UNROLL
First light after a night storm in the Judean wilderness: a great pale limestone crag rises from bare hills, a goat path winding up to a dark cleft high in the rock, rainwater shining in the hollows of the stone, under a calm, washed sky turning gold.

The Book of

2 Samuel 22

Hunted by Saul and hemmed in by enemies, David called, and the LORD answered. This is the song he sang.

51 verses≈ 6 min2 peopleBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

  1. 1–4King in HebronThe house of Saul falls
  2. 5–6JerusalemThe ark comes home
  3. 7–10A house foreverGod's promise to David
  4. 11–12David's sinBathsheba and Nathan
  5. 13–20The swordAmnon, Absalom and Sheba
  6. 21–24Last wordsSongs, heroes and an altarChapter 22

David’s Song of Deliverance

And David sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

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He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation.

2 Samuel 22:2–3

My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence.

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;

so shall I be saved from my enemies.

David

Then the earth shook and quaked;

the foundations of the heavens trembled;

they were shaken because He burned with anger.

A great thunderstorm breaks over the Judean hills at dusk: forked lightning strikes a far ridge, sheets of rain and hail slant down, and wind bends the oaks on a slope, under one smooth, heavy canopy of dark cloud.

Smoke rose from His nostrils,

and consuming fire came from His mouth;

glowing coals blazed forth.

He parted the heavens and came down

with dark clouds beneath His feet.

He mounted a cherub and flew;

He soared on the wings of the wind.

He made darkness a canopy around Him,

a gathering of water and thick clouds.

From the brightness of His presence

coals of fire blazed forth.

0:24

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

The LORD thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded.

He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;

He hurled lightning and routed them.

The channels of the sea appeared,

and the foundations of the world were exposed

at the rebuke of the LORD,

at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.

2 Samuel 22:17–18

Morning: David, seen from behind, walks out of the mouth of a narrow, shadowed limestone gorge into a broad, sunlit valley of green grass and scattered oaks.

They confronted me in my day of calamity,

but the LORD was my support.

He brought me out into the open;

He rescued me because He delighted in me.

Reflect

He drew me out

David remembered the waves, the cords and the snares, and the God who heard him: “In my distress I called upon the LORD.” Write about a time you called on the LORD in distress. What did He do? Where are you still waiting for Him to draw you out?

The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

For I have kept the ways of the LORD

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

For all His ordinances are before me;

I have not disregarded His statutes.

And I have been blameless before Him

and kept myself from iniquity.

So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,

according to my cleanness in His sight.

To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,

to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

to the pure You show Yourself pure,

but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

You save an afflicted people,

but Your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.

A single small clay oil lamp burns on a stone ledge in a dark room of rough fieldstone at night, its one flame lighting the wall and a doorway beyond.

For You, O LORD, are my lamp;

the LORD lights up my darkness.

For in You I can charge an army;

with my God I can scale a wall.

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

2 Samuel 22:31

For who is God besides the LORD?

And who is the Rock except our God?

Question

Quick question

David has sung of the LORD as his rock, his fortress and his shield. One more name comes in the dark.

In verse 29, what does David call the LORD?

Sunrise in the Judean hills: a slender deer stands sure-footed on a narrow limestone ledge high above a deep gorge, the valley still in shadow far below.

God is my strong fortress,

and He makes my way clear.

He makes my feet like those of a deer

and stations me upon the heights.

David
David

He trains my hands for battle;

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have given me Your shield of salvation,

and Your gentleness exalts me.

You broaden the path beneath me

so that my ankles do not give way.

I pursued my enemies and destroyed them;

I did not turn back until they were consumed.

I devoured and crushed them so they could not rise;

they have fallen under my feet.

You have armed me with strength for battle;

You have subdued my foes beneath me.

You have made my enemies retreat before me;

I destroyed those who hated me.

They looked, but there was no one to save them—

to the LORD, but He did not answer.

I ground them as the dust of the earth;

I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.

You have delivered me from the strife of my people;

You have preserved me as the head of nations;

a people I had not known shall serve me.

Foreigners cower before me;

when they hear me, they obey me.

Foreigners lose heart

and come trembling from their strongholds.

The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!

2 Samuel 22:47

And may God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted—

the God who avenges me

and brings down nations beneath me,

who frees me from my enemies.

You exalt me above my foes;

You rescue me from violent men.

Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.

2 Samuel 22:50

Great salvation He brings to His king.

He shows loving devotion to His anointed,

to David and his descendants forever.”

Pray

My rock and my fortress

Praise the LORD with David’s words: “The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!” Thank Him that He hears from His temple, reaches down and draws His people out of deep waters. Ask Him for trust when you are overwhelmed, and for a voice to praise His name among the nations. Lord, You are my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. I take refuge in You. Amen.

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2 Samuel 22

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A verse to carry with you

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

2 Samuel 22:31

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