David’s Last Words

II Samuel 23

1. Now these are the last words of David.
Thus says David the son of Jesse;
Thus says the man raised up on high,
The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel:

Now we come upon David’s last words. These are a little out of order here, coming from later in David’s life than the historical record we are considering, just as the last chapter came from earlier in David’s life than the historical record. We might imagine that “David’s last words” means that he gasped these out as he was expiring. That may have been near to the case, but I think what is really meant is that this was his last revelation, his last prophetic utterance, his last inspired words from God. He might have said “bring me water,” or “I love you all” to his family, and such things after this, and yet these would still be his last, God-given words. This is what makes them very important, just like we would view Paul’s last words to believers today in II Timothy to be of special importance, since they were the last inspired words God recorded for us chronologically before falling silent.

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David’s Exalted Future

II Samuel 22 Part 4

44. “You have also delivered me from the strivings of my people;
You have kept me as the head of the nations.
A people I have not known shall serve me.

Here begins the seventh stanza, which brings us forward to David’s coming rule in the kingdom of God, as the last stanza did into the tribulation battle against the forces of Satan. Here it declares that God also has delivered David from his own people striving against him. There are always divisions in nations. People will fight against the ruler because of their own jealousies, ambitions, and desires. David’s court in the past was no different. He had those who opposed him all his life. Thus we realize this verse must take us into the future kingdom of God, when David will finally be delivered for good from all such petty squabbling.

The LORD Empowers David

II Samuel 22 Part 3

29. “For You are my lamp, O LORD;
The LORD shall enlighten my darkness.

The fifth stanza begins, and the focus comes back from general teaching to David’s situation in particular. The first three stanzas, we suggested, may have been focused more on David’s early life on the run from Saul, recalling the situation in which Saul’s men had David surrounded and were about to take him when sudden deliverance came in the report of an invasion by the Philistines. The middle stanza was focused on general wise teaching for all. Now, these last three stanzas consider David as king and fighting against his enemies on every side.

David Rescued-and Why

II Samuel 22 Part 2

14. “The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.

Yahweh thunders from the heavens, and Elyon gives forth His voice. This is typical Hebrew poetry, and the thunder is a poetic picture for the voice. Again, this fits with the picture of Him coming in the great thunderstorm. Elyon is God as the Ruler and Owner of heaven and earth, and clearly Yahweh and Elyon are the same here. There is truly none higher than Yahweh, for He is God.

Here Psalm 18 repeats the line it added at the end of the previous verse, “Hailstones and coals of fire.” This probably means that these accompanied His great thundering voice. Yet they are not mentioned here in II Samuel 22 in the original composition.

The LORD Descends to Rescue David

II Samuel 22

1. Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

“Then” here does not seem to mean right at this time, for this appears to have been written earlier in David’s life after the LORD had delivered him from the power of all his enemies, especially from the power of the jealous and murderous King Saul, and from his enemies all around. This would have been when David was set in peace on the throne, probably around the time of II Samuel 7.

This is called a “song,” which clearly indicates it was meant to be sung and was not just a poem. This song, which he wrote as a personal composition at first for his own use and edification, was later edited by him for public use and placed into the Psalms, the song book of Zion, as Psalm 18. There it was dedicated for public use rather than just David’s own private use, as we can see from its dedication to “the Chief Musician.” We can compare the two psalms and note the many similarities, and the few editorial changes, between the two versions of this song. This is the original version, and Psalm 18 is the edited, final form of the same Psalm. David in doing this uses the same right any author has to do with his own material, particularly when adapting it for a new use.

Resurrection For the Lost?

I received the following question:

Brother Nathan, I am learning from your audio studies! I especially enjoyed the study on the Greeks in contrast to the Gentiles. Thank you very much.
My question is do you have a study on the fate of the unredeemed?
I personally do not see a resurrection for unbelievers in Scripture.

In Christ,

You ask a great question. I am glad that you are searching these things out, and that Scripture is your source of searching. While I have not personally written the exact study you ask for (about the resurrection of unbelievers), I have written about it in brief in my series on Acts. I quote from my article on Acts 24:15.

Free From Death!…Or Not?

I received the following question:

I am not clear on the distinction between Romans 8:2 and II Corinthians 4:5-12.

In Romans 8:2, Paul references himself: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” This seems to be the only usage of this exact phrase in Scripture.

In the II Corinthians passage, he was contrasting himself (and other apostles) with the believers of the Acts period: “So then death worketh in us, but life in you.”

Are there two distinctly different concepts being set forth here?

Thank you!

A very good question! The experience of the apostles was very different from that of the common believer of the Acts period. Paul, who healed so many others, was not able to heal himself, as we see regarding his thorn in the flesh in II Corinthians 12:7. Though he was set free from the law of sin and death, as Romans 8:2 declares and as was demonstrated when God raised him from the dead after stoning (and II Corinthians 11 would seem to indicate that he was raised from the dead more times than that), yet death still worked in him in that he suffered from illnesses that he could heal in others but could not heal in himself.

Acts 28: Where to Start?

I received the following question:

Hi, thanks for your website it’s great to hear there are others who see the dispensational boundary at Acts 28. I have a question regarding studying the vast amount of topics available. I have believed in this truth for quite a while now but feel I need to get a better grip on the basics, so I can give a clear, concise answer as to why I believe it – I know why I do but, where would you start in terms of having a good solid foundation with the basics?

Hope I am making sense and many thanks, yours in Christ.

Thanks for reading, and I am glad you are enjoying the website and are appreciating Acts 28 dispensationalism!

It is hard to say where to start, as there is a lot to cover. I have a series on dispensationalism that covers a lot of the basics on my Precepts website.

What Is Wrong With the Holy Eucharist?

I received the following question:

I was looking for an answer to Matthew 27 9-10 about Jeremias (Jeremiah), and I found your answer interesting. I do have a question for you.

I always live my life with the words of the bible in my spine. I am a Catholic, and I see that you are of no “organization”. My experience is quite unique in that I have had supernatural visions. It would take too much of your time to speak of them, but my question to you is regarding miracles. If miracles are possible, then the miracle of “The Holy Eucharist that IS Jesus in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity” is what John 6: 51-55 speaks of. Why is it so difficult to believe in this transubstantiation when Jesus Authors IT with God inspired men in the bible?

God bless you,
Fiat Voluntas Tua
Quia per quae peccat quis, per haec et torquetur
By what things a man sinneth, by the same also is he tormented Wisdom 11:17

I am glad I was able to give you a new idea about the Jeremiah quote in Matthew 27.

David’s Giant Killers

II Samuel 21 Continued

15. When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint.

Another war develops with the Philistines. You would think that they would have had enough of being defeated by David, as he had defeated them so thoroughly back in II Samuel 5 and 8 and took away part of their territory. Yet perhaps they still remembered their victory over Israel at the time of the death of Saul and hoped that they could again get a victory. They must have known little, of course, of the LORD’s anger against Saul or the reason He had not helped Israel. They wanted to believe that with the force of their arms and the help of their idolatrous gods, they might this time get the upper hand.

David goes down from Jerusalem with his servants in order to fight against the Philistines. David is now sixty years old, however, and cannot handle the strain of battle as he did earlier in life. He grows faint, which is a dangerous condition when your life depends on your actions!