God Delivers When We Call on Him (vv. 1-18). When David expressed his love for the Lord, he used a special word that means “to love deeply, to have compassion.” It’s related to the Hebrew word for “womb” and describes the kind of love a mother has for her baby (Isa. 49:15), a father has for his children (103:13), and the Lord has for His chosen people Israel (102:13; Hos. 1:7; Deut. 13:17). It’s a deep and fervent love, the kind of love all of us should have for the Lord (31:23). David expressed his love (v. 1), his faith (v. 2), and his hope (v. 3). The metaphors he used certainly reflect the life of an outdoorsman and a soldier. “Rock” (vv. 2, 31, 46) is a familiar metaphor for the Lord, speaking of strength and stability, a place of refuge (19:14; 28:1; 31:2-3; 42:9; 62:2, 6-7; 71:3; 78:20; 89:26; 92:15; 94:22; 95:1; 144:1; 1 Sam. 23:25). It goes back to Genesis 49:24 and Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, and 30-31. “Fortress” pictures God as a stronghold, like the city of Jerusalem on Mount Zion (1 Sam. 22:4; 24:22; 2 Sam. 5:17; 23:14). “Shield” speaks of God’s protection (3:3; 7:10; 28:7; 33:20; Gen. 15:1; Deut. 33:29), but it also is a symbol of the king (84:9; 89:18). David was Israel’s shield, but the Lord was David’s shield. “Horn” refers to strength (Deut. 33:17; 1 Sam. 2:1, 10; 1 Kings 22:11) and has messianic connotations (Luke 1:69). This kind of God is worthy of our prayers and praise! (See 48:1; 96:4; 145:3.)

After expressing his devotion, David described his distress (vv. 4-6) and pictured himself as a man who had been hemmed in on every side, caught in a trap, bound with cords, and thrown into the water to drown. (See 88:16-17; 69:2, 15; 124:4; Job 22:11.) But, when David called, God began to act on his behalf. The great deliverance (vv. 7-19) is depicted as a storm. The Lord had been long-suffering with King Saul, but now His anger arose and began to shake things, like an earthquake and an erupting volcano (vv. 7-8; Ex. 15:8; Deut. 32:22). God came down in a storm, like a warrior in a chariot, carried along swiftly by a cherub. (See Gen. 3:24; Ex. 25:18; 2 Kings 19:15; Ezek. 1, 10). He was accompanied by darkness, rain, wind, hail (a rare thing in the Holy Land), thunder, and lightning (“his arrows,” v. 14; see 77:17; 144:6). All because David called on the Lord (v. 6)! At just the right time, God reached down and delivered David (vv. 16-19). Like Moses, he was drawn out of the water (Ex. 2:10). The enemy fell in defeat, but David stood firm, supported by the Lord (23:4). He was now king of Israel. Ten years of exile were ended, his life had been spared, and his ministry lay before him.