Word of Encouragement (11/28/2023)
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 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. (2 Sam. 22:1-3)
David praises God as “the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior....” Fausset’s Bible Dictionary says, “The ‘horn’ being the instrument of the oxen's strength is the symbol of power.” Here, David is not exalting his own power; he is exalting God as “the horn of my salvation.” He rejoices in the fact that God is omnipotent, and He will apply His almighty power to accomplish his salvation.
David praises God as the horn of his salvation because he has experienced this time and again throughout his life. Before he went out to fight Goliath, he told the skeptical Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears” (1 Sam. 17:34-36). Of course, he experienced it in his duel with Goliath. God has delivered him from Saul’s relentless pursuits and attempts at his life. In the end, God has made him king of Israel and “delivered him from the hand of all his enemies” (2 Sam. 22:1). How wonderful it is to have the almighty God as the horn of our salvation!
David praises God also as “my stronghold and my refuge.” A stronghold in Hebrew means “high point for a refuge: cliff” (HALOT). We can see the obvious advantage of a refuge high in location. The higher it is, the more difficult it is to get to and the safer it is from those who are after us. In battle, a stronghold that is situated high provides many advantages: it is much easier to fight from a higher vantage point against the enemies who must climb a steep hill to attack. Of course, if God is our refuge, then it doesn’t matter where we are, high or low. Whatever geographical or military advantage the attackers may have avails them nothing against the almighty power of God as our refuge. And if God should be our stronghold and refuge in a high place, how much greater is our advantage!
David finishes the long list of God’s nomenclatures by calling God “my savior.” We can say that all the divine titles and descriptions that preceded this one are different aspects of God’s deliverance as our Savior. There are times He saves us by defending us against our enemies’ attacks. There are times when God saves us by attacking and destroying our enemies. He knows what we need for our deliverance and how we should be saved. Sometimes our enemies are defeated before they get to us because God goes before us and fights for us. Sometimes God allows our enemies to come very close to us and frighten us so we can witness His redemption at work and marvel at His power. And in Jesus Christ, we see how far God was willing to go, how much He was willing to sacrifice, for our salvation. So then, let us not insist on our idea of how and when God should deliver us. Let us trust in Him and His wisdom and mighty power to save us as He sees fit.