SERIES J --- THE WARRIOR KING --- LESSON 22

DAVID’S PSALMS

DAVID’S SONG OF THANKSGIVING

From 2 Samuel 22

At last David was safe from King Saul and all his other enemies. Adonai had delivered him. David sang this song of thanksgiving to Adonai:

‘Adonai is my Rock and Fortress; For He has delivered me; I will trust in Him; For He is my Rock and Deliverer. He is my Shield, my Salvation; My High Tower and Refuge, my Saviour; Who has saved me from my enemies. Worthy is Adonai to be praised; I will call upon Him; Arid He will rescue me from my enemies. Waves of death surrounded me; Floods of evil came against me

Bonds of Sheol entangled me; And snares of destruction bound me. Tormented, I cried to Adonai; And called upon Him; In His temple He heard me; And listened to my pleas. Then Adonai’s anger went forth; And caused the earth to tremble; Smoke billowed from His nostrils; And fire blazed from His mouth; Devouring all before Him. He bent the heavens down to earth

And walked upon the darkness; On a cherub He rode; On the wings of the wind He flew; He wrapped the darkness around Him; And surrounded Himself with clouds; He projected His brightness before Him; Until it burned like hot coals. From heaven He thundered; Like a mighty voice. With His arrows He scattered His enemies; With His lightning He sent them running; With a mighty blast from His nostrils

The ocean floor was exposed; And the foundations of the world revealed; For this was His rebuke. From on high He reached down to me; And lifted me from the waters; He saved me from mighty foes; And spared me from those who hated me; And from those who were mightier than I. In my day of distress my enemies came; But Adonai was my help. He brought me into an open place; And delivered me, for He delighted in me.

Adonai rewarded me for doing right; And blessed me for pleasing Him; For I obeyed His commands; And stayed away from sin. Because I have pleased Him; He has done much for me. Adonai, You are gracious to those who show mercy; And good to those who are without guilt; To the pure You show purity; But to the evil You give destruction. You lift up the downcast; And put down the proud.

You are my Lamp, O Adonai; For You turn my darkness to light. By Your strength I can defeat an army; Or leap over a wall. How perfect are His ways; And how true is His Word! He is a shield to those who hide in Him; For who else is YHVH except Him? And who else is the Rock except Adonai? YHVH is my Towering Fortress; Who has kept me secure; He gives me the speed of a deer; And the secure grip of a mountain goat.

Adonai trains me for war; And gives me strength to bend a bronze bow. Adonai, You give me a shield of salvation; And gentleness to make me great. You give me a wide place to walk in; And feet that never grow weary. I pursue my enemies until I destroy them; I do not turn around until they are conquered. I conquer them and destroy them; They fall at my feet, never to rise. You strengthened me for battle, Adonai; And caused my foes to sink beneath me. You caused my enemies to retreat; And let me destroy those who hated me.

They looked about for help, but they found none; They even cried to Adonai, but He refused to answer. I crushed my enemies like dust; And stamped them like dirt in the streets. Adonai, You have placed me over nations; And helped me keep peace at home. Foreigners submit to me; When they know my power; They tremble and lose their courage; And come from their hiding places.

Adonai lives! Blessed be my Rock! Praise Him, the Rock of my salvation! Praise YHVH Who destroys my enemies; And frees me from them. Adonai, You keep me safe from them; And deliver me from their evil; Putting me over them, yet safe from them. Therefore, I praise You, Adonai, before all nations! I sing praises to Your Name. Adonai has helped His king triumph; He has shown great love to His anointed; To David and his descendants forever.

COMMENTARY

THE FORTRESS

Ancient cities were equipped with impressive defence systems to protect them from attack. David must have had these in mind when he spoke of Adonai as his Fortress, many combined man-made structures with the natural advantages of a hilltop location. From high above the surrounding countryside soldiers could see advancing enemy troops and prepare for the coming attack. The city wall was the key to the town’s defence. Up to twenty-five feet high and twenty feet thick, it presented the enemy with a very solid barrier of stone. Archers and spearmen poured down a rain of fire from towers stationed at intervals along its length. From the top, men with slingshots hurled rocks against the enemy troops. The foundations of the wall were surrounded by a wide ditch. When it was flooded with water, this ditch became an impassable moat. The strongest fortresses defied enemy battering rams with a wall around both sides of this watery barrier. Yet the most forbidding walls were only as strong as the defences that guarded the city gate. As the weakest point in the city’s armour, it drew the enemy’s fiercest attack. Entrance to the town was blocked by a set of double wooden doors covered with metal. These were set in stone sockets and locked against the enemy by a heavy wooden bolt drawn across the doors. The entrance ramp to the city approached the gate at an angle from the right. This forced enemy spearmen who carried their shields in their left hands to leave their right sides unprotected. Defending archers took aim at them from the two towers stationed on either side of the gate. Enemy forces who got through the city walls despite the defenders’ efforts were met by a second system of fortification. Stone walls inside the city divided it into sections and slowed the advance on the citadel. The enemy’s goal was the citadel; a fortress within a fortress. Here the royal palace and government buildings were sheltered within their own walls. Situated on the highest ground in the city, the citadel was frequently the scene of the defenders’ last stand. Not until the king and his ministers had surrendered could the enemy claim complete victory over the city.