Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 22

David’s strength and his weakness

2 Samuel 22:1

As we read the Book of 2 Samuel, it often reminds us of David’s weaknesses. David was a great king, but he did many wrong things. David’s weakness shows in his evil acts (12:7-9; 24:1-4). He also showed weakness in his desire to marry many women (3:2-5; 15:16), which was against God’s law (Deuteronomy 17:17). In addition, David was too weak to control the behaviour of his army commanders (3:39) and his sons (13:1-14; 14:23-33).

So, to understand David’s character properly, we need to know where David’s strength came from. The Book of Psalms shows us much about David’s inner life: his prayers, his attitude towards God, and the messages that God gave him. There, we see that David truly was a holy man, and constantly in prayer. When he became aware of his wrong deeds, he confessed them to God; and then he sincerely turned from those wrong deeds (Psalm 51). When he was successful, he gave God the honour for that success (Psalm 21). In his troubles, he prayed (Psalm 6); at every opportunity, he praised God (Psalm 34:1-3).

This chapter (2 Samuel chapter 22) connects the two parts of David’s life, his inner and outer life. It contains the same song as Psalm 18; however, it is not a copy of that Psalm. There are many differences between this chapter and that Psalm, but the differences are slight. The explanation may be that David wrote down the song on two occasions, with some years between them; but David often thought about its words and sang it. The song is one of the most important messages that God gave to David: it describes David’s life and his experiences, and gives the reason for his success. It also looks beyond David’s life, to the rule of God’s great king from David’s family who is called the Messiah or Christ (compare Psalm 2).

Next part: David's strength came from God (2 Samuel 22:2-4)

Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.