Just as 1–2 Samuel begins with Hannah’s song of thanksgiving for the birth of Samuel (1 Samuel 2), it ends with David’s song of praise for God’s deliverance from his enemies. The song appears in almost identical form in Psalm 18. In both passages the same historical heading referring to Saul and other enemies introduces the hymn. When David was fleeing from Saul he was forced to take refuge in a number of caves (22:2–4). These hideouts are sometimes called “strongholds”; the same word is applied to the Lord in verse 2 (“fortress”). David thus acknowledges that God is the true source of his security and the one whom he can call on for help. In words that anticipate the experience of Jonah, David describes his difficulty as if he had been drowning (22:5–7). The cords of death were wrapped a…