David’s Song of Deliverance

And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. —2 Samuel 22:2, 3

David wrote Psalm 18 in recognition of the marvelous deliverance he received from the Lord. (The psalm is repeated in 2 Samuel 22 with variations.)

In God, David finds a refuge as solid and steadfast as the mountains, which served as sanctuaries for him in the past. When surrounded by rocks and crags, David is comforted by their fastness and strength. God likewise never fails him, for He is as solid and trustworthy as the rocks and as eternal as the hills. God is David’s shield against the powerful blows of his enemies. Second Samuel 22:2, 3 vividly pictures a warrior in a fierce struggle against an enemy.

The shield wards off the blows of the wicked and protects the innocent.

Like the horns of a bull, God provides both protection and defensive strength. While Psalm 18 does not include the phrase “my refuge, my saviour,” the word saviour sums up the entirety of those adjectives that have gone before.

David praises the power and vigilance of God.

For the Lord constantly looks down upon David’s distress and, with great wrath, executes vengeance upon his enemies.

God is surrounded by lightning and thunder, and at His approach, the earth shakes. David’s enemies are pelted with “hail stones and coals of fire” (Psalm 18:13).

Thus, David is saved from a host of enemies.

God gives him the swiftness, bravery, and supremacy needed to crush his enemies. Though David’s path has been steep and rocky, God leads him with the surefootedness of a mountain goat. With God at his side, no foe can stand before him.

“God was more than a theory or a mere abstraction to David—he had learned to know Him as a personal Friend and Saviour, and he now expresses his grateful praise to Him for His wonderful deliverance and care.” “I have found a friend in Jesus, / He’s ev’rything to me, / He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul. . . . / A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear— / With His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.”