David's Song of Victory
(2 Samuel 22.1-51)1 How I love you, Lord!
You are my defender.
2 The Lord is my protector;
he is my strong fortress.
My God is my protection,
and with him I am safe.
He protects me like a shield;
he defends me and keeps me safe.
3 I call to the Lord,
and he saves me from my enemies.
Praise the Lord!
4 The danger of death was all around me;
the waves of destruction rolled over me.
5 The danger of death was around me,
and the grave set its trap for me.
6 In my trouble I called to the Lord;
I called to my God for help.
In his temple he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.
7 Then the earth trembled and shook;
the foundations of the mountains rocked and quivered,
because God was angry.
8 Smoke poured out of his nostrils,
a consuming flame and burning coals from his mouth.
9 He tore the sky open and came down
with a dark cloud under his feet.
10 He flew swiftly on his winged creature;
he traveled on the wings of the wind.
11 He covered himself with darkness;
thick clouds, full of water, surrounded him.
12 Hailstones and flashes of fire
came from the lightning before him
and broke through the dark clouds.
13 Then the Lord thundered from the sky;
and the voice of the Most High was heard.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;
with flashes of lightning he sent them running.
15 The floor of the ocean was laid bare,
and the foundations of the earth were uncovered,
when you rebuked your enemies, Lord,
and roared at them in anger.
16 The Lord reached down from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me out of the deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemies
and from all those who hate me—
they were too strong for me.
18 When I was in trouble, they attacked me,
but the Lord protected me.
19 He helped me out of danger;
he saved me because he was pleased with me.
20 The Lord rewards me because I do what is right;
he blesses me because I am innocent.
21 I have obeyed the law of the Lord;
I have not turned away from my God.
22 I have observed all his laws;
I have not disobeyed his commands.
23 He knows that I am faultless,
that I have kept myself from doing wrong.
24 And so he rewards me because I do what is right,
because he knows that I am innocent.
25 O Lord, you are faithful to those who are faithful to you;
completely good to those who are perfect.
26 You are pure to those who are pure,
but hostile to those who are wicked.
27 You save those who are humble,
but you humble those who are proud.
28 O Lord, you give me light;
you dispel my darkness.
29 You give me strength to attack my enemies
and power to overcome their defenses.
30 This God—how perfect are his deeds!
How dependable his words!
He is like a shield
for all who seek his protection.
31 The Lord alone is God;
God alone is our defense.
32 He is the God who makes me strong,
who makes my pathway safe.
33 He makes me sure-footed as a deer;
he keeps me safe on the mountains.
34 He trains me for battle,
so that I can use the strongest bow.
35 O Lord, you protect me and save me;
your care has made me great,
and your power has kept me safe.
36 You have kept me from being captured,
and I have never fallen.
37 I pursue my enemies and catch them;
I do not stop until I destroy them.
38 I strike them down, and they cannot rise;
they lie defeated before me.
39 You give me strength for the battle
and victory over my enemies.
40 You make my enemies run from me;
I destroy those who hate me.
41 They cry for help, but no one saves them;
they call to the Lord, but he does not answer.
42 I crush them, so that they become like dust
which the wind blows away.
I trample on them like mud in the streets.
43 You saved me from a rebellious people
and made me ruler over the nations;
people I did not know have now become my subjects.
44 Foreigners bow before me;
when they hear me, they obey.
45 They lose their courage
and come trembling from their fortresses.
46 The Lord lives! Praise my defender!
Proclaim the greatness of the God who saves me.
47 He gives me victory over my enemies;
he subdues the nations under me
48 and saves me from my foes.
O Lord, you give me victory over my enemies
and protect me from violent people.
49 And so I praise you among the nations;
I sing praises to you.
50 God gives great victories to his king;
he shows constant love to the one he has chosen,
to David and his descendants forever.
(For the music leader. A psalm by David, the Lord's servant. David sang this to the Lord after the Lord had rescued him from his enemies, but especially from Saul.)
David's Song of Thanks
1 I love you, Lord God,
and you make me strong.
2 You are my mighty rock,
my fortress, my protector,
the rock where I am safe,
my shield, my powerful weapon,
and my place of shelter.
3 I praise you, Lord!
I prayed, and you rescued me
from my enemies.
4 Death had wrapped
its ropes around me,
and I was almost swallowed
by its flooding waters.
5 Ropes from the world
of the dead
had coiled around me,
and death had set a trap
in my path.
6 I was in terrible trouble
when I called out to you,
but from your temple
you heard me
and answered my prayer.
7 The earth shook and shivered,
and the mountains trembled
down to their roots.
You were angry
8 and breathed out smoke.
Scorching heat and fiery flames
spewed from your mouth.
9 You opened the heavens
like curtains,
and you came down
with storm clouds
under your feet.
10 You rode on the backs
of flying creatures
and swooped down
with the wind as wings.
11 Darkness was your robe;
thunderclouds filled the sky,
hiding you from sight.
12 Hailstones and fiery coals
lit up the sky
in front of you.
13 Lord Most High, your voice
thundered from the heavens,
as hailstones and fiery coals
poured down like rain.
14 You scattered your enemies
with arrows of lightning.
15 You roared at the sea,
and its deepest channels
could be seen.
You snorted,
and the earth shook
to its foundations.
16 You reached down from heaven,
and you lifted me
from deep in the ocean.
17 You rescued me from enemies,
who were hateful
and too powerful for me.
18 On the day disaster struck,
they came and attacked,
but you defended me.
19 When I was fenced in,
you freed and rescued me
because you love me.
20 You are good to me, Lord,
because I do right,
and you reward me
because I am innocent.
21 I do what you want
and never turn to do evil.
22 I keep your laws in mind
and never look away
from your teachings.
23 I obey you completely
and guard against sin.
24 You have been good to me
because I do right;
you have rewarded me
for being innocent
by your standards.
25 You are always loyal
to your loyal people,
and you are faithful
to the faithful.
26 With all who are sincere,
you are sincere,
but you treat the unfaithful
as their deeds deserve.
27 You rescue the humble,
but you put down all
who are proud.
28 You, the Lord God,
keep my lamp burning
and turn darkness to light.
29 You help me defeat armies
and capture cities.
30 Your way is perfect, Lord,
and your word is correct.
You are a shield for those
who run to you for help.
31 You alone are God!
Only you are a mighty rock.
32 You give me strength
and guide me right.
33 You make my feet run as fast
as those of a deer,
and you help me stand
on the mountains.
34 You teach my hands to fight
and my arms to use
a bow of bronze.
35 You alone are my shield.
Your right hand supports me,
and by coming to help me,
you have made me famous.
36 You clear the way for me,
and now I won't stumble.
37 I kept chasing my enemies,
until I caught them
and destroyed them.
38 I stuck my sword
through my enemies,
and they were crushed
under my feet.
39 You helped me win victories,
and you forced my attackers
to fall victim to me.
40 You made my enemies run,
and I killed them.
41 They cried out for help,
but no one saved them;
they called out to you,
but there was no answer.
42 I ground them to dust
blown by the wind,
and I poured them out
like mud in the streets.
43 You rescued me
from stubborn people,
and you made me the leader
of foreign nations,
who are now my slaves.
44 They obey and come crawling.
45 They have lost all courage,
and from their fortresses,
they come trembling.
46 You are the living Lord!
I will praise you.
You are a mighty rock.
I will honor you
for keeping me safe.
47 You took revenge for me,
and you put nations
in my power.
48 You protected me
from violent enemies
and made me much greater
than all of them.
49 I will praise you, Lord,
and I will honor you
among the nations.
50 You give glorious victories
to your chosen king.
Your faithful love for David
and for his descendants
will never end.
