BIBLE STUDY LESSON 22
DAVID’S PSALMS
DAVID’S SONG OF THANKSGIVING
From 2 Samuel 22
“At last David was safe from King Saul and all his other enemies. The Lord had delivered him. So David sang this song of thanksgiving to the Lord:
‘The Lord is my Rock and Fortress,
For He has delivered me;
I will trust in Him,
For He is my Rock and Deliverer.
He is my Shield, my Salvation,
My High Tower and Refuge, my Saviour
Who has saved me from my enemies.
Worthy is the Lord to be praised;
I will call upon Him,
Arid He will rescue me from my enemies.
Waves of death surrounded me,
Floods of evil came against me,
Bonds of Sheol entangled me,
And snares of destruction bound me.
Tormented, I cried to the Lord
And called upon Him;
In His temple He heard me
And listened to my pleas.
Then the Lord’s anger went forth
And caused the earth to tremble;
Smoke billowed from His nostrils,
And fire blazed from His mouth,
Devouring all before Him.
He bent the heavens down to earth
And walked upon the darkness;
On a cherub He rode,
On the wings of the wind He flew;
He wrapped the darkness around Him
And surrounded Himself with clouds;
He projected His brightness before Him
Until it burned like hot coals.
From heaven He thundered
Like a mighty voice.
With His arrows He scattered His enemies,
With His lightning He sent them running;
With a mighty blast from His nostrils
The ocean floor was exposed
And the foundations of the world revealed,
For this was His rebuke.
From on high He reached down to me
And lifted me from the waters;
He saved me from mighty foes
And spared me from those who hated me
And from those who were mightier than I.
In my day of distress my enemies came,
But the Lord was my help.
He brought me into an open place
And delivered me, for He delighted in me.
The Lord rewarded me for doing right
And blessed me for pleasing Him,
For I obeyed His commands
And stayed away from sin.
Because I have pleased Him,
He has done much for me.
Lord, you are gracious to those who show mercy
And good to those who are without guilt;
To the pure you show purity,
But to the evil you give destruction.
You lift up the downcast
And put down the proud.
You are my Lamp, O Lord,
For You turn my darkness to light.
By Your strength I can defeat an army
Or leap over a wall.
How perfect are His ways,
And how true is His Word!
He is a shield to those who hide in Him,
For who else is God except Him?
And who else is the Rock except the Lord?
God is my Towering Fortress
Who has kept me secure;
He gives me the speed of a deer
And the secure grip of a mountain goat.
The Lord trains me for war
And gives me strength to bend a bronze bow.
Lord, You give me a shield of salvation
And gentleness to make me great.
You give me a wide place to walk in
And feet that never grow weary.
I pursue my enemies until I destroy them;
I do not turn around until they are conquered.
I conquer them and destroy them;
They fall at my feet, never to rise.
You strengthened me for battle, Lord,
And caused my foes to sink beneath me.
You caused my enemies to retreat
And let me destroy those who hated me.
They looked about for help, but they found none;
They even cried to the Lord, but He refused to answer.
I crushed my enemies like dust
And stamped them like dirt in the streets.
Lord, You have placed me over nations
And helped me keep peace at home.
Foreigners submit to me
When they know my power;
They tremble and lose their courage
And come from their hiding places.
The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock!
Praise Him, the Rock of my salvation!
Praise God Who destroys my enemies
And frees me from them.
Lord, You keep me safe from them
And deliver me from their evil,
Putting me over them, yet safe from them.
Therefore I praise You, Lord, before all nations!
I sing praises to Your name.
The Lord has helped His king triumph;
He has shown great love to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forever.”
COMMENTARY
“THE FORTRESS”
Ancient cities were equipped with impressive defence systems to protect them from attack. David must have had these in mind when he spoke of the Lord as his Fortress, Many combined man-made structures with the natural advantages of a hilltop location. From high above the surrounding countryside soldiers could see advancing enemy troops and prepare for the coming attack. The city wall was the key to the town’s defence. Up to twenty-five feet high and twenty feet thick, it presented the enemy with a very solid barrier of stone. Archers and spearmen poured down a rain of fire from towers stationed at intervals along its length. From the top, men with slingshots hurled rocks against the enemy troops. The foundations of the wall were surrounded by a wide ditch. When it was flooded with water, this ditch became an impassable moat. The strongest fortresses defied enemy battering rams with a wall around both sides of this watery barrier. Yet the most forbidding walls were only as strong as the defences that guarded the city gate.
As the weakest point in the city’s armour, it drew the enemy’s fiercest attack. Entrance to the town was blocked by a set of double wooden doors covered with metal. These were set in stone sockets and locked against the enemy by a heavy wooden bolt drawn across the doors. The entrance ramp to the city approached the gate at an angle from the right. This forced enemy spearmen who carried their shields in their left hands to leave their right sides unprotected. Defending archers took aim at them from the two towers stationed on either side of the gate. Enemy forces who got through the city walls despite the defenders’ efforts were met by a second system of fortification. Stone walls inside the city divided it into sections and slowed the advance on the citadel. The enemy’s goal was the citadel; a fortress within a fortress. Here the royal palace and government buildings were sheltered within their own walls. Situated on the highest ground in the city, the citadel was frequently the scene of the defenders’ last stand. Not until the king and his ministers had surrendered could the enemy claim complete victory over the city.
TEST YOURSELF
1.) What was the key to an ancient town’s defence?
A) The wall
B) The well
C) The attack dogs
D) The roofs
2.) What often encircled the walls, as an additional defence?
A) Lemonade stands
B) Fire-breathing dragons
C) Barbed wire
D) A moat
3.) What was the weakest point in the city’s defences?
A) The walls
B) The gates
C) The moat
D) The attack dogs
4.) Why were entrance ramps set at an angle to the city gates?
A) So that the ancient Mesopotamian gods of acute triangles would be pleased
B) So that the approaching armies would have their right (and therefore uncovered) sides towards the defending forces
C) In order to disconcert the oncoming army, by presenting a total lack of right angels
D) So that the attacking army would have to march into the sun
5.) Where did the defenders make their last stand, the outer walls having been breached?
A) The water tunnels
B) The gold mines
C) The marketplace
D) The citadel |
