Sermon Tone Analysis

Your Name Magnified Forever

8/18 – When the Lord Rescues (2 Samuel 22:1-4; 47-51)

Summary: The writer tells what David spoke or sang to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered David from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

The following portion of the song is from the beginning (2-4) and ending (47-51) of David’s words to the LORD.

David said:

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation, the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me, who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from men of violence.

For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.

Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.”

Main Idea: David looks at God’s work in his life.

He thinks about how dear Yahweh is to him.

And David sings.

He has to sing.

He has to praise God.

Why? David saw the power of God at work to rescue him.

He saw God mighty and able and present.

David voices his faith in his precious Lord.

He affirms that the LORD is his rock.

Sermon Idea: Think about your life.

Look back for a moment.

When and where have you seen God at work?

When did you see Him mighty?

When did you see Him able?

When did you see Him present?

How did you react in those times?

How do you react now?

Is the LORD God dear to you? Do you trust Him with all your heart?

Do you voice your faith in the LORD God? Do you affirm that He is your rock?

When you consider the scope of His rescue on your behalf, how do you respond?

When the Lord rescues you, then you will praise Him.

(50)

The LORD God is worthy of all your praise!

PRAISE FOR WHO HE IS

He is my rock!

(2-4; 32; 47)

2 He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, 3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.

4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

Here David sings out to the LORD.

David affirms how precious the LORD is to him.

Note the number of beautiful ways David praises the LORD God for who He is.

David says that the LORD is “my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior.”

With his praise, David shows that LORD God is the song of his life, the center of his life, and the hope of his life.

David proclaims that the LORD is dear and close to him.

Throughout this song, David returns to a major theme of praise.

He says that the LORD is his rock.

This is like the refrain or chorus of the song.

But when he says, “the LORD is my rock,” what does David mean?

As John Woodhouse points out, when David says, “the LORD is my rock,” he means that God makes him safe.

“For David, knowing God was not about being religious or giving existence meaning or adding spiritual dimension to life.

It was about being safe from real and threatening dangers . . .

We who have read the story of David’s life know what he is talking about.

David had many violent enemies who wanted to destroy him.

There was Goliath and the Philistines.

More threatening still was Saul.

More recently his own son Absalom had declared war on David.

In many remarkable ways, and on numerous occasions, the Lord had saved David from violence.”

(2 Samuel: Your Kingdom Come, p. 505)

David knew the LORD, so he praised Him.

David felt safe in the LORD’s hands, so he praised Him.

And David’s words of praise echo Hannah’s words of praise.

She, too, affirmed just how dear the LORD is to her.

She sang of the LORD’s power and protection.

She felt safe in the LORD’s hands, so she praised Him.

She said, “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

(1 Samuel 2:2) Indeed, there is no one like Him.

The Lord is worthy of all praise.

(4)

Do you praise the LORD God for who He is?

Is He dear to you? Do you tell Him so?

Is praise to God for who He is a big part of who you are?

PRAISE FOR WHAT HE’S DONE

He rescued me and set me free!

(5-20)

5 “For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction 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.

David has to sing.

He has to praise the LORD.

Why? First, David praises God for who God is.

Second, he praises God for what God has done.

What has the LORD God done on David’s behalf?

The LORD rescued David and set him free.

Here David tells how the LORD did that.

One, he says that the LORD heard his cry of distress to save him.

(7) David faced certain death and destruction (5-6), so he called upon the LORD.

And the LORD heard him.

David’s cry came to His ears.

Two, David says that the LORD moved mightily to save him.

The LORD bowed the heavens and came down.

(10).

He made darkness his canopy.

(12) He thundered from heaven (see also 1 Samuel 2:10; 7:10).

(14) Three, David says that the LORD was actively, personally involved in saving him.

The LORD drew him out of many waters (see also Exodus 15:1-21).

(17) He rescued David from those who hated him.

(18) He brought David out into a broad place.

(20) The LORD delights in David.

(20) He loves David.

(51)

That is David’s story.

That is David’s song.

He has to sing.

When he recalls the LORD’s rescue, David must praise the LORD.

He sees God’s work of rescue on his behalf.

He knows God’s power.