1 And David spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.
And in that day thou shalt say, Jehovah, I will praise thee; for though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou hast comforted me. Behold, ùGod is my salvation: I will trust, and not be afraid; for Jah, Jehovah, is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation. And with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Give ye thanks to Jehovah, call upon his name, declare his deeds among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing psalms of Jehovah, for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitress of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
After these things I saw, and lo, a great crowd, which no one could number, out of every nation and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palm branches in their hands. And they cry with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And all the angels stood around the throne, and the elders, and the four living creatures, and fell before the throne upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and strength, to our God, to the ages of ages. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying to me, These who are clothed with white robes, who are they, and whence came they? And I said to him, My lord, *thou* knowest. And he said to me, These are they who come out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sits upon the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. They shall not hunger any more, neither shall they thirst any more, nor shall the sun at all fall on them, nor any burning heat; because the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them, and shall lead them to fountains of waters of life, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.
I love Jehovah, for he hath heard my voice [and] my supplications; For he hath inclined his ear unto me, and I will call upon him during [all] my days. The bands of death encompassed me, and the anguish of Sheol took hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow: Then called I upon the name of Jehovah: I beseech thee, Jehovah, deliver my soul. Gracious is Jehovah and righteous; and our God is merciful. Jehovah keepeth the simple: I was brought low, and he saved me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for Jehovah hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, my feet from falling. I will walk before Jehovah in the land of the living. I believed, therefore have I spoken. As for me, I was greatly afflicted. I said in my haste, All men are liars. What shall I render unto Jehovah, [for] all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of Jehovah. I will perform my vows unto Jehovah, yea, before all his people. Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints. Yea, Jehovah! for I am thy servant; I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of Jehovah. I will perform my vows unto Jehovah, yea, before all his people, In the courts of Jehovah's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
{[A Psalm] of David.} Bless Jehovah, O my soul; and all that is within me, [bless] his holy name! Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from the pit, who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thine old age with good [things]; thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. Jehovah executeth righteousness and justice for all that are oppressed.
{To the chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David, the servant of Jehovah, who spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul. And he said,} I will love thee, O Jehovah, my strength. Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my ùGod, my rock, in whom I will trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid. The bands of Sheol surrounded me, the cords of death encountered me. In my distress I called upon Jehovah, and I cried out to my God; he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, into his ears. Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled and shook, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals burned forth from it. And he bowed the heavens, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub and did fly; yea, he flew fast upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret place, his tent round about him: darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. From the brightness before him his thick clouds passed forth: hail and coals of fire. And Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice: hail and coals of fire. And he sent his arrows, and scattered [mine enemies]; and he shot forth lightnings, and discomfited them. And the beds of the waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were uncovered at thy rebuke, Jehovah, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. He reached forth from above, he took me, he drew me out of great waters: He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me; for they were mightier than I. They encountered me in the day of my calamity, but Jehovah was my stay. And he brought me forth into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his ordinances were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me; And I was upright with him, and kept myself from mine iniquity. And Jehovah hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; with the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright; With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; and with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary. For it is thou that savest the afflicted people; but the haughty eyes wilt thou bring down. For it is thou that makest my lamp to shine: Jehovah my God enlighteneth my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for ùGod, his way is perfect; the word of Jehovah is tried: he is a shield to all that trust in him. For who is +God save Jehovah? and who is a rock if not our God? The ùGod who girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect, Who maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], and setteth me upon my high places; Who teacheth my hands to war, and mine arms bend a bow of brass; And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand held me up; and thy condescending gentleness hath made me great. Thou didst enlarge my steps under me, and mine ankles have not wavered. I pursued mine enemies, and overtook them; and I turned not again till they were consumed. I crushed them, and they were not able to rise: they fell under my feet. And thou girdedst me with strength to battle; thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me. And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, and those that hated me I destroyed. They cried, and there was none to save; -- unto Jehovah, and he answered them not. And I did beat them small as dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; thou hast made me the head of the nations: a people I knew not doth serve me. At the hearing of the ear, they obey me: strangers come cringing unto me. Strangers have faded away, and they come trembling forth from their close places. Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation, The ùGod who hath avenged me, and hath subjected the peoples to me; Who hath delivered me from mine enemies: yea, thou hast lifted me up above them that rose up against me; from the man of violence hast thou delivered me. Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, and will sing psalms to thy name. [It is he] who giveth great deliverances to his king, and sheweth loving-kindness to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
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Commentary on 2 Samuel 22 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 22
2Sa 22:1-51. David's Psalm of Thanksgiving for God's Powerful Deliverance and Manifold Blessings.
The song contained in this chapter is the same as the eighteenth Psalm, where the full commentary will be given [see on Ps 18:1, &c.]. It may be sufficient simply to remark that Jewish writers have noticed a great number of very minute variations in the language of the song as recorded here, from that embodied in the Book of Psalms—which may be accounted for by the fact that this, the first copy of the poem, was carefully revised and altered by David afterwards, when it was set to the music of the tabernacle. This inspired ode was manifestly the effusion of a mind glowing with the highest fervor of piety and gratitude, and it is full of the noblest imagery that is to be found within the range even of sacred poetry. It is David's grand tribute of thanksgiving for deliverance from his numerous and powerful enemies, and establishing him in the power and glory of the kingdom.