CHAPTER 22 Aug. 4 
David's Song of Praise
David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul: 2and he said, Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine; 3God, my rock, in Him I will take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge. My saviour, You save me from violence. 4I will call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies. 5For the waves of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 6The cords of Sheol were around me, the snares of death caught me. 7In my distress I called on Yahweh. Yes, I called to my God. He heard my voice out of His temple. My cry came into His ears. 8Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, because He was angry. 9Smoke went up out of His nostrils. Fire out of His mouth devoured. Coals were kindled by it. 10He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under His feet. 11He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, He was seen on the wings of the wind. 12He made darkness pavilions around Himself: gathering of waters, and thick clouds of the skies. 13At the brightness before Him, coals of fire were kindled. 14Yahweh thundered from heaven, the Most High uttered His voice. 15He sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and confused them. 16Then the channels of the sea were exposed, the foundations of the world were laid bare by the rebuke of Yahweh, by the blast of the breath of His nostrils. 17He sent from on high and He took me, He drew me out of many waters. 18He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. 19They came on me in the day of my calamity, but Yahweh was my support. 20He also brought me out into a large place. He delivered me, because He delighted in me. 21Yahweh rewarded me according to my righteousness. He rewarded me according to the cleanness of my hands. 22For I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 23For all His ordinances were before me. As for His statutes, I did not depart from them. 24I was also perfect towards Him; I kept myself from my iniquity. 25Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His eyesight. 26With the merciful You will show Yourself to have bowed the neck; with the perfect man You will show Yourself perfect. 27With the purified You will show Yourself pure, with the crooked You will show Yourself tortuous.
God's Way Is Perfect
28You will save the afflicted people, but Your eyes are on the proud, that You may bring them down.29For You are my lamp, Yahweh. Yahweh will light up my darkness. 30For by You, I run against a troop. By my God, I leap over a wall. 31As for God, His way is perfect. The word of Yahweh is tested. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in Him. 32For who is God, besides Yahweh? Who is a rock, besides our God? 33God is my strong fortress. He makes my way perfect. 34He makes His feet like hinds’ feet, and sets me on my high places. 35He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms bend a bow of brass. 36You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your gentleness has made me great. 37You have enlarged my steps under me. My feet have not slipped. 38I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them. I didn’t turn again until they were consumed. 39I have consumed them, and struck them through, so that they can’t arise. Yes, they have fallen under my feet. 40For You have armed me with strength for the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. 41You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, so that I might cut off those who hate me. 42They looked, but there was none to save; even to Yahweh, but He didn’t answer them. 43Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth. I crushed them as the mire of the streets, and spread them abroad. 44You also have delivered me from the strivings of my people. You have preserved me to be the head of the nations. A people whom I have not known will serve me. 45The foreigners will submit themselves to me. As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me. 46The foreigners will fade away, and will come trembling out of their hiding places. 47Yahweh lives! Blessed be my rock! Exalted be God, the rock of my salvation, 48even the God who executes vengeance for me, who brings down peoples under me, 49who delivers from my enemies. Yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me. You deliver me from the violent man. 50Therefore I will give thanks to You, Yahweh, among the nations. I will sing praises to your name. 51He gives great deliverance to His king, and shows grace to His anointed, to David and to his seed, for evermore.

Commentary

22:6 “The cords of Sheol” are paralleled in the poetry here with “the snares of death”. ‘Sheol’ is the Hebrew word often translated “grave” in many Bibles, and refers simply to the grave and death rather than any supposed place of fiery punishment for the wicked. Righteous David ‘went there’ in that he was close to death; Christ also died and was in the grave, so it clearly isn’t a place where only the wicked go.
22:7 My cry came into His ears- This is the wonder of prayer. Our actual words are personally heard by the God who is so far away; and He acts mightily on earth (:8) in response. 
22:8 “The earth” is paralleled with “the foundations of heaven”. This (and also Job 26:11; 1 Sam. 2:8) speaks as if Heaven / the sky rests on the mountains, from where earth seems to touch the heavens (Is. 13:5), with the stars stretched out in the north (Job 26:7). Prov. 8:28 speaks of God establishing “the clouds above”, and the surrounding context seems to describe God as forming the sky around the earth and then putting a horizon in place – just the sort of scientifically incorrect geo–centric view held by people at the time. The point surely was that however people understood creation to be or to have happened, God had done it, and in wisdom. God adds no footnote to David’s words, pointing out his understanding to be incorrect. This is important to bear in mind in our days, as we who believe in God as creator encounter so many scientific theories about the origin of our world.

22:10 God Himself is spoken of as coming, descending etc. when He ‘preaches’ to humanity (see too Gen. 11:5; Ex. 19:20; Num. 11:25; in this sense Christ ‘went to’ people and preached without going Himself personally, 1 Pet. 3:19). We are therefore very intensely manifesting Him whenever we take His word to others, and our behaviour should reflect that.
22:11 The Old Testament describes Yahweh, the one true God, as riding through the heavens on chariots to the help of His people Israel (see too Dt. 33:26; Ps. 18:10; 104:3; Is. 19:1; Hab. 3:8). But Baal was known as ‘the one who rides upon the clouds’. Clearly the language of Baal is being appropriated to Yahweh, teaching Israel that there was no other God apart from God, no cosmic satan bringing evil, no gods of good bringing blessing- all was from Yahweh (Is. 45:5-7). Often the Bible alludes to contemporary language used about false beliefs and deconstructs them, and the passages which do this are often misunderstood because readers are unaware of the local language and ideas being deconstructed.
22:21-25 David at the end of his life could say that he was upright and had kept himself from his iniquity- despite his sins concerning Bathsheba and Uriah. He could only say this by a clear understanding of the concept of imputed righteousness (Ps. 32:1-8), believing that he was totally “purified” from the past (:27). He really believed it and felt it, as we should. Paul's claim to have always lived in a pure conscience must be seen in the same way (Acts 23:1; 2 Tim. 1:3)- when there were times when he kicked against the goads in his conscience (Acts 9:5).   
22:26 To have bowed the neck- The Hebrew word only occurs elsewhere in Prov. 25:10 concerning 'bowing the neck' in shame or reverence. And this is what the Hebrew means: to bow the neck. This, David recognized in his time of spiritual maturity, was what God does in response to those who show a truly spiritual attitude to their brethren. David thus recognized the humility of God; all the characteristics we are asked to demonstrate are emulations of His characteristics, and humility is one of them.
22:31 David was very much involved in Israel his people. He saw himself as their representative. "God, my rock [is] my shield... he is a shield to all those who take refuge in Him" (:3,31). “I am in distress; let us fall now into the hand of Yahweh” (24:14) reflects this. When he sung Psalms, he invited Israel to come and sing along with him (Ps. 105:2; 107:22; 111:1). In this we see foreshadowed the representative nature of the work, being and sacrifice of Jesus.