2 Samuel 22:44-46 - David's Psalm Of Thanksgiving.

"And thou hast delivered me from the strivings of my people;

Thou hast protected me that I might be head of the nations.

A people whom! knew not have become my servants;

Children of strangers have submitted themselves to me;

At the hearing of the ear they obeyed me.

The children of the strangers faded away;

They fled trembling out of their fastnesses."

People , in the singular, means the Jewish people as opposed to the nations, that is, the heathen world. The strivings here referred to are the long dissensions which followed Ishbosheth's death, and delayed for many the appointment of David as king of Israel. He now feels that the watchful which had protected him during that dangerous period had a higher purpose than the union of the twelve tribes under one head. He was to be the founder also of that empire over the nations which symbolized the gift of the heathen world to Christ. And this empire had been extended to people previously unknown to David. Such might be the case with Hadarezer, King of Zobah, but it more especially referred to Toi, and the Hittite kingdom of Hamath ( 2 Samuel 8:9 ). It was not from force of arms, but from the hearing of the ear, that is, from the wide extended fame of David's conquests, that Toi sent ambassadors to offer allegiance and presents. They fled trembling. This is certainly the sense in Psalms 18:45 , where, however, there is a transposition of letters. Probably it is the sense here. But if we might go to the cognate languages for an explanation of a rare word, it would mean "came limping out of their fastnesses," as men worn out with fatigue and exhaustion.