2 Samuel

2 Samuel 22

David’s Song of Rescue

1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord rescued him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul.

2 And he said:

“Lord, my rock and my fortress and the one who rescues me,

3 my God — he will be my guardian;

I will trust in him;

my shield, and the horn of my rescue,

my helper, and my refuge where my rescue is;

from the unjust man you will save me.

4 I will call on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and I will be saved from my enemies.

5 For the shattering of death closed in around me;

the torrents of lawlessness left me stunned.

6 The pangs of death circled me;

the hard grip of death came at me first.

7 When I am pressed hard I will call on the Lord,

and I will cry out to my God;

and he will hear my voice out of his temple,

and my cry will be in his ears.

He Comes Down in the Storm

8 And the earth was shaken and it quaked,

and the foundations of heaven were thrown into confusion and torn apart,

because the Lord was angry with them.

9 Smoke went up in his anger,

and fire out of his mouth devours;

coals were set ablaze by him.

10 And he bent the heavens and came down,

and thick darkness was under his feet.

11 And he mounted on cherubim and flew,

and he was seen on the wings of the wind.

12 And he made darkness his hiding place around him;

his tent was the darkness of waters;

he thickened it with the clouds of the air.

13 From the brightness in front of him

coals of fire were set ablaze.

14 The Lord thundered out of heaven,

and the Most High gave his voice.

15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them —

lightning — and he threw them into panic.

16 And the channels of the sea were seen,

and the foundations of the inhabited world were uncovered,

at the rebuke of the Lord,

at the blast of the breath of his anger.

17 He sent from on high and took me;

he drew me out of many waters.

18 He rescued me from the strength of my enemies,

from those who hated me,

for they had grown stronger than I.

19 They came at me first in the day of my affliction,

but the Lord became my support,

20 and he brought me out into an open place

and rescued me, because he delighted in me.

21 And the Lord repaid me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he repaid me,

22 because I kept the ways of the Lord

and did not turn from my God in ungodliness.

23 For all his judgments were in front of me,

and his rules — I did not depart from them.

24 And I will be blameless before him,

and I will keep myself from my own lawlessness.

25 And the Lord will repay me according to my righteousness

and according to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes.

26 With the holy you will be holy,

and with the perfect man you will be perfect,

27 and with the chosen you will be chosen,

and with the twisted you will be twisted.

28 And you will save the poor people,

and you will bring low the eyes that are set on high things.

29 For you are my lamp, Lord,

and the Lord will light up my darkness.

30 For by you I will run light-armed,

and by my God I will leap over a wall.

The Mighty One Arms His King

31 The Mighty One — his way is blameless;

the word of the Lord is strong, tried in the fire;

he is a shield to all who trust in him.

32 Who is mighty except the Lord?

And who will be a creator except our God?

33 The Mighty One is the one who makes me strong with power,

and he swept my way clear and blameless,

34 setting my feet like a deer’s

and standing me on the heights,

35 teaching my hands for war;

and he broke a bronze bow with my arm.

36 And you gave me the shield of my rescue,

and your listening made me great,

37 making room under me for my steps,

and my legs did not give way.

38 I will chase my enemies and wipe them out,

and I will not turn back until I have finished them.

39 And I will crush them, and they will not rise;

and they will fall under my feet.

40 And you will make me strong with power for the war;

you will bend those who rise up against me under me.

41 And you gave me the backs of my enemies,

of those who hated me, and you put them to death.

42 They will cry out, and there is no helper —

to the Lord, and he did not answer them.

43 And I ground them like the dust of the earth;

like the mud of the streets I beat them small.

44 And you will rescue me from the fighting of peoples;

you will keep me as the head of nations.

A people I did not know served me;

45 sons of strangers lied to me;

at the hearing of the ear they obeyed me.

46 Sons of strangers will be thrown away

and will stumble out of their shut-up places.

47 The Lord lives, and blessed be my guardian;

and my God will be lifted high, the guardian of my rescue.

48 Mighty is the Lord, who gives me vengeance,

disciplining peoples under me,

49 and bringing me out from my enemies.

And you will lift me high above those who rise up against me;

you will rescue me from the man of wrongs.

50 Therefore I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the nations,

and I will sing to your name,

51 to the one who makes great the rescue of his king

and shows mercy to his anointed one,

to David and to his seed forever.”