DAVID’S SONG OF SALVATION
When trouble comes our way, our view of God will either take us to a deeper relationship with him or it will move us away from him. This morning we take a look at one of the writings of King David. In these verses, we will see two important truths: (1) trouble moved David into a deeper relationship with God; and, (2) love moved God to save David from his troubles. I invite you to turn with me to 2 Samuel 22:1-7
David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. The waves of death overwhelmed me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I cried to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry reached his ears.
David is nearing the end of his life when he writes this song of praise to God for God’s salvation. He has been through a lot in his life. From the heights of receiving the blessing of God and becoming the king of Israel, to the lows of committing adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband killed. Several of his children have died violently, and one has been raped by her brother. The Philistines have been a constant threat to take over his kingdom, and his rule as king has been challenged by his own rebellious son. In all this, how has David come to view God? He tells us that God has become his rock, his fortress, his shield, his place of safety – in short, God has become his salvation. Whether from enemies foreign or domestic, or from his own sinful choices, God has saved him. Even when death lay in wait and the grave lay open and ready to receive him, God heard his cry. David said it so wonderfully in his well-loved twenty-third Psalm: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For though art with me; thy staff and they rod, they comfort me.” When he cried out to God for help, God heard him and saved him. Trouble has moved David into a deeper relationship with God.
Let me read one more verse from this chapter, verse twenty: “He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me.” There it is – that’s the key: God delights in me. That’s why God didn’t give up on David when David sinned. That’s why God won’t give up on you or me . . . because he delights in us.
God delights in us because we belong to him. He created us, and when we were lost to him because of our sin, Christ died for us that we may be forgiven and restored into a right relationship with him. We belong to him, and like a parent who delights in his or her child, so God delights in us. And, like the parent delights to provide for their child, and moves in to save their child when threatened, so God delights to provide for us and to save us from our enemies. Like a dad whose daughter is being mistreated by a young man, or a mom whose son is being bullied on the playground, God takes steps to save us in our times of trouble because he delights in us.
If we see God as David saw God, as the One who delights in us, then the troubles we experience in life will not move us away from God. Instead of blaming him for our difficulties, we will look to him to save us. And we will celebrate his salvation, as we do this morning around this table of Communion. He heard our cry for help, and he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.