Глава 22

Song of David on the occasion of his liberation from enemies 2 Samuel 22:1. And David sang a song to the Lord on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul, and said: In his declining days, calmly surveying his past life - its troubles and dangers, victories and exaltation - David clearly sees the strong saving hand of the Lord in all the paths of his life. “The predominant features of this song - a majestic image of the formidable omnipotence of Jehovah, which terrified David’s enemies, and vivid pictures of the strong defeats that David inflicted on his enemies - show that it was sung at a time when David’s soul was still full of fresh memories of an anxious military life, great dangers and miraculous salvations from them. The song that the Writer calls “the last words of David” (2 Sam. 23:1) and which apparently appeared later, when David, happily freed from the hands of men, twice fell into the hands of God, is distinguished by a different spirit. Pardoned by God, he here turns his attention more to the internal foundations of God’s favor towards him and his house than to the external form of manifestation of this favor” (Ya. Bogorodsky, “Jewish Kings”, p. 250). 2 Samuel 22:3. My God is my rock; in Him I trust; my shield, the horn of my salvation, my hedge and my refuge; My Savior, You delivered me from troubles! "The Horn of My Salvation". Anyone who grabbed the horns of the sacrificial altar of the tabernacle was considered, by law (Ex. 27:2), immune from persecution. The expression “horn” is used in the Holy Scriptures in the general sense of strength, a reliable means of defense (see 1 Samuel 2:1). The Lord is the horn of salvation, that is, the power for the salvation of man. 2 Samuel 22:8. The earth shook and shook, the foundations of the heavens trembled and moved, for the Lord was angry with them. 2 Samuel 22:9. Smoke arose from His wrath, and from His mouth a consuming fire; burning coals fell from Him. 2 Samuel 22:10. He bowed the heavens and came down; and darkness is under His feet; 2 Samuel 22:11. and he mounted the Cherubim, and flew, and was carried away on the wings of the wind; 2 Samuel 22:12. and covered Himself with darkness like a shadow, thickening the waters of the clouds of heaven; 2 Samuel 22:13. from the brilliance, the coals of fire flared up before Him. 2 Samuel 22:14. The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High gave His voice; 2 Samuel 22:15. he shot arrows and scattered them; [flashed] with lightning and destroyed them. 2 Samuel 22:16. And the sources of the sea were opened, the foundations of the universe were exposed from the terrible voice of the Lord, from the breath of the spirit of His wrath. 2 Samuel 22:17. He stretched out His hand from on high and took me, and brought me out of many waters; 2 Samuel 22:18. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me and were stronger than me. 2 Samuel 22:19. They rose up against me in the day of my calamity; but the Lord was my support 2 Samuel 22:20. and he brought me out to a large place, and delivered me, for He delights in me. A poetic description of the formidable power and glory of God that acted in defense of the righteous David from the “waters” of disaster and suffering that engulfed him. 2 Samuel 22:21. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness, He rewarded me according to the purity of my hands. 2 Samuel 22:22. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not been wicked before my God, 2 Samuel 22:23. for all His commandments are before me, and I have not departed from His statutes, 2 Samuel 22:24. and was blameless before Him, and took heed lest I sin. 2 Samuel 22:25. And the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my purity in His sight. 2 Samuel 22:26. To the merciful you act mercifully, to a sincere man you act sincerely, 2 Samuel 22:27. with the pure it is pure, but with the evil one according to his wickedness. This does not mean, of course, that David considered himself an infallible person: his answer to the prophet Nathan (2 Sam. 12:13), his repentant (Ps. 50) psalm of repentance on the occasion of an improper census (2 Sam. 24:10), tell us completely the opposite. The noted verses only say that David recognized himself (and could not help but realize) that he was far from being an inveterate sinner: all thoughts, all feelings, all movements of his highly religious spirit were directed towards God. The undying monument to the religious life of the soul of the great king and prophet David are his well-known psalms. 2 Samuel 22:29. You, Lord, are my lamp; The Lord enlightens my darkness. “The Lord enlightens the darkness” of man’s misfortunes, ignorance and delusions. 2 Samuel 22:44. You delivered me from the rebellion of my people; You preserved me to be my head over the foreigners; a people whom I did not know serves me. “A people I did not know serve me.” This refers to either one of the foreign people conquered by David, or the God-given people of Israel, in which he, of course, could not know most of the individuals. You might be interested in: