David’s Song of Thanksgiving
1David spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul. 2He said:
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
3my God, my rock where I seek refuge.
My shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge,
and my Savior, you save me from violence.
4I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I was saved from my enemies.
5For the waves of death engulfed me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.
6The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7I called to the Lord in my distress;
I called to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry for help reached his ears.
8Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the heavens trembled;
they shook because he burned with anger.
9Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and consuming fire came from his mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.
10He bent the heavens and came down,
total darkness beneath his feet.
11He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.
12He made darkness a canopy around him,
a gathering of water and thick clouds.
13From the radiance of his presence,
blazing coals were ignited.
14The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High made his voice heard.
15He shot arrows and scattered them;
he hurled lightning bolts and routed them.
16The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17He reached down from on high
and took hold of me;
he pulled me out of deep water.
18He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and 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 brought me out to a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
21The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;
he repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.
22For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
23Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me
and have not disregarded his statutes.
24I was blameless before him
and kept myself from my iniquity.
25So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.
26With the faithful
you prove yourself faithful,
with the blameless
you prove yourself blameless,
27with the pure
you prove yourself pure,
but with the crooked
you prove yourself shrewd.
28You rescue an oppressed people,
but your eyes are set against the proud —
you humble them.
29Lord, you are my lamp;
the Lord illuminates my darkness.
30With you I can attack a barricade,
and with my God I can leap over a wall.
31God — his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is pure.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.
32For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is a rock? Only our God.
33God is my strong refuge;
he makes my way perfect.
34He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
and sets me securely on the heights.
35He trains my hands for war;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36You have given me the shield of your salvation;
your help exalts me.
37You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps,
and my ankles do not give way.
38I pursue my enemies and destroy them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.
39I wipe them out and crush them,
and they do not rise;
they fall beneath my feet.
40You have clothed me with strength for battle;
you subdue my adversaries beneath me.
41You have made my enemies retreat before me;
I annihilate those who hate me.
42They look, but there is no one to save them —
they look to the Lord, but he does not answer them.
43I pulverize them like dust of the earth;
I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.
44You have freed me from the feuds among my people;
you have preserved me as head of nations;
a people I had not known serve me.
45Foreigners submit to me cringing;
as soon as they hear, they obey me.
46Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.
47The Lord lives — blessed be my rock!
God, the rock of my salvation, is exalted.
48God — he grants me vengeance
and casts down peoples under me.
49He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
you rescue me from violent men.
50Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord;
I will sing praises about your name.
51He is a tower of salvation for his king;
he shows loyalty to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.