2 Samuel 22

22 ¹David spoke to our Father the words of this song when our Father rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. ²He said: My Father is my rock, my fortress, my rescuer. ³My Father, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the power of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior—you save me from violence. ⁴I call upon my Father, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. ⁵For the waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of destruction terrified me. ⁶The cords of the grave entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. ⁷In my distress I called upon my Father; I cried out to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry reached his ears. ⁸Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and shook, because he was angry. ⁹Smoke rose from his nostrils, and consuming fire came from his mouth; burning coals blazed from him. ¹⁰He parted the heavens and came down, with dark clouds beneath his feet. ¹¹He mounted a cherub and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. ¹²He made darkness his canopy around him—the dark rain clouds of the skies. ¹³Out of the brightness before him blazed coals of fire. ¹⁴My Father thundered from heaven; the Most High raised his voice. ¹⁵He shot his arrows and scattered his foes, hurled lightning and routed them. ¹⁶The channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were laid bare at the rebuke of my Father, at the blast of breath from his nostrils. ¹⁷He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. ¹⁸He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me. ¹⁹They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but my Father was my support. ²⁰He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. ²¹My Father dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the purity of my hands he rewarded me. ²²For I have kept the ways of my Father; I have not wickedly turned from my God. ²³All his judgments are before me; I have not turned aside from his statutes. ²⁴I was blameless before him, and I kept myself free from my guilt. ²⁵So my Father rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my purity in his sight. ²⁶To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to the blameless you show yourself blameless. ²⁷To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. ²⁸You save the afflicted people, but your eyes are on the haughty, to bring them low. ²⁹For you are my lamp, my Father; he turns my darkness into light. ³⁰With you I can charge an army; with my Father I can leap over a wall. ³¹As for my Father, his way is perfect; the word of my Father is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him. ³²For who is God but our Father? And who is a rock except our Father? ³³My Father is my strong refuge; he makes my way blameless. ³⁴He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me secure on the heights. ³⁵He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. ³⁶You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness has made me great. ³⁷You widen the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not give way. ³⁸I pursued my enemies and destroyed them; I did not turn back until they were finished. ³⁹I consumed them and shattered them so they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. ⁴⁰You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow beneath me. ⁴¹You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and those who hated me I destroyed. ⁴²They looked, but there was no one to save them—even to my Father, but he gave no answer. ⁴³I ground them as fine as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets. ⁴⁴You delivered me from the strife of my people; you kept me as head of nations; a people I did not know now serves me. ⁴⁵Foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear, they obey me. ⁴⁶Foreigners lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. ⁴⁷My Father lives! Blessed be my Rock! Exalted be my Father, the Rock of my salvation! ⁴⁸It is my Father who gives me justice and brings peoples down beneath me. ⁴⁹He brings me out from my enemies. You lifted me high above my foes; you rescued me from the violent man. ⁵⁰Therefore I will praise you among the nations, my Father; I will sing praises to your name. ⁵¹He gives great victories to his king and shows covenant love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.