–2 Samuel 22:1-7 NKJV – Praise for God’s Deliverance – 1 Then 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. 2 And he said: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. 4 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. 5 “When the waves of death surrounded me, The floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 6 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 7 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.
David was a mighty warrior. David was a protector as a Sheppard, protecting his flock from predators. David was courageous and defeated Goliath when the men in Saul’s army were afraid to fight Goliath. David was victorious in battles, many battles. David had an army of men to protect him. David’s home was fortified from enemy attacks. Despite being strong and protected, David knew that God, only God was his help, strength, shield, fortress, refuge, deliverer, and the horn of his salvation. In battles and in struggles, David did not rely on his own strength or his men for his protection and victory. David did not put his confidence in his own strength or in his men. David had his confidence in God that when God was sending them to battle then there would be victory, because of God.
Here’s a reminder of what David said in 2 Samuel 22:2-4 – 2 And he said: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. 4 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.
David trusted God. When you are facing a battle, do you trust God for the victory, or do you tremble in fear of the enemy? Do you have confidence in God for your victory and breakthrough, or do you put confidence in something else? When I was in the world, I thought alcohol would help me with my depression. My motto was: “I’ll just drink my problems away”, sure it made me temporarily forget about my problems, but it never took my problems away. Instead alcohol made my depression worse since alcohol is classified as a depressant. I thought I had alcohol under control until it finally had taken control of me, yeah it does not surprise me why alcohol is referred to as “spirits”. If I were feeling anxious, I would light up a cigarette thinking it would calm my nerves, not realizing that nicotine was causing more anxiety in me since it is a stimulant. I use to work a job on midnight shift where I would take ephedrine or caffeine pills to help me stay awake at night, and then I would take sleep aides to help me sleep during the day. Well I thought that was smart idea at the time, that was until I had developed health issues when trying to fight to stay awake or fight to fall asleep. I had always had a lot of friends throughout my life so I thought I had plenty of people to count on, but as you know you cannot count on everyone. When I became a Christian, God has given me many breakthroughs and victories, He delivered me from addictions. BUT, with battles I was not always consistent in trusting God and being confident in Him with my circumstances. What I have learned though is that I can get through a battle faster when I take my focus off the battle and just trust God. Knowing who God is, why is it still so hard sometimes for us as His children to fully trust in Him?
David referred to God as “the horn of my salvation”. A horn represents strength and protection. Like how the horns on a bull or ram are used by an animal to protect and defend the animal. God is our protector and defender. David also acknowledges in 2 Samuel 22:4 and 7, to call upon the Lord. God is worthy of our praise. In our time of distress, we should cry out to God, the One who hears us and saves us. Our protector and defender. Our redeemer and deliverer. Our strength and our shield. Our fortress and strong tower. The horn of our salvation. Why would we put our trust in anyone else or in anything when our trust should be in God?
2 Samuel 22:29-35 NKJV – 29 “For You are my lamp, O Lord; The Lord shall enlighten my darkness. 30 For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. 31 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. 32 “For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? 33 God is my strength and power, And He makes my way perfect. 34 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places. 35 He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
