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2 Samuel 22:8–28
He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me (v. 20).
In the first few verses of the psalm recorded in 2 Samuel 22, David tells that he faced peril and cried to God for aid. He also notes that God heard his cry. How does he know this? Today’s passage tells us—he knows because of the vigor and power of God’s response.
David exclaims that God moved heaven and earth after David cried to Him. He speaks of all creation shaking as God, in anger over the threat to His anointed king, took action. Using vivid imagery, he describes smoke coming from God’s nostrils and fire from His mouth as He descended in a storm to deliver His anointed king. “At the blast of the breath of His nostrils, the very foundations of the world” were exposed, David writes. It was almost as if God once again was descending onto Mount Sinai (Ex. 19). In truth, we find no Scriptural reports of God saving David by thunder (see 1 Sam. 7:10) or other natural events, so David must be speaking poetically here. But his use of grandiose language is not unjustified, for his perils were great and God did indeed intervene miraculously for him many times. “He drew me out of many waters, He delivered me from my strong enemy,” David declares.
In verses 20–25, David seems to explore the reasons God took such action to deliver him. In verse 20, he says simply, “He delivered me because He delighted in me.” Was this because David was so delightful? Hardly. David is simply speaking here of divine grace. God delighted in him because God had chosen him. But then David gets even more perplexing. In verses 21 and 25, he says God has “rewarded me according to my righteousness.” It certainly seems as if David is saying that God helped him because he was such a good man. But we know he was by no means perfect. Actually, as we see from verses 22–24, David is saying that God helped him because he is a true, adopted son of God, not perfect but redeemed. He has walked faithfully with God and fought the good fight against his sin nature. God helped David because He had set His love on David.
The principle David discovers here is that God deals consistently (vv. 26–28) with His people and with pagans. He judges the unrepentant, but He shows His covenantal love to those He has chosen. He is always with His beloved children, to guide, strengthen, and shield.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
If you have been born again from above, then you are a child of God—and He delights in you. He poured mercy upon you to redeem you from your sin and He continues to lavish His grace upon you to make you more like Christ. He will not let you fall away. Humbly thank Him today for choosing to set His love upon you.
For Further Study
- John 1:12
- Rom. 8:15–16
- Eph. 1:5
- 1 John 3:1–2