2 Samuel 22

David’s Song of Deliverance

(Psalms 18:1–50)

¹And David sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.1 ²He said:

“The LORD is my rock,

my fortress, and my deliverer.1

³My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation.

My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior,

You save me from violence.1

⁴I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;

so shall I be saved from my enemies.1

⁵For the waves of death engulfed me;

the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.1

⁶The cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.1

⁷In my distress I called upon the LORD;

I cried out to my God.

And from His temple He heard my voice,

and my cry for help reached His ears.1

⁸Then the earth shook and quaked;

the foundations of the heavens trembled;

they were shaken because He burned with anger.1

⁹Smoke rose from His nostrils,

and consuming fire came from His mouth;

glowing coals blazed forth.1

¹⁰He parted the heavens and came down

with dark clouds beneath His feet.1

¹¹He mounted a cherub and flew;

He soared on the wings of the wind.1

¹²He made darkness a canopy around Him,

a gathering of water and thick clouds.1

¹³From the brightness of His presence

coals of fire blazed forth.1

¹⁴The LORD thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded.1

¹⁵He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;

He hurled lightning and routed them.1

¹⁶The channels of the sea appeared,

and the foundations of the world were exposed

at the rebuke of the LORD,

at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.1

¹⁷He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

He drew me out of deep waters.1

¹⁸He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

from foes too mighty for me.1

¹⁹They confronted me in my day of calamity,

but the LORD was my support.1

²⁰He brought me out into the open;

He rescued me because He delighted in me.1

²¹The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.1

²²For I have kept the ways of the LORD

and have not wickedly departed from my God.1

²³For all His ordinances are before me;

I have not disregarded His statutes.1

²⁴And I have been blameless before Him

and kept myself from iniquity.1

²⁵So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,

according to my cleanness in His sight.1

²⁶To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,

to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;1

²⁷to the pure You show Yourself pure,

but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.1

²⁸You save an afflicted people,

but Your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.1

²⁹For You, O LORD, are my lamp;

the LORD lights up my darkness.1

³⁰For in You I can charge an army;

with my God I can scale a wall.1

³¹As for God, His way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shield to all

who take refuge in Him.1

³²For who is God besides the LORD?

And who is the Rock except our God?1

³³God is my strong fortress,

and He makes my way clear.1

³⁴He makes my feet like those of a deer

and stations me upon the heights.1

³⁵He trains my hands for battle;

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.1

³⁶You have given me Your shield of salvation,

and Your gentleness exalts me.1

³⁷You broaden the path beneath me

so that my ankles do not give way.1

³⁸I pursued my enemies and destroyed them;

I did not turn back until they were consumed.1

³⁹I devoured and crushed them so they could not rise;

they have fallen under my feet.1

⁴⁰You have armed me with strength for battle;

You have subdued my foes beneath me.1

⁴¹You have made my enemies retreat before me;

I destroyed those who hated me.1

⁴²They looked, but there was no one to save them—

to the LORD, but He did not answer.1

⁴³I ground them as the dust of the earth;

I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.1

⁴⁴You have delivered me from the strife of my people;

You have preserved me as the head of nations;

a people I had not known shall serve me.1

⁴⁵Foreigners cower before me;

when they hear me, they obey me.1

⁴⁶Foreigners lose heart

and come trembling from their strongholds.1

⁴⁷The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!

And may God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted—1

⁴⁸the God who avenges me

and brings down nations beneath me,1

⁴⁹who frees me from my enemies.

You exalt me above my foes;

You rescue me from violent men.1

⁵⁰Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;

I will sing praises to Your name.1

⁵¹Great salvation He brings to His king.

He shows loving devotion to His anointed,

to David and his descendants forever.”1