But we will be centering our thoughts this afternoon on the passage that has been read to us. Don't worry about the 51 verses. David is basically talking about four things. He's talking about the God who saves, the God who sustains, the God who strengthens, and the God who secures. And since it's a song, some of the details are repetitive, and so I should not warrior that will spend the whole evening looking at 51 verses. Thankfully we are back in our journey on the life of David. At this point in David's life, he's an old man and is able to stop and look back at what God has done for him and what God continues to do for him in his life. And David thus far has done it for us. We've observed his life from the very time he was the shepherd boy looking after his father's sheep. And we've followed him through up to the time when he's a king. And now he's enjoying peace. God has brought about peace in his kingdom. And David is able to look back and pause and attribute all these things to the great God. We've seen David being revealed to us as the shepherd boy. We've seen him being revealed to us as a warrior, as he defeated the great giant. We've seen him revealed to us as a musician, the sweet singer of Israel. But also we noted that he was also revealed to us as a sinner, as he sinned against God with Bethsheba. David has been known of different titles. He's been called the son of Jesse. He's been called David the King. and he's being called the sweet psalmist of Israel. But also, when you read 2 Samuel 23, verse 1, he's being referred to there as the anointed of the God of Jacob. Now, this particular time, he's an old man. He's been told not to go to battle anymore. When you read this chapter 21 of 2 Samuel, when he went to battle, he was almost killed. And from that point onwards, he was told to stay in the palace and never to go into the battlefield. And a number of commentators and historians believe that it was during this moment when David was no longer on the battlefield, but was in his castle, seated, reflecting. And when he looked at the whole saga of his salvation, and how that God has delivered him, he was able to pen down these words found in 2 Samuel chapter 22. And if you've read 2 Samuel chapter 22, you'll see that it's similar. to Psalm 18. Most of the words are the same, but they are different. And Charles Haddon Stedron says, there's no way God the Holy Spirit would have allowed to have two same piece of songs in the scriptures. But when you examine them, you see that there are minor differences, but the theme is the same. David is singing songs of praise to this great God. The last time we looked at David was about two weeks ago. We began this song and we looked at the first three verses and we examined in details the metaphor that David uses and what they mean and how they apply to us. We looked at what David means when he says, God is my rock. God is my fortress, God is my deliverer, God is my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my saviour, you saved me from violence. And we looked at those things in detail and showed that David had this relationship with his God and was able to sing about the character of God using those metaphors and giving us a beautiful picture of who God is. This afternoon, we continue in this same song. And as we look at David writing about his work with God, it also reveals to us some insight or gives us some insights on our work with God. As Christians, we have a song to sing. As Christians, we have songs to sing to show to the world. Just as David was able to sit and reflect on what God has done and he was able to burst out in songs and sing to this great God, we too have a song to sing to our great God. And the first thing I would like us to think about when we sing to God is that Christians must sing of the God who saves. We looked at this in details the last two weeks, but we'll still look at it again as we look at this book. Christians must sing of the God who saves. And David is a great example. He sings of a God who saves. When you read from verse 2 through to verse 20, you see David singing concerning that attribute of God, that God is a God who saves. And as he sings to God, he sings of a personal relationship that he had with God. And he's able to sing in verse 2 and verse 3, the Lord is my rock, my fortress, my stronghold, my refuge, my savior. David is using He has used ten times that what I referred to last week, the personal possessive pronoun, the word my, my. And that's the first word that is learned by children. My daddy, my mom, my car, my toy. And the idea that David is giving us is that David had a childlike relationship with his God. And he's not ashamed to show the world that the God I'm talking about is mine. And the knowledge that David knows, he knew it from a personal relationship with his God. He's not just singing about what God has done. because he heard it from others. No, David was able to relate with what he's talking about. He's singing of the personal relationship with his God. Do you have that kind of personal relationship with God? Can you say, without being ashamed, that God is my rock, my fortress, my stronghold? But also, David sings of a powerful relationship that he has with his God. And he uses metaphors to describe his relationship with his God, showing to us that the relationship that he had with God was a powerful one. And he's able to say, God is my sanctuary. God is my rock. And when he talks about rock, he's talking about the fact that God is stable. Nothing can push God. Nothing can make God move away from His agenda. When He says, this is what I'll do, that will He do. And David is able to look back at the years of his life. And all he can see is that God is a stable God. He's a rock. It doesn't matter what circumstances will come. God will still be the same. He also talks about God being his shield, being his fortress, talking about safety there, being his horn of salvation, talking about security there, and talking of God being a high tower. He's basically saying God is the one who satisfies all my needs. I've looked at my life. I was a boy when God called me. I'm now an old man and God has been my high tower supplying all my needs and is my sanctuary, my refuge and is also my saviour. And David is saying to us and showing to us that God is all that he needed and he needs in times of trouble. When trouble came, David knew where to go. He knew that there was a God who was as stable as a rock. He knew that there was a God who was able to supply his needs. He knew that there was a God whom he can find refuge in. You remember in his life, there were times when the gates of men were closed to David. There were times when David would seek refuge. And the gates of men were closed to him. But then they knew that even though all the gates in this world were to be closed before him, there was a gate that was always open. And that gate brought hope to him. It's the gates of heaven. And when he cried to God, God was able to listen to him, and God was able to lift him high up above the rock, and that David would find security, would find safety in God. And this is the kind of blessings that all those who know God have. All God's children have this kind of blessing that David had. When everything around you doesn't make sense, When everything around you seems to be closing on you, there's a gate that is always open. That's the gates of heaven. And when we cry out to God and sing to Him and call on Him, that door of heaven is always open and God is listening to our petitions and our cries. And we can find refuge in Him. But also David is able to sing of a profound relationship with his God. And you see that in verse 18 through to verse 8 through to verse 20. As he sings of this profound relationship that he had with his God. And David goes in details as to speak of how God moved in power to defeat all his enemies and to sustain him. David is describing how that God worked in a miraculous way in order to ensure that his servant David was safe. All those who wanted to destroy David were no match to him. And he's talking about this profound relationship that he has with his God. And God did all that for David because God delighted in David and we're told that in verse 20. God delighted in David. God took pleasure in saving David. God simply said to himself, David is my child. I will bless him. I will protect him. And I will sustain him throughout his journey on earth. Because God took pleasure in the relationship that he had with David. We know that David was not a saint. We knew that from time after time, David would sin against God. But one thing that we see in David's life, that he constantly kept on going back before God, repenting of his sins, and God delighted in the relationship that he had with his child, David. God is simply saying to David, You are my child. I love you. I want to bless you. I'll protect you. And I'll provide for you. Because I delight in you. And so David is able to look at this profound relationship he had with God. How the God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the holy God, will look down upon David. and says you delight me and I'll protect you surely David was not going to sit quiet and not sing about this relationship that he had with God this God who saves and this is the kind of relationship that we enjoy with our God God saves us from our sins God has saved us from our sins and he continues to save us every day till one day when we get to heaven and we see him face to face and this is not a song that we can close our mouths and not sing about God will move heaven and earth to provide for you to protect you and to look after you, if you delight Him, He will do that for you. And when you look at the examples that we have in the scriptures, of how God had provided for different people, sometimes in situations and circumstances which looked hopeless. When you think of Elijah on the mountain, And God used the beds to provide for him. When you think of how God provided for the disciples and the Lord Jesus Christ, and now they fed the 5,000. When you think of the disciples and the Lord Jesus Christ on the boats, they think the boat is going to sink. And God provided for them and protected them. And God's promise to you is this, recorded for us in Luke chapter 12 verse 32, Fear not little ones, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. That's what the scripture tells us. And so when you find yourself in situations when things don't seem to make sense, remember your goal and your task is to delight God. And if you delight God, God is going to take care of you. He's going to protect you. He's going to move heaven and earth to ensure that you are safe and that you will be with Him in His kingdom. one day. Isn't it amazing? Just the thought of the fact that the God of the universe who stepped down to save us, to save you, to protect you, simply because you delight Him. Isn't it amazing that God takes pleasure in us We know our hearts. We know how many times we failed God. But God still looks at you. That's my child. He or she delights me. And because of that, you cannot keep quiet but sing to this great God. And let the world see that you have this relationship with the God who saves. This is something worth shouting and singing about. As Christians, we must sing of the God who saves. But we must also sing of the God who sustains. When you read from verse 21 through to verse 30, this is what David is doing. He's looked at how God has saved him. But it just doesn't end there. He sings of God who has sustained him. He had this relationship with a God who saves, but also had the relationship with a God who sustains. David knew that everything in this world, life and death, is in the hands of God. And God is the one who sustains the affairs of this world. And without God, David would have been dead a long time. And on so many occasions, did God rescue and sustained David's life from danger during periods of temptations. He talks about that in verse 21 through to verse 28. There were times of temptations. There were times when David was tempted I'm not even tempted to think that God does not care. So is after his life. And yet God, through Samuel, said that David was going to be king. But yet here is a man who wants to take his life. And when that has settled, David is now the king. Absalom rebels against his father. Once again, David is on the run. And during that moment, David did not think of a God who sustains. David was simply thinking of being saved and his life being spared. But now he's an old man, he's able to look back and he's able to sing of a God who sustains. Even when life seemed as if he was going to be captured, even in times of temptation, David was able to look back. and seeing of a God who sustains and remembers very well that there were different times when he was tempted but is able to look back and talk about God's righteousness, God's faithfulness, God delighting in David. But also there were times, there were periods of testing. There were times when this great king was tested. Think of it. You are in a family of eight boys. And this prophet of God comes and leaves all of them and says, you are the next king. And it's believed at that time he was only about 16, 17 years old. He didn't know anything about running a kingdom. All he knew was to look after his father's ship. And as a little, as a young man, that could have easily gotten to his head. I'll be the next king. and would have lost respect for everyone around him. Those were periods of testing. Yet David kept himself. He knew that he had a relationship with his God and was able to trust God and to wait on God and that to do things according to God's time and planning. And is able to look back and says, oh throughout the years from the time when I was a boy God has sustained me up to now when I'm an old man. But also there were periods of trials. Not just temptation, but also periods of trials. And David was able to look to God. In verse 30 he says, For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can limp over a wall. There were times when he felt like that. There were times when David thought of running away, but God enabled him to enjoy victory, even in the midst of trials. David was able to achieve this victory, even when it looked impossible, time and again and again, David was able to be sustained by God. He's able to look even when it was a lion that approached wanting to devour the sheep. God sustained him. Was it a bear? God sustained him. Was it King Saul? God sustained him. Was it a soldier wanting to kill him on the battlefield? God sustained him. Was it his own son, Absalom, wanting to take his life away? God sustained him. And David was able to enjoy victory over his enemies. In those periods of trials, Even us, when we go through times of testing and trials, times of temptations, we can run to this same God who David ran to. He is our God as well. He was David's God, but He's also your God. And when you're faced with such trials in your life, you know where to run to. To God. In times of testing and trials, God is going to support you with His presence. In times of temptation, God will sustain you with His power. In times of difficulties, God is going to supply you with His promises and all the needs of your life. And when you think about the God who saves and the God who sustains, as Christians are supposed to be the most joyous people on earth, to know that my life is hid in Christ, and whatever I'm going through doesn't get God by surprise. And God is going to sustain me throughout this period of my life. He also sings of a God who strengthens. In verse 31 through to verse 49. He sings of a God who strengthens. And as Christians we must sing of a God who strengthens. David's life had been one of battle and conflict. But through all the battles of his life, through all the problems of his life, God had sustained him and had strengthened him. And David was able to sing about the God who strengthens. Because he's able now to look back, standing on the platform, and now he's seeing his life And all he sees is that God strengthened him. God had protected him throughout his life. Listen to what he says in verse 31 through to verse 34. This God, His way is perfect. The word of the Lord proves true. He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him. For who is God but the Lord, and who is a rock except our God? This God is my strong refuge, and has made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer, and set me secure on the heights." He's able to see that God has been his protector. God has protected him. He's granted him strength. and God was the source of his power and he was able to defeat all his enemies because of what God had done and was doing in him and in times when he felt that he was going to be defeated David was saying he would put me on feet like a deer and I would jump and be safe away from the battles of life God was his rock And David was safe on that rock. But also God prepared David for the battlefield. And when you read verse 35 through to verse 7, you see that it was God who had prepared him. He says, He trains my hands for war so that my arms can bend a ball of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a white plate place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. I know David is able to look back and say that God has been my strength. and God has protected me, but God also prepared me. From the time when I was looking after my father's ship, God was using those violent circumstances to prepare me as a man of battle, as a man of war. God knew that David was going to pass through all these things, and God was using different circumstances to train David for the future. And God promoted David from looking after a sheep to looking after the nation of Israel. And we can learn something from David when he talks about God who strengthens. Sometimes we complain in life when we continue to do same things over and over and over. Sometimes when we are faced with a task before us, we should not complain because God is using that to prepare us for what lays ahead of us. David used to go doing the same routine work, looking after his father's ship. Remember, he was a young man. He would have as well been out there enjoying his life with other young men. But every day when he was a young man, he would go out into the lonely hills of Judea and look after his father's ship. He never complained. God was using that to prepare David for the great task ahead of him. And also, you notice, if you are faithful in little things, God will promote you. David was faithful looking after his father's sheep. And now God elevated him to looking after a nation. the nation of Israel, the people of God, the most powerful nation at that time. And so young people, if you are given the same thing, the same type of work to do, don't complain. God is training you to be patient, to persevere. Who knows what lies ahead of you? You do not know what lies ahead of you. You do not know the task that God has for you. And so when you're doing the same routine work, if it means cleaning your bedroom every day, do that. If it means doing it for five years, ten years, continue doing that because God is developing your character and He wants you to prepare you for what lies ahead of you. Don't complain. You can learn from David's life. Looking after sheep, he was promoted years later to be the king of a nation. And because David learned certain disciplines when he was a young man, no one needed to see whether as a king he was doing the right things. No one needed to keep on peeping over his shoulders and seeing whether David is doing the right thing. He learned to be out there, feeding his father's sheep. And he learned those disciplines such that even when he was a king, he knew that he needed to work hard. He knew that he needed to protect his people. He knew that he needed to provide for his people. He knew that he needed to defeat the enemies of God. Remember, God is your protector. And God is the one who's going to promote you to where he wants you to be. So regardless of what you face or you're facing today, know that God is the one leading you towards victory. Know that God is the one guiding you one day at a time. You may be going through something that seems to be hopeless. And you are wondering whether this is the path that God wants you to tread in. Stick to that path. That's a path that will lead you to victory. Stick to that path. Be faithful. work, labor, be faithful to God, and victory awaits, because God is the one who strengthens, and look to Him for strength. And finally, Christians must sing of the God who secures. They must sing of the God who secures, and this is what David does in those last two verses, verse 50 and 51. As David closes his song, he takes a moment to look back, to look around him, and to look ahead of him, and is able to sing finally of the God who secures. And in verse 50 there, David is telling us that security is a past arrangement. A Christian security is a past arrangement. And you notice that verse 50 begins with the word for. For this I will praise you Lord, among the nations and sing praises to your name. And the word for there, cause the minds to think backwards. David examines the landscape around him, all the years that have gone by in his life. And when he stops and he looks back where he's coming from, he says, what else should I do but just to praise God because God has been my security. God is the one who secures and as far as David is concerned security is a past arrangement God in way back in eternity planned everything that will happen and as you tread in the path that God has planned and is leading you to it is a past arrangement God did it way back in eternity and David is able to see that and sings to God He sees God's hand in everything he was doing. He sees that God kept him. God blessed him. David looks at his past, and he knows that he's secure. He knows that his life is safe. And even us as Christians, We must take time to look back to where God has brought us from. We must take time to look back what we were when God found us. We were nobodies in this world. Some of us were a write-off by our families. no one came to you for advice or for help because everyone thought you are hopeless and when God saved you from your sins and everyone was amazed how that all of a sudden you became the source of wisdom the source of comfort and everyone would run to you when they need not that you have everything that the world possesses but because you have God in you And when you look at what God has been doing in your life, blessing you every day, showering you with those motherless promises in His Word, you are able to see of this great God who secures, and you know that a Christian security is a past arrangement. God has done it all for us. It's a done deal. But David is also able to show us that security is a present asset. It's not just a past arrangement, but it's a present asset. Listen to what he says in verse 50 and 51. For this I'll praise you, O Lord among the nations, and sing praises to your name. Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever. As David looks back, He sees that his security in God is a past arrangement. But when he looks around, He sees that this is a present asset that I have, and I do not want to trade it for anything. He sees God working in his life at the very present. He is not just content with what God did for him in the past. Yes, you will praise God for all the wonderful works in the past, but you look at what God is doing to him right now, in the present tense. David is able to say, this is what God is doing in my life. He was secure by God. And David knew that regardless of what any day would bring, God was his safe haven. He was safe in God. God was his tower of salvation. Everything he needed was in God. The past for David was evidence to show that what God did in the past can be done in the present. And David was able to approach God with boldness, with confidence, because he can see how that this God has a track record of doing good to his children, and was able to cry out to God, even in that present moment, that, Oh God, may you secure my life! This is the same blessed assurance that we have. If God did not abandon you when he saved you, what makes you think he's going to abandon you today? This is the present asset that you have. Hold on to it! Yes, let's thank God for the past. And as Christians, we should not live in the past. It's laziness for a Christian to live in the past and simply looking back what God did for us in our days, in those good days. Yes, there were good days. They are past. But what are you showing forth today to show that what God did for you in the past, He can do it for you today. This is what we learn from David. He's not living in the past. He looks at the past. And he thanks God for the past. And then he moves to the present. And he knows that is what God would do for him. This is how we ought to live as Christians. Thank God for the past. Thank God for what He's done through you in the past. But live in the present. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So don't limit God to the past. What He did in the past, He can do today and tomorrow. If God brought you out of danger in the past, He can bring you out of danger today. This is the blessed assurance that we have in Christ. And we must sing, sing, sing. Trials will come. But remember, security that you have in Christ is your present assets. And as David was able to look at the past and the present, he looks now into the future. And what he sees there is that security is a permanent assurance for a child of God. It's a permanent assurance. And that's what David was able to see in verse 51 of 2 Samuel 22 and the last part. Let me read all of it. Great salvation he brings to his king. and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and to his offspring forever. Now he is able to look into the future with confidence and he sees security in God as a permanent assurance. He sees that if God has been able to bring David out of these trials, out of these valleys that was going through in his life. He's able to look to the future with hope, with brightness, with joy, because he knows the security he has in God is a permanent assurance. And David knew that his offsprings are secure. in God and his reference there of his offspring, David has in mind the church of Christ on earth. He's not just thinking of his children here. It has a wide application to all the saints of God. David is able to look into the future and is assured that all those who call upon the name of the Lord have this assurance. in Christ. We have the same hope. Our security in Christ is a permanent assurance. That's why the saints of old do call it the perseverance of the saints. Because they know that if God did not spare his beloved son, and gave Him up for His children to die for their sins. God is not going to leave them on their way. He is going to make sure that He is going to guide them, protect them and one day His children will see Him face to face in heaven and there will be no parting away from one another. This is the same hope that we have, and this is why we should sing. We should sing from the depth of our hearts. We have a song to sing as Christians. When we gather together in this manner to sing, let's raise our voices. Let the world out there hear that there are people of God, there are people that know their God. That's why it's very sad when you come in church and you can see sad faces. Yes, we all go through trials and temptation, but when we think of what God has done for us, we must raise our voices and sing to this great God because of what He's done. Christianity is a religion of joy. Christianity is all about joy because of what Christ has done for us. Those of you who work near mosques, pay attention on Friday when they go for their prayers. They don't sing those guys. They just utter words that don't make sense. And I doubt even the one who says those things is able to understand what he says. There's no joy. But you and I have joy. We have hope. We are able to sing from the depths of our hearts, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Because we know that that's true. and we know that one day we will see Him face to face and that's why we need to sing to our God every day of our lives till the day He calls us home no wonder why David just burst out in song in this chapter he's examined what God has done for him how that God had blessed him, how that God had given him grace, patience for all the situations in his life, from following a ship to looking after a nation. And the least that David could do is just to burst out in song. It's the overflow of his heart There was no way we would have kept quiet. It just comes out of him and it just bursts out in songs. And as Christians, we must stop to sing, to think first, to see how God has been good to us. And then to come to him in songs of praise. If you are a child of God, you've got something to sing about. Amazing grace how sweet the sound. If you are a child of God, you can look to heaven and be assured that one day you will be with Him. We have enough reasons to sing to God. We have enough reason to raise our voices as if that's the last time we'll ever sing to our God. Because it's just so nice, it's so much joy within our hearts that we just want to sing to God. Even when life is difficult, even when trials come, we can pause and sing to this great God. And may we all examine our hearts and see whether this is true about us. Do you only sing songs of praise to God when all is well in our lives? Even in times of trials, in those valleys of your life, God is still the same. The same God who's on the mountain is the same God who's on the valley. He doesn't change. He doesn't forget. And we can sing with the hymn writer. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a fortress of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. And she goes on to write, perfect submission all is at rest I in my Savior I'm happy and blessed I'm watching and now this is a person who was blind but by faith she's able to say I'm watching and I'm waiting and I'm looking above filled with His goodness and I'm lost in His love. This is a person who knew this God. She knew the kind of God she saved. And she wasn't ashamed. Even when people would mock her, but you can't see. How are you so sure that you'll see God one day? And she was able to respond. I have this blessed assurance. And one day when I open my eyes, the first person I'll ever see is my God, the lover of my life. Brethren, we have a song to sing. And we must sing that song from the depth of our hearts. to this great God for what He's done for us. Amen.