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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Samuel 22:21 - 22:51
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Praise and Prophecy
v. 21. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. The righteousness of the heart is seen in the purity of the acts of his hands, in their abstaining from sin and unrighteousness.
v. 22. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, observing the rules of conduct laid down in His Law, and have not wickedly departed from my God, not fallen away from God through wickedness.
v. 23. For all His judgments were before me, the instructions to which He obligated all men; and as for His statutes, the precepts of His covenant, I did not depart from them, he was a sincere believer In, and follower of, Jehovah.
v. 24. I was also upright before Him, that was his immediate, inner relation to God, and have kept myself from mine iniquity, guarding himself against committing sin, and so contracting guilt. This testimony of David concerning himself agrees with that of the Lord, 1Ki_14:8; 1Ki_15:5.
v. 25. Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His eyesight, rewarding every believer in accordance with the evidence presented in his life and works.
v. 26. With the merciful Thou wilt show Thyself merciful, and with the upright man Thou wilt show Thyself upright.
v. 27. With the pure Thou wilt show Thyself pure, and with the froward, the perverse, Thou wilt show Thyself unsavory, every man thus reaping as he sowed, being rewarded or punished according to his deeds.
v. 28. And the afflicted people Thou wilt save, those bowed down by a weight of misery; but Thine eyes are upon the haughty, those who look down upon and oppress the poor and afflicted, that Thou mayest bring them down. Cf Luk_1:52.
v. 29. For Thou art my Lamp, O Lord, as the Source of all his joy and good fortune; and the Lord will lighten my darkness, by taking away all affliction, wretchedness, and ruin.
v. 30. For by Thee I have run through a troop, running against the hostile forces and trampling them under foot; by my God have I leaped over a wall, conquering fortified places with ease.
v. 31. As for God, His way is perfect, He is altogether blameless in His government; the Word of the Lord is tried, without guile, pure, and true; He is a buckler to all them that trust in Him, offering protection against all dangers.
v. 32. For who is God save the Lord? He is the only true God. And who is a rock save our God? He only may be relied upon absolutely as trustworthy.
v. 33. God is my strength and Power, a Fortress of strength; and he maketh my way perfect, leading and guiding the perfect man on his way.
v. 34. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, swift in strength and in the pursuit of the enemies; and setteth me upon my high places, which the singer victoriously holds against his enemies.
v. 35. He teacheth my hands to war, and thus to hold their own against the enemies, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms, so that his arms are able to bend the bronze bow without difficulty.
v. 36. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation, whereby God protects and saves His people; and Thy gentleness hath made me great, by the favorable hearing of his prayer.
v. 37. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, giving to the wanderer a wide space for free movement, so that my feet did not slip, his ankles standing unwavering and firm; he was able to move with a light and strong step.
v. 38. I have pursued mine enemies and destroyed them, and turned not again until I had consumed them; they could not rise for further contest; they fell under his feet in helpless submission.
v. 39. And I have consumed them and wounded them that they could not arise; yea, they are fallen under my feet.
v. 40. For Thou hast girded me with strength to battle, all his strength and prowess came from Jehovah; them that rose up against me hast Thou subdued under me, they had to bow down their necks like helpless slaves.
v. 41. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, causing them to turn their back in flight, that I might destroy them that hate me.
v. 42. They looked, but there was none to save; even to the Lord, but he answered them not. Though in their extreme need they cried to the God of Israel for help, they received no deliverance at His hands.
v. 43. Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, rubbing, pulverizing, and scattering them; I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad, contemptuously scorning and throwing them away as worthless. The result of this victorious conflict with the enemies is also pictured.
v. 44. Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, from the insurrections in the midst of his own nation; Thou Hast kept me to be head of the heathen, of all the surrounding nations; a people which I knew not shall serve me, Here the Messianic thought is included, that eventually even those outside 3f the chosen people of the Lord would learn to know the true God in Christ Jesus.
v. 45. Strangers shall submit themselves unto me, strange, foreign people would pay fawning, hypocritical homage, since they felt powerless before the Lord's king; as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.
v. 46. Strangers shall fade away, wither and shrivel up like a leaf in a hot wind, and they shall be afraid out of their close places, coming forth hobbling and trembling out of their fortresses.
v. 47. The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation. These sentences return to the thought of the introduction, which dominated the entire psalm.
v. 48. It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me, subjecting the nations to his rule,
v. 49. and that bringeth me forth from mine enemies, delivering him from their power. Thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me; Thou hast delivered me from the violent man, saving him from the persecution of Saul, as of the man of violent deeds, and from all those that followed the latter in his hatred.
v. 50. Therefore I will give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto Thy name, as being expressive of all His deeds of deliverance, by which He has revealed Himself as the true God.
v. 51. He is the Tower of Salvation for His king, with the strong assurance of salvation, and showeth mercy to His anointed, unto David, and to his seed forevermore; the Messianic thought recurring here once more. Christ, the true Anointed of God, carried the Lord's cause to a still more victorious conclusion. He is the Head and King over all nations, over the spiritual Israel, the seed of Abraham gathered from all nations of the world.