#464 The Highest

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[a] 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.

5 “For the waves of death encompassed me,

the torrents of destruction assailed me;[b]

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.

8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked;

the foundations of the heavens trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

9 Smoke went up from his nostrils,[c]

and devouring fire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

10 He bowed the heavens and came down;

thick darkness was under his feet.

11 He rode on a cherub and flew;

he was seen on the wings of the wind.

12 He made darkness around him his canopy,

thick clouds, a gathering of water.

13 Out of the brightness before him

coals of fire flamed forth.

14 The Lord thundered from heaven,

and the Most High uttered his voice.

15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them;

lightning, and routed them.

16 Then the channels of the sea were seen;

the foundations of the world were laid bare,

at the rebuke of the Lord,

at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

17 “He sent from on high, he took me;

he drew me out of many waters.

18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,

from those who hated me,

for they were too mighty for me.

19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.

20 He brought me out into a broad place;

he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

21 “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

23 For all his rules were before me,

and from his statutes I did not turn aside.

24 I was blameless before him,

and I kept myself from guilt.

25 And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to my cleanness in his sight.

26 “With the merciful you show yourself merciful;

with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

27 with the purified you deal purely,

and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

28 You save a humble people,

but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.

29 For you are my lamp, O Lord,

and my God lightens my darkness.

30 For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can leap over a wall.

31 This God—his way is perfect;

the word of the Lord proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

32 “For who is God, but the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?

33 This God is my strong refuge

and has made my[d] way blameless.[e]

34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer

and set me secure on the heights.

35 He trains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your gentleness made me great.

37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,

and my feet[f] did not slip;

38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,

and did not turn back until they were consumed.

39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;

they fell under my feet.

40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

you made those who rise against me sink under me.

41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,[g]

those who hated me, and I destroyed them.

42 They looked, but there was none to save;

they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;

I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.

44 “You delivered me from strife with my people;[h]

you kept me as the head of the nations;

people whom I had not known served me.

45 Foreigners came cringing to me;

as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.

46 Foreigners lost heart

and came trembling[i] out of their fortresses.

47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,

48 the God who gave me vengeance

and brought down peoples under me,

49 who brought me out from my enemies;

you exalted me above those who rose against me;

you delivered me from men of violence.

50 “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

and sing praises to your name.

51 Great salvation he brings[j] to his king,

and shows steadfast love to his anointed,

to David and his offspring forever.” 2 Samuel 22 ESV

Praise is a powerful thing in the mouth and heart of those who have been born again. What have I done, where have I come from, what have I made that I did not use what was put there? What can a man do that others mark as greatness that is not built with the materials someone made before hand? Who can sustain themselves with nothing? Where were you He ask, when I made all this? God is worthy, He alone is worthy, they say let others praise you but if I have ever known a thing or done a thing well then it was God Who graciously made and brought me to it. My free will has only brought me slavery. It is wisdom here that David praises God.

He says he knew death was all around him, Saul was much greater than a giant for he had many at his command. We do not bow to idols, crafted or flesh, so it is not for that but the position that belonged to another to give, that David did not kill Saul. It is for God's sovereignty and design that David pays much respect. His hands are clean of the blood of Saul, yet it is a righteousness that was set before him. God's rules and His statutes are ever before him. He is the lamp by which David sees through dark and troubled times. I have said before, David is at his best in his worst. When he is tucked up under the rock, when he is in the middle of nowhere, a vacant field, yet he is in the mighty fortress of his God. The power of such praise, born of such desperate lips, knowing what insufficiency there is in me for this task, but it could be so light. I would bow low till my face is on the ground, that You may be known to be so much higher. That if this is your will that I go forward or that I know victory here, in this place of impossible odds, where a kingdom hunts me down. I have already failed at much, so I should not suspect in misery to obtain such grace, but for what they seek my life this time, I am innocent. If You are punishing me so be it, for You know my heart and nothing good or bad can say it does not belong to You. If it is God that seeks my life then it is for good reason, but You have chosen to be my Rock, my Salvation, to deliver Me. It all belongs to You, and how powerful is that praise which teaches you to be anxious for nothing, fret not, fear no man, and know that God is all in all. He calms the storm, makes the stars, puts the planets to their perfect orbit, and what man but an idiot pretends to know all the ways of God? He is a rock that I hide in, but He is also the foundation of everything. If you don't praise God then you walk in darkness, If you don't praise Him then you don't know Him, if you don't praise God then you glorify man, you exalt yourself. If you are anything then praise Him that made everything. You cannot even fathom what you are about to know, just praise Him.



And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances;for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5: 14-18