22
David’s song to praise Yahweh
1 After Yahweh had rescued David from Saul and his other enemies, David sang a song to Yahweh. 2 This is what he sang:
Yahweh, you are like a huge overhanging rock under which I can hide [MET];
you are like my fortress, and you rescue me.
3 Yahweh, you protect me; you are like a shield;
you are the powerful one [MET] who saves me;
you are like a place where I ◄find refuge/am safe►.
You save me from those who act violently toward me.
4 I call out to you, Yahweh;
you deserve to be praised,
and you rescue me from my enemies.
5 “ almost died [PRS]; it was like [MET] a huge wave had crashed over me,
and almost destroyed me like a flood.
6 I thought that I would die; it was as though death wrapped ropes around me;
it was as though I was in a trap where I would surely die. [PRS, MET]
7 But when I was ◄very distressed/in great trouble►, I called out to you, Yahweh;
I cried out to you, my God.
And from your temple you heard me;
you listened when I called to you to help me.
8 “Then it was as though the earth quaked and shook;
it was as though the foundations that ◄held up/supported► the sky trembled,
because you were angry.
9 It was as though smoke poured out of your nostrils
and burning coals and fire that burns everything came out of your mouth.
10 You tore open the sky and came down;
there was a thick dark cloud under your feet.
11 You rode through the sky on a winged creature;
the wind enabled you to travel swiftly [MET], like a bird.
12 The darkness surrounded you, like a blanket;
thick clouds that were full of water also surrounded you.
13 Out of the lightning in front of you
fire from burning coals flamed.
14 Then, Yahweh, you spoke like thunder from the sky;
it was your voice, God, you who are greater than all other gods, that was heard.
15 When you sent flashes of lightning,
it was as though [MET] you shot your arrows and scattered your enemies.
16 Then the bottom of the ocean was uncovered;
the foundations of the world could be seen
when you rebuked your enemies
with a snort from your nostrils.
17 “Yahweh, you reached down from heaven and lifted me up;
you pulled me up from the deep water.
18 You rescued me from my strong enemies,
from those who hated me;
I could not defeat them because they were very strong.
19 They attacked me when I was experiencing troubles/difficulties,
but Yahweh, you protected me.
20 You brought me to a place where I was safe;
you rescued me because you were pleased with me.
21 “Yahweh, you rewarded me because I do what is right;
you did good things for me because I ◄was innocent/had not done things that are wrong►.
22 Yahweh, I have obeyed your laws;
I have not turned away from you, my God.
23 All of your regulations were in my mind,
and I did not turn away from obeying all your statutes.
24 You know that I have not done anything that is evil;
I have kept myself from doing things for which I should be punished.
25 So you have rewarded me in return for my doing what is right,
because you know that I ◄am innocent of doing/have not done► wrong things.
26 “Yahweh, you are faithful/loyal to those who always trust in you;
you always do what is good to those whose behavior is always good.
27 You act sincerely toward those whose inner beings are pure,
but you are hostile to those who are perverse/wicked.
28 You rescue those who are humble,
but you watch [MTY] those who are proud and humiliate them.
29 Yahweh, you are like [MET] a lamp
that causes it to become light when I am in the dark.
30 With your strength/help I can run through a line of enemy soldiers
and I can climb over the wall that surrounds their city.
31 “My God whom I worship, everything that you do is perfect;
you always do what you promise that you will do.
You are like a shield [MET] to all those who request you to protect them.
32 Yahweh, you are [RHQ] the only one who is God;
only you are like a huge rock [MET] under which we are protected/safe.
33 God, you whom I worship are a strong refuge for me;
you keep me safe on the roads that I walk on.
34 When I walk in the mountains,
you enable me to walk safely, without stumbling [MET]
like a deer runs.
35 You teach me how to fight in a battle
in order that I can shoot arrows well from a very strong bow.
36 It is as though [MET] you have given me a shield
by which you have saved/rescued me,
and you have answered my prayers and caused me to become famous/great.
37 You have not allowed my enemies to capture me [IDM],
and I have not fallen down during battles.
38 “ pursued my enemies and defeated them;
I did not stop fighting them until they were all killed.
39 I struck them down; I stabbed them with my sword;
they fell down at my feet and did not stand up again.
40 You have given me strength for fighting battles
and caused those who were attacking me to fall down, and I trampled on them.
41 You caused my enemies to turn and run away from me;
I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They ◄looked for/wanted► someone to rescue them, but no one did.
They cried out to you, Yahweh, for help, but you did not answer them.
43 I crushed them, and as a result they became like [SIM] tiny particles of dust.
I trampled them, and they became like [SIM] mud in the streets.
44 “You rescued me from those who tried to rebel against me,
and you appointed me to rule many nations;
people whom I did not know previously are now ◄under my authority/my slaves►.
45 Foreigners humbly bowed down in front of me;
as soon as they heard about me, they obeyed me.
46 They became afraid,
and they came to me, trembling, from the places where they were hiding.
47 “Yahweh, you are alive! I praise you! You are like [MET] a huge overhanging rock under which I am safe/protected!
You are the one who rescues me [MET].
Everyone should exalt/honor/praise you.
48 You enable me to conquer my enemies;
you cause people of other nations to be ◄under my authority/my slaves►.
49 You delivered me from my enemies;
you caused me to be honored more than they were;
you rescued me from men who always acted violently.
50 Because of all that, I exalt you among many people-groups
and I sing to praise you.
51 You enable me, whom you appointed to be king, to powerfully conquer my enemies;
you faithfully love me, David, and you will love my descendants forever.