2
Samuel
22
- David sang to the LORD the words of this
song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from
the hand of Saul.
- He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress
and my deliverer;
- my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and
my savior -- from violent men you save me.
- I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.
- "The waves of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
- The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
- In my distress I called to the LORD; I called
out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
- "The earth trembled and quaked, the
foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry.
- Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming
fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
- He parted the heavens and came down; dark
clouds were under his feet.
- He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared
on the wings of the wind.
- He made darkness his canopy around him --
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
- Out of the brightness of his presence bolts
of lightning blazed forth.
- The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice
of the Most High resounded.
- He shot arrows and scattered the enemies,
bolts of lightning and routed them.
- The valleys of the sea were exposed and
the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast
of breath from his nostrils.
- "He reached down from on high and took
hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
- He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from
my foes, who were too strong for me.
- They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
- He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
- "The LORD has dealt with me according
to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded
me.
- For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I
have not done evil by turning from my God.
- All his laws are before me; I have not turned
away from his decrees.
- I have been blameless before him and have
kept myself from sin.
- The LORD has rewarded me according to my
righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.
- "To the faithful you show yourself
faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
- to the pure you show yourself pure, but
to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
- You save the humble, but your eyes are on
the haughty to bring them low.
- You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns
my darkness into light.
- With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.
- "As for God, his way is perfect; the
word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
- For who is God besides the LORD? And who
is the Rock except our God ?
- It is God who arms me with strength and
makes my way perfect.
- He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.
- He trains my hands for battle; my arms can
bend a bow of bronze.
- You give me your shield of victory; you
stoop down to make me great.
- You broaden the path beneath me, so that
my ankles do not turn.
- "I pursued my enemies and crushed them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
- I crushed them completely, and they could
not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
- You armed me with strength for battle; you
made my adversaries bow at my feet.
- You made my enemies turn their backs in
flight, and I destroyed my foes.
- They cried for help, but there was no one
to save them -- to the LORD, but he did not answer.
- I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
- "You have delivered me from the attacks
of my people; you have preserved me as the head of nations. People I did not
know are subject to me,
- and foreigners come cringing to me; as soon
as they hear me, they obey me.
- They all lose heart; they come trembling
from their strongholds.
- "The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior !
- He is the God who avenges me, who puts the
nations under me,
- who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted
me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.
- Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among
the nations; I will sing praises to your name.
- He gives his king great victories; he shows
unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever."
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