2 Samuel 22

1 And David spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.
2 And he said, Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
3 God is my rock, in him will I trust -- My shield, and the horn of my salvation, My high tower, and my refuge, My saviour: thou wilt save me from violence.
4 I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised; So shall I be saved from mine enemies.
5 For the waves of death encompassed me, Torrents of Belial made me afraid.
6 The bands of Sheol surrounded me; The cords of death encountered me;
7 In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And I cried to my God; And he heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry [came] into his ears.
8 Then the earth shook, and quaked; The foundations of the heavens trembled And shook because he was wroth.
9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals burned forth from it.
10 And he bowed the heavens, and came down; And darkness was under his feet.
11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; And he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12 And he made darkness round about him a tent, Gatherings of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
13 From the brightness before him Burned forth coals of fire.
14 Jehovah thundered from the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent arrows, and scattered [mine enemies]; Lightning, and discomfited them.
16 And the beds of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At the rebuke of Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 He reached forth from above, he took me, He drew me out of great waters;
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From them that hated me; For they were mightier than I.
19 They encountered me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.
20 And he brought me forth into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
21 Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
22 For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his ordinances were before me, And his statutes, I did not depart from them,
24 And I was upright before him, And kept myself from mine iniquity.
25 And Jehovah hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his sight.
26 With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; With the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright;
27 With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; And with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary.
28 And the afflicted people thou dost save; And thine eyes are upon the haughty, [whom] thou bringest down.
29 For thou art my lamp, Jehovah; And Jehovah enlighteneth my darkness.
30 For by thee I have run through a troop; By my God have I leaped over a wall.
31 As for God, his way is perfect; The word of Jehovah is tried: He is a shield to all that trust in him.
32 For who is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our God?
33 God is my strong fortress, And he maketh my way perfectly smooth.
34 He maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], And setteth me upon my high places.
35 He teacheth my hands to war, And mine arms bend a bow of brass.
36 And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, And thy condescending gentleness hath made me great.
37 Thou enlargedst my steps under me; And mine ankles did not slip.
38 I pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them, And I turned not again till they were consumed.
39 And I have consumed them and have crushed them, and they rose not again; Yea, they fell under my feet.
40 And thou girdedst me with strength to battle: Thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me.
41 And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, And those that hated me I destroyed.
42 They looked, and there was none to save -- Unto Jehovah, and he answered them not.
43 And I did beat them small as the dust of the earth, I trod them as the mire of the streets; I stamped upon them.
44 And thou hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, Thou hast kept me to be head of the nations: A people I knew not doth serve me:
45 Strangers come cringing unto me: At the hearing of the ear, they obey me.
46 Strangers have faded away, And they come trembling forth from their close places.
47 Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God, the rock of my salvation,
48 The God who hath avenged me, And hath brought the peoples under me.
49 He brought me forth from mine enemies: Yea, thou hast lifted me up above them that rose up against me; From the man of violence hast thou delivered me.
50 Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, And will sing psalms to thy name.
51 [It is he] who giveth great deliverances to his king, And sheweth loving-kindness to his anointed, To David, and to his seed for evermore.

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2 Samuel 22 Commentary

Chapter 22

David's psalm of thanksgiving.

- This chapter is a psalm of praise; we find it afterwards nearly as ( Psalms 18 ) . They that trust God in the way of duty, shall find him a present help in their greatest dangers: David did so. Remarkable preservations should be particularly mentioned in our praises. We shall never be delivered from all enemies till we ( 2 Timothy. 4:18 ) Those who receive signal mercies from God, ought to give him the glory. In the day that God delivered David, he sang this song. While the mercy is fresh, and we are most affected with it, let the thank-offering be brought, to be kindled with the fire of that affection. All his joys and hopes close, as all our hopes should do, in the great Redeemer.

Footnotes 14

  • [a]. High rock.
  • [b]. Lit. 'God of my rock (or strength).'
  • [c]. 'Trust,' as fleeing for refuge: so ver. 31.
  • [d]. See Note, Gen. 37.35.
  • [e]. Lit. 'and scattered them.'
  • [f]. Or 'perfect,' as Gen. 6.9; 17.1; Deut. 18.13.
  • [g]. Chasid, 'pious,' 'godly:' see 2Chron. 6.41. A form of this word is used specifically of the ways of Hezekiah and of Josiah in 2Chron. 32.32 and 35.26. See also Ps.4.3; 12.1; 16.10.
  • [h]. Or 'wilt.'
  • [i]. Here imrah. as Deut. 33.9: see Note, Ps. 119.11.
  • [j]. Some read, as in Ps. 18.32, 'maketh my way perfect.'
  • [k]. See Note to Deut. 33.29.
  • [l]. Or 'fortified.'
  • [m]. Or 'tremble in their strong castles.'
  • [n]. Some read 'He is a tower of deliverance for.'

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 22

This chapter contains a song or psalm, the same with the eighteenth psalm, and which, according to Jarchi, was composed by David in his old age, and, as Kimchi says, at the end or close of his days; but Abarbinel is of opinion that it was written in his youthful time, in the midst of his troubles, and was sung by him as often as he had a deliverance from any; and which may account for the several variations in it from the eighteenth psalm, which, the same writer observes, are seventy four; and are not to be ascribed to the difference of copies, or neglect of copiers: and very probably, towards the close of his days, he revised it, and made it fit for general use, and sent it with the rest of his psalms to the chief musician; but the particular consideration of it, and of the differences in it from Ps 18:1-50 are referred to the exposition of that book in its course.

2 Samuel 22 Commentaries

The Darby Translation is in the public domain.