2 Samuel Series - Week 23: Wise in the Lord’s Eyes

  One of the first things we used to do with our teens when they volunteered to be teen leaders, was to sit them down and ask them to write a “Leadership Epitaph.” For those of you who don’t know, an epitaph is a a phrase, or a few words, written on someone’s tombstone. The reason why we asked them to write their leadership epitaph was to get them thinking about what kind of legacy as a leader did they want to leave. The question we gave them was, “If you died in your sleep tonight, what would you like to have engraved on your tombstone?”

That’s a question for all of us, what would you like your epitaph to say? They would be your last words to the world. 

My family has been to Tombstone, AZ twice, and Boot Hill, is where a lot of people are buried. Some of their epitaphs’ they didn’t get to write themselves. You have the funny one’s like, “Here Lies George Johnson, hanged by mistake 1882, he was right, we was wrong, but we strung him up and now he’s gone.”

Or the equally funny, “Here lies Lester Moore, four slings from a 44, No Les, no more.”

Then you have the historic one’s, “Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, Murdered, on the streets of Tombstone, 1881.” That is from the famous shootout at the OK Coral.

Then there are the more sobering one’s, “Mrs. Ah Lum (China Mary), Born China, died in Tombstone, Dec 6, 1906, Aged 67yrs.” Her whole life summed up in words she didn’t write. The final one is the most sobering, “In memory of Frank Bowles, Born Aug. 5, 1828, Died Aug 26, 1880. As you pass by remember that, as you are, so once was I, and as I am, you soon will be, remember me.”

An epitaph is how the world will remember most of us. They’re our last words in a sense. 

And it’s someone’s last words that brings us back to our semi-concluding week in our Samuel series, where we are looking Second Samuel Chapter 23, verses 1-7, David’s final words. But before we open up to Second Samuel 23:1-7, let’s remind ourselves how we got to this point in Second Samuel. 

The first section of Samuel, we called the Good Days of David, where we saw everything going well for him. We summarized this section that David was the undisputed king over Israel, yet there were seeds of sin that began flowering. 

We saw those seeds of sin flower in the second section, which we called the Dark Days of David. We summarized that section with, David allowed his sin to fester, which led to the destruction of the people around him. Yet through it, he grew in his faith. 

When we entered the third section of Second Samuel, what we’re calling David’s Descent to Death, we looked at three conflicts he had: the rebels in his kingdom, the ripples of his predecessor’s sins, and the enemies on his borders. From these conflicts we walked about with the understanding that, God calls us into his refuge, not just for conflicts we cause, but for the conflicts brought on by others.

Following that, we looked at David’s Song of Deliverance, where he spoke about what its been like to be in God’s refuge. From David’s song we walked about with the understanding that, God wants us to understand that faith is belief in action through thick or thin.

Finally, last week, we looked at one more conflict that the book of Samuel gives us where David’s self-satisfaction leads to a nationwide turning away from God’s refuge and focusing on their own power. This leads to a divine judgment of pestilence where David realizes that his sin has cost the nation and to fix that it would cost him something as well. We walked away from last week with the understanding that, God wants us to know that there is a cost to following him, that each person must account for.

We could summarize this final section with, David found that their is a cost to having God as your refuge.

With all this in our minds, we can see that David has had his ups and downs. Some really high highs, and some really low lows. His righteousness in following God led to great victories, while his sin has led to horrific judgments. David has grown in his faith, mostly through God’s correction of his sin. He has let his desires overtake him, only to realize his errors. David is like any of us who ride the cycle of sin and repentance. Yet it is that attitude of repentance that makes David a man after God’s own heart. A heart and attitude of repentance is the state of being God desires from his people. We can see how this worked out in David’s life, and so we can say, if God can forgave David, he can forgive me as well. 

It is within this cycle of sin which leads to conflict, which leads to repentance, which leads to restoration, that the author of Samuel places David’s last words. Let’s read them together.

1 Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel: 2 “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, 4 he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.” 5 For does not my house stand so with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? 6 But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand; 7 but the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire.”

David’s last words seem strange, he speaks of God speaking through him. He speaks of ruling, and God’s prosperity, and finally he speaks of worthless men. So what is happening?

Well, first off, when taking into account David’s words in 1 Kings 1 & 2, and 1 Chronicles 22-29, we know that there’s a lot that happens following the last issue with David, which we covered last week. David goes on to talk a lot more. 1 Kings 2:1-10 we’re given some of David’s final words that are directed towards his son Solomon, while in 1 Chronicles 29:10-20 David’s final words that are given, are a blessing to Israel. So what is going on?

The key to understanding what’s happening is verse 2. David is recognizing that God has spoken through him in the songs that the Lord has inspired. It’s some of these that we will talk about next week. Unlike the other places where we are given the last words of David, this one zeroes in on the prophetic. Whereas in 1 Kings it focuses on David’s last words to Solomon, and his last words to all of Israel in 1 Chronicles, here the focus is on the work of God through David beyond his position as king. 

Let’s walk through the song together.

v.1 - Verse 1 begins, not with David’s words, but the author of Samuel giving us an introduction to them. David is an oracle, he speaks the words of the Lord. Through him, the Lord brings sweet songs for Israel to sing back to God. David was not just a king, but used as a prophetic voice by the Lord.

v.2-3a - It’s in verses 2 through the first half of 3, that David recognizes that God has spoken through him. The Psalms not only come from a place of humanity responding to God in song, but by the Holy Spirit to bring people closer to the Lord. These are not just songs to sing, but communications from the God of Israel to his people that they may know his work, both the present and the future. And God has one more thing to say through this prophet.

v.3b-4 - David states that a ruler who is just and rules in the fear of the Lord, is a blessing to the people. When the ruler exercises godly wisdom, the people’s lives become unhampered with the chaos of never knowing where the king stands. His rule is like a clear cloudless morning where you can see everything and not worry if a storm is brewing. A ruler who rules with wisdom brings life to the people and not destruction, like rain on the ground that brings life, not a storm which brings destruction.

v.5 - It is here, in verse 5, that David recognizes and is communicating God’s covenant with his own house. Though David has had several years where his sin has caused massive amounts of pain and suffering, we must remember that he ruled for forty years (1 Kgs. 2:11). So for the most part David ruled well, and when he didn’t, there was repentance and reconciliation. It is because of this that David recognizes the everlasting covenant God has with his house. A covenant, that will have its fulfillment in the Messiah. Due to this covenant, God will bring prosperity, to David’s house, and all the houses of the world.

v.6-7 - Then, in verse 6, David switches from the good things, to speak about worthless men. He says they are like thorns, that need to be thrown away. However, to deal with thorns, you can’t just grab them and pull them out. They will cut you, and make you bleed. Worthless men are like thorns in that they will cause you pain and suffering if you let them stay, but without taking precautions, dealing with them may cause you just as much hurt.

So David calls for people to prepare with the best of preparations, in verse 7. Iron was the best military alloy that was just coming into use in David’s day. Only the greatest kings, and warriors had iron weapons. David’s last prophetic words, was to prepare one’s self with the best of preparations, only then will a person be able to combat the worthless man.

David’s final words speak both to the future King Solomon, to rule wisely for the people’s sake, and to prepare himself to deal with the worthless men that will surely come against him. 

Yet, the Lord is speaking to a larger scale than David had been thinking. For God is speaking to all of his people. Each of us is to utilize the wisdom of God in our lives, that we may unburden the people around us as much as possible. Foolish use of money, of time, of resources because of unwise decisions can create unneeded hardships. So where do we find the wisdom? By seeking the Lord. James 1:5 states, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” There is a treasure trove of wisdom through the Scriptures. If we truly desire to be wise, then a good place to begin would be to commit to reading one proverb, from the book of Proverbs, a day, for thirty-one days.

Wisdom is not simply having knowledge, but the ability to put that knowledge into practice. We might know that someone is acting in bad faith, but then to not be prepared to stop them from their actions in our lives, is not being wise. And so preparing our lives to stand against the worthless people who have no desire for God but only to satisfy their own desires, is wisdom in action. 

God is calling his people to be wise, and to walk in righteousness. That walk means that when we stumble, we go back to him, not way. It’s putting his words into practice, and standing against anything that doesn’t. Everyone of us will falter in our walk with God, but the wise among us will realize that a stumble need not be the end, because if David can see the work of God in his life, with all his failures, then let us seek the Lord to overcome every failing in ours. 

I want to challenge you this week, to read James 1:5 every morning, and afterwards ask God for wisdom to get through that day. 

The Lord has spoken through David, that his people are to be wise in how they handle the world around them. That wisdom is gained by seeking the Lord and putting his words into practice. So let us be a people who are wise in the Lord’s eyes. Amen.

2 Samuel Series - Week 22: Recognizing the Cost

  There’s a phrase that is use when people in the western world complain about things that have been unheard of in previous centuries. When someone complains that their internet is slow, they might hear the phrase, “First world problems.” The idea comes from the fact that we should be grateful that we have internet at all. When the line at the grocery store is taking long, and we complain, it’s a “first world problem, because there are places in this world that do not have the abundance that we do, so we should thankful that we get to stand in a line surrounded by food we are not desperate to eat. 

In a society that has been the most affluent in all of history, it is easy to become self-entitled to where the slightest inconvenience is world ending. There’s another saying that has gained ground in the last decade, “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times (G. Michael Hopf, Those Who Remain).”

In a society built on the backs of hard work, the good times roll in, but the generations that get to enjoy that hard work take for granted what got them there.  

It’s this idea of taking for granted what one has, that brings us back to our series in the book of Second Samuel, where we’ll be picking it back up in Chapter 23, verse 8. And as we open up to Second Samuel 23:8, let’s review where we are, because we’re coming to the end of our series.

As we entered into our third and final section of Second Samuel, David’s Descent to Death, we have seen David experiencing the three more conflicts of his reign. He had to deal with the rebels inside Israel, Sheba and Joab, he had to make right the sins of Saul against the Gibeonites, and in his old age, he still had to defend the land against the Philistines. From those conflicts we walked away with the understanding that, God calls us into his refuge, not just for conflicts we cause, but for the conflicts brought on by others. Over the course of David’s life, he realized that only in the Lord would he find rest.

From this understanding we then read his Song of Deliverance. Through this song, David showed that he recognized that everything he had came from God who listened and acted to do great things through him. From David’s song, we understood that, One of the greatest lessons we could learn, is that faith is belief in action through thick or thin. No matter what the situation, or how we got there, we need to trust the Lord and walk where he has us. This lesson seems so elementary, and yet, it is at the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. 

With the last two week refreshed in our minds, we can open up to Second Samuel 23:8. Today, we’re going to skip David’s final words in Chapter 23:1-7, and instead cover the last two chapters. The reason for this is because it will help us bridge David’s final words with what God prophetically did through him. 

Also we’re not going to read through Chapter 23, because the purpose begins in verse 8, and there are so many names that we’d be bogged down in understanding the purpose behind all the names. So we’re actually going to just read the first part of verse 8, and then jump to Chapter 24, where we’ll read parts of the last chapter.

Verse 8 of Chapter 23 reads, “These are the names of the mighty men whom David had …” This verse let’s us know that the rest of chapter 23 focuses on the thirty-seven mighty men of David. Why does the author of Samuel want us to know that David and these mighty men? One reason may be because they did amazing exploits. Another reason might be so that we understand Uriah, Bathsheba’s murdered husband, was one of those mighty men. However, as we read through Chapter 24, I think the reason for why the list of mighty men comes at this point, and not early, reveals itself.

So let’s drop down to Chapter 24, and read verses 1-4. “Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.’ 2 So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, ‘Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.’ 3 But Joab said to the king, ‘May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?' 4 But the king's word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel.” 

From verse 5 to verse 9 we’re told how the census happens and the number that came out of it, which was about 1.3 million strong men ready for battle.

Then verse 10 hits, “But David's heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.’ 11 And when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, 12 ‘Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’ 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, ‘Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.’ 14 Then David said to Gad, ‘I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.’ 15 So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men.”

We need to stop and address what’s happening here. After David hears the number from the census, he realizes that he had sinned in ordering the census to be taken. But the question should be asked, why? Why was it a sin, when God himself told David to do it? Let’s walk through, what we know so far.

The chapter begins, and we’re told that God’s anger “… was kindled against Israel … (v.1)” And because of this, the Lord “incited David” to take a census. No reason for what God’s anger was kindled is given outright in the text. However, Joab is the one who pushed back on the king’s decision to take the census. Why? A census in and of itself isn’t wrong. A census was taken in Numbers Chapter 1 and 26. So what’s the issue here?

Joab says, “May the Lord your God add to the people …” The idea here is that Joab is saying, may there be greater numbers than we could count, because God has increased us beyond what we could known. Then Joab gives us a hint at what’s going on when he asks, “… why does my lord … delight in this …?” Joab’s asking, why is David putting his delight in numbers, rather than in God. This actually flys in the face of David’s song of rest. 

We talked last week that David realized that everything he had, whether that was the kingdom or his own abilities, all of it came from the Lord. But now, as he is growing older, he is delighting in the strength of the people’s numbers, rather than in the Lord’s ability. 

If we remember back to Gideon, in the book of Judges, God decreased his numbers to win the battle (Jdg. 7). Numbers mean very little to God, trust is more important. In this moment, David has allowed his trust to shift from God to numbers. David’s sin of trusting the might of his numbers rather than God is why we’re given the list of the mighty men. David has allowed the feats of his warriors to pull his heart away from God.

So that explains David’s thoughts, but it doesn’t explain why its tells that it was the Lord who incited David. If it was the Lord who incited David, how can David be guilty for the action?

This is a deeper and layered theological issue. For the author of Samuel, the focus is on the Lord. God is sovereign over all things in. There is nothing that happens that isn’t allowed or done by God itself. So when an evil spirit fell on Saul, it was said to have been sent by the Lord (1 Sam. 16:14, & 18:10). The author of Samuel isn’t making a full theological breakdown, but rather focusing on one aspect, which is the sovereignty of the Lord. David’s desire is already there, so the Lord “incites” him to follow through. Yet, that’s not the full story. We get the primary inciting force in 1 Chronicles 21, where the parallel passage states, "Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. (v.21:1)”

It is Satan who is seeking ways to break Israel as a nation, who sees that David is becoming increasingly satisfied in the strength of his military, rather than in the Lord, and so incites him to take the census. For the author of Samuel, this can only happen because God allowed it. Going back to Saul, in the context of the evil spirit, the Spirit of God had been removed, and so Saul was empty and primed to be filled with something. God allowed this, as part of his divine judgment. When a person experiences the work of God, and then rejects that work, evil has a greater foothold in that person’s life. God allows these situations to occur, for the purpose of repentance.

We see this theology play out in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, where he tells the Church, “you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns. (1 Cor. 5:5)” 

Both parts are true: God is sovereign over all things, and there are times when he allows the footholds we allow in our lives, to be used by the enemy to bring about distancing from him. The purpose of which is to bring us back. 

So the context of the passage gives us the state of David’s and Israel’s heart: they were self-satisfied, and the Chronicler zeros in on the direct inciter of David wanting the census. David had already allowed a foothold in this life of self-aggrandizing, even though he knew everything had was from God. Satan took the opportunity to incite David, and God allowed it to wake David up.

And it did, David recognized in verse 10 that it was a sinful thing to take a census, because it came from a place self-satisfaction.

So then, God gives David three options for judgment: three years of famine, three months fleeing, like with Absalom, or three days of pestilence. And, to David’s credit, he makes an important statement in verse 14, “Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great.” David asks for the Lord to choose in his mercy. So the 70,000 deaths, were the most merciful of the judgments. Think about how bad these others would have been.

Now, in verse 16, the angel of the Lord is carrying out judgment, and the Lord stays his hand from striking Jerusalem. Then in verse 17, we get another good move by David. We read, “Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, ‘Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father's house.’”

David takes ownership of the sin once again and pleads with God to put the judgment on himself and his house. So through the prophet Gad, the Lord tells him to build an alter on the threshing floor of a man named Araunah (a-raw-na). 

So David goes to Araunah, and asks to buy the mill from him. We pick up this interaction in verse 22, “Then Araunah said to David, ‘Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.’ And Araunah said to the king, ‘May the Lord your God accept you.’ (v. 22-23)” 

Araunah wants to give the mill to David without cost. However, here’s another point in David’s favor. David responds in verse 24, “But the king said to Araunah, ‘No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.’” 

David recognizes that there is a cost to following the Lord, and David doesn’t want someone else to pay it. This is where the book ends, not with the death of David, but with a final theological thought for the reader, “Are you willing to pay the cost of following God?”

Jesus, in Luke 14:27-28, would actually bring up this very concept when he told the people, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”

The gift of salvation is free, but that doesn’t mean it won’t cost us something. Following Jesus means that we will lose things like our self-focus, selfishness, the concept that we have our own say. We might lose finances, friends, jobs, our life. There is a cost to following God, however, that cost leads to great gain. Eternal life with the Creator of the universe is the ultimate gain. It is a gain that dwarfs any lost we experience and any cost that was incurred. But there is still a cost.

Billy Graham is quote as saying, “I have never known a man who received Christ and ever regretted it.”

Every person has to decide what cost is greater, the cost of losing in this life to gain the next, or to gain in this life to lose the next. In my estimation, the choice is clear. There is no short term gain worth enough to spend eternity apart from God.

But this the last thought the books of Samuel place on the reader. Through everything that has happened: from Hannah giving up Samuel to the Lord, to Samuel giving up his position as Judge, from Saul losing his kingdom, to David paying the cost of his sin, we are now asked, “Reader, are you willing to pay the cost that comes with follow the Lord?”

Today, as we only have one week left in our series on Samuel, let’s take a moment and think about the cost of following Jesus. We don’t have to pay for our sins, that cost was burdened by Jesus on the cross, but their is still a cost. So right now, I want us to think about the cost of follow Christ, have you accepted that cost? You might lose many thing sin this life, are you prepared for that?

If not, the enemy will use that thing that you desire, health, wealth, influence, stability, friends, family, whatever it is, as a place to naw at you so that you’ll turn away from God. The cost is high, but only for a little bit. The payoff however, is more than we can imagine. Right now, as I pray, I’m going to give us a moment of silence for you to spend speaking with Jesus about the cost. Then as you determine to follow, if you can, stand up as we sing our last two songs.

Let us be a people who have counted the cost, and look forward to the day, when the payment of Jesus is seen in full. Amen. 

2 Samuel Series - Week 21: Belief in Motion

  Years ago, most of those who led music in our congregation were only down during the winter months. We might not realize how much of a blessing it is to have so many participants in leading worship that we have today. 

In the past, it really fell to Laura Moore, with had canned music to back her up. When I learned guitar, I started to help out, and eventually began leading the music for our summer worship time. I believe that all eras of worship music should be played in the Church. Whether that’s hymns, choruses, or contemporary songs. The reason I believe this is because God gives every generation songs to sing back to him. But not everyone agrees with me. We had one lady, who has long since moved on from this congregation, who disagreed. She once told me, “I don’t understand why people need to keep writing new worship songs, when we have really good ones already.”

The problem with that line of thinking is, if the people of the past didn’t write new songs, we wouldn’t have the old ones to sing. There were songs before David, but through David God created the Psalter. We had hymns from the early Church, but through the work of God in the 1700 and 1800s, we have hymns such as Amazing Grace. Just think if we had the mindset of, no new songs, how many songs we sing today that wouldn’t have been written. 

In Ephesians 5:19 Paul writes, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart …” Psalms are the songs found in Scripture, hymns are songs that champion the faith, and spiritual songs are new songs that the Spirit inspires in the believer. 

It’s a new song that David sung that brings us back into our series on Second Samuel where we’ll be picking it up in Chapter 22, as we look at the entire chapter this morning. As we open to Second Samuel 22:1, let’s remind ourselves where we are in the series.

Last week we began to third and final section of Second Samuel, that we are calling David’s Descent to Death. We looked at three points of conflict that David had to deal with as he moved beyond his darkest days. We talked about the rebels he had within his nation, about the sins of his predecessors that he had to deal with, and the enemies that were on his borders. Through it all we walked away with the understanding that, God calls us into his refuge, not just for conflicts we cause, but for the conflicts brought on by others, as well. No matter the conflict we should be resting in the Lord, and leaning on his strength to endure the situation.

With that refreshed in our minds we can now read through Second Samuel 22:1-51. And what I like to do with Psalms in the Bible is to read the entire thing and then break it down. For this I want to challenge you to close your eyes, and listen to the descriptions that David is giving, and picture them in your mind. Let’s read.

1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, 3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. 4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 5 “For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me; 6 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears. 8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry. 9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. 10 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. 11 He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen on the wings of the wind. 12 He made darkness around him his canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water. 13 

Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth. 14 The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice. 15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them. 16 Then the channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. 17 “He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. 18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. 20 He brought me out into a broad place;  he rescued me, because he delighted in me. 21 “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. 22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all his rules were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside. 24 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt. 25 And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight. 26 “With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; 27 with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. 28 You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. 29 For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness. 30 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. 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. 32 “For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? 33 This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless. 34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. 35 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness made me great. 37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip; 38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and did not turn back until they were consumed. 39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise; they fell under my feet. 40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me. 41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, those who hated me, and I destroyed them. 42 They looked, but there was none to save; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them. 43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth; I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets. 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. 45 Foreigners came cringing to me; as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me. 46 Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses. 47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation, 48 the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me, 49 who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from men of violence. 50 “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name. 51 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.”

As the Psalm begins, we’re told that this is a song David sings to the Lord when all of his enemies were delivered to him by the Lord. That just means that God had conquered all of  David’s enemies and at this point in his life, he no longer had to fight. 

The Psalm itself is almost identical to Psalm 18. The difference are: how they start. Psalm 18 begins with “I love you, O Lord, my strength. (v.1)” Whereas this Psalm begins with “The Lord is my rock …(v.2)” Which is the beginning of verse 2 in Psalm 18. This changes the verse numbers between the two Psalms. Then there are slight word or phrases changes, such as in verse 4 of Psalm 18 where is states, “The cords of death encompassed me …” and its parallel in verse 5 of Second Samuel, where it says, “For the waves of death encompassed me …” Apart from these slight variations, the Psalms seem to be the same. It’s possible that David wrote the one in Second Samuel as a first draft, and it was used by the author of the books of Samuel, but later David later revised it and that’s the copy of Psalm 18. 

But this isn’t a look at the difference between Psalm 18 and Second Samuel 22, so let’s breakdown what David is communicating through his song to God.

v.1-6 - The Psalm is constructed into 9 mini-sections. Verses 1-6 talk about who God is. He is the rock, fortress, stronghold, refuge (v.2-3). He is worthy to be praised, and he is the savior from the waves of death, the torrents of destruction, the chords of Sheol, and the snares of death (v.4-6). This is who God is to David, the Lord is David’s salvation and rest.

v.7 - Because God is David’s Savior, verse 7 tells us what David does, “In my distress I called upon the Lord …” David turns to God, why? Because God desires to listen, in fact the Lord hears David from his temple, a better translation would be sanctuary. David’s cries are heard by God. 

v.8-16 - Then we get a description of God in judgment. The earth is rocked at its foundations, and the heavens quake (v.8). Smoke comes from his nostrils and devouring fire from his mouth (v.9). This is all judgment language. God is moving to bring justice upon David’s foes. Then God comes down (v.10). He rides a cherub and thunders from heaven (v.11). Arrows and lightening scatter people and he lays bare everything so that no one will escape the judgment of the Lord (v.15-16).

v.17-20 - Next David sings of the rescue of God. The Lord saves David from enemies too strong for him to defeat on his own, and comforts David in the day of calamity where David receives God’s support (v.18-19). God brings him to a secure place, and the reason David gives for all of this, is because God delights in David (v.20).

v.21-25 - In verses 21-25, David begins to unpack God’s delight in him. David talks about his own righteousness and the cleanness of his hands, and we might think, “Wait, didn’t David do all those bad things before?” And it’s true, but the reveal comes when David states, “I … have not wickedly departed … (v.22)” That’s the key to God’s delight. David, for all his sins, failings, and foibles, does not depart from God. He accepts God’s judgments and corrections and keeps coming back. That’s how David keeps himself blameless and from guilt, that’s how he is clean.

v.26-28 - Then in the next two verses, David goes deeper into this. Because David seeks to show mercy, he is shown mercy (v.26), he is being purified by the Lord (v.27), and through it all David walks in humility (v.28). This is how David receives the delight of the Lord, because he recognizes his own failings, and walks before God humbly receiving correction. Through this, God graces him with righteousness and David enters the delight of the Lord.

v.29-46 - In verses 29-35, David returns to a description of who God is in relationship with him. He is the lamp of David (v.29), he helps David leap tall walls (v.30), he is a shield (v.31), and again, he is a rock and refuge for David (31-33). David then recognizes God’s work in him. David’s safe and secure, because God did it (v.34). He is good at war, because God did it. God is the source and sustainer of David. For this king of Israel, only the Lord is the one where all his victory and position came from.

It’s the military victories that David now begins to focus on. David recognizes that only God has secured every battle he has ever fought in. David was basically along for the ride. And just like it was God who won every battle, David recognizes that it was the Lord who made him king and brought other nations under his rule. David didn’t accomplish these things, it has always been God.

v.47-49 - Because of this, in verses 47-49, David bursts out in a summary praise of who God is and what he has done. David takes everything he just sung about and sums it all up to show what God has done.

v.50-51 - In the final two verses, David points back and declares, “For this I will praise you …(v.50)” David gives one more exclamation of praise to the Lord for the salvation God has brought to him, ending the song on a triumphant view of God and his work.

This Psalm reflects the whole of God’s work in David’s life. David recognizes that everything he has, whether it be his own personal abilities, or the victories that brought him to become king, have all been given to him by the Lord. 

Even the righteousness he has, comes by way of walking where God has called him to. David is a delight to God because he follows where God leads, even when that means correction. No matter if its a hard time or a good time; no matter if David caused the problems or others did, David recognizes that through it all, God has done and is doing great things.

Last week we talked about resting in God as our refuge to deal with the conflicts of this life. David shows us what that action of making God our refuge looks like. 

We must always recognize the Lord’s work in our lives, and see that as we interact with God, he will deal with us in our actions, this is what faith is. Faith is belief in motion. God will work for his purposes, but how those purposes come to pass in our lives and how we are used is done based on our obedience to him.

We take refuge, we find strength in him, by looking back and seeing what God has done, and trusting in what he will do.

So my challenge for you this week, is to write a song to God. It doesn’t have to rhyme, or be poetic, but it does have to recognize the work that God has done, and it does have to praise him. Re-read David’s psalm here in Second Samuel, to get some ideas, but make it your own. God hasn’t made you a king, but by his hand he has made you other things. Your enemies might not have been scattered by arrows, but they have been dealt with in other ways. Seek the Lord through the Holy Spirit this week to praise him for what he’s done. In doing so, you will see your spot of refuge in the Lord.

Let us be a people who’s praise of God is on our lips, and who rest in him as our refuge from the things of this world. Amen.