The Life and Times of

Lesson 19:
David’s Song of Salvation
(2 Samuel 22)

Introduction

As I approach the two psalms of David in 2 Samuel 22 (all) and 23 (verses 1-7), I am reminded of our dear family friends, Karl and Martha Lind. Karl is now in his 80's, suffering from heart and kidney failure and under hospice care. He is courageously dealing with his illness and awaiting his heavenly homecoming. My memories of Karl go back a long way, and some are vivid. When my wife Jeannette and I were married, we had very little money, and so by the fourth day of our honeymoon, we were spending the night in the guest room of the Lind's home. The next morning, Karl and Martha had prepared a lovely breakfast, and one of their sons, John, was given the task of announcing breakfast over the intercom. “Breakfast will be served in the dining room in five minutes,” John said, with all the formality he could muster as a teenager. Seconds later, before the intercom switch was released, there was a terrible crash as though every dish in the cupboard had broken to bits, followed by Karl's voice, “John!”

Karl is an excellent cook. In describing the way a less-than-expert cook went about his task, Karl summed it up this way: “When it's smokin', it's cookin'; when it's burnt, it's done.” A number of years ago Karl's pastor spoke on stewardship, and afterwards stood at the back door shaking hands with the people. As Karl approached him, the pastor (I'll call him “Chuck” to save embarrassment to anyone) looked expectantly, hoping Karl could give him a favorable report regarding his sermon. Never one to pull punches, Karl looked “Chuck” in the eye and commented, “Chuck, the way I look at it, your sermons cost me 25 bucks a crack. Frankly, Chuck, you and I both know they're not worth it.” That's Karl, our dear friend of many years.

Karl played a significant role in another of my childhood memories, the founding of a church in Auburn, Washington. My parents, along with Karl and Martha Lind and a number of others, were privileged to have a part in the founding of what was then called “Bible Baptist Church.” As a young boy in his pre-teens, I can vividly remember meeting in a funeral parlor (during church I looked around, wondering where they put the bodies),¹ then a grange hall, and finally a converted theater, which became our first church building. With the strength God is giving Karl in what appears to be the closing chapter of his life, Karl has set out to record his recollection of the early days of the Bible Baptist Church of Auburn. At the end of his life, he is looking back, tracing the hand of God in earlier days.

That is what King David does in the two psalms at the close of 2 Samuel. Second Samuel 22 records David's reflections, penned at the outset of his reign as Israel's king.² The first seven verses of chapter 23 are a second psalm; this one is perhaps David's last psalm. We are told that this inspired reflection at the end of his reign as Israel's king contains some of his last words as Israel's king. Together, these two psalms of David give us his inspired appraisal of the hand of God in his life as the King of Israel, from the outset of that reign to its closing days.

As I have already said -- and as you can see from most translations -- the words of reflection in our text are Hebrew poetry, two psalms if you would. In fact, 2 Samuel 22 is virtually identical with Psalm 18, with very minor variations. These psalms of David are songs. Second Samuel 22 is actually the longest of David’s psalms.³ In form and content, they are not new or unique, but follow in the tradition of earlier psalms.⁴ Some of these are:

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  Song of Israel by the sea (Exodus 15:1-18)
  
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  Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1-43)
  
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  Song of Deborah (Judges 5)
  
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  Song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10)
  
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  Song of David (2 Samuel 22; Psalm 18)
  
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  Song of Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3:1-19)
  

Even a cursory reading of the songs above will demonstrate a resemblance with David's psalm, which is the subject of our study. In our text, the psalm is included as a part of a historical narrative.⁵ In the Book of Psalms (as Psalm 18), this same song is employed as a pattern for Israel's worship, a pattern which is as profitable to us as it was to the Israelites of old. It is here for us to sing (it may need to be set to music, since the melody is lost to us), to learn from, and to proclaim in worship.⁶ In 2 Samuel 23:1-2, we are reminded that these psalms are written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They are to be taken very seriously, not only by the ancient reader, but by us as well.

A Summation of the Psalm

Usually a psalm is viewed as the distillation or condensation of a more complex set of truths or statements. I would not contest this, but I would point out that a psalm can also work the other way. Sometimes a psalm is the expansion of a simple thought, by way of parallelism and repetition. For example, David could have simply told us that God is our refuge, but instead, he employs the imagery of eight different terms to describe God in verses 2 and 3. The message of chapter 22 is really quite simple and can be reduced to a few sentences. I will attempt to do this in order to make the message of the psalm evident, and then to appreciate this message, we will give the verses more consideration.

1-3	I praise God because He is the One who keeps me safe.
4-20	When I call on Him, He rescues me. I was in a lot of trouble; I called on God, and He heard me, and saved me.
21-29	God saved me because of my righteousness.
30-46	God saved me by giving me the strength to fight and to prevail over my enemies.
47-50	Praise God!
51	God save(s) the king, His King, His anointed one.