2 Samuel 22:2-4 - David's Psalm Of Thanksgiving.

Jehovah is my Cliff and my Stronghold and my Deliverer:

The God of my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My Shield and the Horn of my salvation,

My Fastness and my Place of refuge:

My Saviour: thou savest me from violence.

I call upon Jehovah, the praised One,

And I am saved from my enemies."

The Syriac in 2 Samuel 22:2 inserts, "Fervently do I love thee, Jehovah my Strength;" but it probably only borrows the words from Psalms 18:1 . For we may well believe that it was at a later period of his life, after deeper and more heart searching trials, that David thus felt his love to Jehovah only strengthened and made more necessary to him by the loss of his earthly happiness. In Psalms 18:3 , The God of my rock is changed in Psalms 18:2 into "My God my Rock" (Authorized Version, "strength")—probably an intentional alteration, as being far less rugged and startling than this bold metaphor of the Deity being his rock's God. In the original the words present each its distinct idea. Thus in Psalms 18:2 the rock is a high cliff or precipice. It is the word sela, which gave its name to the crag city of Idumea. Fortress really means a rock, difficult of access, and forming a secure retreat. It is entirely a natural formation, and not a building. In Psalms 18:3 rock is a vast mountainous mass ( Job 18:4 ), and, as it suggests the ideas of grandeur and immovable might, it is often used for God's glory as being the Strength and Protection of his people. Next follow two ordinary metaphors, the shield for defence, and the horn for attack; after which David, who had so often sought safety among the cliffs and fastnesses of the mountains, returns to the same circle of thoughts, and calls God his High Tower, the word signifying, not a building, but a height, a lofty natural stronghold; and finally his Refuge, a place of safe retreat among the mountains. This and the rest of the verse are omitted in Psalms 18:2 . In Psalms 18:4 the words are as literally translated above, and signify, "Whenever call, I am saved." In all times of difficulty, prayer brings immediate deliverance.