2 Samuel 22
1 David addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
2 He said, “The LORD is my rock, my stronghold, and my deliverer.
3 The God of my rock, in whom I take shelter; my shield and the strength of my salvation; my high tower and my refuge, my savior: you save me from violence.
4 I call on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
5 For the waves of death closed around me; torrents of destruction terrified me.
6 The cords of Sheol wrapped around me; the snares of death confronted me.
7 In my distress I called on the LORD; I cried out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry for help reached his ears.
8 Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and shook, because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils, and fire devoured from his mouth; burning coals blazed from him.
10 He bent the heavens and came down; thick darkness lay beneath his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew; he appeared on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness all around him his shelter: a mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.
13 From the brightness before him, coals of fire blazed.”
14 “The LORD thundered from the heavens; the Most High made his voice resound.
15 He shot arrows and scattered them; lightning, and he threw them into panic.
16 Then the channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath from his nostrils.
17 From on high he reached down and took hold of me; he pulled me from the deep waters.
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from those who hated me, because they were stronger than I was.
19 They confronted me on the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.
20 He brought me out into an open place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; he repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.
22 For I kept the ways of the LORD and did not wickedly turn away from my God.
23 For all his ordinances are before me, and I do not turn aside from his statutes.
24 I was blameless before him and kept myself from my guilt.
25 The LORD repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.
26 “With the faithful, you show yourself faithful; with the blameless warrior, you show yourself blameless.”
27 “With the pure, you show yourself pure; with the crooked, you show yourself shrewd.
28 You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the proud: you bring them down.
29 For you are my lamp, LORD; the LORD lights up my darkness.
30 For with you I charge against a troop; with my God I leap over a wall.
31 God's way is blameless; the word of the LORD is refined. He is a shield to all who take shelter in him.
32 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is a rock besides our God?
33 God is my mighty stronghold; he clears my way and makes it blameless.
34 He makes my feet like those of deer and sets me firm on my heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle, and my arms bend a bow of bronze.
36 You gave me the shield of your salvation, and your condescension made me great.
37 You widened the steps beneath me, and my ankles did not give way.
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them; I did not turn back until I had finished them off.”
39 “I consumed them and crushed them, and they did not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
40 You armed me with strength for battle; you made those who rose against me bow beneath me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me; I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They looked, but there was no one to save them; they looked to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
43 I ground them to dust like the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.
44 You delivered me from the strife of my people; you kept me as head of the nations. A people I did not know serves me.
45 Foreigners submit to me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
46 Foreigners lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
47 The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock! Exalted be the God, the rock of my salvation.
48 He is the God who gives me vengeance and brings peoples down beneath me.
49 He delivers me from my enemies; you exalt me above those who rise against me; you rescue me from the violent man.
50 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, LORD, and sing praises to your name.
51 He is a tower of salvation for his king and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”
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