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Okay, you can turn in your Bibles 
to 2 Samuel 22. 2 Samuel chapter 22. We covered most of this chapter 
last week. We left off at verse 31, but 
I'll read the whole chapter because it does go together as a unit. 
Remember, these last several chapters in 2 Samuel, beginning 
in chapter 21, are a final assessment of David's reign, chapters 21 
to 24. They serve as a precursor or a transition to the succession 
narrative in 1 Kings 1 and 2, where Solomon occupies the throne 
of his father David. And this final assessment in 
chapters 21 to 24 is favorable and positive. Certainly David 
did not live as a sinless man. He did not live as a perfect 
man, but he was indeed a faithful man to God Most High in his role 
as the king over Israel. And in many respects, this is 
David's assessment, a theological assessment of his career. If persons were tempted to study 
all that had preceded this and saw David victorious in battle, 
they might conclude that David was a military strategist of 
the highest order, that he was a proven warrior, that he was 
trained with weaponry, that he was skillful in the art of war. but David wants to make sure 
nobody is left with that impression. He wants the reader to know that 
the reason for his success is the power of God Almighty. In 
other words, David wasn't David as the king over Israel without 
the muscle of God behind him. So, beginning in 2 Samuel 22 
at verse 1, And he said, the Lord is my rock 
and my fortress and my deliverer, the God of my strength and whom 
I will trust, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold 
and my refuge, my savior, you save me from violence. I will 
call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be 
saved from my enemies. When the waves of death surrounded 
me, the floods of ungodliness made me afraid, the sorrows of 
Sheol surrounded me, the snares of death confronted me. In my 
distress, I called upon the Lord and cried out to my God. He heard 
my voice from his temple, and my cry entered his ears. Then 
the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked 
and were shaken because he was angry. Smoke went up from his 
nostrils and devouring fire from his mouth. Coals were kindled 
by it. He bowed the heavens also and 
came down with darkness under his feet. He rode upon a cherub 
and flew, and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. He made 
darkness, canopies around him, dark waters and thick clouds 
of the skies. From the brightness before him, 
coals of fire were kindled. The Lord thundered from heaven, 
and the Most High uttered His voice. He sent out arrows and 
scattered them, lightning bolts, and He vanquished them. Then 
the channels of the sea were seen, the foundations of the 
world were uncovered at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of 
the breath of His nostrils. He sent from above, He took me, 
He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong 
enemy, from those who hated me. for they were too strong for 
me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord 
was my support. He also brought me out into a 
broad place. He delivered me because He delighted 
in me. The Lord rewarded me according 
to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands. 
He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the 
Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments 
were before me, and as for his statutes, I did not depart from 
them. I was also blameless before him, 
and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore, the Lord has recompensed 
me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in 
his eyes. With the merciful, you will show yourself merciful. 
With a blameless man, you will show yourself blameless. With 
the pure, you will show yourself pure. And with the devious, you 
will show yourself shrewd. You will save the humble people, 
but your eyes are on the haughty, that you may bring them down. 
For you are my lamp, O Lord. The Lord shall enlighten my darkness. 
For by you I can run against a troop. By my God I can leap 
over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect. 
The word of the Lord is proven. He is a shield to all who trust 
in Him. For who is God except the Lord, 
and who is a rock except our God? God is my strength and power, 
and He makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet 
of deer, and sets me on high places. He teaches my hands to 
make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have 
also given me the shield of your salvation. Your gentleness has 
made me great. You enlarged my path under me 
so my feet did not slip. I have pursued my enemies and 
destroyed them. Neither did I turn back again 
until they were destroyed. And I have destroyed them and 
wounded them so that they could not rise. They have fallen under 
my feet. For you have armed me with strength 
for the battle. You have subdued under me those 
who rose against me. You have also given me the necks 
of my enemies, so that I destroyed those who hated me. They looked, 
but there was none to save, even to the Lord, but He did not answer 
them. Then I beat them as fine as the 
dust of the earth. I trod them like dirt in the 
streets, and I spread them out. You have also delivered me from 
the strivings of my people. You have kept me as the head 
of the nations. A people I have not known shall serve me. The 
foreigners submit to me. As soon as they hear, they obey 
me. The foreigners fade away and come frightened from their 
hideouts. The Lord lives. Blessed be my 
rock. Let God be exalted, the rock 
of my salvation. It is God who avenges me and 
subdues the peoples under me. He delivers me from my enemies. 
You also lift me up above those who rise against me. You have 
delivered me from the violent man. Therefore, I will give thanks 
to you, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name. 
He is the tower of salvation to his king and shows mercy to 
his anointed. To David and his descendants 
forevermore. Amen. Well, as I said last week, 
this is also Psalm 18. There are differences in terms 
of the wording, in terms of some of the phrases, but it's the 
same essential psalm. Most likely David sang a version 
of this while he was living. He comes to compose this toward 
the end of his life. He prepares as well Psalm 18 
to contribute to the chief musician for the songs of Zion, for the 
nation of Israel, to sing in their public worship to the living 
and true God. So, if you compare 2 Samuel 22 
and Psalm 18, you will see that they are essentially the same. 
The psalm breaks down probably in a whole host of ways, but 
we're approaching it under three considerations, two of them we 
looked at last week. In the first place, the deliverance 
of God's servant. Notice in verse 1, it speaks 
specifically to David's oppression by Saul. David spoke to the Lord 
the words of this song on the day when the Lord had delivered 
him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of 
Saul. So that first section deals with the deliverance from Saul, 
who sought David, who persecuted David, who hunted David, who 
wanted ultimately to destroy David, and from the enemies such 
as the Philistines and whatnot. So in verses 1 to 20, we see 
the deliverance of God's servant. In verses 21 to 31, we consider 
the faithfulness of God's servant. We'll touch on that again at 
the end of our study tonight, just so we're not mistaken concerning 
David's assertion of his righteousness in verse 21. And then as well, 
tonight we're going to look at verses 32 to 51 under the consideration 
of the invincibility of God's kingdom. The invincibility of 
God's kingdom. Davis says that this particular 
section corresponds in bulk to verses 2 to 20. Although the 
emphasis here is not on the king's deliverance, but on his dominion. Again, David asserting the reality 
that any victory he has enjoyed, any success that he has achieved, 
is not by his might nor by his strength, but it's attributed 
directly to the power and the majesty and the excellence of 
Israel's God. So let's look at the invincibility 
of God's kingdom in four considerations. First, the power behind the kingdom. 
Secondly, the people encompassed by the kingdom. Thirdly, the 
praise ascribed to the God of the kingdom. And then finally, 
the promise that advances the kingdom. Note the power of God 
in verses 32 to 37. For who is a God except Yahweh? And who is a rock except our 
God? I love when the psalmists and 
the men in Scripture make this assertion. When they make this 
question and they ask, who is God except the Lord? Obviously, 
the answer is no one. There is no living and true God 
save Yahweh. And in highlighting this, what 
the author does is stress the incomparability of God. There is nothing that you can 
compare the living and true God to. He is not creature. He has 
not been fashioned. He has not been assembled out 
of some God parts. He is creator. He is removed 
from us. He is distinct from the creature. 
And so David rightly asks, who is God except the Lord? This 
question becomes the foil upon which that he can then answer 
and ascribe majesty and power to the Lord Most High. He ascribes 
or he says concerning God, He is my strength and power and 
He makes my way perfect. As Davis says, David's kingdom 
rests on Yahweh's muscle. It's not on David's muscle, it's 
not on his ability as we've already outlined, but rather it's on 
the fact that God is strength, God is power, He makes my way 
perfect. David then highlights the fact 
that God makes my feet like the feet of deer and sets me on my 
high places. We referred to this when we looked 
at Habakkuk 3 a few weeks ago. Habakkuk lifts this from Psalm 
18, which of course is 2 Samuel 22. He makes my feet like the 
feet of deer. This is the stability that God 
affords to His servant. When we trace and we rehearse 
and we have gone through at length the life of David, he had a lot 
of issues and he had a lot of sorrows and he had a lot of trials 
and difficulties. The Lord Christ is identified 
in Isaiah 53 as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The 
Lord Christ is also identified as David's son. And so if the 
Lord Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, certainly 
His Father, according to the flesh, David, was a man of sorrows 
and acquainted with grief. I mean, how could you not be 
fleeing from Saul? How could you not be facing, 
you know, the various enemies from without, when you're going 
through this, how do you manage if God is not there as your power, 
as the one who makes your way perfect, and as the one who makes 
your feet like the feet of deer and sets you on high places? 
He is the one that affords stability in the midst of difficulty. Now, 
the fact that David composed this psalm, gave it to the chief 
musician, and put it in the psalter for the church at large to sing 
forever and ever is indicative of the fact that this is not 
only the case for David, but it is the case for all those 
who look to the Lord Jesus Christ. We can all say and we can all 
attest and we can all ascribe the same sorts of things to God. 
We might say in the midst of our sorrows and our difficulties 
and our hardships, who is God except the Lord? And who is a 
rock except our God? The statement or the assertion 
that God is a rock, comes from the song of Moses in Deuteronomy. And it does not mean that he's 
static or inert or that he doesn't have any affection or love or 
perfections toward his people. It bespeaks his stability. It 
bespeaks his unchanging faithfulness, his steadfastness to his people. And so as David includes this 
among the larger collection of Psalms, in the Psalter, it's 
for all of God's people to sing, it's for all of God's people 
to testify to, and it's for all of us to consider and to take 
to heart. It is He who makes our feet like 
the feet of deer, and He sets us on high places. Any stability 
that you know in your life has been given to you by the living 
and true God. You're not stable because you've 
just become well-adjusted. You're not stable because you're 
emotionally brighter than the person next to you. I hope that's 
not the case, but we're all looking at who's next to us. You're stable 
because of God. And this is the assertion in 
Psalm 46, be still and know that I am God. What comforts the people 
of God? What keeps their feet like the 
feet of deer? What keeps them in that posture 
of being able to face the trials and the difficulties? It's the 
knowledge of our God who is a rock. This God who is our strength, 
this God who is our power, this God who makes our way perfect. 
He is the one that affords stability to His servants, And David sees 
this as cause to praise, cause to rejoice, cause to celebrate. This psalm was written to be 
chanted and sung in Israel. It wasn't a dirge, it wasn't 
a lament, it was a song of praise to the living and true God. Notice 
that David then goes on to highlight how God has furnished him for 
battle. Verse 35, he teaches my hands 
to make war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Now in 
just a moment, he's going to reflect upon the fact that he 
has utterly decimated his enemies. And as we've considered 1 and 
2 Samuel, David has won some very amazing battles in terms 
of the enemies of God. But he ascribes that strength 
to God Most High. He teaches my hands to make war, 
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. This is His ascription. God provides. The incomparable 
God, the God of strength and power, this God not only has 
these resources, but He provides them to His people. There's something 
we need to understand, I think, that we saw vividly in Matthew 
chapters 8 and 9. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ 
possesses authority. We know that He can speak to 
the wind and the waves. We know that He can raise the 
dead. We know that He can cure the blind and He can make the 
mute speak and the deaf hear. He can do all those things. But 
if He does not have the compassion or the desire or the will to 
engage in that, then it's really not that good of news. But our 
Savior is both willing and able, as 393 says when we sing it. He is able, He is able, He is 
able. He is willing, doubt no more. 
The same is true concerning God in the Old Testament. David knows 
that the Lord is all that he's ascribed to him, but he also 
knows that God provides, God gives, God sustains. God gives 
these resources to David so that David can indeed go out to battle. He indicates in verses 36 and 
37, you have also given me the shield of your salvation. And 
I love this, your gentleness has made me great. Now, you've 
probably heard those people that think that the Old Testament 
is filled with gloom and doom and war and hardship and all 
manner of blood and guts and horrible things. Look at what 
David says concerning God. Your gentleness has made me great. The fact that God, in His dealings 
with David, has been gentle with David, that's what's led to David's 
military victories, to David's fame spreading throughout the 
earth, and the reality that David had indeed become a great man. 
He doesn't say, I'm a great man because I went to the best schools, 
I'm a great man because I made the best deals, I'm a great man 
because God Most High has been gentle in His dealings with me. 
Great turn of phrase there. He then says in verse 37, you 
enlarged my path under me so my feet did not slip. Something 
you see often in David. In the Psalms, here in 2 Samuel 
22, David rejoices in stability. You know what, this time in the 
life of the church, everybody wants excitement. Stability was 
good enough for David. He had enough excitement. Stability 
was the most blessed reality for him. I think at times we 
get bored with the mundane. We ought not to get bored with 
the mundane. We ought to be very thankful 
that life is indeed stable. We ought to be very thankful 
that the Lord God, in the language of David, enlarges our path under 
us so that our feet do not slip. We may not ever be a Spurgeon, 
we may not ever be an Edwards, we may not ever be, you know, 
whoever the best guy in your career field is, but if we are 
stable because of the grace of the living God, what more could 
we ever want? I mean, that is most blessed. 
and most wonderful, and as David writes praise to God, he rejoices 
in stability over and over and over again. And then notice, 
specifically in verses 38 to 43, he highlights the reality 
of his victory. He says, I have pursued my enemies 
and destroyed them. Neither did I turn back again 
till they were destroyed. Here's the opponent of the Old 
Testament saying, oh, here's the war, here's the warfare and 
the bloodshed and all that sort of thing. Yes, exactly. God Most 
High raised up Israel to occupy the land of Canaan, to dispossess 
the Canaanites from the land so that Israel could occupy, 
so that Israel could receive the promised blessing given to 
Abraham. In fact, turn to Deuteronomy 
chapter 7 for just a moment. I alluded to this the other day, 
we ought to refresh ourselves concerning God's command to His 
people, Israel, with reference to holy war. Deuteronomy 7 verse 
1, when the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go 
to possess and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites 
and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites 
and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier 
than you, And when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, 
you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make 
no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them, nor shall you 
make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter 
to their son, nor take their daughter for your son, for they 
will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods. 
So the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy 
you suddenly. but thus you shall deal with 
them, you shall destroy their altars and break down their sacred 
pillars and cut down their wooden images and burn their carved 
images with fire." Now that makes humanists go nuts and unfortunately 
it makes professing Christians go nuts because we become limp-wristed 
and weak concerning our vision of a triune God. The Lord God 
Most High is just and righteous and He executes judgment upon 
the earth. Now in this instance, He raises 
up Israel and sends them into the land in order to destroy 
the inhabitants. Let's go back to Leviticus 18. 
Some of the rationale involved in all of this. Again, the idea 
being that God sent Israel in to destroy those poor innocent 
Canaanites. They weren't poor innocent Canaanites. Notice in Leviticus 18.24, the 
prohibition here is specifically with reference to sexual sin. 
No adultery, no homosexuality, no bestiality. And then in verse 
24, do not defile yourselves with any of these things, for 
by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out 
before you. For the land is defiled, therefore 
I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land 
vomits out its inhabitants." You see that? The Canaanites 
weren't a bunch of innocent people just growing vineyards and having 
businesses and engaging in commerce and not doing anything unsavory. 
No, God the Lord says they're guilty of adultery, homosexuality, 
bestiality. and the land is going to vomit 
out its inhabitants. Verse 26, you shall therefore 
keep my statutes and my judgments and shall not commit any of these 
abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who 
dwells among you. For all these abominations the 
men of the land have done who were before you, and thus the 
land is defiled. Lest the land vomit you out also 
when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before 
you. Now, we know that in the future, post-David, the land 
does vomit out Israel from its mouth. Because Israel does conduct 
themselves in the same way that the Canaanites did. And so God 
raises up Assyria to send them in to destroy the northern kingdom. 
Later, God will raise up Babylon and send them in to destroy the 
southern kingdom. But all this to say that this 
instruction concerning holy war is being carried out by David, 
and this is cause for praise, and it's not cause for embarrassment. In other words, this is David 
and Israel functioning as God commanded them to function. The 
church ought not to be embarrassed about this. We ought not to try 
and explain it away. We ought to meet the objections 
of the God-haters who say, well, that just seems harsh and unkind 
and untoward. We ought to respond by saying, 
our God is holy. Our God must punish sin. the 
nations of the earth before our Lord engaged in the sorts of 
things indicated in Leviticus 18. So God raises up Israel, 
He sends them in to chasten, to discipline and to judge those 
Canaanites. When Israel falls prey to the 
same sorts of sins, God raises up other nations and sends them 
in. We get into the New Testament 
and Jesus takes up that image of that language when He speaks 
to the church in Laodicea. He says, because you're neither 
hot nor cold, I will what? I will vomit you out of my mouth. You see, in the Old Covenant, 
the land that was given via promise to Abraham is that by which the 
people are vomited out. In the New Covenant, those who 
falsely profess faith in Jesus Christ, those who play games 
with reference to the church of Jesus Christ, those who conduct 
themselves like Laodiceans, that are neither hot nor cold, He 
is going to spit from His mouth. And for those who misunderstand 
what Jesus is saying in that statement, he's not saying that 
hot represents vital, earnest Christianity and cold is blatant 
atheism. Jesus is not saying, I would 
wish that you were atheists. That would be more pleasing to 
me. That's not the point of the metaphor. That's not the point 
of the analogy. There is pleasure in hot drinks 
in our mouths. There is pleasure in cold, refreshing 
drinks in our mouths. The cities around Laodicea at 
that particular time, Colossae for instance, was known for their 
fresh and refreshing cold water, and Hierapolis was known for 
their medicinally hot healing water. And Laodicea was such 
that it had to be piped in, and when this water was piped in 
it was lukewarm. Well, the religion of the Laodiceans 
mocked the very water that was piped into their city. It wasn't 
refreshing and cold and that which invigorates, and it wasn't 
hot and medicinal, it was lukewarm. It was this pathetic, wretched, 
anemic Christianity that never seeks to do anything for the 
Lord God Most High, that comes and shows up and just sort of 
mumbles through the hymns, doesn't pay attention at the preaching 
of God's Word, thinks about everything that's going on in the coming 
week, never goes out and does a nice thing for a brother or 
sister, the kind of Christianity that never calls anybody, that 
never seeks to exhort one another daily while it is called today, 
the kind of Christianity that more often than not is practiced 
in mass Jesus says, if you engage in that kind of nonsense, I will 
spit you out of my mouth. The way that Canaan, the land, 
spit out those wretched Canaanites, and then those wretched Israelites 
who came after them. So when we see David rehearsing 
the glory and the power of God in the destruction of his enemies, 
instead of embarrassment, We rejoice, we sing with the saints 
in heaven a fourfold hallelujah. He says, I have pursued my enemies 
and destroyed them, neither did I turn back again till they were 
destroyed, and I have destroyed them and wounded them so that 
they could not rise. They have fallen under my feet. 
Four, here's the reason. Why is it, David, that you have 
received or you have engaged in such victory? For you have 
armed me with strength for the battle. You have subdued under 
me those who rose against me. You have also given me the necks 
of my enemies so that I destroyed those who hated me. Have you 
ever considered those in the world and those in the church 
that are embarrassed by such passages? They put themselves 
on a higher plane than God Almighty. In other words, they're so supra-righteous, 
they can't even imagine the thought that those Canaanites would be 
killed in battle by these Israelites. It's almost as if to say, well, 
you know, we're much more superior in our ethical theory than God 
is. God approves of David. God legitimizes David. God gives the victory to David. So if it's a worldling or it's 
some sort of a Christian that's imbibed this idea that the Old 
Testament God of war is a harsh, nasty being that we really don't 
like and we're thankful that Jesus has come to replace him, 
that is nonsensical and it finds no warrant in scripture whatsoever. 
That Lord Jesus Christ in Revelation 6 is the one that the Bible describes 
that men are trying to hide themselves from the wrath of the Lamb. In 
fact, turn there. I think it's important for us 
because somehow this gets in our heads that we get a little 
bit embarrassed by what goes on in that Old Testament. We 
don't see the fact that God's gentleness makes David great. 
We just see the bloodshed of the Canaanites and we freak out. 
We forget that this is a moral universe. God is a just judge 
and God most willingly and earnestly renders judgment upon the wicked. Notice in Revelation 6.12, I 
looked when he opened the sixth seal. And behold, there was a 
great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of 
air, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven 
fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is 
shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll 
when it is rolled up. and every mountain and island 
was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the 
great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every 
slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in 
the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, 
fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne 
and from the wrath It's a terrifying image, isn't it? We ought to imitate God. God 
is a God of justice and of righteousness. The execution of justice is a 
joy to the righteous. So Solomon says in the book of 
Proverbs. Why is it today? We have this 
embarrassment over what God does in the Old Testament. David ascribes 
the victory over his enemies to God Almighty. Notice in verse 
42, back in chapter 22 of 2 Samuel. They looked, but there was none 
to save." Probably a reference to the pagans, calling upon Baal, 
calling upon Molech. The god of the Philistines was 
Dagon. Was Dagon equipped to keep his 
people from the vengeance of David? Absolutely not. When the 
Ark of the Covenant is brought into the temple of Dagon, what 
happens? Dagon falls down before it. They have to go and pick 
Dagon up. As you've heard me say before, 
I will say it hopefully until my dying day. If you have to 
pick your god up and prop him up, you've got the wrong god. 
If you have to put his hands back on and you have to reattach 
his head, I would encourage you to find the god of heaven and 
earth. That's one of the things that 
differentiates the God of heaven and earth versus these pagan 
gods. You have to pick up Dagon, you 
have to mend him, you have to put him together. It is Yahweh, 
the Lord of hosts, that picks up His people. It is Yahweh, 
the Lord of hosts, who mends His people. It is He who sustains, 
it is He who stabilizes, it is He who makes our way perfect, 
as David says. So they looked, but there was 
none to save. You can hear the Philistines 
crying out to Dagon, from whom no blessing flows. And then he 
says in verse 42b, even to Yahweh, but he did not answer them. Probably 
a reference to Saul. Remember that Saul was an Israelite 
king. He would have had at least some 
semblance of allegiance to Yahweh. He would have asked for help 
in the midst of battle. David says even to him, but he 
did not answer them. He goes on to say, then I beat 
them as fine as the dust of the earth. I trod them like dirt 
in the streets, and I spread them out. So that's the power 
behind the kingdom. The power of God is the reason 
for the victory of David. Note the people encompassed by 
the kingdom in verses 44 to 46. You have also delivered me from 
the strivings of my people. If you've been here for the last 
several weeks, this ought not to give you any concern whatsoever. I ought not to puzzle you. You're 
probably not wondering, what does he mean, you have delivered 
me from the strivings of my people? We have seen that one of the 
constant trials for the King of Israel is not merely the external 
threat facing the people of God. It's the internal threat facing 
the people of God. The same is true for the church 
today. It's not just the pagan government. It's not just them 
legislating immorality. It's not just them saying, you 
need to sanction homosexuality, you need to be okay with abortion, 
and you need to be okay with euthanasia. It's not just the 
external threat that the church poses. Solomon speaks In Proverbs 
6, about six things that Yahweh hates, yea, seven are an abomination 
to Him. You know what He doesn't say? 
The godless state. That's assumed. I believe that 
in my heart of hearts. God abominates a godless state. 
But one thing that He does underscore at the very end of the list is 
one who sows discord among the brethren. It's unfortunate, there 
are external threats, but we ought to expect that, be prepared 
for that, pray against it, and do everything we can to maneuver 
through it. It's the internal threats that cause great difficulty, 
like we studied in Galatians 1 on Sunday night. There are 
some who want to trouble you. There are some who want to take 
the gospel and twist it or distort it or make it some fuzzy mystical 
message that is devoid of any biblical justification, atonement, 
imputation, or anything concrete as Scripture sets it forth. Or 
you've got people that just like to stir up trouble. They like 
to gossip. They like to slander. They like 
to say evil things about other people. They are an internal 
threat with reference to the church. So when David says, you 
have also delivered me from the strivings of my people, one need 
only be reminded of Ish-bosheth. Remember after the death of Saul, 
David takes over the southern kingdom. Ish-bosheth, under Abner 
literally, is propped up as the king of the north. David has 
to deal with that as well. The usurpation by Absalom. You 
think your son has given you difficulties? You think your 
son has given you sleepless nights? Imagine fathering Absalom, that 
man who went to the city gate and stole the hearts of Israel, 
stole the crown of his father, stole the throne of his father, 
and made David go packing out of Jerusalem. That was an issue 
for David. God brought resolution. You have also delivered me from 
the strivings of my people." And then recently in 2 Samuel 
chapter 20, the rebellion of Sheba. It's not the case that 
David assumed the crown and just, you know, sat on easy street. 
It's one of those things you see in these presidential campaigns. It's almost like this entitlement 
mentality. Once I get in the White House, 
well, I just get everything for free, or if I get into Ottawa. 
I just, you know, get nice cars, I get summer homes, I get... 
What happened to the concept of service? The government is 
not there for us to serve them. They're supposed to serve us. 
Presidents and monarchs and prime ministers aren't there to be 
served, but they're supposed to serve. They're supposed to 
model something of the servant leadership exemplified by Jesus. He said, I did not come to be 
served, but to serve and to give my life a ransom for many. So 
you see, David didn't occupy the throne and just sit there 
and have attendants rub his feet and feed him grapes and massage 
his scalp. That was not the reality for 
David. He had Philistines on the outside, 
he had usurpers on the inside, and he says to Yahweh, You have 
also delivered me from the strivings of my people. You have kept me 
as the head of the nations. That's no small feat. I mean, 
in the ancient Near Eastern world, that was no small task. And the 
fact is that David occupied the throne for as long as he did, 
and as successfully as he did, because God kept him as the head 
of the nations. Notice, he goes on to speak to 
the external. He says, a people I have not 
known shall serve me. There's a great example of this 
in the man called Toy from Hamath in 2 Samuel chapter 8. 2 Samuel 
chapter 8. We could rehearse several victories 
of David from external enemies. The victory over Goliath in 1 
Samuel 17, victory over the Philistines in 1 Samuel 18.8. That 1 Samuel 
18.8 victory over the Philistines is particularly unique in the 
sense that at that time Saul is hunting David. So not only 
is Saul not doing his job in killing Philistines, he is doing 
the exact opposite in trying to kill the man who's killing 
the Philistines. I mean, Saul was just a wretch. If you didn't get that on Sunday, 
hear me again. I mean, he's chasing David. David 
is being chased. And while David is being chased, 
he's dispatching Philistines. He's dealing with Philistines. 
And he gives all glory and praise to God for this. But notice specifically 
in 2 Samuel 8, at verse 9. When Toy, king of Hamath, heard 
that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, then Toy sent 
Joram his son to King David to greet him and bless him, because 
he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him. For Hadadezer 
had been at war with Toy. And Joram brought with him articles 
of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze. King 
David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver 
and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he 
had subdued. You see, Toy, king of Amath, heard about David, 
and Toy didn't want to face David on the field of battle. So, Toy 
sends Joram to grease the wheels. He says, give him this gift, 
make peace with him. This is what David's referring 
to with reference to this provision that God has given to him. A 
people I have not known shall serve me. I mean, here comes 
Toy via his son to bring tribute to King David. David adds that 
tribute to all that he has collected from the various nations and 
presents it in terms of a service to the Lord God Almighty. So 
he says, a people I have not known shall serve me. Verse 45, 
the foreigners submit to me. As soon as they hear, they obey 
me. The foreigners fade away and 
come frightened from their hideouts. You see, that's the kind of effect 
that King David of Israel had upon his enemies. But you see, 
in all of this, we need to remember, it's not because King David had 
a mean face. It's not because he had the biggest 
muscles in the kingdom. It's because God was behind him. 
It's because the Lord Most High sustained him. He made his way 
perfect. He made him great. He caused 
his fame to spread because God brought victory to David. That's 
what David wants you to get. The secret of his success is 
no secret. He writes about it throughout 
the Psalms, and he ascribes the praise and the glory to the living 
and true God. Brethren, let us learn that from 
David. Any good thing we ever have, 
any good thing we ever do, any stability that we enjoy, obviously 
the salvation that we have benefited from, let us praise our God. 
Why is it that when it comes time to singing hymns of praise 
or psalms of praise, it's hard to hear us at times? I'm not 
necessarily speaking about us. I think the singing in our church 
is quite grand, actually. It's an encouragement to hear 
the people of God sing. But in other churches, it's like, 
what are we doing here? We are in the presence of the 
great God of heaven and earth, who we confess has saved us by 
the blood of his precious Son. Shall we not praise? Shall we 
not worship? Shall we not take these tongues 
and present them in honor to the living and true God? Why 
is it that we would approach Him with sluggishness, with lethargy, 
with apathy, or with a, well, I guess I have to attitude? It 
is the greatest privilege for the creature on this side of 
heaven to enter into the public place, the worship of the living 
and true God, and to sing praises with the saints in Zion. If the 
Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places 
of Jacob, what should that indicate to us? We ought to be in those 
gates of Zion singing praises with the people of Zion to this 
God for His so great a salvation to us. Learn from David. He knew 
how to praise his God. Now notice the third thing. The 
praise ascribed to the God of the kingdom. Verses 47 to 50. 
He can't stop himself. He is in that mode, isn't he? 
He just can't stop praising God. The Lord lives. Blessed be my 
rock. Let God be exalted, the rock 
of my salvation. It is God who avenges me and 
subdues the peoples under me. He delivers me from my enemies. 
You also lift me up above those who rise against me. You have 
delivered me from the violent man. He is the living God. The Lord lives. The Lord lives. Do you know how 
many times the Bible refers to Him as the living God, contra 
the dead idols of the heathen? He is the living God. He has 
ears that, not physically, but He hears, and He sees, and He 
speaks, and He knows, and He's intimate with His people. The 
Lord lives. Blessed be my rock, he says. 
Let God be exalted. That's David's instruction to 
the church. Let God be exalted. Notice what 
he says in verse 4. He says, I will call upon the 
Lord who is worthy to be praised. David, by example, is telling 
us what we are supposed to be doing when we gather before the 
Lord Most High. He is to be exalted. He is to 
be praised. He is to be glorified. Now notice 
what he goes on to say in verse 50. He says, Therefore I will 
give thanks to you, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing praises 
to your name. Interestingly enough, Paul quotes 
this in Romans 15, when Paul is dealing with the inclusion 
of Gentiles into the covenant promises of God. Well, that inclusion 
was known by David. It was known by Abraham. The 
fact that Gentiles would be included in the saving purpose of God 
wasn't something new at the advent of Christ. This was the promise 
made to Abraham that in him all the nations of the earth would 
be blessed. It wouldn't just simply be the nation of Israel, 
but it would be this worldwide conglomeration from every tribe, 
tongue, people and nation, the Lord Christ would come to save 
them. And so David says, I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among 
the Gentiles and sing praises to your name. Now, we ought to 
observe something. Keep your pencil in 2 Samuel 
22 and go back to 1 Samuel 2. In many respects, 1 Samuel 2 
and 2 Samuel 22 are helpful bookends to the entire Samuel narratives. In 1 Samuel 2, we have Hannah's 
song, and Hannah in her praise to God has a prospective view 
of the kingdom. I alluded to this last Wednesday. 
A prospective means a forward-looking. You get a prospectus when you 
start school or a job that tells you what the requirements are, 
that tells you what you can expect in the future. Hannah's song 
is a prospective concerning the kingdom. Notice what she says 
in verse 10 of 1 Samuel 2. The adversaries of the Lord shall 
be broken in pieces. From heaven he will thunder against 
them. The Lord will judge the ends 
of the earth. He will give strength to his 
king and exalt the horn of his anointed. We get to 2 Samuel 
22 and we get a retrospective view. David says, Hannah was 
right. David says, Hannah was absolutely 
right. The kingdom of Yahweh has been 
realized, the kingdom of Yahweh has been secured, and it will 
be advanced by the power, not of David, but by God. Vanoi says, while Hannah's song 
anticipates the establishment of kingship in Israel, David's 
song celebrates both its realization and the remarkable promise associated 
with his own reign as the Lord's anointed one. It is these broad 
theological perspectives that provide the reader with the lens 
through which the narrative material of 1 and 2 Samuel is to be read. I think that's an accurate description. 
As we have had cause to know many times in our studies on 
Wednesday night, there's not always a theological comment 
by the author. There's not always, you know, 
an extra verse or two that says, and this is what God was doing, 
and this is why God was doing it. We get to 2 Samuel 22, and 
we get, this is what God was doing, and this is why God was 
doing it. This is the explanation, or the 
assessment rather, of the theological interpretation of the success 
of David as the king over Israel. And then notice, in the final 
place, with reference to our study in 2 Samuel 22, the promise 
that advances the kingdom. the promise that advances the 
kingdom, verse 51. He is the tower of salvation 
to his king and shows mercy. That's that beautiful word hesed 
or steadfast love. He shows mercy to his anointed, 
that's David, to David and his descendants forevermore. Now 
those of you who have been with us the entire study should be 
thinking 2 Samuel 7. That is crucial to understand 
the promise that advances the kingdom. As David refers to the 
mercy that God has shown to him, he then indicates or adds to 
David and his descendants forevermore. Where did we have a word concerning 
David and his descendants? 2 Samuel 7. It's the promise 
of the Davidic covenant. In fact, you can turn there. 
2 Samuel 7. We'll just read the last part. 
Remember the particular scene. David is sitting in his house. He has a measure of success and 
victory, and he wants to build a house for Yahweh. This is a 
good desire, a good hope, a good longing. And he expresses this 
to Nathan the prophet. God tells Nathan, you tell David 
that he's not going to build a house for me, but I'm going 
to build a house for him. And the house is specifically 
a dynasty. Notice 2 Samuel 7, 11. Since 
the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, 
and have caused you to rest from all your enemies, also the Lord 
tells you that He will make you a house." He will make you a 
dynasty. This is a reference to David's 
greater son, the Lord Jesus. Notice in verse 12, "...when 
your days are fulfilled, and you rest with your fathers, I 
will set up your seat after you, who will come from your body, 
and I will establish His kingdom. He shall build a house for my 
name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits 
iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with 
the blows of the sons of men. But my mercy shall not depart 
from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 
And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever 
before you. Your throne shall be established 
forever. Now, anyone who has read Luke 
chapter 1 knows that Luke chapter 1 is alluding to this Davidic 
covenant. The Lord Jesus is the one who 
sits upon the throne of David and rules and reigns forever. The Apostle Peter interprets 
it in the same way. You see the Davidic Covenant 
in Psalm 89, Psalm 132. So here David, rehearsing that, 
reflecting upon that, knows that it's because of this promise 
of God's steadfast love to His people that he will indeed advance 
the kingdom. He shows mercy to his anointed 
David, to David and his descendants forevermore. Again, Vannoy I 
think is appropriate here. He says, with this final statement, 
David shifts the focus from how the Lord had sustained him during 
the course of his own reign to the long-term implications of 
the Lord's promise to him that his dynasty would endure forever. 
This statement serves as a transition to David's last words that immediately 
follow in 23, 1-7. And it anticipates the rise of 
messianic expectation in Israel that was linked with his royal 
line. You know, in our studies in Matthew, isn't that a big 
thing for the people? Is this the son of David? What 
do you think they're thinking of? They're thinking 2 Samuel 
7 and the promise that from David's line, one would sit upon the 
throne of Israel and his kingdom would have no end. So David ends 
this psalm of praise to the living God with this reference to the 
faithfulness of God as the means by which that this kingdom will 
be advanced to David and his descendants forevermore. Davis 
makes this observation on the author's use of hesed here. He 
says, the mention of devoted love, David's seed, and the phrase 
for all time conjures up Yahweh's covenant promise to David in 
7.12-16. This last verse reminds us that 
the kingdom and its grand finale do not depend on the lucky breaks 
of history, but on a decree that determines and shapes history. 
Because God's kingdom rests on God's promise, it is sure. Such certainty is urgent for 
God's often-battered people, for most of them can keep on 
trudging through many dangers, toils, and snares so long as 
they know their kingdom is invincible and sure. And it is so because 
of this promise. and it's intriguing, based on 
2 Samuel 7 and this promise that the son of David would build 
a house for God. Jesus speaks to that very thing 
in Matthew 16 when he says, I will build my church and the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it. You know what's really intriguing 
is that just prior to that, Peter confesses him as Jesus, the Son 
of the Living God. Jesus, the Son of God, comes 
to build a house for God in accordance with 2 Samuel 7. That has significance 
certainly in the New Covenant, but for David it had significance 
in his own life, in his own reign, in his own ministry. As he looked 
down the tunnel of time, he realized that this promise was indeed 
sure because God Most High had affirmed it to him. Well, brethren, 
there are several things, but we only have a couple of minutes. 
First, we ought to appreciate the doctrine of God as presented 
to us in 2 Samuel 22. His being, we've mentioned His 
incomparability, no one like Him. We've mentioned the fact 
that He is the living God. as well his attributes. It doesn't 
rehearse specifically justice, goodness, mercy, truth, all those 
particulars, but the various words employed by the author 
brings to our minds those particulars. The fact that he is rock or fortress 
or deliverer highlights the fact that he's immutable, the fact 
that he's good, the fact that he's kind to his people. He is 
shield. He is the horn of our salvation. 
He is our stronghold, our refuge, our savior, our lamp. He is perfect. As well, we ought to appreciate 
in this Word, with reference to the doctrine of God, the Word 
of God. Notice in verse 31, we didn't 
cover this tonight, but last week, he says, As for God, His 
way is perfect. The Word of the Lord is proven. He is a shield to all who trust 
in Him. Do you feel like that with your 
God? The Word of the Lord is proven. I don't need 15 evidences 
to believe this particular promise. I have a thousand evidences just 
from today. The fact that I'm still breathing, 
the fact that I'm a blood-bot, the fact that I'm heaven-bound. 
The Lord God's Word is proven. It's sure, it's a shield to all 
who trust in Him. And then as well, His providence. 
David describes the coming of God in terms of these battles 
in the language used at the Theophany in Sinai. The way God comes to 
Sinai, the way the mountains tremble, the way the lightnings 
come, the way the thunderous voice of God comes. in His providence, 
we are to interpret it that way. It may seem like something insignificant, 
but when the Lord God brings victory, He does it with great 
glory. As well, the doctrine of soteriology, 
or salvation. David's righteousness, according 
to verse 21, is the righteousness of Christ imputed to him. David 
did not have a different doctrine of justification by faith. In 
fact, the Apostle Paul developed his doctrine of justification 
by faith in large part because of David in Psalm 32. We cannot 
think that just because something is in the New Testament, it hasn't 
predated it in the Old Testament. For instance, in Romans 5.14, 
Paul tells us that Adam is a type of Christ. Does Adam become a 
type of Christ when Paul pens those words? He becomes a type 
of Christ the moment he's hatched or the moment he's created. He 
is a type of Christ in the garden. Paul is simply theologizing and 
explaining it to us. In the same token, Paul takes 
Psalm 32 in Romans 4 and teaches the doctrine of the imputation 
of the righteousness of Jesus. You cannot tell me for a moment 
that David thought his righteousness was due to his perfection or 
his sinlessness. He knew that Jesus was his blood 
and righteousness. He knew that Jesus was his only 
hope. He was prospective in that regard, looking to the promised 
Messiah to come. David understood imputation. 
David understood atonement. And David understood the doctrine 
of remaining corruption. Just rehearse Psalm 51 sometime. Take not thine holy spirit from 
me. He says, restore unto me the 
joy of thy salvation. Isn't that the expression of 
a new covenant saint? Somebody that's in Christ? Restore 
unto me the joy of thy salvation. He doesn't say, save me. He was 
a saved man. But when he kept silent about 
his sins, his bones grew weary. He was in pain. He was in turmoil. 
But once the Lord God comes and forgives him and deals mercifully 
with him, he says, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. 
David understood the doctrine of remaining sin. As well, and 
I've already indicated this, but we ought to end here, the 
response of the church. The recognition of David, verses 
4 and 47. 4 says, who is worthy to be praised. 47, let God be exalted. David 
recognized that God is worthy to be praised. David then responded 
by praising and by writing. Now, what's the response of the 
church in light of this same God who is great and worthy to 
be praised? We ought to take the writings 
that David penned under the inspiration of the Spirit and we ought to 
praise God. We ought to be in the scriptures 
rehearsing the glory of God. praising and honoring our God 
for who He is and for what He has done. The response of the 
church is to join with David in praising this great God. And 
the response of the church is to join with David in trusting 
this great God. Now, I don't think we have the 
same sorts of troubles that David has. I can't imagine what it 
would be like to administrate an entire kingdom. It's hard 
to get out of bed sometimes, isn't it? And David was doing 
amazing things, killing Philistines, running from Saul, doing tremendous 
things. Well, he's up here, and God sustained 
and supplied and gave him grace through many dangers, toils, 
and snares. God will do the same for his 
people. that aren't up there. He doesn't say, well, you're 
not David, so you're not getting any grace. No, all of the people 
of God who are in Jesus Christ get that grace, and we ought 
to praise Him and be comforted by that. Well, let us close in 
prayer. Father, we thank you for your 
word and we thank you for the Psalms and for these records 
of praise to our God. Help us to be faithful in this. 
Help us in private and in public to open our mouths, open our 
hearts and sing to you our great God. And help us to be in the 
Scriptures. David certainly knew his God. He knew what adjectives 
and what attributes to ascribe to you. Help us to do so likewise. And just go with us now. Bring 
us together on the Lord's day that we may worship you in spirit 
and truth. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.