David’s Song of Deliverance
And David spoke ato the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 aHe said,
b“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3 amy God, my rock, bin whom I take refuge,
cmy shield, and dthe horn of my salvation,
emy stronghold and fmy refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is aworthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
5 a“For the waves of death encompassed me,
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 athe cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 a“In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry bcame to his ears.
8 “Then athe earth reeled and rocked;
bthe foundations of the heavens trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
aglowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 aHe bowed the heavens and bcame down;
cthick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he was seen on athe wings of the wind.
12 He made adarkness around him bhis canopy,
thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him
acoals of fire flamed forth.
14 aThe Lord thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out aarrows and scattered them;
lightning, and routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen;
the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the ablast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 a“He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
20 aHe brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because bhe delighted in me.
21 “The Lord adealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the bcleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
22 aFor I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 aFor all his rules were before me,
and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
24 I was ablameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
25 aAnd the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.
26 a“With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the bblameless man you show yourself blameless;
27 with the purified you deal purely,
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
28 aYou save a humble people,
bbut your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
29 aFor you are my lamp, O Lord,
and my God lightens my darkness.
30 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
31 This God—ahis way is perfect;
the bword of the Lord proves true;
he is ca shield for all those who take refuge in him.
32 “For who is God, but the Lord?
aAnd who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my astrong refuge
and has made my way blameless.
34 aHe made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure bon the heights.
35 aHe trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your gentleness made me great.
37 aYou gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip;
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
they fell aunder my feet.
40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made athose who rise against me sink under me.
41 You amade my enemies turn their backs to me,
those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but ahe did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine aas the dust of the earth;
I crushed them and stamped them down blike the mire of the streets.
44 “You delivered me from strife with my people;
you kept me as the head of athe nations;
bpeople whom I had not known served me.
45 Foreigners came cringing to me;
as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
46 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling aout of their fortresses.
47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be amy God, bthe rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance
and abrought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies;
you exalted me above athose who rose against me;
you delivered me from bmen of violence.
50 a“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
51 aGreat salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to bhis anointed,
to David and his offspring cforever.”