David has faced a number of life-threatening trials during his time on earth and he thanks the Lord for His power and protection on his behalf. "David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: 'The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior---from violent people You save me.'" (2 Samuel 22:1-3) David owes the Lord thanks for everything he is and for everything he has. He owes the Lord thanks for the very breath in his lungs, for time and time again there was "only a step between me and death", as he said to his friend Jonathan in 1 Samuel 20:3. David faced the threat of death from enemies within his nation, such as King Saul and David's son Absalom. He faced the threat of death from enemies from outside the nation, such as the Philistines. In addition to threats from human enemies, David had to deal with the same enemy who hates us all: Satan, the enemy of our souls. But the Lord has kept him safe through it all. The Lord saved his soul. The Lord saved his life. The Lord saved his kingship.
"I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies. The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me." (2 Samuel 22:4-6) He says, "Death almost had me! Many times Death was closing his bony fingers around my neck when the Lord snatched me out of his hands. I praise the Lord for hearing my cry for help and rescuing me." You and I can say the same thing David is saying here. We are probably all aware of circumstances in which something bad almost happened to us. Even if nothing like that comes to mind, we can be sure that there were occasions when the Lord rescued us from mortal danger just in the nick of time. The enemy of our souls wants us dead and if it were not for the Lord's protection we'd already be dead. But He holds us in this life until it is our time to go to Him. I am absolutely convinced that we have been supernaturally protected time and time again during our years on this earth. We are going to be astonished when, in the presence of the Lord someday, we learn just how many times He preserved us from harm.
David thanks the Lord for responding to his cries for help and in the next several verses he poetically describes the way he imagines the Lord arising to come to his aid. "In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came to His ears. The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because He was angry." (2 Samuel 22:7-8) David says the Lord was righteously angry on his behalf. I believe he is on firm scriptural ground when he says this because the Lord tells those who are His, "It is Mine to avenge; I will repay." (Deuteronomy 32:35a) When someone (or the devil himself) plots against the Lord's children, He takes it personally and He takes action. The Lord fights for us!
David continues, "Smoke rose from His nostrils; consuming fire came from His mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His canopy around Him---the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of His presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded." (2 Samuel 22:9-14) David pictures the Lord rising from His throne at the sound of his cry for help. He depicts the Lord as coming immediately to his aid while shooting arrows of lightning at his enemies to scatter them. He hears the Lord's voice like thunder that shakes the earth and sends his enemies running for cover.
"He shot His arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning He routed them. The valleys of the seas were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of breath from His nostrils." (2 Samuel 22:15-16) David says his enemies can't run far enough or hide well enough to escape the Lord's fury. David pictures himself surrounded by enemies, with no hope of survival according to the world's way of looking at it, and then suddenly the Lord swoops down and scatters his enemies far and wide. As David says in Psalm 55:18, "He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me."
The fact that you and I are alive right now is proof that the Lord has fought on our side time and time again. Our enemy the devil would love to see us dead; he'd love to see every child of God dead so that none of us can have any godly influence on the lost---so that none of us can lead the lost to the Lord for salvation. The Lord has preserved us from every attack of the evil one, for we are still breathing right this minute! He's also preserved our lives, up to this point, from death due to natural causes such as illnesses or injuries. We would not be here at this very moment if He were not holding us in this life with His hand of protection upon us. He has rescued us unharmed from an untold number of battles! We can thank Him for that, just as David thanks him.
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