2 Samuel chapter 22. Last week
we started a study of this chapter in which we see a song of thanksgiving
and praise by David for the deliverance which had been wrought out in
delivering him from the hands of his enemies. We see in verse
1 from delivering him from the hand of Saul who sought to kill
him. We also talked about and looked
at how David probably looked back upon his life and saw God's
continued deliverance for him from all his enemies. Tonight
we'll read verses 1 to 20. And David spake unto the Lord the
words of this song 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 he said, the Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer,
the God of my rock, in him will I trust. He is my shield and
the horn of my salvation, my high tower and my refuge, my
savior. Thou savest me from violence.
I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised. So shall
I be saved from my enemies. When the waves of death compassed
me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The souls of
hell compassed me about. The sneers of death prevented
me. In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried to my
God. And he did hear my voice out
of his temple. And my cry did enter into his
ears. Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of
heaven moved and shook because he was wroth. There went up a
smoke out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth devoured. Coals were kindled by it. He
bowed the heavens also and came down and darkness was under his
feet. And he rode upon a cherub and did fly. And he was seen
upon the wings of the wind. And he made darkness, pavilions
round about him, dark waters and thick clouds of the sky.
though the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his
voice, and he sent out arrows and scattered them, lightening
and discomforted them. And the channels of the sea appeared,
and the foundations of the world were discovered at the rebuking
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, and from them that hated me, for they were too strong
for me. They prevented me in the day
of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth
also into a large place. He delivered me because He delighted
in me. Last week, we started the study
again of this chapter. We looked at verses one to four.
We saw that this song of thanksgiving and praise for God's continued deliverance of
David in the trials and situations which occurred in his life. And
so he penned these words of praise and thanksgiving. Look again
at verses two and three, and we see David using word pictures
to explain who and what God is to him. He said, the Lord is
my rock. my fortress, my deliver, the
God of my rock and him will I trust. He is my shield and the horn
of my salvation, my high tower, my refuge, my savior. Thou savest
me from violence. Then in verse four, David brings
forth that only Jehovah is worthy to be praised, and this is so
true. He is the only one who's worthy, beloved, to be praised.
No one else. Only him. Only him. Preachers don't want the praise
of men. We want you to praise the one who we preach. That's
Jehovah. That's our great God. And when
the Saint of God calls upon him, he's delivered. When the Saint
of God calls upon him, he's delivered. He's delivered from his enemies.
Look at verse four. I will call on the Lord who is
worthy to be praised. Again, he's the only one. We
looked at last week, too. What's the anthem in heaven?
Worthy is the land. Worthy is he. He's the one. He's the only
one who's worthy. We're not worthy to receive any praise, but he
is because of all he's done for his people. So shall I be saved
from my enemies. Let's read verses five and six
together to start our study tonight. When the waves of death passed
me, the floods of ungodly man made me afraid. The sorrows of
hell can pass me about, the snares of death prevented me. Robert
Hopker brings forth that David seems to be looking at the whole
of his life in these two verses and contemplating the many deliverances
again, which the Lord had wrought out for him all through his life.
And every believer can do that. We can look back and we can see
the continued deliverance from different things that we go through
in this life. We see in these verses that David
compares the many attacks of his enemies to the image of floods
pouring in upon his soul. It overwhelms him. It overwhelms
him. And how true this is, when sometimes we seem to have
things coming at us from all different sides. It can be very
overwhelming. Very overwhelming. But think
this. Think, beloved of God, of the
grace that's given to us in and through Christ. In and through
Christ. Through him that loves us. And
he puts that love in our hearts, beloved. He puts that love in
our hearts. And many waters cannot quench
that love. Many trials, many tribulations cannot quench that
love. We keep loving him, don't we?
We keep looking to him. The floods alive can't drown
the love that we have for Christ. And think of this, the floods
alive cannot drown the love that he has for us. The love that we have for our
Savior and for our God is planted in our hearts by his almighty
hand, beloved. It wasn't there when we were
born into this world. But now that we're born again
by the Holy Spirit of God, we have a love for our great God
and a love for our Savior that He's given us. And this love of God is shed
abroad in our heart, the scripture says. Shed abroad in our heart. David used other word pictures
to describe his trials, the souls of hell and the snares of death,
meaning that both hell and death joined in confederacy against
him and the dangers from both. And he knew that he had no power
to deliver himself, beloved. He knew that. David knew that. He was a man of war, too. Brave
man. He had a lot of courage. But
he knew that all came from the Lord. He knew his own weakness. And he get, you know, in verse
four there, when he says worthy, worthy is the Lord. Again, last
week we looked at how He doesn't give credit to himself. He doesn't
give credit to his captains who were with him. No, he says, worthy
is the Lord to be praised. Because he knows it's the Lord
who's delivered him from all these situations. He has no power to deliver himself. Now, when you consider this in
the spiritual sense, It will heighten the deliverance from
the everlasting misery and everlasting death which God's elect have
been delivered from in and through Christ. Brother Roy and I were
talking tonight. We don't get what we deserve. We don't get what we deserve.
We've been delivered from it. Think of the wrath of God poured
out on us for our sins, but we don't get that. because it was
poured out on Christ. What a salvation we have in and
through Christ. What a salvation. And think about what Peter brings
forth about the sufferings of Christ. Turn, if you would, to
Acts chapter 2. Think of what Peter brings forth about the
sufferings of Christ. all the time with an eye to the
holy nature of Christ, the sinless, spotless lamb of God. Acts chapter
two. Look at verses 23 to 27. Him,
that being Christ, being delivered up by the determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God. That means it was God's plan
for him to go to Calvary's cross, for him to die in our room and
place. Ye have taken. in my wicked hands are crucified
and slain. Whom God hath raised up, and
heaven loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that
he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning
him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on
my right hand, and that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall
rest in hope. "'cause that will not leave my
soul in hell, "'neither will thou suffer thine holy one to
see corruption.'" Note in verse 25 there, David
speaketh concerning him, "'I foresaw the Lord always before
my face.'" He was ever with him. It's true for every believer.
The Lord's ever with us. "'For he's on my right hand,
that I should not be moved.'" See, David's confidence isn't in himself. It's in God. It's in Christ. And that's our hope, isn't it?
That's our only hope. We can say I should not be moved,
but only because Christ keeps us. We'd be in a heap of trouble
if we were left to ourselves. He being holy, he being sinless,
he being the perfect spotless lamb of God, He was incapable
of being held by the cords of death in the grave. And oh, what a cost. Don't ever let what Christ done
become commonplace. Oh, what a cost to redeem our
souls. Oh, what a cost. The Lord Jesus Christ, our surety,
died for the sins and transgression of his people. Don't ever let
that become commonplace. Sin is so exceedingly sinful
that Christ had to die for it in our place. Our sin. Our sin. You know what love was
manifested when he did that. What love? Scripture says we
were enemies with God. That's what the scripture said. In our natural state. In that word enmity, I looked
it up this week. That means we hated him. That's in the Greek.
That's God's word says that. What love? What love Christ has
for his people? that he would go to Calvary's
cross. What love he has for his bride. What love. What cost to redeem his bride
with his own precious blood. Truly then the words of the bride
in the book of the Song of Solomon are so very applicable. Many
waters cannot quench love. Floods alive can't quench love.
Neither can the floods drowned it. If a man would give all the
substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contempt. Psalm 8, verse 7. Many waters
cannot quench love. Neither can the floods drowned
it. We are redeemed, beloved, by
the precious blood of Christ. And never forget that. Never
forget the cost. Never forget that God is only
satisfied with Christ. Never forget that. Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it. Let's go back to our text
there. Second Samuel, we'll read verses
25 to 26 again. When the waves of death can pass
me, the floods of ungodly mad made me afraid. The soils of
hell can pass me about, the snares of death prevented me. Again,
think of that. In light of many waters cannot
quench love, neither can the floods drown it. David went through
some, a lot of things, a lot of things. But that love that
God had put in his heart for him could not be quenched by
the trials and tribulations that he went through in his life.
And think of that in light of Christ going to the cross. The
love that he has for his people. Going to the cross and bleeding
and dying to pay for our sins. Let's read verse 7. In my distress,
I called upon the Lord and cried to my God. And he did hear my
voice out of his temple. And my cry did enter into his
ears. The verses we have read tonight
are intended as an introductory to what's said here. Again, David
went through some times of misery. Heartache in his life. His own son turned against him. Remember how close he was to
Jonathan. Oh, he went through a lot of
different situations that showed him his utter helplessness
to deliver himself. Therefore, David describes all
the glory to the one He cries out to the One who He
said in verse 2 is His rock and His fortress, His deliverer,
the God of my rock. And it's Him who David trusts,
beloved. Do you trust the same God that
David trusted in? Is He your deliverer? Can you
say He's my deliverer? He's the God of my rock. I pray
by God's grace you'd be able to. Now David's going to use some
expressions in the next few verses to show forth the grandeur and
majesty and presence of the Lord with his people. And think of how the majesty
of God was on display when he took the children of Israel out
of Egypt. His mighty hand and his mighty
power was on full display, wasn't it? They couldn't deliver themselves,
not at all. Think of how when they went through
the Red Sea, He was with them. Think of all their time wandering
in the wilderness. He was ever with them. Took them
right through it all. Think of when He descended on
Mount Sinai, when the mountain moved and quaked exceedingly
at His presence. He was with them. We see then in verse 7 that David
cries out to the Lord and he knows that his enemies are too many
for him. He knows that. To withstand on his own. And
he knows, again, his own helplessness. His own inability to cope with
his enemies. But God manifests his grace towards
him by deliverance from his enemies. And again, remember what we looked
at this morning. That these The Old Testament is for our learning,
beloved. For us to see that the Lord's ever with us, that He
always takes care of His people. Let's read verses 7 to 19. In
my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God, and
He did hear my voice out of the temple, and my cry did enter
into His ears. Then the earth shook and trembled,
the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because He was wroth.
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils and fire out of
his mouth devoured. Coals were kindled by it. He
bowed the heavens also and came down and darkness was under his
feet. And he rode upon a cherub and
did fly. And he was seen upon the wings
of the wind. And he made darkness, pavilions
round about him. Dark waters and thick clouds
of the skies. Through the brightness before
him were coals of fire kindled. The Lord thundered from heaven.
The Most High uttered His voice, and He sent arrows and scattered
them, lightning and discomforted them. In the channels of the
sea appeared, the foundation of the world were discovered
at the rebuking 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, and from them that hated me, for they were too strong
for me. See, David admits his weakness. He admits his inability to deliver
himself. They prevented me in the day
of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay. The sacred writer,
one commentator says, seems to have had in view the Lord's descent
on Mount Sinai at the giving of the law. But we know this
was also delivered under the spirit of prophecy, beloved. And it also has reference to
the triumphs of the Lord Jesus Christ at His death and at His
resurrection. Turn, if you would, to Matthew
27. Matthew 27. Hawker brings forth that the
earthquake at the death of Christ testified of the Lord's displeasure
at sin. And the earthquake at His resurrection
testified of God's perfect approval of the redemption of the Lord
Jesus Christ by Him for His people in raising Him from the dead.
Matthew 27 verses 50 to 54. Jesus, when he had cried again
with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil
of the temple was rent entwined from top to the bottom. That
in itself is an incredible thing. But it represented now that that
Jews and Greeks could both enter into the holy of holies. And
the earth did quake and the rocks rent and the graves were opened
in many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after
his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto
many. Now when the centurion and they that were with him watching
Jesus saw the earthquake, and those things that were done,
they feared greatly, saying, Truly, this was the Son of God."
Now turn one more chapter over. Matthew 28, we're read of the
resurrection of Christ. We read verses 1 to 10. In the end of the Sabbath, as
it began to draw toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. And behold, there
was a great earthquake. For the angel of the Lord descended
from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door
and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning,
and his remnant was white as snow. And for the fear of him,
the keepers did shake and became as dead men. The angel answered
and said unto the woman, fear not ye, for I know that you seek
Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here. For he is risen. As he said, come see the place
where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell the disciples
that he has risen from the dead and behold, he goeth before you
to in the Galilee. There shall you see him, lo,
I have told you.' And he departed quickly from the sepulcher with
fear and great joy, and did run to bring his disciples word.
And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met
them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by
feet and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be
not afraid, go tell my brethren, go tell my brethren that they
go into Galilee. And there shall they see me." Note in verse 2 there in Matthew
28 there was a great earthquake. John Gill brings this forth.
There had been one which how far it reached and whither further
than the spot of ground in which the tomb was is not certain.
It was an emblem of the shaking of the earth by the preaching
of the gospel. the sound of which was now to
go after Christ's resurrection to the ends of the world. In
a prelude of the general resurrection, when the earth shall be shaken
and the graves opened and the dead come forth, and was a symbol
and token of the presence and majesty of Christ, at whose rising,
as at his death, the earth shook and trembled. It just shows the
majesty of our God. It just shows the majesty of
our God. So David's using expressions
of the shaking of the earth and the foundations of the heaven
in light of the mercies which the Lord showed him in his continuance
deliverance and being constantly delivered from his enemies by
the almighty power of God. So David using his expressions
again is bringing forth the absolute sovereignty of God. in all situations,
in his majesty, in his power. Think upon this when sinners
are awakened and converted by the gracious operation of God,
the Holy Spirit. Do not our souls testify of these
mercies which David speaks of? When we're born again, do we
not say these words like David said? Oh, he's my rock. He's my fortress. He's my deliverer. He's my savior. When we are apprehended
by God's grace and know who God is, are we not shook through
our frame, beloved? When we get that first glimpse
of who God really is, are we not shook to our frame? And then
as we grow in grace, we're just in more awe of who he really
is. He's not who we thought he was. He's God. Almighty, majestic, holy, righteous. But the believer says, he loves
me. He loves me and he's loved me
with an everlasting love. Oh, my soul. What wondrous love
is this? Oh, my soul. Oh, my soul. These words David pens here are
similar to the song of Moses. Let's turn to Exodus chapter
15. Where we see Moses and the children
of Israel sing the Egyptians. Sing out to the Egyptians who
were drowned in the Red Sea. I'll read verses 30 and 31 of
chapter 14, and then we'll look at Exodus 15. Exodus 14, verse 30 and 31, the
Scriptures declare this, Thus the Lord saved Israel that day
out of the hand of the Egyptians. God delivers His people out of
the hand of their enemies. And Israel saw the Egyptians
dead upon the seashore. They saw the enemies dead. And Israel saw that great work
which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord,
and believed the Lord and His servant Moses. Now let's read the song of Moses
and the children of Israel in Exodus chapter 15. Then sang
Moses, In the children of Israel, verse 1, the song unto the Lord
in spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord. Why? For he hath
triumphed gloriously. Oh, my. Did not our King on Calvary's
cross triumph gloriously, beloved? He did. The horse and his rider
hath he thrown into the sea. And remember, they saw this.
They saw this. They saw those waters close on
those Egyptians. They saw it with their eyes. The Lord is my strength and my
song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare
Him in habitation, my Father's God, and I will exalt Him. Every believer can say that,
isn't it? Every believer can say, the Lord is my strength
and my song, my salvation. He's my God. Wonderful. And the only reason we can say
that is by God's grace. That's the only reason. That's
the only way we can say that. Because if we'd been left in
our natural state, we never would have said that. The Lord is a man of war. The
Lord is his name. Pharaoh's chariot and his host
have he cast into the sea. His chosen captains also are
drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them.
They sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, has become
glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, hath
dashed in pieces the enemy. Oh my, this is the God of the
Bible right here. And in the greatness of thine
excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee. Thou sentest forth thy wrath
which consumed them as stubble. I remember reading one commentator
and he said, outside of Christ standing before God is like standing
before a blast furnace and you're a candle. He's going to melt
away from his wrath. Oh my. And with the blast of
thy nostrils, the waters were gathered together, the flood
stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in
the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue,
I will overtake. Those Egyptians are like, we're
going to get them. We're going to slaughter them all. That's
what they thought. I will divide the spoil, my lust
shall be satisfied upon them. They were already thinking, we're
going to wipe them out and we're going to take everything that
they had and we're going to go back to Egypt. I will draw my sword, my hand
shall destroy them. They were set on destroying the
people of God. Thou didst blow with thy wind,
the sea covered them. They sank as lead in the mighty
waters. It's like you drop a piece of
lead in the water and it just goes right to the bottom. We
used to put sinkers on our lines when we were fishing. They were
lead sinkers. And let me tell you, it took
it right down. Who is like unto Thee, O Lord,
among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in
holiness, fearful in praises, due in wonders? And what a wonder
they had just saw! The complete deliverance and
destruction, deliverance of Israel, and the complete destruction
of their enemies. Look at this, Thou stretchest
out Thy right hand, and the earth is swallowed. Thou in mercy has led forth the
people which Thou has redeemed." Look at that. Thou in mercy.
What do we receive, beloved, in Christ? We receive mercy,
don't we? Thou in mercy has led forth the
people. Well, He makes us willing and
He leads us right to Christ, doesn't He? Thou has led forth
the people, well look at this, which Thou has redeemed. were
purchased by the precious blood of Christ, beloved. Thou hast
guided them in thy strength. We are kept by the power of God.
Unto thy holy habitation the people shall hear and be afraid.
Sorrow shall take hold upon the inhabitants of Palestine. Then the dukes of Edom shall
be amazed, and the mighty men of Moab trembling shall take
hold upon them. All the inhabitants of Canaan
shall melt away. fear and dread shall fall upon
them by the greatness of thine arm. They shall be as a stone
till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, look
at this, which thou hast purchased. Oh my, purchased. God's people are purchased by
the precious blood of the Lamb. Thou shalt bring them in He takes
us to glory and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance
in the place, O Lord, which thou has made for thee to dwell in
in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The
Lord shall reign forever and ever. Take note of that. Forever and there will never
be an end to the reign of our great God. Never. Never. And think of who our salvation
is in, in our great God, the one who reigns forever and ever. Now we see kingdoms rise in this
world, we see governments rise in this world and they fall.
What a wonderful verse, the Lord shall reign forever and ever. The horse of Pharaoh went in
with his chariots and with his horsemen. They took right off
after the children of Israel, right into that sea, beloved,
on dry land too. And we know what happened to
them. The horse of Pharaoh went in
with his chariots and with his horsemen in the sea, and the
Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them. They just
fell upon them like the wrath of God. And the Lord bought again the
waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went
on dry land in the midst of the sea. What a miracle! Not a drop of water touched them.
Not a drop. Not a drop of water, beloved. And Miriam, the prophetess and
sister of Aaron, took a tyrandel in her hand, and the woman went
out with her. with timbrels and with dances, and Miriam answered
them, saying, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. Oh, he's triumphed gloriously,
beloved. The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. Let's go back to 2 Samuel 22. We're closed with a few words
on these verses. We'll spend more time on these
two verses next week. But we'll have a few words about
these verses now. 2 Samuel 22 verses 19 and 20. They prevented me in the day
of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth
also into a large place. He delivered me. God delivers
His people. because he delighted in me."
Oh my. That latter part of that verse
there. We take note of the mighty deliverance,
David was delivered by God from all his enemies because he was
a man after God's own heart. And he was a man in whom God
delighted, not for any merit and worthiness in him, but all
according to the goodwill and pleasure of God. Because He was
one of whom was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the
world. The Father delights in the Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And He delights in all who are
in Him. He delivered Christ because He
was His elect, and whom His soul delighted. And who was daily
His delight, rejoicing in His presence before the world was.
And Christ delivers his church, doesn't he? He delivers his church. Why? Because we're his bride.
We're his bride. The one in whom he delights.
I could sit in this verse all day long. He brought me forth
also into a large place. He delivered. Who delivered us
from our sins? Christ. Why? Because he delighted in us. Oh
my goodness. because he delighted in me. It is she, the bride of Christ,
that Christ gave himself for. They are ransomed by his blood.
It is them who the Holy Spirit regenerates and sanctifies and
seals them up to the day of redemption. But beloved, let verse 20 here,
let verse 20 be a comfort this week. Meditate upon this verse,
it's wonderful. He brought me forth also into
a large place. He delivered me. God did this. Because he delighted in me. Glory
be to God. Glory be to God. Heavenly Father,
we thank you for your goodness and mercy and grace. We who are
your people have received in and through Christ Jesus our
Lord. And we marvel, we absolutely marvel at the fact that you delight
in your people. We know that we are a people
given to you, Lord Jesus, in eternity by the Father, based
upon absolutely nothing in us, but all by thy mercy and grace
of God the Father. We know our own unworthiness.
We know we don't merit this salvation, but we are in wonder and awe
that you have bestowed it upon us through Christ. Oh, Lord,
I pray that if there's any of your lost sheep who will listen
to this message, oh, that you draw them in, that you grant
them faith to believe on you, Lord Jesus. Oh, that you give
them the hope and the words that would come from their lips when
they're regenerated, just as David said, you are my rock,
my savior, my Lord, my redeemer, Lord. And this is what every
blood-bought child of God says. Glory to your name, O Lord. You
are magnificent. You are a wonderful, merciful
Savior. And we, who are your people, love you only because
you first loved us. In Jesus' name, amen.