Introduction — Paul quotes this song to illustrate the Gospel (verse 3 in Heb. 2:13 and verse 50 in Rom. 15:9)

There are different perspectives on who and what this chapter is talking about. And we need to figure that out before we can properly apply it. Some say that this is giving the history of David's life and especially his kingship. But there are three sections that have made some people have doubts about that. Verses 21-28 portray the speaker as having perfectly kept God's law, and after the failures that the last few chapters have recorded, they wonder how this could credibly come out of David's mouth if it is describing him. Instead, they see it as a prophecy of Jesus, and to buttress their argument, they point out that this Psalm is quoted twice in the New Testament as being the words of Christ. Verse 2 is quoted in Hebrews 2:13 as the words of Jesus as He converts people with the conquest of the Gospel. Verse 50 is quoted in Romans 15:9 to prove that it has always been God's intention to include the Gentiles in the church as the Gospel conquers the world. So there is a strong basis for saying that this is a prophecy of Jesus. But the first group responds that Jesus does not need a Savior, and that verse 1 makes clear that it was David himself who is speaking these words to the Lord. But when you study the use that Hebrews and Romans make of this Psalm, you realize that it is a situation of both/and, not either/or. It does describe David and it does describe the Gospel of Jesus.

How does Christ conquer the world in Romans 15? He does so by preaching His Gospel through His ministers even as the preincarnate Christ was preaching through His servant David. The Gospel only has power in the hearers as they are united with Christ and the Gospel only has power in the preachers as they are united with Christ. In fact, why don't you turn with me to Hebrews 2, and I will illustrate how Hebrews also makes it a both/and situation just like Romans 15 does. Hebrews 2, beginning to read at verse 10.

Heb. 2:10 For it was fitting for Him [that is, Jesus], for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. [And by the way, David was a type or a prefiguring of Jesus as a captain who delivered his people. Verse 11]

Heb. 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, [Notice the both/and – it is talking about both Jesus and those whom He sanctifies being united. He goes on:] for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Heb. 2:12 saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You."

That quote from Psalm 22 indicates that Jesus is so united with those whom He saves that when we sing in the church assembly, Jesus is singing the Psalms through us. He is singing in the midst of the assembly. It is both/and. And then comes the quote from 2 Samuel 22:

Heb. 2:13 And again: "I will put My trust in Him." And again: "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me."

Heb. 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

Heb. 2:15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Heb. 2:16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

Heb. 2:17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Heb. 2:18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

I won't get into all the nuances of this text and how commentators say it relates to 2 Samuel 22. There are only two things that I want to point out at this juncture. The first is that this text and the Romans 15 quote clearly demonstrate that 2 Samuel 22 is about Jesus and all who are united to Jesus (including David). And that is a key to interpreting the passage. And secondly, both passages indicate that this chapter (2 Samuel 22) is talking about the Gospel. David could only sing this song as one who was united to Jesus. So I've titled the sermon, The Gospel According To David, and I've developed an acrostic with the word GOSPEL to try to capture each of the six main sections.

God is the foundation for your salvation (vv. 1-3)

God's saving Scripture (v. 1a)

The G of the GOSPEL is God. Verses 1-3 indicate that God is the only foundation we can have for our salvation. This is not a man-centered Gospel that glorifies man's free will. On the contrary, when quoting this Psalm, Romans 15 says that it is "that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written" (then comes the quote from 2 Samuel 22). Because God alone has anything to do with the foundation of the Gospel, God alone gets the glory. And so, in 2 Samuel 22:1 we see God's saving Scripture and in verses 1-3 we see God's saving power. That's the foundation.

Certainly David wrote these words, but every word of this Psalm was inspired by God and contained the message of God's deliverance.

2Sam. 22:1 Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

2Sam. 22:2 And he said: …

And then comes the song that Hebrews and Romans calls the words of Jesus. Jesus spoke through David and the message that Jesus spoke was a message of God's saving power.

God's saving power (vv. 1b-3)

Look at all the reflections upon what God alone could do for David or for any of us.

2Sam. 22:1 Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

2Sam. 22:2 And he said: "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

2Sam. 22:3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.

So it is clear in verses 1-3 that David was saved by God's provision alone. David's part was not to earn salvation. We saw in the previous chapters that David could hardly earn it. He was a sinner just like you and I are. And his battles are symbolic of the great spiritual warfare for the souls of men in our own age. Romans particularly applies it to the worldwide spread of the Gospel. Were all enemies put under David's feet? Yes. Well, so will they be under Jesus. Did it take a long time? Yes. And it will take a long time for Jesus to put all enemies under His feet. Did David usher in a period of peace under Solomon? Yes. And there will eventually be a long period of peace under Jesus. But it is all if grace. So the G is God. God alone is the foundation for our salvation.

Only faith in God's provision can save (vv. 4-7)

You face enemies who are way too strong

The O of the GOSPEL is the word "only" and shows how only faith in God's provision can receive that salvation or that spread of the Gospel. Verses 4-7 show David's total inability to save himself.

2Sam. 22:4 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.

2Sam. 22:5 "When the waves of death surrounded me, The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

2Sam. 22:6 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

2Sam. 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears.

David couldn't handle these enemies. They were way too strong. He lists the enemies as death, ungodliness, and the terrors of the afterlife.

Death

And certainly those three remain the biggest enemies that we face today. Has anyone been able to avoid death? No. Everybody will face death. The only question is, how do we get saved from death's clutches?

Ungodliness

Has anyone been able to escape from the floods of ungodliness that threaten to sweep sinners into hell? No. Some people fool themselves into thinking they are perfectly righteous in themselves, but when we come face to face with God, we know better. It is like seeing a flood of our own iniquities ready to drown us. Our own sin nature is an enemy.

The terrors of the afterlife

And around the world, people face the afterlife with nervousness and fear if they do not know the Lord. These are enemies that make men feel hopeless and helpless.

You are unable to save yourself

Waves

And the helplessness can be seen from the five descriptor words: waves, floods, sorrows, snares, and distress. If you have ever been in the ocean during a storm and experienced the crushing power of waves, you know the feeling of helplessness that David expressed.

Floods

He also speaks of floods of ungodliness. When floods come sweeping through an area they take lives, houses, and years of accumulation and vaporize them. That's what ungodliness does to those who are outside of Christ. And one of the first works of God's grace is to open our eyes to see our ungodliness. And when you truly see your own ungodliness apart from the righteousness of Jesus, it can feel terrifying, just like a flood would.

Sorrows

He also speaks of the sorrows of Sheol. Sheol was the place of the dead in the heart of the earth, with lower Sheol being hell and upper sheol being paradise. There are no sorrows in paradise, so this is talking about the other place. And for one who looks at Sheol apart from Christ, it brings great sorrow that we have so offended God that we deserve such a fate.

Snares

A snare snags its prey and will not let it go. So if you are snared by death, you are being sucked into Sheol with no hope of escape.

Distress

This in turn brings the distress of verse 7. Anyone who has experienced the terror of facing God in light of verses 4-7 knows that there is nothing we can offer God that would be of any worth. Instead, we say, "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling." You cry out to God to save you.

Your only hope is to ask God to save you (vv. 4,7)

And David's crying out for deliverance from physical enemies is such an apt figure of our crying out for deliverance from the enemies listed in verses 4 and 7. This paragraph starts and ends with crying out to God alone for help. That crying out is faith. Only faith in God's provision can receive salvation. Verse 4.

2Sam. 22:4 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.

So shall I be saved. How? By calling on the Lord who alone can save us and who alone is worthy of any praise when it comes to salvation. Verse 7 shows that when we cry out to God and trust Him alone for our salvation, we will be saved.

2Sam. 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears.

Now certainly David was saved from physical enemies, but it is worded in such a way that Hebrews and Romans rightly see this as applicable to our salvation by faith in the finished work of Jesus. in other words, what happened to David is a type of the Gospel.

Stand in agreement with God's holy judgments (vv. 8-16)

So G – God is the foundation for salvation; O – only faith can receive God's salvation. S – is for "stand." We must stand in total agreement with God's holy judgments. We don't run, we don't evade, and we don't disagree with God's judgments. And this is really the flip side of faith – it is repentance, or the acknowledgment of our unholiness and of God's holy judgments against all sin. And by the way, you cannot separate faith and repentance. They are always flip sides of the same coin. Confession and repentance is coming into agreement with God's evaluation of sin. And what an incredibly powerful description of God's judgments these verses are. I won't read them all again, but let me briefly summarize them.

Verse 8 describes heaven and earth shaking because of God's anger. And why would God not be angry over the sins of men? Verse 9 speaks of God's anger being so great that smoke goes out of His nostrils and a devouring fire out of His mouth. In other words, apart from safety in Jesus, God is not pleasant to be around; He is scary. As Hebrews words it, He is a consuming fire. Don't think that God has changed ahis character in the New Testament. Hebrews 12:28-29 says,

Heb. 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Heb. 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Verse 10 speaks of God coming down. Coming down to do what? To mete out vengeance and judgment to His enemies and protection for His own. But with darkness under His feet, it indicates that God is inscrutable in His judgments. We can't always figure Him out. Verse 11 speaks of God using terrifying angels and whirlwinds to bring about His judgments. And don't think that these kinds of powers are only for the Old Testament. Remember that Hebrews 2 and Romans 15 say that this Psalm continues to be relevant today. Verses 12 and 13, swirling darkness and brightness. Verses 14-15 use the metaphor of lightning flashes and terrifying thunder. Verse 16 shows how God's rebuke can reach to the deepest channels of the ocean and reach to the deepest recesses of the earth. There is no escape from Him.

When confronted with such awesome holiness and judgment, the temptation for some people would be to cover up their sin and to hide it from God. Matthew 24 says that this is what the non-elect try to do. They wish that the caves could hide them from God or that the mountains would fall on them to cover them from God's wrath. But no one can hide from God's judgments. So if the natural impulse is to hide our sins and to minimize our sins, why does the true believer stand in total agreement with God's judgments just like David did? The reason is clear – salvation is never, ever a sweeping of sin under a carpet. It is salvation from sin, not simply salvation from the consequences of sin. God instills in David's heart the same hatred for sin that caused God to create a hell for sinners. Realize that David is praising God for His judgments. Until we come to love God's holiness and love God's judgments, we cannot pretend to be friends of His grace. Grace removes all indifference to sin, makes us flee from sin, and makes us long for holiness. But in the process, the Gospel of grace so unites us to Jesus, our Savior, that we are no longer terrified by His holiness. Instead, we long to follow Him and imitate Him in holiness.

So S means that we must stand in total agreement with God's judgments against sin. We don't run; we don't hide. We stand. What would give you a confidence to stand in the face of such judgments? Well, that's the next point.

Place your confidence in His finished work of redemption (vv. 17-28)

I have conquered death because Jesus conquered death (vv. 17-20)

The P in GOSPEL is place. We must place ourselves and our confidence 100% in Christ's finished work of redemption. And every phrase in verses 17-28 must be seen in a Christological framework. Jesus was our representative that Satan sought to destroy and overcome. But when the Father rescued Jesus from the grace, we were rescued from the grave. We died, we were buried, we were raised with Him. In fact, we are seated with Him right now in the heavenlies. It is only because Jesus conquered death that David or any of us can conquer death. Verses 17-20

2Sam. 22:17 "He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters.

2Sam. 22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me; For they were too strong for me.

2Sam. 22:19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support.

2Sam. 22:20 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.

God delights in me because He delights in Jesus (v. 20)

And because God delighted in His only beloved Son, he can delight in all of us who are united to His Son. Again, it is both/and. Since God hates all workers of iniquity, He can only delight in us if He sees us united to Jesus and thus perfect in Jesus. So neither Hebrews nor Romans are doing eisegesis when they apply these things to both Jesus and believers.

I am perfectly righteous because Jesus is perfectly righteousness (vv. 21-25)

Likewise, in verses 21-25 David could only say that He was perfectly righteous as he saw himself as being in Jesus. Look at the boldness with which David, who had been a lying, murdering, adulterer could speak in verses 21-25:

2Sam. 22:21 "The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

2Sam. 22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God.

2Sam. 22:23 For all His judgments were before me; And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.

2Sam. 22:24 I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.

2Sam. 22:25 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in His eyes.

No wonder some people say that only Jesus could utter such words. How could salvation be based upon David's good works? They could not. David himself was too full of sin. But you know, even after the most horrible sin of adultery and murder, 2 Samuel 12:13 says this:

2Sam. 12:13 So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin;

What wonderful words. What a marvelous summary of the Gospel. I can truthfully say, "I have sinned," and yet just as truthfully say (because of the work of the cross), "I am a saint who is perfect in Jesus," and you are saints who are perfect in Jesus. Why? Because the Lord has put away your sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says,

2Cor. 5:21 For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

David was righteous in God's eyes because Jesus was righteous. And if you don't interpret it that way, then you can't make sense of the quotations of this Psalm in Hebrews 2 or Romans 15. David was saved because Jesus legally credited to David's account every righteous deed that Jesus had ever lived. That imputation of Christ's righteousness is called justification. And what justification gave David legally, sanctification began to live out experientially. And even with regard to our sanctification, it is Jesus alone who can say these words from within us in the ultimate sense. This is why Paul says,

Gal. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

What good news. Jesus begins our walk, continues our walk, and will finish our walk.

I am safe before a holy God only because of my position in Jesus (vv. 26-28)

But then comes the odd expressions in verses 26-28.

2Sam. 22:26 "With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

2Sam. 22:27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

2Sam. 22:28 You will save the humble people; But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down.

The words merciful, blameless, and pure all describe David at some point in the preceding chapters (and really, they describe all believers) and the words devious and haughty describe those who are thinking outside of Christ. What kind of blamelessness is compatible with the need for mercy? When it says, "With the merciful You will show yourself merciful," it implies that the merciful need mercy themselves. But that merciful person is also blameless and pure. What's going on there? What kind of blamelessness is compatible with the need for mercy? What kind of purity is compatible with David's need for mercy? It is the covering of Christ's righteousness. So let's think of each word.

He says, "With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful." The New Testament words it that if you forgive your brother his trespasses, your heavenly father will forgive you your trespasses, but if you do not forgive your brother his trespasses, neither will your Father in heaven forgive you your trespasses. Why do we need to show mercy to each other? Because we were recipients of such incredible mercy. That is why Ephesians 4:32 says,

Eph. 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

David repeatedly showed mercy because he had so deeply tasted of God's mercy, and as a result of showing mercy, God continued to pour out mercies in his life. When we start judging each other, refusing to forgive each other, and refusing to show mercy to each other, we are beginning to be proud and arrogant against God's grace. Only when we realize our need of mercy do we feel the urge to show mercy.

But the same verse says, "With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless." How was David blameless? Only through the merits of Jesus. As verse 33 words it, "God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect." The word perfect there is exactly the same word in the Hebrew for "blameless." In other words, this is a blamelessness that comes from Christ, and it is perfectly compatible with the fact that David himself was a sinner in need of mercy, but he was blameless in Jesus. He makes my way blameless or perfect. But when you are blameless in Jesus, God can show the perfections of His holy blamelessness to you and you can still be secure. In fact, you can delight in His blamelessness.

The next phrase says, "With the pure You will show Yourself pure." When we are legally blameless and pure in God's sight, we need not fear coming before His perfect blamelessness or before His perfect purity. To an unjustified sinner, that could be sheer terror. But to those who are righteous in Jesus, it is safe. We died to our old identity and are now hidden in Christ. And in Christ we can say, "He has made my way blameless and He has made my way pure. And therefore I can stand in the presence of His blameless purity."

But here comes the irony - if we are devious and don't own up to our sins and pretend that we are blameless and pure in ourselves, God will expose the deception of our heartour it is only as we confess that we are worthy of God's judgments that we experience His mercy.

2Sam. 22:27 … And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

2Sam. 22:28 You will save the humble people; But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down.

The good news according to David means that we can never be haughty. We must cling to the cross and cling to Christ's righteousness throughout our lives. Never stop placing your confidence in the perfect righteousness of Jesus.

Energetically pursue your upward call by the power of His grace – sanctification (vv. 29-46)

But in addition to humility, this Gospel also gives us energy. That is the "E" of GOSPEL. It causes us to energetically pursue the upward calling in Christ Jesus with all our might. That's the portion of our salvation known as sanctification. It produces obedience to all God's commands, whether those commands involve warfare or love, resistance or nurture. And verses 29-46 are a wonderful testimony to living by grace every moment of our lives.

Verse 29 promises God's wisdom to guide our path. Verse 30 says,

2Sam. 22:30 For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall.

Did the Gospel relate to David's physical warfare? Yes. It related to all David did. He fought by grace, had courage by grace, loved by grace, ruled by grace, worshipped by grace. In verse 31 David sees his security as being in God alone. In verse 32 he rejects idolatry and realizes that everything must be done on the foundation of God. And the following verses speak of strength, power, maturity, joy, warfare, gentleness, prosperity, rescue, spiritual warfare, taking dominion, Christianization of the earth, rule, and peace as all flowing from the Gospel.

This means that it is foolish for us to think the Gospel only relates to justification – to getting saved. No. It relates to sanctification, glorification, resurrection, adoption, guidance, healing, the formation of a new heavens and new earth, and to everything. Galatians 3 says,

Gal. 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?

Gal. 3:2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Gal. 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Gal. 3:4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

Gal. 3:5 ¶ Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—

It's by the hearing of faith. It is faith in Christ moment by moment. Law keeping in our own strength is powerless. It is only when Christ lives that law through us by His grace that we find joy in the law. Paul's point was that nothing should be done apart from the Spirit's empowering. The good news doesn't just rescue us from hell. It progressively rescues us from the power of sin, the consequences of sin, and gradually makes all things new.

And so, as I said before, David was a type or picture of this great plan of Jesus, the greater David. Just as all enemies were put under David's feet, the New Testament says that the goal of the Gospel is to see all things on planet earth put under Christ's feet. Earlier, I read the paragraph in Hebrews 2 where this Psalm was quoted. But if you read the two verses previous you see that it is tightly connected to the Father giving all things to Jesus at His ascension and putting all things under his feet. But just as that didn't happen overnight with David, Hebrews 2 says that it will take a long time with Jesus as well. It says, "But now we do not yet see all things put under him." Instead, we see Jesus, the captain of our salvation subduing planet earth just as David subdued Palestine. So there is a tight connection typologically between David and Jesus and between Jesus and His people. We are all involved in putting everything in planet earth under Christ's feet.

Well, this is the theme throughout the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 15 says that Jesus must sit at the right hand of the Father until every enemy and everything else in planet earth is eventually put under His feet. Nothing but God's powerful Gospel could accomplish an impossible task like that. And yet, what does this Psalm say about God? It says that He is sufficient; He is able to subdue Christ's enemies under His feet. And so Paul insists, "For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet."

Lift praise to God and give Him the glory (vv. 47-51)

And when that is accomplished, we will be unable to take the least bit of glory. Like David, we will sing praises to God who alone should receive the glory. Let's read the tribute of praise and glory to God given in verses 47-51.

2Sam. 22:47 "The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation!

2Sam. 22:48 It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me;

2Sam. 22:49 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.

2Sam. 22:50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.

2Sam. 22:51 He is the tower of salvation to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore."

The last verse indicates that this is not just a Psalm intended for David, but was intended as a Psalm for Jesus, but also for his descendants, which includes Jesus. And the two New Testament quotes indicate that this includes spiritual descendants among the Gentiles, who would also become the seed of Jesus, the greater David. As Hebrews 2 words it, we are "all of one" - we are all in this Gospelization of the earth together.

Conclusion

We too can sing this Psalm with a total confidence that all governments, all peoples, all occupations will eventually bow their knees before King Jesus and declare that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Sometime re-read this Psalm as being your own words with the power of Christ speaking them through you. I think you will see it in a totally new light. All of a sudden, this Psalm will give you courage to take on the enemies in our land, and to make affirmations of faith concerning them being put under His feet. The whole church needs to rise up with such faith or we will continue to go backwards. That's why things have gotten so bad in America. It's not because God is not powerful. It is because the church is not living by faith in the comprehensive scope and power of the Gospel. We have moved from a day celebrating liberty to a day celebrating only fireworks because the church's faulty Gospel keeps them from being salt and light. But we can be a Gideon's band or a David's band who lives by faith. And we can see spectacular changes in our country. There is nothing that could stop the church if it would live by faith. May it be so Lord Jesus. Amen.

Chapter 23 will continue with another song – this one giving specifics of how any saved magistrate in the New Testament is to rule. But may we be encouraged to realize that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is sufficient to enable even a king like David to live by faith. Amen.