22:1  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.

22:2  He said:
"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

22:3  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.

22:4  I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.

22:5  "The waves of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

22:6  The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.

22:7  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.

22:8  "The earth trembled and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens shook;
they trembled because he was angry.

22:9  Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.

22:10  He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.

22:11  He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.

22:12  He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.

22:13  Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth.

22:14  The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.

22:15  He shot arrows and scattered the enemies ,
bolts of lightning and routed them.

22:16  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.

22:17  "He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

22:18  He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

22:19  They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.

22:20  He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

22:21  "The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

22:22  For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I have not done evil by turning from my God.

22:23  All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.

22:24  I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.

22:25  The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.

22:26  "To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

22:27  to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

22:28  You save the humble,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.

22:29  You are my lamp, O LORD;
the LORD turns my darkness into light.

22:30  With your help I can advance against a troop ;
with my God I can scale a wall.

22:31  "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.

22:32  For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?

22:33  It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.

22:34  He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.

22:35  He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

22:36  You give me your shield of victory;
you stoop down to make me great.

22:37  You broaden the path beneath me,
so that my ankles do not turn.

22:38  "I pursued my enemies and crushed them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

22:39  I crushed them completely, and they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.

22:40  You armed me with strength for battle;
you made my adversaries bow at my feet.

22:41  You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.

22:42  They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the LORD, but he did not answer.

22:43  I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.

22:44  "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,

22:45  and foreigners come cringing to me;
as soon as they hear me, they obey me.

22:46  They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.

22:47  "The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!

22:48  He is the God who avenges me,
who puts the nations under me,

22:49  who sets me free from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from violent men you rescued me.

22:50  Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations;
I will sing praises to your name.

22:51  He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever."