2 Samuel 22:1-20 – Building a deep relationship with God

What we read in 2 Samuel 22 is almost the same as Psalm 18 with very few variations between the two. Both the beginning verses in 2 Samuel 22 and the title of Psalm 18 tell us why David praised the LORD so spontaneously. God not only rescued him from the hand of Saul but also from the hand of all his enemies. Having experienced the abundant deliverance of God, David could not cease praising the Almighty.

Terms such as rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, horn, stronghold, and savior, bring to our mind a sense of reliability. God is reliable. Like David, we must have Him as the foundation in our lives to be able to stand unmovable in the day of adversity. With Him in one’s life, one will be indestructible, no matter how tough the circumstances one may encounter in life. The many times the personal pronoun “my” is used, speak of the personal and intimate relationship David had with God. And if we are to experience the same level of security David had in life, we also need to cultivate such a personal and intimate relationship with God. Such a relationship will enable us to stay strong and praise the LORD regardless of the magnitude of the storm in life we may encounter. 

In verses 5-6, David described the extent of his troubles. He was surrounded by the ungodly and came face to face with death. The grave seemed imminent. Emotionally he was at his lowest ebb. He felt drained and was filled with sorrow and fear. Many of us probably had all been to that place before. Some of us may be at this place now. Here we can learn from David what to do. In his distress, he lifted his prayer to God and was heard by the Almighty. So like him, we too can lift our cry to the Almighty and know that He will come to our rescue.   

 In highly dramatized language, verses 8-20 David narrated how God had heard his prayer and came to his rescue. God’s fierce anger was seen in the earthquake and the storm. And in a very graphic way, David used the forces of nature to describe the wrath of God shown against his enemies. In narrating how God came to his rescue, David had become God’s instrument to tell us that God will also move heaven and earth to answer the cry of help we will make to Him. Like David, if we are to experience God’s deliverance and to be able to stand openly to praise Him, we must love Him, and totally trust and rely on Him.

Like David, God must be our constant stay, so that in whatever trial we may currently be battling, we know we have a reliable God to lean on. He wants to deliver us so that we can stand firm and praise His name openly. How solidly we can stand in the face of the fierce trials of life will be determined by how we build our relationship with Him. The deeper our root in Him is, the more stable will life be. We can be like a tree planted by the streams of water, whose leaves will not wither and will yield its fruit in its season. Do we really know this Mighty God so intimately?!