2 Samuel 22 is repeated almost verbatim in Psalm 18. While the superscription in Psalm 18 gives us a context for the psalm, this context is confirmed in 2 Samuel 22 and made more precise. This psalm was sung after God had finally consolidated David's rule over Israel, quelling the last rebellion by Sheba and giving them a dominant hand over their nemesis in the land, the Philistines. 

The song is full of imagery, as if to ignite the imagination and stir the emotions:

Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
Fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
And He rode on a cherub and flew;
And He appeared on the wings of the wind (2 Samuel 22:9-11).

God is depicted as a fire-breathing dragon coming down from heaven to rescue David and destroy his enemies. Rather than simply writing, "God rescued me from my enemies," David uses graphically stunning metaphors to excite the senses.

In the superscription in Psalm 18, we are told that David sang this song to the LORD. Presumably, he sang this in the congregation of Israel. Can you picture it? I can picture David looking toward heaven before thousands upon thousands of Israel and belting out the words of this song to the LORD. This was no mere ritual worship. He was the king, and he would even undignify himself so that he could lead all Israel in a kind of reckless abandon in their worship of God. Then, they would worship him with their mouths, but also their bodies, their minds, their emotions, until every fiber of their being was stirred to worship God. 

Friends, David celebrated in this way for an earthly deliverance from temporal enemies. So how deeply and completely ought we to worship our God, who has delivered us from more powerful spiritual enemies and saved us from the prospect of eternal condemnation for our sins.

Our God is truly an awesome God! Here's a tune by the late Rich Mullins, that sort of captures the spirit of this song of David:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU8MS6lGmE8

In dramatic irony we are given the narrator's perspective to the whole event involving David's calling for a census:

Once again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the LORD told him. (2 Samuel 24:1 NLT)

God was angry with Israel, not David. The text says that God caused David to take the census. How? It appears that it was through the agency of Satan according to the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles:

Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. (1 Chronicles 21:1 NLT)

David apparently did not know God's purposes in this matter, because he later complains to the LORD that the judgment should fall on him rather than on the people because it was on account of his sin and not theirs:

When David saw the angel, he said to the LORD, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.” (2 Samuel 24:17 NLT)

David did not know that God was angry with Israel, although we are not told why. And so the judgment, at least in this instance, was designed to punish Israel, not David. David did not know that it was God through Satan that caused him to call for a census. 

What are we to make of all this? Why are we given such a window into God's working? 

I believe we are given such access to the hidden working of God so that we might not be too presumptuous about motives or causes for things, nor make hasty assumptions about the nature and outcome of things. God can sovereignly intervene into the affairs of people to achieve His purposes whenever and however He wants.

Now David could not even discern who was telling the truth between Mephibosheth and Ziba, his servant. Solomon's fame hinged on such discernment, but even his was only through cunning rather than a genuine ability to see the motives of people's hearts. Only God sees this. And most of what God does is invisible to people unless He chooses to reveal it. 

Now, Jesus, being God, knew what was in people's hearts (John 2:24; Matthew 9:4). This is why Paul writes that we should not try to judge people's motives but wait for the Lord's judgment:

As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due. (1 Corinthians 4:3-5 NLT)

Again, we learn from Hebrews:

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. (Hebrews 4:13 NLT)

Therefore, since only God sees and knows everything, He is the only One in the position to make a right judgment about things. And at the same time, since He has created all things and designed every law, whether physical, moral or spiritual, that governs the universe, He alone has the authority to save or to condemn, but He Himself is not subject to any judgment, since He is above all things. 

What does this mean for us? We ought to humbly trust and diligently obey His Word with fear and trembling. We should not make foolish prognostications about people's motives nor naive assumptions about the activities of God. We too easily claim things like "God said this to me,"  or "God led me to this," or "God is judging them by this," or even "God is blessing them on account of this." How do you know unless God actually and supernaturally told you?! And are you so sure that it was God and not your own thoughts or even an evil spirit? The Scripture says that we will be accountable for every idle word that we speak (Ecclesiastes 3:17; Matthew 12:36). Surely, this includes presumptuous claims about God.

This does not mean that we don't make judgments about human behavior, especially the actions by Christians, for we are commanded to examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) and judge those in the church:

It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. (1 Corinthians 5:12 NLT)

Behaviors we can see, motives we cannot. We can apply the Word to visible actions, but God will judge the invisible motives of our hearts.

And let us not fall into the trap of thinking that because we do not know motives we ought not to make any judgments whatsoever. Such people teach that we should only encourage and never rebuke, we should only say positive things and  never correct. This is clearly unbiblical. For the Word of God was given to us for all of these things:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17 TNIV)

“The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
   according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
²² For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
   I am not guilty of turning from my God.
²³ All his laws are before me;
   I have not turned away from his decrees.
²⁴ I have been blameless before him
   and have kept myself from sin.
²⁵ The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
   according to my cleanness^f]">[f] in his sight.
 ²⁶ “To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
   to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
²⁷ to the pure you show yourself pure,
   but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
 

David, inspired by Holy Spirit, could say boldly what is written above, but my prayer would be somewhat opposite to his confession.  I pray that God wouldn't deal with me according to my own righteousness because I am certain that there's no righteousness that I can boast of or show to God to bring blessings on me and my family.  At the same time, however, I am thankful to God for His Son, Jesus, who is my righteousness that is perfect and eternal.  I know that I am not clean before the Lord.  My thought always runs after the lust of this world, and I would be totally ruined without His gracious intervention in my life.  I praise my God for choosing to love me and not to see me as I am but through Christ, choose to see me righteous.  That is His love that stands alone and perfect justice at the same time!  Praise Him, Praise Him!

If I recall correctly from previous readings, taking census was forbidden after the initial census, hence God's anger with David and the punishment of the people.  But why does God consider the census a bad thing?  Is it to prevent the rulers at that time for taking credit for peoples growth (like Moses taking credit for giving the people water by hitting the rock)?  Like many things, I don't really see why this "small" detailis forbidden.

Pretty intense readings today!

   I especially liked David's song of praise. It serves as a good reminder to those who are going through tough times that the LORD listens to His children in their times of distress -- and HE will deliver them! David does such an incredible job of displaying his distress in words and i love his word picture of the LORD and His anger coming to rescue him. The picture David paints of GOD couldn't help but remind me of some recent pictures of the volcano in Iceland that produced "dirty thunderstorms." Amazing images that echoed in my head during the beginnings of today's reading.

-- John