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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 22:21

Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 22:21

The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

21. according to my righteousness ] This is no vain-glorious boasting of his own merits, but a testimony to the faithfulness of Jehovah to guard and reward His faithful servants. David does not lay claim to a perfect righteousness, but to sincerity and single-heartedness in his devotion to God. Compare his own testimony (1Sa 26:23), God’s testimony (1Ki 14:8), and the testimony of history (1Ki 11:4; 1Ki 15:5), to his essential integrity.

Is not this conscious rectitude, this “princely heart of innocence,” a clear indication that the Psalm was written before his great fall?

the cleanness of my hands ] = the purity of my actions. Cp. Psa 24:4.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

[See comments on Ps 18:20].

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

21 Jehovah rendered to me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands He recompensed me.

22 For I have observed the ways of Jehovah,

And have not wickedly departed from my God.

23 For all His rights are before my eyes;

And His statutes,-I do not depart from them.

24 And I was innocent towards Him,

And kept myself from mine iniquity.

signifies to do to a person good or evil, like the Greek and . The righteousness and cleanness of hands, i.e., the innocence, which David attributed to himself, were not perfect righteousness or holiness before God, but the righteousness of his endeavours and deeds as contrasted with the unrighteousness and wickedness of his adversaries and pursuers, and consisted in the fact that he endeavoured earnestly and sincerely to walk in the ways of God and to keep the divine commandments. , to be wicked from, is a pregnant expression, signifying to depart wickedly from God. , i.e., as a standard before my eye. In the psalm we find , innocent in intercourse with the Lord, instead of (see Deu 18:13); and for the fact itself, David’s own testimony in 1Sa 26:23-24, the testimony of God concerning him in 1Ki 14:8, and the testimony of history in 1Ki 15:5. , from mine iniquity, i.e., from the iniquity which I might have committed.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

The Lords Rewards. 2Sa. 22:21-31

21

The Lord 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 the Lord,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

23

For all his judgments were before me:

and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.

24

I Was also upright before him,

and have kept myself from mine iniquity.

25

Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness;

according to my cleanness in his eyesight.

26

With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful,

and with the upright man thou will show thyself upright.

27

With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure;

and with the forward thou wilt show thyself unsavory.

28

And the afflicted people thou wilt save:

but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

29

For thou art my lamp, O Lord:

and the Lord will lighten 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 the Lord is tried:

he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

The third part of Davids psalm was a lengthy affirmation of his righteousness. It is this particular section of the psalm which makes some of the critics believe it was written before he had sinned with Bathsheba. David knew his sin had been forgiven, however, and as far as he was concerned, it was forgotten. He did not need to make mention of the adverse circumstances of his life at a time when he was speaking of the blessings he had received. The song could have been written late in his life, even after his sin with Bathsheba. Over all, David had kept the ways of the Lord (2Sa. 22:22). He had not wickedly departed from God in the same way in which Saul had openly disobeyed God to such an extent that finally God had abandoned him. David had followed Gods judgments and statutes. He gave evidence of being acquainted with the Law, and such evidence pointed to the fact that the Pentateuch had been written before the days of David. When David was giving his final instructions to Solomon, he told him to walk in the commandments, statutes, and ordinances of God, as they were written in the Law of Moses (1Ki. 2:3).

David was called a man after Gods own heart (1Sa. 13:14; Act. 13:22), and David knew that it was because he had done his best to follow God that God had recompensed him according to his righteousness (2Sa. 22:25). This was according to the very nature of God, a full description of which David gave as he considered his own life. God would be merciful to the merciful; He would be upright to the upright; He would be pure to the pure (2Sa. 22:26-27 a). God would be against the unsavory and plead the cause of the afflicted people so that they might be saved from their enemies, watching the proud and haughty in order that He might trip them up and break them down to destruction (2Sa. 22:27 b, 2Sa. 22:28). David called God his candle or lamp; and in times of darkness or distress, God had been the light along his way (2Sa. 22:29).

David never grew tired of singing the praises of God, and in the next section of his psalm he praised God as the source of his strength. It was by Gods help that he had broken down many troops of armed resistance, even escaping, as it were, by leaping over walls. David knew that as long as he walked in Gods way, he was going the right way; and it was the word of the Lord which he had proved in the very fires of adversity. David would rather have the Lord with him than to have the armor of men. He proved this when he gave Sauls armor back to him and went forth to meet Goliath, in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel (1Sa. 17:45). Davids feet had been made swift by the Lord (2Sa. 22:34), and his hands had been nimble and strong because of the knowledge that God was with him. God had been his very armor (2Sa. 22:36), and his girdle (2Sa. 22:41). His faith was like that of the apostle Paul, who described the Christians armor in great detail (Eph. 6:13-18). Equipped with the spirit of the Lord, David had been able to enlarge his steps (2Sa. 22:37), pursue his enemies (2Sa. 22:38), consume his foes (2Sa. 22:39), and beat them as small as the dust of the earth (2Sa. 22:43). Even enemies from within his own kingdom had not brought Davids downfall, and he had spread his dominion east and west and north and south.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

21. My righteousness “The righteousness and cleanness of hands, that is, the innocence, which David attributed to himself, were not perfect righteousness or holiness before God, but the righteousness of his endeavors and deeds as contrasted with the unrighteousness and wickedness of his adversaries and pursuers, and consisted in the fact that he endeavored earnestly and sincerely to walk in the ways of God, and to keep the divine commandments.” Keil.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Praise and Prophecy

v. 21. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. The righteousness of the heart is seen in the purity of the acts of his hands, in their abstaining from sin and unrighteousness.

v. 22. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, observing the rules of conduct laid down in His Law, and have not wickedly departed from my God, not fallen away from God through wickedness.

v. 23. For all His judgments were before me, the instructions to which He obligated all men; and as for His statutes, the precepts of His covenant, I did not depart from them, he was a sincere believer In, and follower of, Jehovah.

v. 24. I was also upright before Him, that was his immediate, inner relation to God, and have kept myself from mine iniquity, guarding himself against committing sin, and so contracting guilt. This testimony of David concerning himself agrees with that of the Lord, 1Ki 14:8; 1Ki 15:5.

v. 25. Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His eyesight, rewarding every believer in accordance with the evidence presented in his life and works.

v. 26. With the merciful Thou wilt show Thyself merciful, and with the upright man Thou wilt show Thyself upright.

v. 27. With the pure Thou wilt show Thyself pure, and with the froward, the perverse, Thou wilt show Thyself unsavory, every man thus reaping as he sowed, being rewarded or punished according to his deeds.

v. 28. And the afflicted people Thou wilt save, those bowed down by a weight of misery; but Thine eyes are upon the haughty, those who look down upon and oppress the poor and afflicted, that Thou mayest bring them down. Cf Luk 1:52.

v. 29. For Thou art my Lamp, O Lord, as the Source of all his joy and good fortune; and the Lord will lighten my darkness, by taking away all affliction, wretchedness, and ruin.

v. 30. For by Thee I have run through a troop, running against the hostile forces and trampling them under foot; by my God have I leaped over a wall, conquering fortified places with ease.

v. 31. As for God, His way is perfect, He is altogether blameless in His government; the Word of the Lord is tried, without guile, pure, and true; He is a buckler to all them that trust in Him, offering protection against all dangers.

v. 32. For who is God save the Lord? He is the only true God. And who is a rock save our God? He only may be relied upon absolutely as trustworthy.

v. 33. God is my strength and Power, a Fortress of strength; and he maketh my way perfect, leading and guiding the perfect man on his way.

v. 34. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, swift in strength and in the pursuit of the enemies; and setteth me upon my high places, which the singer victoriously holds against his enemies.

v. 35. He teacheth my hands to war, and thus to hold their own against the enemies, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms, so that his arms are able to bend the bronze bow without difficulty.

v. 36. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation, whereby God protects and saves His people; and Thy gentleness hath made me great, by the favorable hearing of his prayer.

v. 37. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, giving to the wanderer a wide space for free movement, so that my feet did not slip, his ankles standing unwavering and firm; he was able to move with a light and strong step.

v. 38. I have pursued mine enemies and destroyed them, and turned not again until I had consumed them; they could not rise for further contest; they fell under his feet in helpless submission.

v. 39. And I have consumed them and wounded them that they could not arise; yea, they are fallen under my feet.

v. 40. For Thou hast girded me with strength to battle, all his strength and prowess came from Jehovah; them that rose up against me hast Thou subdued under me, they had to bow down their necks like helpless slaves.

v. 41. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, causing them to turn their back in flight, that I might destroy them that hate me.

v. 42. They looked, but there was none to save; even to the Lord, but he answered them not. Though in their extreme need they cried to the God of Israel for help, they received no deliverance at His hands.

v. 43. Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, rubbing, pulverizing, and scattering them; I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad, contemptuously scorning and throwing them away as worthless. The result of this victorious conflict with the enemies is also pictured.

v. 44. Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, from the insurrections in the midst of his own nation; Thou Hast kept me to be head of the heathen, of all the surrounding nations; a people which I knew not shall serve me, Here the Messianic thought is included, that eventually even those outside 3f the chosen people of the Lord would learn to know the true God in Christ Jesus.

v. 45. Strangers shall submit themselves unto me, strange, foreign people would pay fawning, hypocritical homage, since they felt powerless before the Lord’s king; as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.

v. 46. Strangers shall fade away, wither and shrivel up like a leaf in a hot wind, and they shall be afraid out of their close places, coming forth hobbling and trembling out of their fortresses.

v. 47. The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation. These sentences return to the thought of the introduction, which dominated the entire psalm.

v. 48. It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me, subjecting the nations to his rule,

v. 49. and that bringeth me forth from mine enemies, delivering him from their power. Thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me; Thou hast delivered me from the violent man, saving him from the persecution of Saul, as of the man of violent deeds, and from all those that followed the latter in his hatred.

v. 50. Therefore I will give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto Thy name, as being expressive of all His deeds of deliverance, by which He has revealed Himself as the true God.

v. 51. He is the Tower of Salvation for His king, with the strong assurance of salvation, and showeth mercy to His anointed, unto David, and to his seed forevermore; the Messianic thought recurring here once more. Christ, the true Anointed of God, carried the Lord’s cause to a still more victorious conclusion. He is the Head and King over all nations, over the spiritual Israel, the seed of Abraham gathered from all nations of the world.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

(21) The LORD 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 the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. (23) For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them. (24) I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity. (25) Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.

I desire the Reader particularly to observe how he reads those verses, in order that he may have a clear apprehension of David’s meaning, in what be saith in them. He is here stating the ground of his innocency, as it related to his conduct towards his neighbor, and particularly as it referred to Saul. The title of the Psalm saith as much, that David spoke these words in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul. And, as far as his history informs us with respect to his conduct towards Saul, his whole behaviour was such that he might plead his innocency. So that when accused by men he could plead to GOD. But Reader! do not from hence imagine that David meant here, or in any other part of his life, that the LORD rewarded him according to his righteousness or, the cleanness of his hands, in the sight of GOD. Alas! David was so conscious of his sins, that he cries out, Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O LORD , for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. We may with humbleness of soul, ascribing at the same time the whole glory to GOD for the grace bestowed upon us in enabling us to perform it; we may bless GOD when we can appeal to him concerning our integrity between man and man; but with respect to our whole lives before GOD, every saint on earth must lay his hand upon his mouth, and say with Job, If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul. Job 9:20-21 . Reader! do mark this down in the memorandums of thy heart. Depend upon it, it is a solemn thing for a poor sinner, though looking up for acceptance and justification in the person and righteousness of JESUS, to stand before GOD.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

rewarded: 2Sa 22:25, 1Sa 26:23, 1Ki 8:32, Psa 7:3, Psa 7:4, Psa 7:8, Psa 18:20-25, Psa 19:11, 1Co 15:58

cleanness: Job 17:9, Psa 24:4, Jam 4:8

Reciprocal: Gen 30:33 – righteousness

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

22:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my {l} righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

(l) Toward Saul and my enemies.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes