“The LORD is my rock and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my Yesha`, Jesus.” (2 Samuel 22:2-3)
This is a song David sang after God had saved him from all his enemies who were trying to defeat him and kill him-especially Saul. Through it all, David sought to live an honest life. The biblical text makes it clear that David played therapeutic music to help calm Saul during his mental, emotional, and psychological struggles (1 Samuel 16:14-23). David fought for Saul against the archenemies the Philistines, who were better equipped for battle. He killed Goliath the chief god-leader of the Philistines (1 Samuel 17). The poor masses saw hope in the leadership skills of David, and they sang songs in his honor. But, this caused Saul to become very jealous and to go into episodes of rage against David. Saul tries to kill David on several occasions. On occasions, David could well have taken revenge against Saul, because the latter was in vulnerable situations, e.g. when he was relieving himself at a cave in the desert of Ein Gedi (1 Samuel 24:3). But, David did not take advantage of these situations.
During my travels in the Holy Land, I saw several fortresses. The Hebrew word used here, Masada, is also the name of an important fortress, which is in the desert of Ein Gedi, where David spared the life of Saul. It rises to about 1,300 ft. Josephus, the historian of Roman times, writes about the gallant defense of a group of Jewish men, women, and children- 960 of them, of this fortress, against the onslaught of the Roman Legion X Fretenis in 73 AD.
Why did David not take revenge? The answer is found in this Psalm. He trusted in God’s care and protection. “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.” (Psalm 18:2; 2 Samuel 22:2). It is a constant theme which is stressed in the liturgy of the ancient Jewish people (Psalms 31:3; 71:3; 91:2; 144:2).
The Psalms of David remind us, that human fortresses may fall, but, the LORD, the strong Fortress always remains standing strong.
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