as they please,
Upon the head or heart;
This precious shield which we do use
Secures us every part.

From sin, from Satan and the world
No art we need to fear,
Since Thou art such a shield to us,
Our God and Savior dear!

Our shield and our great reward,
To Thee all praise be given;
Who with Thy saving help afford
Until we come to Heaven.

Take refuge (seek shelter in) (02620) (chasah) eans to flee for protection. The picture is that of one who confides or puts their trust in another (usually God - see 36 uses below). The verb can mean to put trust in or have hope in (this would be one's attitude or mindset) but can also mean to flee for protection to (this would be one's action consistent with a mind that trusted & hoped in God). God is ever the sole refuge of His people and trust in Him protects the "trustee!" It is always better to trust in God rather than to trust (batah) in princes (Ps 118:8-9).

With one exception (Isa 30:2) chasah refers to the Lord as the One in Whom refuge is sought and is portrayed by various metaphors - Rock (Dt 32:37, 2Sa 22:3, Ps 18:2), Wings (cp a "mother hen" protecting her chicks Ru 2:12, Ps 36:7, Ps 57:1, Ps 61:4, Ps 91:4), Shield (Ps 144:2, 2Sa 22:31, Ps 18:30, Pr 30:5 - paralleled with the "Word of God"), at God's "right hand" (Ps 17:7),

Those who take refuge in Jehovah are those who fear (reverential awe and respect) Him (Ps 31:19), those who are His servants (Ps 34:22, 64:10), those who trust in God rather than men (Ps 118:8,9), the righteous (Pr 14:32), afflicted (Isa 14:32), "a humble and lowly people" (Zeph 3:12). To seek refuge" stresses the insecurity and helplessness of even the "strongest" individual.

The result of taking refuge in God is to be "blessed" (Ps 2:12), to be "saved" (Ps 17:7), experience joy (Ps 5:11), experience and possess His "great goodness" (Ps 31:19), become inheritors of "the land" (Isa 57:13).

THOUGHT - Do we recall to our minds the greatness of our sovereign, omnipotent Creator and Sustainer, so that when times of affliction and testing come we are fully convinced of His ability to protect us and we run to Him for refuge without hesitation? Let us ever turn first to Him and may the Spirit enable us to recall our past deliverances by the mighty hand of our Deliverer (Ps 18:2 40:17, 70:5, 144:2) so that we do not waver in unbelief when the storm comes but instead run confidently into our Rock of Refuge.

How do we take refuge in Him? (1). Know His Word (2). Heed His Word like Noah did in Heb 11:7. God does not stutter or equivocate. He speaks very clearly concerning His will for men. Our part is to hide ourselves ("take refuge") in that true word. It is close to the idea of taking up the shield of faith in Eph 6:16 (believing what God has promised is true...e.g., that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure...the truth is if we are falling to a repetitive temptation, we need to be very circumspect...it is probably because we want to fall into the passing pleasures of sin! Fall into the Cleft of the Rock (1 Co 10:4) instead...and be shielded from the fiery trials even though the fire is heated extremely hot (Da 3:22, Isa 43:2.)

2 Samuel 22:32 "For Who is God, besides the LORD? And Who is a Rock, besides our God?

BGT 2 Samuel 22:32 τίς ἰσχυρὸς πλὴν κυρίου καὶ τίς κτίστης ἔσται πλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν

LXE 2 Samuel 22:32 Who is strong, but the Lord? and who will be a Creator except our God?

KJV 2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?

NET 2 Samuel 22:32 Indeed, who is God besides the LORD? Who is a protector besides our God?

CSB 2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is a rock? Only our God.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:32 "For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?

NIV 2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

NLT 2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God except the LORD? Who but our God is a solid rock?

NRS 2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?

NJB 2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God but Yahweh, who is a rock but our God:

NAB 2 Samuel 22:32 "For who is God except the LORD? Who is a rock save our God?

YLT 2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God save Jehovah? And who a Rock save our God?

For Who: De 32:31,39 1Sa 2:2 Isa 44:6,8 45:5,6,21 Jer 10:6,7,16
a Rock: 2Sa 22:2-3

2 Samuel 22:32-37 recounts the praise of Jehovah the Giver of every victory in the believer's life.

For Who is God (El), besides the LORD? Answer? No one! Isaiah 43:11 "I, even I, am the LORD; And there is no savior besides Me." The Septuagint translated "For Who is God" as "Who is strong (ischuros) but the Lord. and who will be a Creator except our God?"

And Who is a Rock (tsur), besides our God - See comments on Rock in 2Sa 22:2-3. Here the Hebrew for Rock is translated with ktistes which Creator (only used in 1Pe 4:19).

CHS - Having mentioned his God, the psalmist's heart burns, and his words sparkle; he challenges heaven and earth to find another being worthy of adoration or trust in comparison with Jehovah. His God, as Matthew Henry says, is a None-such. The idols of the heathen he scorns to mention, snuffing them all out as mere nothings when Deity is spoken of. "Who is God save the Lord?" Who else creates, sustains, foresees, and overrules? Who but he is perfect in every attribute, and glorious in every act? To whom but Jehovah should creatures bow? Who else can claim their service and their love? "Who is a rock save our God?" Where can lasting hopes be fixed? Where can the soul find rest? Where is stability to be found? Where is strength to be discovered? Surely in the Lord Jehovah alone can we find rest and refuge.

2 Samuel 22:33 "God is my strong fortress; And He sets the blameless in His way.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:33 ὁ ἰσχυρὸς ὁ κραταιῶν με δυνάμει καὶ ἐξετίναξεν ἄμωμον τὴν ὁδόν μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:33 It is the Mighty One who strengthens me with might, and has prepared my way without fault.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

NET 2 Samuel 22:33 The one true God is my mighty refuge; he removes the obstacles in my way.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:33 God is my strong refuge; He makes my way perfect.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:33 This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:33 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:33 God is my strong fortress, and he makes my way perfect.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:33 The God who has girded me with strength has opened wide my path.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:33 this God who girds me with strength, who makes my way free from blame,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:33 The God who girded me with strength and kept my way unerring;

YLT 2 Samuel 22:33 God -- my bulwark, my strength, And He maketh perfect my way;

strength: Ex 15:2 Ps 18:32 27:1 28:7,8 31:4 46:1 Isa 41:10 Zec 10:12 2Co 12:9 Eph 6:10 Php 4:13
my way: Heb 13:21
perfect: De 18:13 Job 22:3 Ps 101:2,6 119:1

Related Passage:

Hebrews 13:20-21+ Now the God of peace, Who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing (GOD'S PROVISION) to do His will (OUR RESPONSIBILITY), working in us (THE SPIRIT INITIATING AND ENERGIZING) that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

God is my strong (chayil) fortress (maoz); And He sets the blameless (tamim having integrity; Lxx - amomos used of blood of Jesus - 1Pe 1:19) in His way - NIV = It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." I love the English translation of the Septuagint which says "It is the Mighty One Who strengthens me with might, and has prepared my way without fault." What a picture this presents - He gives us the strength and He prepares our way!

NET NOTE on sets the blameless in His way or NET's rendering "He removes the obstacles in my way." (I like that latter thought!) - Heb “and he sets free (from the verb נָתַר, natar) [the] blameless, his [Kethib; “my” (Qere)] way.” The translation follows Ps 18:32 in reading “he made my path smooth.” The term תָּמִים (tamim, “smooth”) usually carries a moral or ethical connotation, “blameless, innocent.” However, in Ps 18:33 it refers to a pathway free of obstacles. The reality underlying the metaphor is the psalmist’s ability to charge into battle without tripping (see vv. 33, 36).

Kirkpatrick on "He maketh my way perfect" (KJV) - Maketh is a different word from that similarly translated in Psalm 18:32, and seems to express the removal of obstacles which blocked up the path of his life.

Note several versions have "girded (or girds) me with strength." (NRSV, NJB, NAB) The girdle was a necessary part of the eastern dress: It strengthened and supported the loins; served to confine the garments close to the body; and to tuck them in when journeying. The strength of God was to his soul what the girdle was to his body. Jamieson adds "Girding was essential to free motion on account of the looseness of Oriental dresses; hence it is an expressive figure for describing the gift of strength."

Chuck Swindoll says, “When our walk is weak, God is our only strength.” Paul describes our "girding" with His strength...

2 Corinthians 12:7-10+ Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me–to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for (My) power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

CHS - Surveying all the armour in which he fought and conquered, the joyful victor praises the Lord for every part of the panoply. The girdle of his loins earns the first stanza: "It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect." (2Sa 22:33RSV) Girt about the loins with power from heaven, the warrior was filled with vigour, far above all created might; and, whereas, without this wondrous belt he would have been feeble and with relaxed energies and scattered forces. (On the other hand) he felt himself, when braced with the girdle of truth, to be compact in purpose, courageous in daring, and concentrated in power; so that his course was a complete success, so undisturbed by disastrous defeat as to be called "perfect." Have we been made more than conquerors over sin, and has our life hitherto been such as becometh the gospel? Then let us ascribe all the glory to Him Who girt us with His Own inexhaustible strength (HIS INDWELLING SPIRIT), that we might be unconquered in battle and unwearied in pilgrimage.

The Strongest People

God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect. —2 Samuel 22:33

The picture in the newspaper caught my attention. Above the caption “Strong Man” was a photo of a workman displaying what seemed to be superhuman strength. He appeared to be lifting a piano up to a second story apartment porch. An explanation under the picture plus one discernible clue, however, told the unseen story. By looking closely I could see a cable attached to the piano. The real power to lift it was coming from a crane above, rather than from the man below.

That scene reminded me of the way the Lord works in and through those who trust Him. Looking at our circumstances, we don’t see God. Yet He is there.

God revealed this truth to men like David, whose psalm of deliverance is recorded in the book of 2 Samuel. Those who observed David might have attributed much of what he did to his own effort, but he knew that it was the Lord who made him strong. God was providing strength from above, even as His servant acted and struggled in obedient faith below.

If we are trusting Christ as our ultimate source of power, we too can know the secret of the strongest people in the world. — by Mart De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

You may not be the strongest or the greatest,
Your presence may not even count at all;
But when you put your trust in Jesus' power,
You are assured He'll never let you fall.
—Hess

God's strength is best seen in our weakness.

2 Samuel 22:34 "He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me on my high places.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:34 τιθεὶς τοὺς πόδας μου ὡς ἐλάφων καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ὕψη ἱστῶν με

LXE 2 Samuel 22:34 He makes my feet like hart's feet, and sets me upon the high places.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:34 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.

NET 2 Samuel 22:34 He gives me the agility of a deer; he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me securely on the heights.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:34 He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:34 He made my feet like the feet of deer, and set me secure on the heights.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:34 who makes me as swift as a deer and sets me firmly on the heights,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:34 Who made my feet swift as those of hinds and set me on the heights;

YLT 2 Samuel 22:34 Making my feet like hinds, And on my high places causeth me to stand,

like hinds': 2Sa 2:18 De 33:25 Hab 3:19
sets: De 32:13 Isa 33:16 58:14

Related Passages:

Habakkuk 3:19+ The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, And makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.

2 Samuel 2:18 Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel; and Asahel was as swift-footed as one of the gazelles which is in the field.

1 Chronicles 12:8 From the Gadites there came over to David in the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear, and whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains.

HOW TO JUMP OVER
TALL OBSTACLES

He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me on my high places - I life the rendering of the NET version = "He gives me the agility of a deer; He enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain." David was a mighty warrior but he reminds us that he was mighty because he had a mighty God. God accomplishes both of the acts in this passage. David is the recipient of His grace. To his God be the glory.

NET NOTE on "enable me to negotiate the rugged terrain" (2Sa 22:34NET) - Hebrew literally = “and on my high places he makes me walk.” The imperfect verbal form emphasizes God’s characteristic provision. The psalmist compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured. Habakkuk uses similar language to describe his faith during difficult times. Hab 3:19NET - NET NOTE = "Difficult times are coming, but Habakkuk is confident the Lord will sustain him. Habakkuk will be able to survive, just as the deer negotiates the difficult rugged terrain of the high places without injury."

Kirkpatrick - The hind, like the gazelle, was a type of agility, swiftness, and surefootedness, indispensable qualifications in ancient warfare. Cp. 2Sa 2:18; 1Ch 12:8. The metaphor of the hind, bounding unimpeded over the mountain tops, is continued. David’s high places are the mountain strongholds, the occupation of which secured him in possession of the country. Cp. Dt 32:13. Habakkuk 3:19 is an obvious imitation of this passage.

Hannah Hurnard in speaking of this in her book Hind’s Feet on High Places says, “It means there are no obstacles which our Savior’s love cannot overcome. And that to him, mountains or difficulty are as easy as an asphalt road. From the garden at the back of the mission house at the foot of Mt. Gerazim, we could often watch the gazelles bounding up the mountainside, leaping from rock to rock with extraordinary grace and agility. Their motion was one of the most beautiful examples of exultant and apparently effortless ease in surmounting obstacles which I have ever seen. How deeply we who love the Lord of love and desire to follow him long for the power to surmount all the difficulties and tests and conflicts in life in the same exultant and triumphant way. To learn the secret of victorious living has been the heart’s desire of those who love the Lord in every generation. We feel we would give anything if only we could in actual experience live on the high places of love and victory here on this earth and during this life able always to react to evil, tribulation, sorrow, pain, and every wrong thing in such a way that they would be overcome and transformed into something to the praise and glory of God forever.”

CHS - The conqueror's feet had been shod by a divine hand, and the next note must, therefore, refer to them. "He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places." Pursuing his foes the warrior had been swift of foot as a young roe, but, instead of taking pleasure in the legs of a man, he ascribes the boon of swiftness to the Lord alone. When our thoughts are nimble, and our spirits rapid, like the chariots of Amminadib, let us not forget that our best Beloved's hand has given us the choice favour. Climbing into impregnable fortresses, David had been preserved from slipping, and made to stand where scarce the wild goat can find a footing; herein was preserving mercy manifested. We, too, have had our high places of honour, service, temptation, and danger, but hitherto we have been kept from falling. Bring hither the harp, and let us emulate the psalmist's joyful thanksgiving; had we fallen, our wailings must have been terrible; since we have stood, let our gratitude be fervent.

2 Samuel 22:35 "He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:35 διδάσκων χεῖράς μου εἰς πόλεμον καὶ κατάξας τόξον χαλκοῦν ἐν βραχίονί μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:35 He teaches my hands to war, and has broken a brazen bow by my arm.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

NET 2 Samuel 22:35 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend even the strongest bow.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:35 He trains my hands for war; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:35 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:35 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:35 He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:35 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:35 who trains my hands for battle my arms to bend a bow of bronze.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:35 Who trained my hands for war till my arms could bend a bow of brass. II

YLT 2 Samuel 22:35 Teaching my hands for battle, And brought down was a bow of brass by mine arms,

GWN 2 Samuel 22:35 He trains my hands for battle so that my arms can bend an archer's bow of bronze.

teacheth: Ps 18:33,34 144:1
to war: Heb. for the war
a bow: Ps 46:9 Eze 39:3,9,10

GOD'S "POP TESTS"
TRAIN US FOR BATTLE

He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze - I like to call the circumstances God allows into our life that catch us off guard "POP TESTS." After all, if God is sovereign, He is 100% sovereign and that means that nothing, absolutely nothing comes into your life or my life that does not first pass muster (so to speak) with His all seeing, all wise eyes, which in fact is what His Spirit can say through Paul that He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Ro 8:28+). If you are a follower of Christ, you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your "Personal Trainer," the Almighty God of Creation, will train you with "POP TESTS," of just the right size and shape (so to speak) ever seeking to may you better, not bitter (cf 1Co 10:13+). When you begin to grasp that "POP TESTS" that come almost daily in your life are one of His prime methods for training you to become more like His Son (James 1:2-4+), you will begin to even give thanks for those tests (enabled by His Spirit to obey 1Th 5:18+), a sure sign that your faith is maturing and you are growing in grace and the knowledge of Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2Pe 3:18+).

Kirkpatrick on bend a bow of bronze - The ability to bend a metal bow (cp. Job 20:24) was a mark of superior strength. Readers of the Odyssey will recall Ulysses’ bow, which none but himself could bend. (Homer Odessey xxi. 409). Observe how David recognises that the advantages of physical strength and energy, important qualifications in times when the king was himself the leader of his people in battle, were gifts of God; yet that it was not these that saved him and made him victorious, but Jehovah’s care and help (2 Samuel 22:36 ff.).

The Holy Spirit is the great Drillmaster of heavenly soldiers.
-- CHS

Goettsche - David understood two things: first, He understood that every victory he enjoyed in life came from the hands of a gracious God. Second, he understood that every circumstance in his life was God’s training ground for future effectiveness. These are important lessons. Human nature is such that we are quick to blame others for anything that goes wrong in our life and just as quick to take credit for anything that goes right. No matter what goes wrong: a car accident, a downturn in the market, a diminished crop yield, or an argument with our spouse and we are sure to look for someone to blame. And when we can’t find someone to blame, we blame God! On the other hand, when things go well: when we avoid an accident, have a bumper crop, make a killing on the market or have a great weekend with our spouse, we will walk taller and swell with pride at OUR accomplishment. David has learned to do just the opposite! He took responsibility for his failures and praised God for His successes. He recognized that EVERY good and perfect gift comes from above. Every delight is a gift from God. David also learned that God trains us through the circumstances of life. James told us that tribulation is the means God uses to teach us the patience that is the foundation of all our other blessings. When Joseph spoke to his brothers when they came to Egypt he had the same perspective on life. He said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20) Please realize that both David and Joseph affirmed this lesson as they looked back on life. It’s not always easy to see when you are going through a crisis. They recognized that the hard times when they may have felt most abandoned by God was actually God’s training ground. It will not always be clear in our lives how God is working. However, we can learn from both David and Joseph and say with Job, “He knows the way I take, when He has tested me I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10 - ED: See how Job was able to make such a faith-filled declaration - read Job 23:12 - see commentary)

CHS - "He teacheth my hands to war." Martial prowess and skill in the use of weapons are gratefully acknowledged to be the result of divine teaching; no sacrifice is offered at the shrine of self in praise of natural dexterity, or acquired skilfulness; but, regarding all warlike prowess as a gift of heavenly favour, thankfulness is presented to the Giver. The Holy Spirit is the great Drillmaster of heavenly soldiers. "

CHS - So that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms." A bow of brass is probably meant, and these bows could scarcely be bent by the arms alone, the archer had to gain the assistance of his foot; it was, therefore, a great feat of strength to bend the bow, so far as even to snap it in halves. This was meant of the enemies' bow, which he not only snatched from his grasp, but rendered useless by breaking it in pieces. Jesus not only destroyed the fiery suggestions of Satan, but he broke his arguments with which he shot them, by using Holy Scripture against him (ED: Luke 4:1-12+); by the same means we may win a like triumph, breaking the bow and cutting the spear in sunder by the sharp edge of revealed truth (ED: Eph 6:17+, cf 2Co 6:7+). Probably David had by nature a vigorous bodily frame; but it is even more likely that, like Samson, he was at times clothed with more than common strength (ED: cf 1Sa 16:13+); at any rate, he ascribes the honour of his feats entirely to his God. Let us never wickedly rob the Lord of his due, but faithfully give unto him the glory which is due unto His Name.

2 Samuel 22:36 "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your help makes me great.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:36 καὶ ἔδωκάς μοι ὑπερασπισμὸν σωτηρίας μου καὶ ἡ ὑπακοή σου ἐπλήθυνέν με

LXE 2 Samuel 22:36 And thou hast given me the shield of my salvation, and thy propitious dealing has increased me,

KJV 2 Samuel 22:36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.

NET 2 Samuel 22:36 You give me your protective shield; your willingness to help enables me to prevail.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:36 You have given me the shield of Your salvation; Your help exalts me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:36 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness made me great.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:36 You give me your shield of victory; you stoop down to make me great.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:36 You have given me your shield of victory; your help has made me great.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:36 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your help has made me great.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:36 You give me your invincible shield, you never cease to listen to me,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:36 "You have given me your saving shield, and your help has made me great.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:36 And Thou givest to me the shield of Thy salvation, And Thy lowliness maketh me great.

the shield: Ge 15:1 Ps 84:11 Eph 6:16
help: Ps 18:35
makes me great: Heb. multiplied me, Ge 12:2, Ge 22:17, Ps 115:14

Related Passages:

Genesis 15:1+ After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.”

Psalm 84:11+ For the LORD God is a sun and shield. The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Psalms 18:35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great.

THE BEST SHIELD IN
THE UNIVERSE!

You have also given me the shield (magen) of Your salvation (yesha; Lxx - soteria), And Your help makes me great - NIV = "you stoop down to make me great." In 2Sa. 22:3; 2Sa. 22:36; 2Sa. 22:47 He is the Horn...Shield...Rock, all related to salvation respectively as the power, the protection, and the foundation. Salvation is a shield in many ways, but one of the most meaningful is it is our protection from the last enemy death! (1Co 15:55-58+)

NET NOTES - Another option is to translate the prefixed verb with vav consecutive with a past tense, “you gave me.” Several prefixed verbal forms with vav consecutive also appear in vv. 38-44. The present translation understands this section as a description of what generally happened when the author charged into battle, but another option is to understand the section as narrative and translate accordingly.

Hebrew = “and you give me the shield of your deliverance”; KJV, ASV “the shield of thy (your NRSV, NLT) salvation”; NIV84 “your shield of victory.” Ancient Near Eastern literature often refers to a god giving a king special weapons. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 260-61.

And Your help makes me great (NIV = "you stoop down to make me great.") Heb “your answer makes me great.” David refers to God’s willingness to answer his prayer.

Shield of Your salvation would picture God's Salvation as our Protection, our Defense which parallels Paul's command to " take THE HELMET OF SALVATION" (Eph 6:17+). This description of Salvation as a Shield recalls another passage by Paul

But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope (ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY/FULL ASSURANCE) of salvation. (IN OTHER WORDS KNOWING WE HAVE SALVATION IS LIKE A HELMET ON OUR HEAD PROTECTING OUR MIND FROM FIERY MISSILES SAYING "HOW CAN YOU BE SAVED AFTER WHAT YOU THOUGHT, SAID OR DID YESTERDAY?") 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

Shield (magen) is repeated in 2Sa 22:3, 31, 36 (see comment above) and is clearly for defense from enemy attacks, which recalls Paul's words in Eph 6:16+ "in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." Note that the shield must be appropriated, taken up. NET Note says " Ps 18:35 contains an additional line following this one, which reads "your right hand supports me." It may be omitted here due to homoioarcton. See the note at Ps 18:35. Hebrew literally reads "and you give me the shield of your deliverance"; KJV, ASV "the shield of thy (your NRSV, NLT) salvation"; NIV "your shield of victory." Ancient Near Eastern literature often refers to a god giving a king special weapons. See R. B. Chisholm, "An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22" (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 260–61.)"

CHS - "Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation." Above all we must take the shield of faith, for nothing else can quench Satan's fiery darts; this shield is of celestial workmanship, and is in all cases a direct gift from God himself; it is the channel, the sign, the guarantee, and the earnest of perfect salvation. "Thy right hand hath holden me up." (ONLY IN Ps 18:35) Secret support is administered to us by the preserving grace of God, and at the same time Providence kindly yields us manifest aid. We are such babes that we cannot stand alone; but when the Lord's right hand upholds us, we are like brazen pillars which cannot be moved. "Thy gentleness hath made me great." There are several readings of this sentence. The word is capable of being translated, "thy goodness hath made me great." David saw much of benevolence in God's action towards him, and he gratefully ascribed all his greatness not to his own goodness, but to the goodness of God. "Thy providence" is another reading, which is indeed nothing more than goodness in action. Goodness is the bud of which providence is the flower; or goodness is the seed of which providence is the harvest. Some render it, "thy help," which is but another word for providence; providence being the firm ally of the saints, aiding them in the service of their Lord. Certain learned annotators tell us that the text means, "thy humility hath made me great." "Thy condescension" may, perhaps, serve as a comprehensive reading, combining the ideas which we have already mentioned, as well as that of humility. It is God's making himself little which is the cause of our being made great. We are so little that If God should manifest his greatness without condescension, we should be trampled under his feet; but God, who must stoop to view the skies and bow to see what angels do, looks to the lowly and contrite, and makes them great. While these are the translations which have been given to the adopted text of the original, we find that there are other readings altogether; as for instance, the Septuagint, which reads, "thy discipline"—thy fatherly correction— "hath made me great;" while the Chaldee paraphrase reads, "thy word hath increased me." Still the idea is the same. David ascribes all his own greatness to the condescending goodness and graciousness of his Father in heaven. Let us all feel this sentiment in our own hearts, and confess that whatever of goodness or greatness God may have put upon us, we must cast our crowns at his feet and cry, "thy gentleness hath made me great."

2 Samuel 22:37 "You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:37 εἰς πλατυσμὸν εἰς τὰ διαβήματά μου ὑποκάτω μου καὶ οὐκ ἐσαλεύθησαν τὰ σκέλη μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:37 so as to make room under me for my going, and my legs did not totter.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.

NET 2 Samuel 22:37 You widen my path; my feet do not slip.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:37 You widen a place beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip;

NIV 2 Samuel 22:37 You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:37 You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:37 You have made me stride freely, and my feet do not slip;

NJB 2 Samuel 22:37 you give me the strides of a giant, give me ankles that never weaken-

NAB 2 Samuel 22:37 You made room for my steps; unwavering was my stride.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:37 Thou enlargest my step under me, And mine ankles have not slidden.

enlarge: Ps 4:1 18:36 Pr 4:12
feet: Heb. ankles, 1Sa 2:9 Ps 17:5 94:18 121:3

Related Passages:

2 Samuel 22:20 “He also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

Proverbs 4:12+ When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; And if you run, you will not stumble.

GOD'S GIFT OF
FIRM FOOTING

You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped - NET = "You widen my path; my feet do not slip." David's picture is clear - he may have been in a sense walking on a tightrope between life and death (certainly when pursued by Saul) or victory and defeat (when facing strong enemies), but in every case God widened his path giving him ample room to walk the "tightrope," and not to slip and fall into the hands of his enemies.

Kirkpatrick on enlarge my steps - Given me free space for unobstructed motion (cp. 2Sa 22:20; Pr 4:12), and the power to advance with firm, unwavering steps.

NET NOTE on enlarge my steps - Heb “step.” “Step” probably refers metonymically to the path upon which the psalmist walks. Another option is to translate, “you widen my stride.” This would suggest that God gives him the capacity to run quickly.

To stand upon the rocks of affliction is the result of gracious upholding,
but that aid is quite as much needed in the luxurious plains of prosperity.

CHS - "Thou hast enlarged my steps." A smooth pathway leading to spacious possessions and camping-grounds had been opened up for him. Instead of treading the narrow mountain paths, and hiding in the cracks and corners of caverns, he was able to traverse the plains and dwell under his own vine and fig tree. It is no small mercy to be brought into full Christian liberty and enlargement, but it is a greater favor still to be enabled to walk worthily in such liberty, not being permitted to slip with our feet. To stand upon the rocks of affliction is the result of gracious upholding, but that aid is quite as much needed in the luxurious plains of prosperity.

2 Samuel 22:38 "I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:38 διώξω ἐχθρούς μου καὶ ἀφανιῶ αὐτοὺς καὶ οὐκ ἀναστρέψω ἕως συντελέσω αὐτούς

LXE 2 Samuel 22:38 I will pursue my enemies, and will utterly destroy them; and I will not turn again till I have consumed them.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.

NET 2 Samuel 22:38 I chase my enemies and destroy them; I do not turn back until I wipe them out.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:38 I pursue my enemies and destroy them; I do not turn back until they are wiped out.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and did not turn back until they were consumed.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:38 "I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:38 "I chased my enemies and destroyed them; I did not stop until they were conquered.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and did not turn back until they were consumed.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:38 I pursue my enemies and exterminate them, not turning back till they are annihilated;

NAB 2 Samuel 22:38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, nor did I turn again till I made an end of them.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:38 I pursue mine enemies and destroy them, And I turn not till they are consumed.

2Sa 5:18-25 2Sa 8:1,2,13,14 10:14 Ps 21:8,9 Ro 8:37

Related Passages:

Romans 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

Psalms 18:37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

2 Samuel 22:38-43 deals with David’s destruction of his enemies

I pursued my enemies and destroyed them (Ps 18:37 says "overtook them"), And I did not turn back until they were consumed - NET = "I chase my enemies and destroy them; I do not turn back until I wipe them out." 2Sa 5:18-25 gives two successive "whippings" of the Philistines by David, and in both cases he had called on God for His instructions - a good pattern to imitate when confronted by "Philistines" in our lives! In 2Sa 8:1-18 chronicles David's complete victory over Israel's enemies on the west, east, north and south concluding "So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people." (2Sa 8:15). This was one of the high points of David's life and reign as king.

Consumed (kalah) conveys the idea of completion thus the NET has "I do not turn back until I wipe them out." NJB has "not turning back till they are annihilated." The Lxx translated kalah with sunteleo which means to bring to an end.

CHS - The preservation of the saints bodes ill for their adversaries. The Amalekites thought themselves clear away with their booty, but when David's God guided him in the pursuit, they were soon overtaken and cut in pieces. (ED: READ THIS DAVIDIC ESCAPADE IN DESTROYING THE AMALEKITES IN 1Sa 30:1-31+) When God is with us sins and sorrows flee, and all forms of evil are "consumed" before the power of grace. What a noble picture this and the following verses present to us of the victories of our glorious Lord Jesus!

Consumed (complete, destroyed, fail, spend)(03615) kalah to be complete, at an end, finished, accomplished, or spent. To bring a process to completion. To consummate. It can have a positive connotation (Ge 2:1-2), but more often is used in a negative sense. Gilbrant - Occurring over 200 times in the Hebrew Bible, this verb conveys a wide range of meanings. The primary meaning is the notion of "completion" of some process.

2 Samuel 22:39 "And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise; And they fell under my feet.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:39 καὶ θλάσω αὐτούς καὶ οὐκ ἀναστήσονται καὶ πεσοῦνται ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:39 And I will crush them, and they shall not rise; and they shall fall under my feet.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.

NET 2 Samuel 22:39 I wipe them out and beat them to death; they cannot get up; they fall at my feet.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:39 I wipe them out and crush them, and they do not rise; they fall beneath my feet.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise; they fell under my feet.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:39 I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:39 I consumed them; I struck them down so they did not get up; they fell beneath my feet.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:39 I consumed them; I struck them down, so that they did not rise; they fell under my feet.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:39 I strike them down, and they cannot rise, they fall, they are under my feet.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:39 I smote them and they did not rise; they fell beneath my feet. III

YLT 2 Samuel 22:39 And I consume them, and smite them, And they rise not, and fall under my feet.

Ps 18:37 Ps 110:1,5,6 118:10-12 Mal 4:1,3

Related Passage:

Psalm 18:38 I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise; They fell under my feet.

DAVID'S VICTORIES
WERE COMPLETE!

And I have devoured them and shattered them - NET = "I wipe them out and beat them to death" NIV = "I crushed them completely"

So that (purpose clause) they did not rise; And they fell under my feet - Describes the completeness of David's victories over his enemies. Under my feet is a picture of a conquering general putting his boot/foot on the defeated enemy's neck as in joshua 10:24+.

CHS - The destruction of our spiritual enemies is complete. We may exult over sin, death, and hell, as disarmed and disabled for us by our conquering Lord; may he graciously give them a like defeat within us.

Vos points out, “You have broadened my path. You have given more room to walk by removing the obstructions, and have given uninterrupted victory and strength for combat. The completeness of victory is indicated by the act of placing the foot on the neck of prostrate or kneeling prisoners.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

2 Samuel 22:40 "For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:40 καὶ ἐνισχύσεις με δυνάμει εἰς πόλεμον κάμψεις τοὺς ἐπανιστανομένους μοι ὑποκάτω μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:40 And thou shalt strengthen me with power for the war; thou shalt cause them that rise up against me to bow down under me.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.

NET 2 Samuel 22:40 You give me strength for battle; you make my foes kneel before me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:40 You have clothed me with strength for battle; You subdue my adversaries beneath me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:40 You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:40 You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:40 For you girded me with strength for the battle; you made my assailants sink under me.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:40 You have girded me with strength for the fight, bent down my assailants beneath me,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:40 "You girded me with strength for war; you subdued my adversaries beneath me.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:40 And Thou girdest me with strength for battle, Thou causest my withstanders to bow under me.

girded: 1Sa 17:49-51 23:5 Ps 18:32,39 Isa 45:5 Col 1:11
them: Ps 44:5 144:2
subdued: Heb. caused to bow, Isa 60:14 Rev 5:9

DAVID GIVE GOD THE GLORY
FOR GIRDING HIM WITH STRENGTH

For - David explains why his victories over his enemies were so dominating.

You have girded me with strength for battle - The Hebrew literally has "you clothed me with strength for battle" which congers up the picture of David being clothed with the Spirit and thus with His power. Once again note the juxtaposition of God's part, David's responsibility.

Compare "2 Samuel 22:33 which says "It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." How did Yahweh gird him with strength? 1Sa 16:13+ tells us "the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward." The Spirit of God energized David with supernatural power from on High. And this is exactly what He does for every believer today, albeit we have the Spirit permanently indwelling our bodies, His temple, but the power Source is otherwise the same. Jesus promised the disciples that "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." (Acts 1:8+) Every disciple today has full access by grace through faith (faith that obeys) to that same supernatural power, to fight their spiritual battles (which are continual whether we realize it or not!) We must battle like David did, girded with supernatural strength! See "Paradoxical Principle of 100% Dependent and 100% Responsible".

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown — Girding was essential to free motion on account of the looseness of Oriental dresses; hence it is an expressive figure for describing the gift of strength.

You have subdued under me those who rose up against me - The Hebrew literally reads "you make those who rise against me kneel beneath me." David ascribes the victory not to his military genius, the size or skill of his army, etc, but to the gift of the One Who is the "Captain of the hosts of the LORD." (Joshua 5:13-15+).

CHS - It is impossible to be too frequent in the duty of ascribing all our victories to the God of our salvation. It is true that we have to wrestle with our spiritual antagonists, but the triumph is far more the Lord's than ours. We must not boast like the ambitious votaries of vainglory, but we may exult as the willing and believing instruments in the Lord's hand of accomplishing his great designs.

2 Samuel 22:41 "You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, And I destroyed those who hated me.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:41 καὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου ἔδωκάς μοι νῶτον τοὺς μισοῦντάς με καὶ ἐθανάτωσας αὐτούς

LXE 2 Samuel 22:41 And thou hast caused mine enemies to flee before me, even them that hated me, and thou hast slain them.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:41 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.

NET 2 Samuel 22:41 You make my enemies retreat; I destroy those who hate me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:41 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I annihilate those who hate me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, those who hated me, and I destroyed them.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:41 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:41 You placed my foot on their necks. I have destroyed all who hated me.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, those who hated me, and I destroyed them.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:41 made my enemies retreat before me; and those who hate me I destroy.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:41 My enemies you put to flight before me and those who hated me I destroyed.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:41 And mine enemies -- Thou givest to me the neck, Those hating me -- and I cut them off.

backs: Ge 49:8 Ex 23:27 Jos 10:24 Ps 18:40,41
I might: Ps 21:8,9 Lu 19:14,27 2Th 1:8,9

GOD CAUSED DAVID'S
ENEMIES TO FLEE

You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me (retreat) - To turn their backs means the enemy fled. Why? God was the Causative Agent of their fleeing. We too must recognize that any and every victory we experience in the spiritual life is ultimately enabled by the Spirit of God, for the glory of God and to give us a wonderful opportunity to praise the LORD for His provision! Do you pause to praise Him, when he gives you victory over the world, the flesh or the devil, none of whom can be defeated in reliance on our natural power!

THOUGHT - David's description reminds me of James word that "He (GOD) gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” Submit (aorist imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) therefore to God. Resist (aorist imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:6-7+)

NET Note on turn their backs to me - Hebrew = "and [as for] my enemies, you give to me [the] back [or "neck" ]." The idiom "give [the] back" means "to cause [one] to turn the back and run away." Exodus 23:27+ “I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you."

And I destroyed those who hated me - CSB - "I annihilate those who hate me."

2 Samuel 22:42 "They looked, but there was none to save; Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:42 βοήσονται καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν βοηθός πρὸς κύριον καὶ οὐχ ὑπήκουσεν αὐτῶν

LXE 2 Samuel 22:42 They shall cry, and there shall be no helper; to the Lord, but he hearkens not to them.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:42 They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.

NET 2 Samuel 22:42 They cry out, but there is no one to help them; they cry out to the LORD, but he does not answer them.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:42 They look, but there is no one to save them-- they look to the LORD, but He does not answer them.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:42 They looked, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:42 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them-- to the LORD, but he did not answer.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:42 They looked for help, but no one came to their rescue. They even cried to the LORD, but he refused to answer.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:42 They looked, but there was no one to save them; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:42 They cry out, there is no one to save, to Yahweh, but no answer comes.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:42 They cried for help-- but no one saved them; to the LORD-- but he answered them not.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:42 They look, and there is no saviour; Unto Jehovah, and He hath not answered them.

to the Lord: 1Sa 28:6 Job 27:9 Pr 1:28 Isa 1:15 Eze 20:3 Mic 3:4 Mt 7:22,23 Lu 13:25,26

Related Passages:

Isaiah 17:7-8 In that day (LAST DAYS - GREAT TRIBULATION) man will have regard for his Maker And his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not have regard for the altars, the work of his hands, Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made, Even the Asherim and incense stands.

They looked - Better rendered "They cry out."

NET NOTE - The translation follows one medieval Hebrew ms and the ancient versions in reading the Piel יְשַׁוְּעוּ (yshavvʿu, “they cry for help”) rather than the Qal of the MT יִשְׁעוּ (yishʿu, “they look about for help”). See Ps 18:41 as well.

But there was none to save; Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them - The haters of David had no one to come to their rescue and no open line to God. Psalm 66:18 says "If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear." Clearly they regarded wickedness in their heart explaining the LORD'S silence.

NET NOTE on even to the LORD (NET renders it "They cry out to the LORD") - The words “they cry out” are not in the Hebrew text. This reference to the psalmists’ enemies crying out for help to the Lord suggests that the psalmist refers here to enemies within the covenant community, rather than foreigners. However, the militaristic context suggests foreign enemies are in view. Ancient Near Eastern literature indicates that defeated enemies would sometimes cry out for mercy to the god(s) of their conqueror.

Kirkpatrick - In their extremity even the heathen might cry for mercy to the “unknown God” of their enemies. Cp. 1Sa 5:12; Jonah 3:7 ff.

CHS - "They cried, but there was none to save them; even unto the Lord, but he answered them not." Prayer is so notable a weapon that even the wicked will take to it to in their fits of desperation. Bad men have appealed to God against God's own servants, but all in vain; the kingdom of heaven is not divided, and God never succours his foes at the expense of his friends. There are prayers to God which are no better than blasphemy, which bring no comfortable reply, but rather provoke the Lord to greater wrath. Shall I ask a man to wound or slay his own child to gratify my malice? Would he not resent the insult against his humanity? How much less will Jehovah regard the cruel desires of the enemies of the church, who dare to offer their prayers for its destruction, calling its existence schism, and its doctrine heresy!

2 Samuel 22:43 "Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:43 καὶ ἐλέανα αὐτοὺς ὡς χοῦν γῆς ὡς πηλὸν ἐξόδων ἐλέπτυνα αὐτούς

LXE 2 Samuel 22:43 And I ground them as the dust of the earth, I beat them small as the mire of the streets.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.

NET 2 Samuel 22:43 I grind them as fine as the dust of the ground; I crush them and stomp on them like clay in the streets.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:43 I pulverize them like dust of the earth; I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth; I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:43 I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:43 I ground them as fine as the dust of the earth; I trampled them in the gutter like dirt.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:43 I beat them fine like the dust of the earth, I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:43 I crumble them like the dust of the squares, trample them like the mud of the streets.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:43 I ground them fine as the dust of the earth; like the mud in the streets I trampled them down. IV

YLT 2 Samuel 22:43 And I beat them as dust of the earth, As mire of the streets I beat them small -- I spread them out!

as the dust 2Ki 13:7 Ps 35:5 Da 2:35 Mal 4:1
as the mire: Ps 18:42 Isa 10:6 Mic 7:10 Zec 10:5
stamped them De 32:26 Isa 26:15 Zec 2:6 Lu 21:24

DAVID BEAT HIS
ENEMIES TO FINE DUST

Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth - NET - "I grind them as fine as the dust of the ground."

I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets - NET = "I crush them and stomp on them like clay in the streets." See the metaphor of dust in 2 Kings 13:7. David says he flung the enemy away as worthless refuse.

Vos points out, “Pulverizing them to dust in some cases was literal, as bodies unburied on the battlefield quickly decomposed and crumbled to dust. The enemies of Israel got no help from their idols, and not even from praying to Yahweh, because they had no claim to his protection.” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

CHS - The defeat of the nations who fought with King David was so utter and complete that they were like powders pounded in a mortar; their power was broken into fragments and they became as weak as dust before the wind, and as mean as the mire of the roads. Thus powerless and base are the enemies of God now become through the victory of the Son of David upon the cross. Arise, O my soul, and meet thine enemies, for they have sustained a deadly blow, and will fall before thy bold advance.

"Hell and my sins resist my course,
But hell and sin are vanquish'd foes
My Jesus nail'd them to his cross,
And sung the triumph when he rose."

2 Samuel 22:44 "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.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:44 καὶ ῥύσῃ με ἐκ μάχης λαῶν φυλάξεις με εἰς κεφαλὴν ἐθνῶν λαός ὃν οὐκ ἔγνων ἐδούλευσάν μοι

LXE 2 Samuel 22:44 And thou shalt deliver me from the striving of the peoples, thou shalt keep me to be the head of the Gentiles: a people which I knew not served me.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:44 Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me.

NET 2 Samuel 22:44 You rescue me from a hostile army; you preserve me as a leader of nations; people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:44 You have freed me from the feuds among my people; You have appointed me the head of nations; a people I had not known serve me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:44 "You delivered me from strife with my people; you kept me as the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:44 "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,

NLT 2 Samuel 22:44 "You gave me victory over my accusers. You preserved me as the ruler over nations; people I don't even know now serve me.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:44 You delivered me from strife with the peoples; you kept me as the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:44 You free me from the quarrels of my people, you place me at the head of the nations, a people I did not know are now my servants,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:44 "You rescued me from the strife of my people; you made me head over nations. A people I had not known became my slaves;

YLT 2 Samuel 22:44 And -- Thou dost deliver me From the strivings of my people, Thou placest me for a head of nations; A people I have not known do serve me.

delivered: 2Sa 3:1 5:1 18:6-8 19:9,14 20:1,2,22 Ps 2:1-6 18:43 Ac 4:25-28 Ac 5:30,31
head: 2Sa 8:1-14 De 28:13 Ps 2:8 60:8,9 72:8,9 110:6 Isa 60:12 Da 7:14 Ro 15:12 Rev 11:15
a people: Isa 55:5 65:1 Ho 2:23 Ro 9:25

GOD ENABLES DAVID TO
ESTABLISH DOMINION

2 Samuel 22:44-46 deals with the establishment of David’s dominion

You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people - This seems to refer to ABSALOM’S UPRISING, and the fact that the Lord once again had delivered him from this attack. After Absalom's defeat we see their was internal strife between the "men of Israel" (10 northern tribes) and the men of Judah (e.g., see 2Sa 19:40-43+) which was followed by Sheba's revolt in 2Sa 20:1-22+.

Kirkpatrick - The reference seems to be to the civil wars and internal dissensions which had disturbed the early years of David’s reign, while Saul’s house still endeavoured to maintain its position. Through all these conflicts he had been safely brought, and preserved to exercise dominion over the heathen nations round (ED: BUT SEE ABOVE FOR INTERNAL STRIFE IN ISRAEL). Cp. 2 Samuel 8:1-14; Psalm 2:8.

NET NOTE - Heb “from the strivings of my people.” In this context רִיב (riv, “striving”) probably has a militaristic sense (as in Jdg 12:2; Isa 41:11), and עַם (ʿam, “people”) probably refers more specifically to an army (for other examples, see the verses listed in BDB 766 s.v. עַם 2.d). The suffix “my” suggests David is referring to attacks by his own countrymen, the “people” being Israel. However, the parallel text in Ps 18:43 omits the suffix.

CHS - "Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people." Internal strife is very hard to deal with. A civil war is war in its most miserable form; it is a subject for warmest gratitude when concord rules within. Our poet praises Jehovah for the union and peace which smiled in his dominions, and if we have peace in the three kingdoms of our spirit, soul, and body, we are in duty bound to give Jehovah a song. Unity in a church should assuredly excite like gratitude.

You have kept me as head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me - We how God enabled David's to defeat Israel's enemies on the west, east, north and south in 2Sa 8:1-14+.

CHS "Thou hast made me the head of the heathen; a people whom I have not known shall serve me." The neighbouring nations yielded to the sway of Judah's prince. Oh, when shall all lands adore King Jesus, and serve him with holy joy? Surely there is far more of Jesus than of David here. Missionaries may derive rich encouragement from the positive declaration that heathen lands shall own the Headship of the Crucified.

2 Samuel 22:45 "Foreigners pretend obedience to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:45 υἱοὶ ἀλλότριοι ἐψεύσαντό μοι εἰς ἀκοὴν ὠτίου ἤκουσάν μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:45 The strange children feigned obedience to me; they hearkened to me as soon as they heard.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.

NET 2 Samuel 22:45 Foreigners are powerless before me; when they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:45 Foreigners submit to me grudgingly; as soon as they hear, they obey me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:45 Foreigners came cringing to me; as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:45 and foreigners come cringing to me; as soon as they hear me, they obey me.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:45 Foreign nations cringe before me; as soon as they hear of me, they submit.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:45 Foreigners came cringing to me; as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:45 foreigners come wooing my favour, no sooner do they hear than they obey me,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:45 as soon as they heard me, they obeyed.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:45 Sons of a stranger feign obedience to me, At the hearing of the ear they hearken to me.

Foreigners: Heb. Sons of the stranger, Isa 56:3,6
submit themselves: or, yield feigned obedience, Heb. lie, De 33:29 Ps 18:44,45 66:3 81:15 Ac 8:13,21-23

ENEMIES SUBMIT
TO DAVID

Foreigners pretend obedience to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me - NET = "Foreigners are powerless before me" CSB = "Foreigners submit to me grudgingly" The idea is that even though David's enemies were unwilling to bow, they were forced to bow and obey David, so complete was the dominance that God had enabled David to have over them.

NET NOTE - foreigners - For the meaning “to be weak; to be powerless” for the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash), see Ps 109:24. Verse 46, which also mentions foreigners, favors this interpretation. Another option is to translate “cower in fear” (see Deut 33:29; Ps 66:3; 81:15).

Kirkpatrick on as soon as they hear, they obey me - At the mere rumour of David’s victories they offer their allegiance, as for example Toi king of Hamath did (ch. 2 Samuel 8:9ff.).

CHS - "As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me." Thus readily did the once struggling captain become a far-renowned victor, and thus easy shall be our triumphs. We prefer, however, to speak of Jesus. In many cases the gospel is speedily received by hearts apparently unprepared for it. Those who have never heard the gospel before, have been charmed by its first message, and yielded obedience to it; while others, alas! who are accustomed to its joyful sound, are rather hardened than softened by its teachings. The grace of God sometimes runs like fire among the stubble, and a nation is born in a day. "Love at first sight" is no uncommon thing when Jesus is the wooer. He can write Caesar's message without boasting, Veni, vidi, vici; his gospel is in some cases no sooner heard than believed. What inducements to spread abroad the doctrine of the cross!

2 Samuel 22:46 "Foreigners lose heart, And come trembling out of their fortresses.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:46 υἱοὶ ἀλλότριοι ἀπορριφήσονται καὶ σφαλοῦσιν ἐκ τῶν συγκλεισμῶν αὐτῶν

LXE 2 Samuel 22:46 The strange children shall be cast away, and shall be overthrown out of their hiding places.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:46 Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places.

NET 2 Samuel 22:46 Foreigners lose their courage; they shake with fear as they leave their strongholds.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:46 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:46 Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:46 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:46 They all lose their courage and come trembling from their strongholds.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:46 Foreigners lost heart, and came trembling out of their strongholds.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:46 foreigners grow faint of heart, they come trembling out of their fastnesses.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:46 The foreigners fawned and cringed before me; they staggered forth from their fortresses."

YLT 2 Samuel 22:46 Sons of a stranger fade away, And gird themselves by their close places.

fade away: Isa 64:6 Jas 1:11
out: Isa 2:19,21 Am 9:3 Mic 7:17

Foreigners lose heart - CSB = "Foreigners lose heart." NLT = "They all lose their courage" They faded away like plants scorched up by the burning sun.

CHS - "The strangers shall fade away." Like sear leaves or blasted trees our foes and Christ's foes shall find no sap and stamina remaining in them. Those who are strangers to Jesus are strangers to all lasting happiness; those must soon fade who refuse to be watered from the river of life.

And come trembling out of their fortresses - NET - "they shake with fear as they leave their strongholds."

CHS "And be afraid out of their close places." Out of their mountain fastnesses the heathen crept in fear to own allegiance to Israel's king, and even so, from the castles of self-confidence and the dens of carnal security, poor sinners come bending before the Saviour, Christ the Lord. Our sins which have entrenched themselves in our flesh and blood as in impregnable forts, shall yet be driven forth by the sanctifying energy of the Holy Spirit, and we shall serve the Lord in singleness of heart. Thus with remembrance of conquests in the past, and with glad anticipations of victories yet to come, the sweet singer closes the description, and returns to exercise of more direct adoration of his gracious God.

2 Samuel 22:47 "The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,

BGT 2 Samuel 22:47 ζῇ κύριος καὶ εὐλογητὸς ὁ φύλαξ μου καὶ ὑψωθήσεται ὁ θεός μου ὁ φύλαξ τῆς σωτηρίας μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:47 The Lord lives, and blessed be my guardian, and my God, my strong keeper, shall be exalted.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:47 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.

NET 2 Samuel 22:47 The LORD is alive! My protector is praiseworthy! The God who delivers me is exalted as king!

CSB 2 Samuel 22:47 The LORD lives-- may my rock be praised! God, the rock of my salvation, is exalted.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:47 "The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,

NIV 2 Samuel 22:47 "The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!

NLT 2 Samuel 22:47 "The LORD lives! Praise to my Rock! May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted!

NRS 2 Samuel 22:47 The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,

NJB 2 Samuel 22:47 Life to Yahweh! Blessed be my rock! Exalted be the God of my salvation,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:47 "The LORD live! And blessed be my Rock! Extolled be my God, rock of my salvation.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:47 Jehovah liveth, and blessed is my Rock, And exalted is my God -- The Rock of my salvation.

Lord: De 32:39,40 Job 19:25
Rock: Ps 89:26 Lu 1:47

Related Passsage:

Psalm 18:46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation,

1 Corinthians 8:4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.

AFFIRMATION OF LORD'S
PRESENCE AND POWER

2 Samuel 22:47–51 concludes with thanksgiving and doxology

The LORD lives - This is not "as the LORD lives" which would introduce an oath, but that He indeed does which is "an affirmation of the Lord’s active presence and intervention. In contrast to pagan deities, he demonstrates that he is the living God by rescuing and empowering the psalmist." (NET NOTE)

Kirkpatrick on the LORD lives - Life is the essential attribute of Jehovah, Who is the Living God in contrast to the dead idols of the heathen. The experience of David’s life was to him a certain proof that God is the living, acting Ruler of the World. Cp. Joshua 3:10.

And blessed (praised) be my Rock (tsur) - Both uses of Rock in this verse are translated in the Septuagint with with phulax which means guard or sentinel which gives a wonderful picture of the protecting grace of our Great God, for when we are in Christ, we are ever under His eye and ever in His protecting Hand! Praise the Lord! Amen!

Kirkpatrick on my Rock - God who is strong and faithful to work out deliverance for me. Cp. 2Sa 22:3. Psalm 18:46 has merely “the God of my salvation.”

“I serve a risen Savior,
He’s in the world today.
I know that he is living,
Whatever men may say.

I see his hand of mercy
I hear his voice of cheer,
And just the time I need him,
He’s always near.

He lives; He lives
Christ Jesus lives today.
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life’s narrow way.

He lives; He lives
Salvation to impart.
You ask me how I know He lives,
He lives within my heart.”

CHS - "The Lord liveth." Possessing underived, essential, independent and eternal life. We serve no inanimate, imaginary, or dying God. He only hath immortality. Like loyal subjects let us cry, Live on, O God. Long live the King of kings. By thine immortality do we dedicate ourselves afresh to thee. As the Lord our God liveth so would we live to him. "And blessed be my rock." He is the ground of our hope, and let him be the subject of our praise. Our hearts bless the Lord, with holy love extolling him.

Jehovah lives, my rock be blessed!
Praised be the God who gives me rest!

And exalted be God, the Rock (tsur) of my salvation (yesha; Lxx - soteria) - NET = "The God who delivers me is exalted as king!" In 2Sa 22:48 He is the Horn of my salvation and in 2Sa 22:36 He is the Shield of my salvation. Horn...Shield...Rock all related to salvation, respectively the power, the protection, the foundation.

NET NOTE on exalted be God - The words “as king” are supplied in the 2Sa 22:42NET translation for clarification. In the Psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”) when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 46:10; 57:5, 11).

"CHS - Let the God of my salvation be exalted." As our Saviour, the Lord should more than ever be glorified. We should publish abroad the story of the covenant and the cross, the Father's election, the Son's redemption, and the Spirit's regeneration. He who rescues us from deserved ruin should be very dear to us. In heaven they sing "Unto him that loved us and washed us in his blood;" the like music should be common in the assemblies of the saints below.

James M Boice - We do not know how much of Christ’s future work his lesser ancestor, King David, foresaw. But we, who stand on this side of the cross, know what Jesus Christ did. We know that he was smitten for us, crucified, that we might be saved from sin and protected from all harm. Are you “in Him” (ED: SEE in Christ)? Are you sheltered in the cleft of that Rock (ED: SEE NOTE ABOVE)? If you are, you can sing David’s song with full reference to the cross and resurrection. You can sing, "The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!"

Vos points out, “In conclusion, David returned to praise of the Lord, who had done so much for him. In contrast to the gods of the heathen that do not exist and cannot protect their worshipers, or that may have been viewed as dying and rising with the rhythm of the seasons, David could say of his God, ‘Yahweh lives, for he is the living and saving God.’” (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary)

Anderson - What a beautiful outburst of praise at the conclusion of this song. 1. It is because the Lord lives that he is all of these things to David. 2. It is because the Lord lives that he has done what he’s done for David. 3. It is because the Lord lives that he can now see David through the blood of the sacrifice. 4. It is because he lives that he is to David his lamp, his strength, and his deliverer.

2 Samuel 22:48 The God who executes vengeance for me, And brings down peoples under me,

BGT 2 Samuel 22:48 ἰσχυρὸς κύριος ὁ διδοὺς ἐκδικήσεις ἐμοί παιδεύων λαοὺς ὑποκάτω μου

LXE 2 Samuel 22:48 The Lord who avenges me is strong, chastening the nations under me,

KJV 2 Samuel 22:48 It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me,

NET 2 Samuel 22:48 The one true God completely vindicates me; he makes nations submit to me.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:48 God-- He gives me vengeance and casts down peoples under me.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:48 the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me,

NIV 2 Samuel 22:48 He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me,

NLT 2 Samuel 22:48 He is the God who pays back those who harm me; he brings down the nations under me

NRS 2 Samuel 22:48 the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me,

NJB 2 Samuel 22:48 the God who gives me vengeance and crushes the peoples under me,

NAB 2 Samuel 22:48 O God, who granted me vengeance, who made peoples subject to me

YLT 2 Samuel 22:48 God -- who is giving vengeance to me, And bringing down peoples under me,

The God who executes vengeance for me, 2Sa 18:19,31 1Sa 25:30 Ps 94:1
And brings down peoples under me: Ps 110:1 144:2 1Co 15:25

GOD DAVID'S
AVENGER

The God who executes vengeance for me - NLT - "He is the God who pays back those who harm me."

Kirkpatrick on executes vengeance for me - For the wrongs inflicted by Saul (1 Samuel 24:12); for the insults of Nabal (1 Samuel 25:39); for the opposition of those who refused to acknowledge him as king (ch. 2 Samuel 4:8). Vengeance is the prerogative of God (Psalm 94:1), and the visible execution of it was anxiously looked for as His vindication of the righteousness and innocence of His servants.

NET NOTE - Heb “The God is the one who grants vengeance to me.” The plural form of the noun “vengeance” indicates degree here, suggesting complete vengeance or vindication. In the ancient Near East military victory was sometimes viewed as a sign that one’s God had judged in favor of the victor, avenging and/or vindicating him. See, for example, Jdg 11:27, 32-33, 36.

And brings down peoples under me - NET = "He makes nations submit to me." Literally God is the one who "brings down nations beneath me."

Goettsche - David entrusted his future to the Lord. When he was on the run from Saul he refused to strike down the King (even when he had the opportunity). He could have fought Absalom but he waited to see what God would do. Time and again David chose to wait on the Lord. It is not our job to fix every situation. We don’t have the knowledge or the wisdom to administer true justice (even though we think we do). Only God sees the heart. Only the Lord knows the mitigating circumstances. He is the only reliable Judge. David had learned to stop keeping score. It is a waste of time to spend life holding a grudge. Many people could escape being miserable if they could learn this same lesson. God can be trusted to sort out right and wrong. We should let Him handle these things.

CHS - "It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me." To rejoice in personal revenge is unhallowed and evil, but David viewed himself as the instrument of vengeance upon the enemies of God and his people, and had he not rejoiced in the success accorded to him he would have been worthy of censure. That sinners perish is in itself a painful consideration, but that the Lord's law is avenged upon those who break it is to the devout mind a theme for thankfulness. We must, however, always remember that vengeance is never ours, vengeance belongeth unto the Lord, and he is so just and withal so longsuffering in the exercise of it, that we may safely leave its administration in his hands.

2 Samuel 22:49 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.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:49 καὶ ἐξάγων με ἐξ ἐχθρῶν μου καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐπεγειρομένων μοι ὑψώσεις με ἐξ ἀνδρὸς ἀδικημάτων ῥύσῃ με

LXE 2 Samuel 22:49 and bringing me out from my enemies: and thou shalt set me on high from among those that rise up against me: thou shalt deliver me from the violent man.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

NET 2 Samuel 22:49 He delivers me from my enemies; you snatch me away from those who attack me; you rescue me from violent men.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:49 He frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my adversaries; You rescue me from violent men.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:49 who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from men of violence.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:49 who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:49 and delivers me from my enemies. You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; you save me from violent opponents.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:49 who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above my adversaries, you delivered me from the violent.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:49 who takes me away from my enemies. You lift me high above those who attack me, you deliver me from the man of violence.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:49 and helped me escape from my enemies, Above my adversaries you exalt me and from the violent man you rescue me.

YLT 2 Samuel 22:49 And bringing me forth from mine enemies, Yea, above my withstanders Thou raisest me up. From a man of violence Thou deliverest me.

Who also brings me: 2Sa 5:12 7:8,9 Nu 24:7,17-19 1Sa 2:8 Ps 18:48
the violent: Ps 52:1 140:1

GOD POWER MANIFEST
IN DAVID'S LIFE

Who also brings me out from my enemies - NET = "He delivers me from my enemies." Note 3 phrases each focusing God's power related to ME (David). So in this passage we see David acknowledge that it was God Who (1) brought him out (2) lifted him up and (3) rescued him.

You even lift me above those who rise up against me - NET = "you snatch me away from those who attack me" Literally it reads "you lift me up.” NET NOTE says that "In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רוּם (rum) probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt; elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given him victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority."

You rescue me from the violent man - NLT = "you save me from violent opponents."

Kirkpatrick on the violent man - This may mean men of violence in general, but as Saul is named in the title, it is natural to see a definite reference to him in particular. Cp. Psalm 140:1; Psalm 140:4; Psalm 140:11.

CHS - From all enemies, and especially from one who was pre-eminent in violence, the Lord's anointed was preserved, and at the last over the head of Saul and all other adversaries he reigned in honour. The like end awaits every saint, because Jesus who stooped to be lightly esteemed among men is now made to sit far above all principalities and powers.

Anderson summarizes vv48-49 - In these 2 verses David lists 5 actions of God that make him worthy of praise and adoration:

HE IS THE GOD WHO AVENGES ME.
HE IS THE GOD WHO PUTS THE NATIONS UNDER ME.
HE IS THE GOD WHO SETS MNE FREE FROM MY ENEMIES.
HE IS THE GOD WHO HAS EXALTED ME ABOVE MY FOES.
HE IS THE GOD WHO HAS RESCUED ME FROM VIOLENT MEN.

2 Samuel 22:50 "Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations, And I will sing praises to Your name.

BGT 2 Samuel 22:50 διὰ τοῦτο ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι κύριε ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν καὶ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου ψαλῶ

LXE 2 Samuel 22:50 Therefore will I confess to thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.

NET 2 Samuel 22:50 So I will give you thanks, O LORD, before the nations! I will sing praises to you.

CSB 2 Samuel 22:50 Therefore I will praise You, LORD, among the nations; I will sing about Your name.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:50 "For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.

NIV 2 Samuel 22:50 Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.

NLT 2 Samuel 22:50 For this, O LORD, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.

NRS 2 Samuel 22:50 For this I will extol you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:50 For this I will praise you, Yahweh, among the nations, and sing praise to your name.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:50 Therefore will I proclaim you, O LORD, among the nations, and I will sing praise to your name,

YLT 2 Samuel 22:50 Therefore I confess Thee, O Jehovah, among nations. And to Thy name I sing praise.

among: Ro 15:9
I will sing: Ps 18:49 145:1,2 146:1,2 Isa 12:1-6

Related Passages:

Psalm 96:3 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

Psalm 96:10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.”

Romans 15:9 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.”

Deuteronomy 32:43 “Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And will render vengeance on His adversaries, And will atone for His land and His people.”

Psalm 117:1 Praise the LORD, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples!

Isaiah 11:10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.

DAVID RESPONDS WITH
THANKSGIVING & PRAISE

Therefore - Term of conclusion. The ‘therefore’ points us back to the five activities God's manifest power in his life seen in verses 48,49 and is the basis for his vocalization of thanks and praise to Yahweh.

I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations - David's attitude of gratitude to God is broadcast to the pagans.

NET NOTE on among the nations - This probably alludes to the fact that David will praise the Lord in the presence of the defeated nations when they, as his subjects, bring their tribute payments. Ideally God’s chosen king was to testify to the nations of God’s greatness.

And I will sing praises to Your Name - And because of that David says, ‘I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.’

Kirkpatrick - The celebration of Jehovah’s faithfulness to His servant is not to be confined within the narrow limits of Israel. His praise is to be proclaimed among the heathen, who, as they are brought under the dominion of His people, may also be brought to the knowledge of Jehovah. Cp. Psalm 96:3; Psalm 96:10. This verse is quoted by St Paul in Romans 15:9 (along with Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalm 117:1; Isaiah 11:10), to prove that the Old Testament anticipated the admission of the Gentiles to the blessings of salvation.

Jamieson, Fausset, Brown - Paul (Ro 15:9) quotes from this doxology to show that under the Old Testament economy, others than the Jews were regarded as subjects of that spiritual government of which David was head, and in which character his deliverances and victories were typical of the more illustrious triumphs of David’s greater Son. The language of Ps 18:50 justifies this view in its distinct allusion to the great promise (compare 2 Sa 7:12). In all David’s successes he saw the pledges of a fulfilment of that promise, and he mourned in all his adversities, not only in view of his personal suffering, but because he saw in them evidences of danger to the great interests which were committed to his keeping. It is in these aspects of his character that we are led properly to appreciate the importance attached to his sorrows and sufferings, his joys and successes.

NET NOTE on Your Name - Heb “to your name.” God’s “Name” refers metonymically to His divine characteristics as suggested by His Name, in this case “LORD,” the primary name of Israel’s covenant God which suggests his active presence with his people (see Ex 3:12-15).

CHS - Paul cites this verse (Romans 15:9): "And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name." This is clear evidence that David's Lord is here, but David is here too, and is to be viewed as an example of a holy soul making its boast in God even in the presence of ungodly men. Who are the despisers of God that we should stop our mouths for them? We will sing to our God whether they like it or no, and force upon them the knowledge of his goodness. Too much politeness to traitors may be treason to our King.

Let Your Balloon Go!

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, . . . and sing praises to Your name. —2 Samuel 22:50

Today's Scripture: 2 Samuel 22:1-8

The participants at a conference in a church in Nebraska were given helium-filled balloons and told to release them at a point in the worship service when they felt like expressing their joy. All through the service, balloons ascended one by one. But when the meeting was over, one-third of the people had not released their balloons. I wonder if they couldn’t think of any reason to praise God.

King David would have let go of his balloon when singing his song of praise recorded in 2 Samuel 22. God had delivered him from all his enemies (v.1). Earlier, when hiding from King Saul in the rocky desert, he had learned that true security is found only in God (1 Samuel 23:25). David’s heart had to “give thanks” and “sing praises,” for the Lord had become David’s rock, fortress, deliverer, stronghold, refuge, and Savior (2 Samuel 22:2-3,50).

What has the Lord been for you throughout your life? Your peace in a chaotic time? Your comforter amid loss? Your forgiver of a sinful choice? Your strength in a difficult task?

Take out a piece of paper and write down your list of thanks. Then take time to praise God for all He is and all He has done.

From your heart give God your praise
For His blessings all your days;
Lift your voice to God above—
God of mercy, God of love.
—Hess

Praise is the overflow of a joyful heart.

2 Samuel 22:51 "He is a tower of deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever."

BGT 2 Samuel 22:51 μεγαλύνων σωτηρίας βασιλέως αὐτοῦ καὶ ποιῶν ἔλεος τῷ χριστῷ αὐτοῦ τῷ Δαυιδ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ ἕως αἰῶνος

LXE 2 Samuel 22:51 He magnifies the salvation of his king, and works mercy for his anointed, even for David and for his seed for ever.

KJV 2 Samuel 22:51 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.

NET 2 Samuel 22:51 He gives his chosen king magnificent victories; he is faithful to his chosen ruler, to David and to his descendants forever!"

CSB 2 Samuel 22:51 He is a tower of salvation for His king; He shows loyalty to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

ESV 2 Samuel 22:51 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever."

NIV 2 Samuel 22:51 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever."

NLT 2 Samuel 22:51 You give great victories to your king; you show unfailing love to your anointed, to David and all his descendants forever."

NRS 2 Samuel 22:51 He is a tower of salvation for his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

NJB 2 Samuel 22:51 He saves his king, time after time, displays faithful love for his anointed, for David and his heirs for ever.

NAB 2 Samuel 22:51 You who gave great victories to your king and showed kindness to your anointed, to David and his posterity forever."

YLT 2 Samuel 22:51 Magnifying the salvations of His king, And doing loving-kindness to His anointed, To David, and to his seed -- unto the age!'

the tower: 2Sa 22:2 Ps 3:3 21:1 48:3 89:26 91:2 144:10
his anointed: Ps 18:50 89:20
seed: 2Sa 7:12,13 Ps 18:50 89:29,36 Jer 30:9 Lu 1:31-33 Rev 11:15

GOD GIVE VICTORIES, LOVINGKINDNESS
AND AN EVERLASTING COVENANT

He is a tower of deliverance (yeshua; Lxx - soteria) to His king, And shows lovingkindness (hesed/chesed/heced) to His anointed (mashiach; Lxx - Christos) - NET - "He gives His chosen king magnificent victories; He is faithful to his chosen ruler" NIV = "He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed." David as His anointed was a shadow of the Son of David, the greater anointed One, the Christ (mashiach; Lxx - Christos).

To David and his descendants forever - Here is an allusion to the Davidic Covenant - “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.(2Sa 7:12,13+)

CHS - This is the winding up verse into which the writer throws a fulness of expression, indicating the most rapturous delight of gratitude. "Great deliverance." The word "deliverance" is plural, to show the variety and completeness of the salvation; the adjective "great" is well placed if we consider from what, to what, and how we are saved. All this mercy is given to us in our King, the Lord's Anointed, and those are blessed indeed who as his seed may expect mercy to be built up for evermore. The Lord was faithful to the literal David, and he will not break his covenant with the spiritual David, for that would far more involve the honour of his crown and character. The Psalm concludes in the same loving spirit which shone upon its commencement; happy are they who can sing on from love to love, even as the pilgrims marched from strength to strength.

Goettsche - It’s interesting that when David was a young man he was passionate for the Lord. Now as an old man that passion has not weakened, it has grown deeper. Through the course of life David proved what He had previously affirmed: God is faithful. David now passes these lessons on to us. We can dismiss them as the ramblings of a man who’s arteries were hardening or we can recognize them for the seasoned wisdom they contain. David is passing on the most important lessons he has learned. We would be wise to listen. He reminds us.

The Lord is a Reliable foundation and our sure security, we should rest in Him.
The Lord is Gracious, we should trust Him
The Lord is an unfailing light, we should follow Him
The Lord defends us and trains us, we should submit to Him
The Lord administers justice, we should wait on him
The Lord has provided a Redeemer, we should run to Him.

Anointed (04899) mashiach/masiyah from mashach = to smear, anoint) is Hebrew word that in almost all OT uses is found in a compound phrase. It is a masculine noun which can function as an adjective (as in Lev 4:3,5, 16) which means "anointed." This Hebrew word is used several times to prophetically picture the Messiah, the Christ (1Sa 2:10, 35, Da 9:25-26). In the OT, priests, prophets and kings were anointed and all these offices were fulfilled in "the Mashiach," the Messiah. Lxx translates mashiach in this verse (and most of the 38 uses in the OT) with the adjective Christos which describes one who has been anointed, symbolizing appointment to a task; as a title for Jesus, designating him as the Messiah sent from God (Jn 1:41, Jn 4:25 [Greek = messias], Ro 6:4). BDAG - Christos = "fulfiller of Israelite expectation of a deliverer, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ." Vine - The New Testament title of Christ is derived from the Greek Christos which is exactly equivalent to the Hebrew mashiach, for it is also rooted in the idea of “to smear with oil.” So the term Christ emphasizes the special anointing of Jesus of Nazareth for His role as God’s chosen one.

Messiah is a "Transliteration of Hebrew word (mashiach/masiyah) meaning, “anointed one” that was translated into Greek as Christos...The Old Testament and Early Jewish Background “Anointed” carries several senses in the Old Testament. All have to do with installing a person in an office in a way that the person will be regarded as accredited by Yahweh, Israel's God. Even a pagan king such as Cyrus was qualified as the Lord's anointed (Isaiah 45:1) to execute a divinely appointed task. The usual application of the term anointed was to God's representatives within the covenant people. Prophets such as Elisha were set apart in this way (1Kings 19:16 where anoint = chrio). Israel probably saw a close link between the anointed persons and God's spirit though the link is specifically mentioned only occasionally (2Ki 2:9 ). Israelite kings were particularly hailed as Yahweh's anointed. (Holman Bible Dictionary)

The New Jewish Encyclopedia defines the MESSIAH as “a modified form of the Hebrew word Mashiah meaning ‘anointed,’ applied in the Bible to a person appointed for special function, such as High Priest or King. Later the term Messiah came to express the belief that a Redeemer, that is a divinely appointed individual, will in the end bring salvation to the Jewish people and to the entire human race” (p.317).

See also the booklet on The Jewish Tradition of Two Messiahs

ANTHROPOMORPHISMS
IN 2 SAMUEL 22

His ears, 2Sa 22:7
His nostrils, 2Sa 22:9,16
His mouth, 2Sa 22:9
His feet, 2Sa 22:10
His voice, 2Sa 22:14
His eyes, 2Sa 22:25,28

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2 Samuel

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Chart from recommended resource Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission
2 Samuel Chart from Charles Swindoll

Map of David's Kingdom-ESV Global Map of Cities in 2 Samuel

HIGHS AND LOWS OF DAVID'S LIFE
Source: Life Application Study Bible (borrow)

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GA4

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2 Samuel 22 Commentary

Chart from recommended resource Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission 2 Samuel Chart from Charles Swindoll

Map of David's Kingdom-ESV Global Map of Cities in 2 Samuel HIGHS AND LOWS OF DAVID'S LIFE Source: Life Application Study Bible (borrow)

Book

GA4

Chart from recommended resource Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission
2 Samuel Chart from Charles Swindoll

Map of David's Kingdom-ESV Global Map of Cities in 2 Samuel

HIGHS AND LOWS OF DAVID'S LIFE
Source: Life Application Study Bible (borrow)