2 4. Introductory invocation of Jehovah<\/p>\n
2<\/strong>. The<\/em> Lord is my rock<\/em> ] The opening address to God, found in Psalms 18<\/span>, “Fervently do I love thee O Jehovah my strength,” is wanting here.<\/p>\n 2, 3<\/strong>. The imagery, by which David describes so emphatically all that Jehovah had been to him as a Deliverer from his enemies, is derived from the experiences of his warlike life, and particularly of his flight from Saul. The cliff<\/strong> (1Sa 23:25<\/span>; 1Sa 23:28<\/span>) where he had escaped from Saul, the strong-hold<\/strong> in the wilderness of Judah or the fastnesses of Engedi (1Sa 23:14<\/span>; 1Sa 23:19<\/span>; 1Sa 23:29<\/span>), “the rocks of the wild goats” (1Sa 24:2<\/span>), were all emblems of Him who had been throughout his true Refuge and Deliverer.<\/p>\n 2Sa 22:2-3<\/span><\/p>\n The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n God our Rock<\/strong><\/p>\n A great mountain lifts itself up, with perpendicular face, over against some quiet valley; and when summer thunders with great storms, the cliff echoes the thunder, and rolls it forth a second time, with majesty increased; and we think that, to be sublime, storms should awaken mountain echoes, and that then cause and <\/strong>effect are worthy of each other. But so, too, an oriole, or a song-sparrow, singing before it, hears its own little song sung back again. A little child, lost and crying in the valley, hears the great cliff weeping just as it weeps; and, in sooth, the mountains repeats whatever is sounded, from the sublimest notes of the tempest to the sweetest bird-whisper or child-weeping; and it is just as easy to do the <\/strong>little as the great, and more beautiful. Now God is our rock, and from His heart <\/strong>is inflected every experience, every feeling of joy or grief that any human soul utters or knows. (H. W. Beecher.<\/em>)<\/p>\n And he said, The Lord [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer.<\/strong> [See comments on Ps 18:2]<\/span>.<\/p>\n 2Sa 22:2-4<\/span> form the introduction. <\/p>\n 2 Jehovah is my rock, my castle, and my deliverer to me;<\/p>\n 3 My Rock-God, in whom I trust:<\/p>\n My shield and horn of my salvation, my fortress and my refuge,<\/p>\n My Saviour; from violence Thou redeemest me.<\/p>\n 4 I call upon the praised one, Jehovah,<\/p>\n And I am saved from my enemies.<\/p>\n This introduction contains the sum and substance of the whole psalm, inasmuch as David groups the many experiences of divine deliverance in his agitated life into a long series of predicates, in all of which he extols God as his defence, refuge, and deliverer. The heaping up of these predicates is an expression both of liveliest gratitude, and also of hope for the future. The different predicates, however, are not to be taken as in apposition to Jehovah<\/em>, or as vocatives, but are declarations concerning God, how He had proved himself faithful to the Psalmist in all the calamities of his life, and would assuredly do so still. David calls God (my rock, and my castle) in Psa 31:4<\/span> as well (cf. Psa 71:4<\/span>). The two epithets are borrowed from the natural character of Palestine, where steep and almost inaccessible rocks afford protection to the fugitive, as David had often found at the time when Saul was pursuing him (vid., 1Sa 24:22<\/span>; 1Sa 22:5<\/span>). But whilst David took refuge in rocks, he placed his hopes of safety not in their inaccessible character, but in God the Lord, the eternal spiritual rock, whom he could see in the earthly rock, so that he called Him his true castle. (my deliverer to me) gives the real explanation of the foregoing figures. The (to me) is omitted in Psa 18:2<\/span>, and only serves to strengthen the suffix, “my, yea my<\/em> deliverer.’ “ My Rock-God<\/em>,” equivalent to, God who is my Rock: this is formed after Deu 32:4<\/span>, where Moses calls the Lord the Rock of Israel, because of His unchangeable faithfulness; for zur <\/em>, a rock, is a figure used to represent immoveable firmness. In Psa 18:3<\/span> we find , “my God” (strong one), “my rock,” two synonyms which are joined together in our text, so as to form one single predicate of God, which is repeated in 2Sa 22:47<\/span>. The predicates which follow, “ my horn and my salvation-shield<\/em>,” describe God as the mighty protector and defender of the righteous. A shield covers against hostile attacks. In this respect God was Abraham’s shield (Gen 15:1<\/span>), and the helping shield of Israel (Deu 33:29<\/span>; cf. Psa 3:4<\/span>; Psa 59:12<\/span>). He is the “horn of salvation,” according to Luther, because He overcomes enemies, and rescues from foes, and gives salvation. The figure is borrowed from animals, which have their strength and defensive weapons in their horns (see at 1Sa 2:1<\/span>). “ My fortress:<\/em> ” misgab <\/em> is a high place, where a person is secure against hostile attacks (see at Psa 9:10<\/span>). The predicates which follow, viz., my refuge<\/em>, etc., are not given in Psa 18:3<\/span>, and are probably only added as a rhythmical completion to the strophe, which was shortened by the omission of the introductory lines, “I love thee heartily, Jehovah” (Psa 18:1<\/span>). The last clause, “ My Saviour, who redeemest me from violence,<\/em> ” corresponds to in the first hemistich. In Psa 18:4<\/span>, David sums up the contents of his psalm of thanksgiving in a general sentence of experience, which may be called the theme of the psalm, for it embraces “the result of the long life which lay behind him, so full of dangers and deliverances.” , “ the praised one<\/em>,” an epithet applied to God, which occurs several times in the Psalms (Psa 48:2<\/span>; Psa 96:4<\/span>; Psa 113:3<\/span>; Psa 145:3<\/span>). It is in apposition to Jehovah, and is placed first for the sake of emphasis: “I invoke Jehovah as the praised one.” The imperfects and are used to denote what continually happens. In 2Sa 22:5<\/span> we have the commencement of the account of the deliverances out of great tribulations, which David had experienced at the hand of God.<\/p>\n David’s Thanksgiving.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 1020.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 2 And he said, The LORD<\/B> is<\/I> my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; 3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is<\/I> my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. 4 I will call on the LORD<\/B>, who is<\/I> worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; 6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me; 7 In my distress I called upon the LORD<\/B>, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter<\/I> into his ears. 8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth. 9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. 10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was<\/I> 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 pavilions round about him, dark waters, and<\/I> thick clouds of the skies. 13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled. 14 The LORD<\/B> thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice. 15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them. 16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD<\/B>, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. 17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters; 18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and<\/I> from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me. 19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD<\/B> was my stay. 20 He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me. 21 The LORD<\/B> 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<\/B>, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all his judgments were<\/I> before me: and as for<\/I> 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<\/B> hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight. 26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and<\/I> with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. 27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury. 28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are<\/I> upon the haughty, that<\/I> thou mayest bring them<\/I> down. 29 For thou art<\/I> my lamp, O LORD<\/B>: and the LORD<\/B> 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<\/I> God, his way is<\/I> perfect; the word of the LORD<\/B> is<\/I> tried: he is<\/I> a buckler to all them that trust in him. 32 For who is<\/I> God, save the LORD<\/B>? and who is<\/I> a rock, save our God? 33 God is<\/I> my strength and<\/I> power: and he maketh my way perfect. 34 He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet:<\/I> and setteth me upon my high places. 35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. 36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great. 37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip. 38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them. 39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet. 40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me. 41 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me. 42 They looked, but there was<\/I> none to save; even<\/I> unto the LORD<\/B>, but he answered them not. 43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and<\/I> did spread them abroad. 44 Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be<\/I> head of the heathen: a people which<\/I> I knew not shall serve me. 45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me. 46 Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places. 47 The LORD<\/B> liveth; and blessed be<\/I> my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation. 48 It is<\/I> God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me, 49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. 50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD<\/B>, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name. 51 He is<\/I> the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.<\/P> Let us observe, in this song of praise,<\/P> I. How David adores God, and gives him the glory of his infinite perfections. There is none like him, nor any to be compared with him (v.<\/I><\/span> 32<\/span>): Who is God, save the Lord?<\/I> All others that are adored as deities are counterfeits and pretenders. None is to be relied on but he. Who is a rock, save our God?<\/I> They are dead, but the Lord liveth,<\/I> v.<\/span> 47<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. They disappoint their worshippers when they most need them. But as for God his way is perfect,<\/I> v.<\/span> 31<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Men begin in kindness, but end not-promise, but perform not; but God will finish his work, and his word is tried, and what we may trust.<\/P> II. How he triumphs in the interest he has in this God, and his relation to him, which he lays down as the foundation of all the benefits he has received from him: He is my God;<\/I> as such he cries to him (v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>), and cleaves to him (v.<\/I><\/span> 22<\/span>); “and, if my God,<\/I> then my rock<\/I>” (v.<\/I><\/span> 2<\/span>), that is, “my strength and my power (v.<\/I><\/span> 33<\/span>), the rock under which I take shelter (he who is to me as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land), the rock on which I build my hope,” v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>. Whatever is my strength and support, it is the God of my rock that makes it so;<\/I> nay, he is the God of the rock of my salvation<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 47<\/span>): my saving strength is in him and from him. David often hid himself in a rock (1 Sam. xxiv. 2<\/span>), but God was his chief hiding-place. “He is my fortress, in which I am safe and think myself so–my high tower,<\/I> or stronghold, in which I am out of the reach of real evils–the tower of salvation<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 51<\/span>), which can never be sealed nor battered, nor undermined. Salvation itself saves me. Am I in distress? he is my deliverer–struck at, shot at? he is my shield–pursued? he is my refuge–oppressed? he is my saviour, that rescues me out of the hand of those that seek my ruin. Nay, he is the horn of my salvation,<\/I> by which I am strongly protected, and my enemies are strongly pushed.” Christ is spoken of as the horn of salvation<\/I> in the house of David, Luke i. 69<\/span>. “Am I burdened, and ready to sink? The Lord is my stay<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 19<\/span>), by whom I am supported. Am I in the dark, benighted, at a loss? Thou art my lamp, O Lord!<\/I> to show me my way, and thou wilt dispel my darkness,<\/I>” v.<\/I><\/span> 29<\/span>. If we sincerely take the Lord for our God, all this, and much more, he will be to us, all we need and can desire.<\/P> III. What improvement he makes of his interest in God. If he be mine, 1. In him will I trust<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>), that is, “I will resign myself to his direction, and then depend upon his power, and wisdom, and goodness, to conduct me well.” 2. On him I will call<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 4<\/span>), for he is worthy to be praised.<\/I> What we have found in God that is worthy to be praised should engage us to pray to him and give glory to him. 3. To him will I give thanks<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 50<\/span>), and that publicly. When he was among the heathen he would neither be afraid nor ashamed to own his obligations to the God of Israel.<\/P> IV. The full and large account he keeps for himself, and gives to others, of the great and kind things God had done for him. This takes up most of the song. He gives God the glory both of his deliverances and of his successes, showing both the perils he was delivered from and the power he was advanced to.<\/P> 1. He magnifies the great salvations God had wrought for him. God sometimes brings his people into very great difficulties and dangers, that he may have the honour of saving them and they the comfort of being saved by him. He owns, Thou hast saved me from violence<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>), from my enemies<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 4<\/span>), from my strong enemy,<\/I> meaning Saul, who, if God had not succoured him, would have been too hard for him, v.<\/I><\/span> 18<\/span>. Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation,<\/I> v.<\/span> 36<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. To magnify the salvation, he observes,<\/P> (1.) That the danger was very great and threatening out of which he was delivered. Men rose up against him<\/I> (2Sa 22:40<\/span>; 2Sa 22:49<\/span>) that hated him<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 41<\/span>), a violent man<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 49<\/span>) namely, Saul, who was malicious in his designs against him and vigorous in his pursuit. This is expressed figuratively, 2Sa 22:5<\/span>; 2Sa 22:6<\/span>. He was surrounded with death on every side, threatened to be overwhelmed, and saw no way of escape. So violently did the waves of death beat upon him, so strongly did the cords and snares of death hold him, that he could not help himself, any more than a man in the grave can. The floods of Belial, the wicked one, and his wicked instruments, made him afraid; he trembled to see not only earth, but death and hell, in arms against him.<\/P> (2.) That his deliverance was an answer to prayer, v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>. He has here left us a good example, when we are in distress, to cry unto God with importunity, as children in a fright cry to their parents; and great encouragement to do so, in that he found God ready to answer prayer out of his temple in heaven, where he is continually served and adored.<\/P> (3.) That God appeared in a singular and extraordinary manner for him and against his enemies. The expressions are borrowed from the descent of the divine Majesty upon Mount Sinai, 2Sa 22:8<\/span>; 2Sa 22:9<\/span>, c. We do not find that in any of David’s battles God fought for him with thunder (as in Samuel’s time), or with hail (as in Joshua’s time), or with the stars in their courses (as in Deborah’s time) but these lofty metaphors are used, [1.] To set forth the glory of God, which was manifested in his deliverance. God’s wisdom and power, his goodness and faithfulness, his justice and holiness, and his sovereign dominion over all the creatures and all the counsels of men, which appeared in favour of David, were as clear and bright a discovery of God’s glory to an eye of faith as such miraculous interpositions would have been to an eye of sense. [2.] To set forth God’s displeasure against his enemies, God so espoused his cause that he showed himself an enemy to all his enemies; his anger is set forth by a smoke out of his nostrils,<\/I> and fire out of his mouth<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 9<\/span>), coals kindled<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>), arrows,<\/I> v.<\/span> 15<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Who knows the power and terror of his wrath? [3.] To set forth the extraordinary confusion which his enemies were put into, and the consternation that seized them; as if the earth had trembled and the foundations of the world<\/I> had been discovered, 2Sa 22:8<\/span>; 2Sa 22:16<\/span>. Who can stand before God when he is angry? [4.] To show how ready God was to help him: He rode upon a cherub and did fly,<\/I> v.<\/span> 11<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. God hastened to his succour, and came to him with seasonable relief, though he had seemed at a distance; yet he was a God hiding himself<\/I> (Isa. xiv. 15<\/span>), for he made darkness his pavilion<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>), for the amazement of his enemies and the protection of his own people.<\/P> (4.) That God manifested his particular favour and kindness to him in these deliverances (v.<\/I><\/span> 20<\/span>): He delivered me, because he delighted in me.<\/I> The deliverance came not from common providence, but covenant-love; he was herein treated as a favourite: so he perceived by the communications of divine grace and comfort to his soul with these deliverances, and the communion he had with God in them. Herein he was a type of Christ, whom God upheld because he delighted in him,<\/I>Isa 42:1<\/span>; Isa 42:2<\/span>.<\/P> 2. He magnifies the great successes God had crowned him with. He had not only preserved but prospered him. He was blessed, (1.) With liberty and enlargement. He was brought into a large place<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 20<\/span>), where he had room to thrive, and his steps were enlarged under him,<\/I> so that he had room to stir (v.<\/I><\/span> 37<\/span>), being no longer straitened and confined. (2.) With military skill, and strength, and swiftness. Though he was bred up to the crook, he was well instructed in the arts of war and qualified for the toils and perils of it. God, having called him to fight his battles, qualified him for the service. He made him very ingenious (He teacheth my hands to war,<\/I> v.<\/span> 35<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. And this ingenuity was as good as strength, for it follows, “so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms,<\/I>” not so much by main force as by dexterity), and very vigorous and valiant. (Thou hast girded me with strength to battle,<\/I> v.<\/span> 40<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. He gives God the glory of all his courage and ability for service), and very expeditious: He maketh my feet swift like hinds feet<\/I> (Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n