Word of Encouragement (11/30/2023)
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 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. (2 Sam. 22:4-7)
In vv. 5-6, David shares why he had to call upon the LORD. He does not give us historical details of what happened. Instead, he gives four metaphorical expressions for the dangers he has had to confront.
The first is “the waves of death encompassed me.” It is a terrifying thing to be engulfed by a huge wave. You lose all your sense of orientation and, as you get tumbled around underwater, you start to panic—you are running out of air, and you have no idea when you can poke your head out of the water to breathe in again. You feel like you are only several seconds away from death. Such a wave can kill you. But it is just a wave—something powerful but also beautiful when you look at it from a safe distance; it is not designed to kill you. David speaks of “the waves of death”—not just one rogue wave but “waves”; not the waves of the ocean but the waves of death. These are the waves that come from death, carrying death and bringing death. Maybe he is speaking of his numerous enemies—from Goliath and Saul to his own sons—whose goal was to kill him. At times, he found himself “encompassed” by the enemies, such as when he was in Philistia, feeling that he had no way out. How could he not call upon the name of the LORD?
The second metaphor is “the torrents of destruction assailed me.” Maybe he saw a flash flood in the wilderness—how quickly and copiously the rain came down to create powerful torrents to flush down everything on their way. Maybe he was on the run and this phenomenon might have reminded him of the precarious situation he was in. With his enemies closing on him too close for comfort, he felt like he was about to be swept away by the fierce torrents of their murderous furor. Even at a relatively peaceful time when there was no sight of his enemies pursuing him, he knew that rains of disaster could come down any time and the torrents of destruction could assail him when he was defenseless. How could he not call upon the name of the LORD?
The third metaphor is “the cords of Sheol entangled me.” Sheol was the netherworld, which was believed to be where the dead went. At times, things got so bad for David that he felt entangled by the cords of Sheol. He felt as though the only thing left was for Sheol to pull the cords, and he would end up in Sheol. How could he not call upon the name of the LORD?
The last metaphor is “the snares of death confronted me.” There were times when he felt like he was walking on a minefield (to use a modern equivalent): one false step, he would be blown up into smithereens. When he was serving Saul in his presence or when he took asylum in Philistia under King Achish, he must have felt that one false move would trigger Saul’s murderous rage or Achish’s suspicion. How could he not call upon the name of the LORD?
After all this, David testifies, “From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.” I hope we understand the message of these metaphors of David’s distress. They meant the most dangerous and desperate situations imaginable. As we read them, we are encouraged to call upon the name of the Lord no matter how dismal and hopeless our situation may seem to us. God is greater and stronger them all. He can protect us from the waves of death and the torrents of destruction. He can free us from the cords of Sheol and the snares of death. Indeed, He can deliver us even from death itself because Jesus rose again from the dead and conquered death for us! Let us not give into despair. Let us demonstrate our faith in the One who is the resurrection and the life by calling upon Him in times of trouble.