2 Samuel 22
David’s Psalm of Deliverance
1And David spoke the words of this song to the Lord in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2He said,
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
3My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge;
My savior, You save me from violence.
4I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
5For the waves of death encompassed me;
The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me;
6The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
7In my distress I called upon the Lord,
Yes, I cried to my God;
And from His temple He heard my voice,
And my cry for help came into His ears.
8Then the earth shook and quaked,
The foundations of heaven were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
9Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
Fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
10He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
11And He rode on a cherub and flew;
And He appeared on the wings of the wind.
12And He made darkness canopies around Him,
A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.
13From the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were kindled.
14The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
15And He sent out arrows, and scattered them,
Lightning, and routed them.
16Then the channels of the sea appeared,
The foundations of the world were laid bare
By the rebuke of the Lord,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
17He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
18He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
19They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
20He also brought me forth into a broad place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me.
21The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
22For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not acted wickedly against my God.
23For all His ordinances were before me,
And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.
24I was also blameless toward Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
25Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to my cleanness before His eyes.
26With the kind You show Yourself kind,
With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
27With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the perverted You show Yourself astute.
28And You save an afflicted people;
But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase.
29For You are my lamp, O Lord;
And the Lord illumines my darkness.
30For by You I can run upon a troop;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
31As for God, His way is blameless;
The word of the Lord is tested;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
32For who is God, besides the Lord?
And who is a rock, besides our God?
33God is my strong fortress;
And He sets the blameless in His way.
34He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And sets me on my high places.
35He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your help makes me great.
37You enlarge my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped.
38I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
39And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise;
And they fell under my feet.
40For You have girded me with strength for battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
41You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I destroyed those who hated me.
42They looked, but there was none to save;
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
43Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth;
I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets.
44You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people;
You have kept me as head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.
45Foreigners pretend obedience to me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
46Foreigners lose heart,
And come trembling out of their fortresses.
47The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,
48The God who executes vengeance for me,
And brings down peoples under me,
49Who also brings me out from my enemies;
You even lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the violent man.
50Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations,
And I will sing praises to Your name.
51He is a tower of deliverance to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forever.”