The Path I Have Tread: 2 Samuel 22:17–40 (NKJV)

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27th, 2020, 10:30 AM SERVICE

NOTES FROM A SERMON PRESENTED BY DR. GREG SLOOP AT THE KANNAPOLIS CHURCH OF GOD. FOR VIDEO OF SERVICES, GO TO THE CHURCH WEBSITE, HTTP://WWW.KCOG.ORG, AND CLICK ON THE LIVESTREAM LINK TO VIEW LIVE OR FOR A REPLAY OF THE SERVICES. YOU MAY ALSO WATCH LIVE OR A REPLAY ON the DR. Greg SLOOP FACEBOOK PAGE. FOR AUDIO OF THE SERVICES, GO To THE WEBSITE, kcog.org, AND CLICK ON THE MEDIA PAGE.

May 21, 2023

2 Samuel 22:17–40 (NKJV)

“A song of victory in 2 Samuel 22.” This lengthy passage of Scripture is excerpted from a song David wrote and sang on the day when the Lord delivered him from his enemies.

17 “He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me; For they were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.

• The path I tread,
  • will have problems, some large and some small.
    • Many waters (Oppression, Loss, Wrong Actions against you)
    • Strong enemy (Death, COVID-19, Lost Job)
    • Confrontation
    • But the Lord was my support!

20 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.
21 “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

• The path I tread,
  • things will sometimes be easier:
    • “It was like being brought into a broad place where one can breathe freely, without being hemmed in by enemies and choked by affliction.”*
    • The broad place is relief, it is peace, it is a place where the load is lifted.
      • _{*David A. Hubbard et al., “Editorial Preface,” in 2 Samuel, vol. 11, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1989), 264.}

22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all His judgments were before me; And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.
24 I was also blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. 25 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His eyes.

• On the path I tread,
  • I must live holy:
    • Stay True to Righteousness
    • Know His Judgments and Statutes (Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.)
    • Live Blamelessly
    • Receive His Recompense

26 “With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
28 You will save the humble people; But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down.

• On the path I tread,
  • The Recompense of God is commensurate with How I Live
    • Mercy
    • Blamelessness
    • Purity
    • Shrewdness
    • Salvation
    • Destruction

29 “For You are my lamp, O Lord; The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.30 For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall.
31 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

• On the path I tread,
  • God is my Lamp in Darkness
  • God is my Strength in Battle
  • God is my Way in Life, Proven and Protective

32 “For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?
33 God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.
34 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places.

• On the path I tread,
  • The Lord is God
  • God is my Strength and Power
  • God Makes My Way Perfect
  • God Steadies my Feet and Lifts me Up

35 He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great.
37 You enlarged my path under me; So my feet did not slip.

• On the Path I Tread,
  • God Teaches Me How to Battle
  • God Makes My Arm Strong
    • Hebrews 12:12–13 (NKJV) 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
  • God’s Salvation is My Shield
  • God’s Gentleness Makes Me Great
  • God has enlarged my path under me.
    • The path is wide, for easy passage
    • My steps are unencumbered, so that I may run fast and sure
      • Psalm 16:11 (NKJV) 11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

38 “I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them, so that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet.
40 For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose against me.

• On the Path I Tread,
  • God delivers my enemies into my hand
  • God enables me to destroy my enemies
  • God subdues those who rose against me under my feet
    • Psalm 142:1–3 (NKJV) 1 I cry out to the Lord with my voice; With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication. 2 I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. 3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk they have secretly set a snare for me.

The Only True Path

John 14:6 (NKJV)  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.