What Does II Samuel 22:28 Mean?

David applies the principle to social categories: "And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down." The afflicted and the haughty represent the two fundamental postures before God: humility and pride. The afflicted are saved because their affliction has produced the dependence that opens them to divine rescue, while the haughty are brought down because their pride has positioned them as rivals to divine authority.

The divine bias toward the afflicted and against the haughty is one of the most consistent themes in Scripture. "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" is the summary of a principle that runs from Genesis to Revelation, and David's psalm positions the king among the afflicted rather than the haughty. The king who was hunted through the wilderness was afflicted, and the King who rescued him did so because the affliction had produced the humility that attracts divine grace.

The Lord Jesus is the advocate of the afflicted: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The invitation of Christ is directed specifically to the afflicted, the humble, the burdened, and the broken, and the rest that He offers is the rest of a salvation that requires nothing but the willingness to receive. The haughty whom God brings down are the self-sufficient who refuse the invitation, and their fall is the consequence of their refusal to acknowledge the need that the afflicted have already embraced.