David now sings a lengthy song, and on account of this and a passage in the next chapter that calls him the "psalmist" the Book of Psalms is traditionally attributed to him. Of course since he did not actually exist that seems likely inaccurate. In any case the literary quality of the Book of Psalms, as well as the prevailing sentiment, is (fortunately) very different. The content of this song is morally depraved. To quote SAB, "David is one of the most despicable characters in all fiction, yet here he brags about how perfect he is.
(And God agrees with him!)" God favors David by letting David exterminate his enemies and subjugate his neighbors. God will also favor David's descendants "forever," but of course that doesn't happen. Note that Yahweh is still anthropomorphic, and of course he is not a universal God but the particular God of Israel. The theology has yet to evolve in any meaningful way.
22 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said,
“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,
3 my[a] God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; thou savest me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.5 “For the waves of death encompassed me,
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me,
the snares of death confronted me.7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry came to his ears.8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations of the heavens trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 He bowed the heavens, and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub, and flew;
he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness around him
his canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him
coals of fire flamed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them;
lightning, and routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.17 “He reached from on high, he took me,
he drew me out of many waters.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me.
19 They came upon me in the day of my calamity;
but the Lord was my stay.
20 He brought me forth into a broad place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.21 “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his ordinances were before me,
and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
24 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
25 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.26 “With the loyal thou dost show thyself loyal;
with the blameless man thou dost show thyself blameless;
27 with the pure thou dost show thyself pure,
and with the crooked thou dost show thyself perverse.
28 Thou dost deliver a humble people,
but thy eyes are upon the haughty to bring them down.
29 Yea, thou art my lamp, O Lord,
and my God lightens my darkness.
30 Yea, by thee I can crush a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
31 This God—his way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.32 “For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my strong refuge,
and has made[b] my[c] way safe.
34 He made my[d] feet like hinds’ feet,
and set me secure on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation,
and thy help[e] made me great.
37 Thou didst give a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet[f] did not slip;
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
they fell under my feet.
40 For thou didst gird me with strength for the battle;
thou didst make my assailants sink under me.
41 Thou didst make my enemies turn their backs to me,
those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth,
I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.44 “Thou didst deliver me from strife with the peoples;[g]
thou didst keep me as the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
45 Foreigners came cringing to me;
as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
46 Foreigners lost heart,
and came trembling[h] out of their fastnesses.47 “The Lord lives; and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance
and brought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies;
thou didst exalt me above my adversaries,
thou didst deliver me from men of violence.50 “For this I will extol thee, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to thy name.
51 Great triumphs he gives[i] to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David, and his descendants for ever.”Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Gk Ps 18.2: Heb lacks my
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Ps 18.32: Heb set free
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Another reading is his
- 2 Samuel 22:34 Another reading is his
- 2 Samuel 22:36 Or gentleness
- 2 Samuel 22:37 Heb ankles
- 2 Samuel 22:44 Gk: Heb from strife with my people
- 2 Samuel 22:46 Ps 18.45: Heb girded themselves
- 2 Samuel 22:51 Another reading is He is a tower of salvation
2 comments:
Right up the Evangelical alley.
I think Michelangelo’s sculpture perfectly captures not only David’s supreme confidence, but also his narcissism.
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