Day 74: 2 Samuel 22:1–51

I called to the Lord in my distress; I called to my God. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help reached His ears (v. 7).

Nothing is more appropriate than celebrating a victory God has sovereignly and majestically won for us! After all the ups and downs of David’s journey, in chapter 22 we get to experience the sheer pleasure of attending a celebration. Anyone who has ever experienced victory in Jesus is invited to attend. Someone else just wouldn’t understand.

David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul (2 Sam. 22:1).

Think about what motivated David to sing these words. Sometimes God puts a new song in our mouths—a hymn of praise to our God! Other times He brings us back to an old song, one which fell from our lips many years ago and has gathered a film of dust only a fresh breath could blow away. No doubt about it, sometimes God wants to hear an old song from a new heart. This was the case for David.

David remembered the words he had sung many years before, after God delivered him from the hand of Saul. I believe his recent victory over the Philistines rekindled the remembrance of his victory over Saul because of several similarities. Both conflicts seemed they would never end. Both conflicts sapped his strength. Both conflicts caused him to rely on another’s strength.

Decades wedged their way between the solos of this one song. How different the sound of the same singer’s voice—so young and daring when first he sang. Now the voice was old, but suddenly, unexpectedly filled with the passion of a young warrior. I believe the words comprise the testimony of an old man with a fresh passion. Praise God, we need never get too old to experience a young passion!

Chapter 22 is a lengthy song of praise, as David catalogued the ways God had worked in his life: “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me” (vv. 17–18).

You will notice in chapter 22 that David is serving us a slice of his personal history with God. Are you actively building a history with God? Can you readily say that the two of you have done lots of living together since your salvation? Have you allowed Him to reveal Himself to you in the many experiences of life?

If you are a Christian but you’ve attempted a life of self-sufficiency, you may not be able to relate to having a close personal relationship with God. But claiming Him personally is the most precious right of any believer! Look at the revolutionary news the risen Lord told Mary Magdalene: “Go . . . to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’ ” (John 20:17). Blessed Calvary, cheated grave that made Christ’s God my very own! Glory in the cross!

The Book of 2 Samuel is not the only place David’s words of victory are found. Psalm 18 contains an almost identical set of verses to those God placed in 2 Samuel 22. One of the exceptions is too precious to miss. Verse 1 of Psalm 18 simply declares, “I love you, O Lord, my strength.”

“I love you, Lord.” No demands. No despair. Just “I love you.” The words might seem more fitting as the grand finale rather than the opening line. Their sudden appearance suggests they were words that could not wait. The psalmist considered his delivered state and his Father’s stubborn love, and he burst forth with the words: “I love you, Lord.”

The One who delivered David from his enemies was no distant deity. He was the object of the psalmist’s deepest emotions, the One with whom he shared authentic relationship. David deeply loved God. David was a man after God’s own heart because his desire was also the sheer pleasure of the Father. The Father’s deepest desire is to be loved—genuinely loved—by His child.

If 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18 compel us to see one thing, it is that God is a personal God we each can call our own.

• He is my strength when I am weak.

• He is my rock when I am slipping.

• He is my deliverer when I am trapped.

• He is my fortress when I am crumbling.

• He is my refuge when I am pursued.

• He is my shield when I am exposed.

• He is my Lord when life spins out of control.

A heart that makes Him its own—one that can state, “He is mine”—is a heart that cannot help but love.

I love you, Lord.