2 Samuel 22 Devotional

The Rock Who Reaches Down

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.”2 Samuel 22:17 (BSB)

David looks back on his rescues and sings. He piles up names for the LORD: his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his shield (22:2-3). He remembers being overwhelmed by the waves of death, crying out, and being heard (22:5-7). Then God comes, shaking the earth and parting the heavens, and the storm resolves into one act: he reaches down from on high and draws David out of deep waters (22:17). He rescues him because he delights in him (22:20).

David also speaks of his own righteousness (22:21-25), which may sound strange after Bathsheba and Uriah. Only one King has ever kept God's ways perfectly, and the song finally rests not on David's record but on God's loving devotion to his anointed and to David's descendants forever (22:51). Paul quotes this song's vow to praise God among the nations, seeing it fulfilled as Gentiles glorify God for his mercy (Romans 15:9). Whatever floods rise around you, the God of this song still reaches down for those who call on him.

To think about: What deep waters are you in right now, and what would it look like to call on the God who reaches down?