Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 22
The ‘Anointed’ was the special title of Israel’s king. It refers to the special ceremony with oil that separated that person for this great work (1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Kings 1:39). The meaning was that the new king needed God’s Holy Spirit to give him the power to do this work. As the oil came upon him, so did God’s Spirit.
None of those kings, of course, was perfect. Only God’s perfect king, called Messiah or Christ, has the Holy Spirit without limit (Isaiah 11:2; John 3:34). He will rule the whole world (Isaiah 11:9), and his rule will never end. The word ‘Anointed’ is a translation from the Hebrew language of the same word that gives us ‘Messiah’. The word ‘Christ’ comes from the translation of that word into the Greek language.
David sang this song (2 Samuel chapter 22) to give thanks to God, who had rescued him from his enemies. We have seen how, in the song, David describes his own experiences. However, his real subject was not the past, but what God will do by his Messiah in the future. David saw that his own work for God was similar to the Messiah’s future work. In the power of God, the Messiah will defeat every evil force to establish God’s rule on the earth (Psalm 110; Isaiah 11:1-11).
David could understand that fact because he sang this song in the power of the Holy Spirit (2 Samuel 23:1-2; Acts 2:29-30; 1 Corinthians 2:9-11). He also knew about God’s promises to him about the future of his family (7:5-16). Therefore, this song is about God’s kindness to David, but also about his family in the future. That includes especially the Messiah. God promised that the Messiah would come from David’s family (2 Samuel 7:11-16; Isaiah 11:1; Matthew 1:1-6).
Next part: David's last song (2 Samuel 23:1-2)
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