Jack, Lessons from the Life of David. And it was a little challenging preparing this particular lesson because I knew that we'd have some visitors here and and I didn't want to, and we're in the middle of this, actually, this little mini series, David's Psalm of Thanksgiving. It says part three. So I didn't want to just jump in in the middle, but I didn't want to rush on and leave part of the psalm unspoken about. So I've worked out what I thought was a brilliant compromise, but you'll have to be the judge of that in the end. But what I decided to do is review the entire psalm, but from a, with new material, with new material. So those of you who have already been through part one and part two, this is essentially not entirely new, but almost all new material. So it'll have some new material for you as well. But for those of you who this is the first time, in studying David's psalm at Thanksgiving, 2 Samuel chapter 22. This will be able to cover the entire psalm, although we won't spend the time to read the entire psalm. You'll have to do that on your own. So turn to 2 Samuel chapter 22. That's where we'll be almost all today. I got one verse out of psalm 18 as well. But 2 Samuel chapter 22 records David's grand song of Thanksgiving, his grandson, the Thanksgiving David, our hero, now perhaps in his 70s. We don't know David's age exactly, and there are some commentators who debate about when David wrote this psalm. Some, because he referenced Saul, think he wrote it many years earlier. I personally think it belongs exactly where it's found in 2 Samuel, at the end of his life. At the end of life was his song at Thanksgiving. David's looking back on former days and former dangers and deliverances with a most thankful heart. And in 2 Samuel chapter 22, the Psalm of Thanksgiving, 2 Samuel chapter 22, the entire chapter is a Psalm, but it's recorded twice in scripture with very minor changes. The same Psalm is recorded in Psalm 18, recorded twice in scriptures. Matthew Henry says that we should take double notice. Amen? It's not repeated. It's like, hey, hello, take notice of the Psalm of Thanksgiving, 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18. David does not boast in the Psalm of his trophies, as many are wont to do. Rather, David boasts of his triumphs. of his God, and his triumphs in his God. David boasts of the triumphs, the things that God has done for him, and the things that God has done through him, rather than boasting about himself. Amen, so. In Psalm 18, David writes the very first verse, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. That's not in 2 Samuel, but Psalm 18. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. You see, the love of God is indeed the beginning of all of our mercies. All that we've received from God has come because of his great love for us. And the gifts that God has given us ought to lead us back to the giver, should they not? The gifts should lead us back to the giver. I hope all of you write thank you notes. But this is David's thank you note to God, his psalm of thanksgiving. Psalm of thanksgiving, love to God, that should be the end result of all the mercies we receive. After we've received God's mercies, and as we recount them, it ought to be like pouring a little gasoline on the fire, the flame of our love. The stream, you see, the stream in nature, leads back to the source. The stream leads to the source. And so, when we receive gifts from God, they should lead us back to the giver. And that's exactly what David does in this grand psalm of Thanksgiving. It's a marvelous psalm. David wrote 73 psalms that are named in scripture. Undoubtedly, a few others as well, where his name is not attached to those, but no doubt he contributed to them. 73 psalms. I hate to play favorites, but this is one of his best. One of his best, Psalm 18. Spurgeon comments on this psalm. He says, Charles Spurgeon, he says, he that would be wise, let him read the Proverbs. But he that would be holy, let him read the Psalms. He that would be holy, let him read the Psalms. Psalm 18, it's placed among the first of the Psalms, Psalm 18. Although, no doubt, it was one of David's very last Psalms. It was, in fact, his testimony. I've spoken this before in parts one and two. It was his life. testimony in the Lord. David had been delivered from many enemies. That's the words in verse 1 of chapter 22. David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all of his enemies. David had many, many enemies, but he was delivered from them. And deliverance, may I say, calls for Thanksgiving. Have you written your Thanksgiving note? Have you written a note of thanks to the Lord recently? Deliverance calls for Thanksgiving. This is David's life testimony, but let me, may I say, and I've argued this before, may I also argue that it's, as we read and study the text carefully in 2 Samuel 22, can we not say it's our testimony as well? This is our testimony. This is your testimony as a believer. If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, this is your testimony as well. And as we study through the Psalm, you ought to lift up your thoughts and your minds and your hearts, your voice, together with David. Can we together lift up the name of our Savior and sing his praises? along with David this morning. This is, in fact, a participatory class. Let's all participate in this Psalm of Thanksgiving. David here states his position, point one in your outline, states his position, verses 2-4, and he, that is David, said, the Lord The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. The Lord is my rock, in him will I trust. He is my shield, the horn of my salvation, my high tower, my refuge, my savior. Thou savest me from violence. I will call on the name, I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from my enemies. David states his position, his poetry here, I might say is excellent, A, A plus for David's poetry. The images that David paints here are like bold and crisp after two centuries of time, bold and crisp images, A plus, A plus for that. The expressions are lofty, A plus, A plus. The words are precise and proper, A plus, yet, Yet far exceeding all of these is David's piety. Can't you just feel his piety oozing out of every word? His love, his devotion for his Lord. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. Far exceeding everything else that David did is his piety. David's words here soar, literally, they transcend, I might say, anything that mortal man is capable of writing. These are the works, this is a work of a master artist, indeed. The Holy Spirit who guided David's thoughts, in David's hands, the work of a master. We see that in just these three verses we read. David states his position. I like a preacher, a man, a lady, who states their position. This is what I believe. Boldly, without hesitation, in these first three verses, David states his position. He answers the question. Who is on the Lord's side? Who is on the Lord's side? Who is on the Lord's side? Who for him will go? I can't remember all the words. Who will be his helper? Other lives to show. David's not afraid in the midst of his enemies, nor ashamed. to boldly reply, the Lord, the Lord's my rock. He states his position. David not only states his position, he exalts in it. David is, you know, like bursting at the seams. It's wonderful, indeed, to be a Christian. I remember Brother Ard, when he was much younger, he said there was this young lady who caught his attention. She used to sing this song. Isn't it wonderful to be a Christian? It caught his eye and the rest is history, as I should say, but it is wonderful. That's what David's saying here. It's wonderful to be a Christian. Wonderful, the Lord's my rock. David affirms his commitment to prayer and to praise. I will call on the Lord, verse four, who is worthy to be praised. David here looks back. He not only looks, states his position, which I really appreciate, but David now looks back. He begins to recount some of the things the Lord has done for him. And he begins that in verses five, really through 18. David magnifies God for his deliverances. Wonderfully metaphoric language David uses. He describes his deliverance from physical dangers. He talks about when the waves of death come past me. The floods of ungodly men made me afraid." Wow, I just love the words David uses. He looks back and he magnifies God. Surely this is one of the most, one commentator said, one of the most magnificent lyrical raptures found in Scripture, verses five through 18. And throughout this psalm, and we're not gonna read, don't have time to read all of it, but throughout this psalm, there is a subtle alteration between I and thou, between me and my God, a subtle alteration. You can see that right in verse four, I will call on the Lord. I and thou. Who is worthy? He is worthy to be praised. David says, I will call. The Lord is worthy. This alteration between David's focus on thinking about himself and his own feelings, and then he's focused on God, back and forth. a technique called parallelism. Parallelism. Parallelism. It's the device used in Hebrew poetry, and David uses it masterfully there. Parallelism. You see, the second line of the verse, I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised, the second line is related to the first, is it not? Either by repetition, or by contrast, contrast. Rather than relying upon rhyme and meter, you know, I'm pretty good at rhyme, you know, cat, hat, bat, sat, mat, fat. Okay, I'm ready to make a poem. Won't be a very good poem. But anyway, David relies upon parallelism. It creates a sense of rhyme and an interconnectedness between the lines, and it allows the poet, in this case David, guided by the Holy Spirit to explore ideas in a more precise and memorable way. David uses this technique called parallelism, you got it, beyond the test, parallelism, to express his relationship to God. The relationship, you see, it's the relationship between the delivered That's us, if you believe in Lord Jesus Christ, the delivered and the deliverer. That's parallelism, the relationship between David and his God. It's beautifully expressed throughout this psalm. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. Psalm 18, verse one says, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. Later in the same Psalm, in 2 Samuel, it says, he, that is God, sent from above, he took me. God sent from above, God chose me. He drew me out of many waters. Parallelism, thou wilt light my candle. Parallelism, thou has given me the shield of thy salvation. Parallelism, thou has guided me with strength. into the battle. The heathen, you see, throughout the ages there hasn't been a single heathen that could imagine the deity would condescend to come down on high to deliver one so insignificant. You know, the pagan religions, their deities are like men, only bigger and stronger, and they could really care less about all of us. But to the Hebrew, to the Hebrew mind, God did not have to descend from heaven to come down. The Lord is near. And to the Hebrew mind, to the David, the Lord is nigh, the Lord is concerned. He's intimately involved in man's affairs. He's not asleep, he's not on a journey, he's not sick. He is as close as a prayer away. God is here, God is here. In verse seven, in David's alarm, he says, in my distress, I called upon the Lord, I cried to my God. In David's alarm and distress, he prays, amen. He prays, he cries out to God. You see, prayer is not eloquence. It's not the fancy words we use. Prayer is earnestness, earnestness. I'd much rather have, hear a prayer of earnestness than a prayer of eloquence. Prayer of earnestness. Prayer is simply the cry of faith into the ear of mercy. And I've said before, there's never a bad time to pray. Never a bad time to pray. Amen? David's here is in his distress. He calls upon the Lord, cries unto his God, And God hears, hears my voice out of his temple, his cry did enter into his ears. David prayed, the Lord delivered again and again, the Lord's arrival is announced in verse eight, then the earth shook. and trembled, what an arrival it was. The foundations of the heavens moved and shook because the Lord, because he was wroth, very wroth. Lofty metaphors are used here in the following verses to describe God's displeasure against his enemies. God's wrath is kindled and none can stand. Lofty metaphors are used not only to show God's displeasure, they're used to show God's glory, God's wisdom, His power, His goodness, His faithfulness, His justice. Then went smoke out of his nostrils, verse 9, fire out of his mouth and liver, coals were kindled by it. They show how ready God was to help. God was about to call away. David called, and boom, the Lord was there like a fire-breathing dragon, slaying David's enemies. David was quick to acknowledge that God deserved all credit for his deliverances. He says, verse 18, he, that is the Lord, delivered me from my strong enemy and from them that hated me, for they were too strong for me. David not only states his position, he looks up, but David also looks back, looks backward. I'm sorry, David looks back. David only states his position, point two, he looks back, but now David begins looking up, look upward. Verse 19, he says, they prevented me in the day of my calamity. They restrained me, they held me back, but the Lord was my stay. He, verse 20, he brought me forth also into a large place. He delivered me. because he delighted me. Having celebrated his deliverances in verses 5 through 18, David now looks up to his deliverer and he gives his personal testimony beginning in verse 20. And then he glorifies God for his triumphs. You see, God had not only preserved faithful servant. Well, that would be a lot, would it not? Just to be preserved. God, you know, throw me a life, throw me a life preserver. Preserve me. Save my life. God not only preserved though, God prospered. David, and that was David's personal testimony. In the last section, where David looks back, David had spoken of God's many deliverances, and the tone was passive in verses 5 through 18, but now the tone is active. Before it was God's strong arm that was delivering him. But now David is recounting his role as he looks up what God had given him the strength to do. The tense is active now as we begin to look at it. It says, verse 20, he brought me forth into a large place. He delivered me because he delighted me. The Lord has rewarded me. He recompensed me. Now it gets in the active tense. Verse 22, for I have kept the ways of the Lord. I did not depart from them, verse 23. I was also upright before him, verse 24. So again, David's tone is active now. David's sword is unsheathed, his arm is strengthened by the Lord. David looks up to the Lord. uses the language of hope here. He speaks of the Lord as a lamp. Verse 29, for thou art my lamp, O Lord, and the Lord will lighten my darkness. This is David using language of hope, celebrating God's strengthening enablements, speaking of God's perfects, perfections. David also uses the language of faith. Verse 32, for who is God, save the Lord, who is a rock, Save our God, the language of faith. The language here is sublime, profound. Again, these are not the words of a merely mortal man. These are words guided by the Holy Spirit. And David looks up continually throughout the psalm, continually glorifying in his triumphs, while at the same time ascribing all the glory to God alone. David glorifies, you can do that. As God has enabled David to have the victory, David gives that victory right back to the Lord. Spurgeon writes, as David looks up, there's something deeper though in this psalm, that's what I want to say. As David looks up, point three, David looks up, Spurgeon writes, The Messiah, our Savior, is evident throughout this psalm. Over and beyond David or any other believer, the main and chief subject of this psalm is the Messiah. While studying it, Spurgeon writes, we have grown more and more sure that every line has this deeper and profounder fulfillment in Him, in Jesus Christ. Two verses from 2 Samuel 22 are quoted in the New Testament as being the very words of Christ. I've referenced this twice already, but now I'll give you those verses. Verse three, it says, in Him will I trust. The Lord is my rock and my fortress, He is my deliverer. Verse three, the Lord is my rock, in Him will I trust. The phrase in Him will I trust is found in Hebrews chapter 2, verses 12 and 13, and it's not quoted as a quotation where Christ was quoting from the Old Testament, rather it's mentioned as the words of Christ himself. David It's prophetic here, as David writes the words of Christ, some 800, 1,000 years, that may, I guess, 1,000 years before Christ. Verse 50 is the other verses quoted in the New Testament. Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen. I will sing praises unto thy name. That's quoted as the words of Christ by Paul in Romans chapter 15, verse nine. David wrote, again prophetically, the words of Christ centuries before they were even spoken. David takes no credit at all for himself in his victories. Verse 40, he says, for thou hast girded me with strength to battle. Them that rose against me hath thou subdued under me. It's true, of course, we have to put the armor on. Don't expect a victory if you're in your underwear. Put the armor of God on. That's our job, is put the armor on. We must put it on. We must march forth into battle. If you're hiding in your closet, you're not going to have the victory. But the victory is the Lord's. It's far more the Lord's than ours. David takes no credit for himself. David celebrates even the remembrance of his victories by looking upward to the source of his help. Again, verse 40 says, for thou has given me the next of mine enemies that I might destroy them that hate me. Verse 42, it says, they looked, that is David's enemies, they looked, but there was none to save, even unto the Lord, but he answered them not. prayers unanswered, wicked forsaken. They looked, David's enemies, but there's none to save. Even, David says his enemies looked unto the Lord, but he answered them not. As Spurgeon comments, again Spurgeon has delightful comments on many, all the Psalms. Spurgeon wrote a commentary called The Treasury of David that covers, where Spurgeon has his commentary on all the Psalms, along with many other commentators as well. But Spurgeon wrote, on this verse 42, his prayer, Spurgeon says, is so notable a weapon that even the wicked will pick it up. Prayer is so notable a weapon that even the wicked will take to it in their fits of despair. Men have appealed to God against God's own servants. That's what's happening here. David's enemies were appealing to God against David. Spurgeon said, men have appealed to God against his own servants, but all in vain, all in vain. The kingdom of heaven is not divided, Spurgeon says. And God never suckers his foes at the expense of his friends. God doesn't help his foes at the expense of his friends. Hello, I mean you may have found this weapon of prayer at David's enemies, you may have picked it up and tried to wield it, but it's to no avail. Spurgeon says, there are prayers to God which are no better than blasphemy, which bring no comforting reply, but rather provoke the Lord unto greater wrath." David looks up, David looks back. Now David begins to look ahead. And we'll slow up just a tiny bit in the remaining 10 minutes and look to the future. David looks ahead. Now, verse 44, Let's read verse 43. Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, David says, I did stamp them as enemies, as a mire of the street, did spread them abroad. Thou also has delivered me from the strivings of my people. Thou has kept me to be head of the heathen, a people which I knew not shall serve me. there are the tense changes. Verse 44, a people which I knew not shall, David's now speaking about the future, shall serve me. You see, intense strife had almost ripped David's kingdom in half. He says, thou hast delivered me from the strivings of my people." Remember Absalom and his rebellion and the kingdom of David was literally torn in half until the great victory David won over Nehemiah. Now Bagdad had preserved David as the head of the kingdom, and David was designed and reserved to rule over all 12 tribes, to be exalted over all the heathen nations. Strangers, David says, verse 45, shall submit themselves unto me. As soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me. Indeed, the tone of the song has changed markedly. David is moving now from memory to hope. Memory to hope. He's looking back, he's looked up, but now he's looking ahead in hope. David's successes in the past are his guarantee of greater triumphs in the future. Indeed, David is carried, and it seems to be in the spirit of prophecy, completely into the New Testament as he anticipates the reign and the rule of Christ. David's past experiences had formed a foundation, and quite a foundation it was, for his expression of trust and confidence in the future. You see, God had been David's buckler. Verse 31, it says, he is a buckler to all them that trust him. Remember that buckler is that that shield you have on your arm like Captain America to ward off the enemy, a buckler. God had been David's buckler in the past. Verse 33, God had been David's strength and power. Verse 36, God's enablement had made David great. And verse 41 that we just read, God had given David his enemy's necks. David is now fully convinced that his kingdom is destined to extend even further. Strange tribes, he says in verse 45, would be subject to him. Strangers shall submit themselves unto me. As soon as they hear, they shall be delivered unto me. David is looking forward, looking toward the future. He's looking for the Messiah. The expressions that David begins to use, the enlargement, which David expected, foreshadows Christ's kingdom, the exaltation, the expansion of Christ's kingdom far beyond the bounds of Judaism. David writes, as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me, verse 45. Spurgeon again comments on that. He says, the grace of God sometimes runs like fire among the stubble, and a nation is born in a day. We're talking revival here. Love at first sight is no uncommon thing when Christ is at war. His gospel is in some cases no sooner heard than believed. What an inducement to spread the gospel, spread abroad the doctrines of the cross. Strangers shall fade away, David says, verse 46, and they shall be afraid out of their close places. Spurgeon writes again on David, verse 46, from their castles of self-confidence and their dens of carnal security, poor sinners come, bending before the Savior, Christ the Lord. The Lord liveth, David says, verse 47, the Lord liveth. What a great verse for resurrection morning. What a great, great verse. The Lord liveth and blessed be my rock and exalted be the God, be the God of the rock of my salvation. David returns here to his adoration of God himself. After offering his praises, after expressing his confidence in the future victories, David's now is entirely caught up in worship. The Lord liveth. The miracle working God of his father's was indeed his God also. God was swift to hear, powerful to help. He's worthy of praise. All of David's help is in God and from God. Let's continue reading. He says, Verse 48, it's God that avenges me and that bringeth down the people under me, and that bringeth me forth from my enemies. Thou also hast lifted me on high above them that rose against me. Thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore, I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen. I will sing praises unto thy name. He is the tower of salvation for his king. and showeth mercy to his anointed unto David and to his seed forever, forevermore. All of David's help, he says, is from God and in God. David recounts the dominant theme of this song. Personal revenge was not only unnecessary to David, It's dishonoring to God. It's the Lord, it's God that avenged me. It's God that bringeth down the people under me. David sets a godly example for us. A soul here that's making his boast for God in the midst of ungodly men. A soul making his boast for God in the midst of ungodly men. That's not to describe our day as well, our position. A godly example, David says, a soul making his boast for God in the midst of ungodly men. David has acknowledged God as his rock, undergirding and supporting all. Now, in verse 51, he says God is the tower of salvation, one in whom David found security. Though, although he be high above us, David found security in this tower. David clearly has his eye on Christ. As he looks ahead, he says, to his seed forevermore, to his seed forevermore. That's not David, that's Christ. He is the tower of salvation for his king and showeth mercy to his anointed unto David and David's to his seed. and to Christ. Christ alone is David's seed forevermore. So David is looking forward to the Messiah. He's looking forward to his future. And what a glorious future it was. David's grand psalm of thanksgiving. I trust that this is if it isn't yet, can become your grand psalm of Thanksgiving as well. Psalm 18 or 2 Samuel chapter 22. Well, we'll move on next week into David's last words, which were not actually David's last words. Psalm 2 Samuel chapter 23, but I believe it's the last words he spoke in an inspired manner. David's last words, he spoke in an inspired manner. 2 Samuel chapter 23, we'll pick