The King’s Final Praise

2 Samuel 22–23

Main Idea: David’s final songs teach of the glory of Yahweh and the anointing of Yahweh’s king; they help us see Jesus.

1. Yahweh the Deliverer
2. Is David Righteous?
3. The Majesty of Yahweh
4. He Trains My Hands for War
5. The Reign of the Messiah

Introduction

Second Samuel 22:1-51 and 23:1-7 mark the final songs sung by David. They parallel Hannah’s Song of praise in 1 Samuel 2:1-11 in major themes. As such, they provide the “bookends” of the entire story of 1–2 Samuel and establish the major themes of the book. The hero in both Hannah’s and David’s songs of praise is none other than the incomparable Yahweh. We should not miss this all-important point. Yahweh is the hero of Samuel!

But many would object: surely Jesus is the hero. Some have argued that in preaching and teaching surely Jesus is the one we sing—Yahweh plays second fiddle. Actually, we should not drive a wedge between Jesus and Yahweh. This would lead to a division of the triune God for our people. Sidney Greidanus helps us avoid this pitfall by reminding us that to be Christocentric is necessarily to be God centered. Another way to say it is this: to preach Christ will mean to preach the fullness of God, including the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Greidanus reminds us that “the first New Testament principle to remember is that Christ is not to be separated from God but was sent by God, accomplished the work of God, and sought the glory of God” (Preaching Christ, 179).

When David and Hannah exalt Yahweh in all His glory, they are by necessity exalting Christ. For Jesus is always there in the Godhead. And Yahweh’s redemptive plan and work through the earthly messiah are gloriously fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus, the Son (John 6:57). Jesus lives to do the will of the One who sent Him. And we know who He is through the Old Testament. So how do David’s words glorify Yahweh and His divine Messiah?

Yahweh the Deliverer

Verses 2-3 of 2 Samuel 22 pile up first-person pronouns one on top of the other (11 in all) to present the extraordinarily personal tone of the entire song. This is not a recounting of a God that David does not know—Yahweh is his God! Through the entire journey from his anointing to the later years of his life, Yahweh is eternally “my God” for David.

And what is the nature of Yahweh for David? Yahweh is the deliverer:

The One who protects from external threat: He is the rock and fortress.

The One who protects from enemy arrows: He is the shield.

The One who hides David from harm: He is a refuge.

He is the One who anoints David for purpose: He is the horn of salvation.

In all this Yahweh is “my deliverer.” David has seen his fair share of enemies. His own father-in-law wanted him dead and tried to kill him multiple times! David learned that Yahweh delivers. He encountered enemy nations like the Philistines! David learned that Yahweh is his salvation. He learned that revenge is not his but in the hands of the Lord. He learned from Nabal that God is the One who rights wrongs. In this, David discovered that Yahweh is the One who saves him from violence. Verse 4 crystallizes David’s praise in verses 2-3: “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.”

Verses 5-7 take the image of God’s salvation from personal distress further. In these verses Yahweh delivers at a cosmic and eternal scale. David says that death, destruction, and Sheol threatened to swallow him whole. But he called to Yahweh in his distress and the Lord heard his voice. Verse 7 says that God heard David’s cry from “His temple.” Why is this significant, and why does David say this? In the Old Testament the temple (particularly the throne of God) is the place where God hears cries of distress and issues divine verdicts. From the temple God moves to act in justice. We see this in other passages as well. In the Minor Prophets, for example, the prophet Jonah longs for this place in his time of trouble; his petition goes up “toward Your holy temple” (Jonah 2:4,7). Jonah’s prayer goes before the Lord in the temple so that he could receive the divine verdict on his prayer of distress. In Micah 1:2, from the “holy temple” Yahweh is a witness against all the peoples and all the earth. As a witness against the lawlessness of His world, God renders judgment from the temple against His people and land (Mic 1:3-7). Yahweh’s faithful ones look to the temple because it is there He will give His divine decree. This is the place where God vindicates the righteous and punishes the wicked. So from the temple God hears and responds.

Yahweh’s response is deliverance. Verses 9-16 present the earth responding to Yahweh marching out to deliver His anointed, David. Similar presentations occur in the Old Testament—Habakkuk 3:3-13 is a good example (see Thomas, Faith Amid the Ruins, esp. ch. 4, “Habakkuk’s View of God”). David summarizes the deliverance in verses 17-20. Why did Yahweh do this? Because David had prayed for help (v. 7), but the text also says that Yahweh delivered for another reason: “He rescued me because He delighted in me” (v. 20). The connection of Yahweh’s delight in David has to do with the fact that David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14) but also the fact that David is Yahweh’s chosen leader. David has found favor in Yahweh’s sight, and Yahweh has brought him back to rule in Jerusalem, thus answering his prayer from 2 Samuel 15:26 (see Firth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 519).

Is David Righteous?

Verses 21-27 read strangely to many, no doubt. David says some seemingly crazy things:

He is righteous and has clean hands (vv. 21,25).

He has “kept the ways of the Lord” (v. 22).

He was “blameless” and sinless (v. 24).

He is “faithful” and “pure” (vv. 26,27).

After reading the story of David from 2 Samuel 12 through 21, in what world can David say these things with a straight face? Well, David is telling the truth. Readers often like to read a song like this and think David is speaking in vague generalities about his spiritual state. The opposite, however, is true. David is speaking about specific ways he has been righteous (which is probably better translated “innocent”), cleanhanded, and sinless. To Saul’s descendants, for instance, he did not bring shame in the case of Mephibosheth, Ziba, or even Ish-bosheth. David twice spared Saul’s life (1 Sam 24; 26). He can say that he followed the Lord. The point is that he is not making general statements about his spiritual state but rather identifying specific and important moments of fidelity to Yahweh. Still the statements carry an ironic twist. As Firth rightly says, it is important to remember that in the book of Samuel

the claim is that David received the reward of the kingdom because he refused to seize it. Yet even as this is highlighted, placing this poem after the events concerning Uriah is an ironic reminder of what David has also done. There is a positive statement by and about David and an ironic criticism of him, criticism that knows David has been both punished and forgiven. (1 & 2 Samuel, 519)

David can praise God for his fidelity to Yahweh. This is good and right. David has exercised faithfulness to Yahweh. But we see, in turn, that at every turn the faithfulness of Yahweh stands out again and again. It is not the righteousness of David that is primarily in view but the righteousness of Yahweh. And it is the righteousness of God to which he clings. In this way, strangely, these verses point us to the gospel: only those who run to the Lord and Christ’s righteousness will be saved.

There is another word for this kind of people: the “afflicted”—those who know their desperate need for the Lord. And this is the term David uses in verse 28: Yahweh saves the “afflicted.” God saves people who are not proud, those who know how wicked and broken they actually are. God saves those who are absolutely and utterly dependent on the Lord. Or as the apostle James says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6).

The Majesty of Yahweh

Verses 32-34 remind us of the incomparable majesty of Yahweh. He is once again a “rock.” But the comparison is taken further to the form of a question: “For who is a god besides Yahweh? And who is a rock besides our God” (22:32, authors’ translation). In verse 32, David uses two names of God: Elohim and Yahweh. Yahweh is the covenant name of the Lord. To know Yahweh is to know the covenant Lord of the patriarchs, of Israel, and of David. Elohim is the name used in contexts when creation is mentioned. So David combines both names of God: Yahweh and Elohim. He is the God of creation and Lord of the covenant. No other being can claim the power of deity as can Yahweh. There is no other. David’s words here express the majesty and sheer otherness of Yahweh. There is no god but the true God, and He has a name: Yahweh-Elohim.

He Trains My Hands for War

Verses 35-49 depict how Yahweh enables His messiah to vanquish all rivals. Yahweh strengthens and protects the messiah (vv. 35-36). He gives the messiah stability and stamina to pursue, overtake, and defeat enemies. The idea is that David’s enemies are on the run and now David just has to finish off the final skirmishes. As there was irony present in David’s “righteousness,” we can see there is a certain irony in David’s “victory” over enemies as well, in the light of 2 Samuel 19–21. Although David has defeated specific enemies, it appears that they keep cropping up again and again! And giants like Goliath seem to hang around (21:15-22). Nonetheless, the hero of the text is Yahweh, who strengthens His messiah to defeat all rivals and reign over all peoples (vv. 44-46). The Davidic messiah, then, is king over Israel, but David says something more: that the messiah is the king over all nations.

The Reign of the Messiah

Second Samuel 22:50-51 and 23:1-7 present the reign of the messiah. Although Yahweh trains the messiah’s hands for war, the closing statement in the praise of 2 Samuel 22 is not that of a warrior. David closes his psalm with praise:

Therefore I will praise You, Lord, among the nations;

I will sing about Your name.

He is a tower of salvation for His king;

He shows loyalty to His anointed,

to David and his descendants forever. (22:50-51)

The final image of David is that of a worshiper. He is the leader who praises Yahweh and draws all other nations to sing the praises of Yahweh as well. The reign of the messiah, David instructs us, is not marked by war but praise. The personal way the psalm of praise began also now closes the song. David sings the praises of Yahweh’s name. There is power in the name of Yahweh. As David calls on the name of Yahweh, the true God delivers. As David appeals to Yahweh by name, Yahweh does wonders on David’s behalf. So David draws all nations to celebrate and revere the name of the God who is above all others: Yahweh! And Yahweh is revered because of the covenant kindness and loyalty Yahweh shows to the messiah (anointed) and his dynasty. This last statement in verse 51 confirms the Davidic covenant recorded in 2 Samuel 7. Yahweh will not abandon the dynasty of David. They may rebel and be wayward, but Yahweh will discipline them and bring them back. The Davidic messiah is the one through whom Yahweh will bless the world.

It is no wonder that 2 Samuel 23:1-7 follows on the beautiful affirmation of 22:51. In this psalm the Davidic covenant and the Davidic messiah stand central. In this psalm a number of interrelated topics proceed one to the next:

The Davidic messiah is imbued by the Holy Spirit to speak good words (v. 2).

The Davidic messiah will rule justly over his kingdom (v. 3).

The Davidic messiah’s just rule is like sun and rain, refreshing the kingdom (v. 4).

The Davidic messiah is bound to Yahweh’s everlasting covenant (v. 5).

The Davidic messiah’s enemies will be cast away forever (vv. 6-7).

David speaks more than he knows. In fact, his words are prophetic. Although he speaks words of praise about the favor of Yahweh on the Davidic house and the Davidic covenant, his words speak toward God’s continuing work with the family of David. David’s words are not just retrospective about what Yahweh has done with him in the past, David’s words anticipate the kind of rule his children should strive toward and their commitment to this Yahweh.

David’s words do apply to his own experience and his hopes for the coming Davidic kings. But the song pushes forward to the ultimate Davidic King, Jesus. We like the way Peter Leithart describes 23:1-7. We would apply his thought to the entirety of 1–2 Samuel:

The king described [in 2 Sam 23:1-7] applies to some degree to David, but the idea of the king as the rising sun is ultimately applied to the Messiah. 2 Samuel 23:1-7 is a full-length portrait of Jesus. He is the one who rules righteously and in the fear of the Lord, who brings the light of the new creation in His coming, who causes the land to flourish like a garden, and who takes up armor and spear against the thorns. But, as the next section makes clear, a righteous king also inspires imitation in his subordinates, and Jesus does the same, so that leaders of the church should aspire to approximate Him. All pastors and elders would do well to place 2 Samuel 23:1-7 on the doorposts of their houses, on their wrists, on the frontals of their foreheads. (Leithart, A Son to Me, 309)

Reflect and Discuss

1. How does this passage help you understand God?
2. How does this passage of Scripture exalt Jesus?
3. Read through 2 Samuel 22–23. How do these songs speak to you and encourage you? Why do you think you respond the way that you do?
4. In what ways have you experienced God as a “refuge” and “rock” as David did?
5. In what ways does the description of Yahweh in 2 Samuel 22 encourage and challenge you? Write down your thoughts and share them with someone you trust.
6. Do you think you drive a wedge between Yahweh and Jesus, or do you see them united in the Trinity? Have you ever thought about how Jesus relates to Yahweh? Why or why not?
7. What is the significance of the Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 22–23?
8. Reflect on the names of God in the songs: Yahweh and Elohim. How do we see different attributes of God through His names?
9. Read Luke 4:16-21. What similarities can you see between Jesus’ words in Luke 4 and the reign of the King in 2 Samuel 23:1-7?
10. Reread 2 Samuel 23:1-7. Allow God to encourage you that we have a Messiah, Jesus. He brings justice, pleasant words, refreshment, forgiveness, and ultimate healing.