2 Samuel 22
22
1David prayed to God the words of this song after God saved him from all his enemies and from Saul.
2-3 God is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God—the high crag
where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders,
safe in the granite hideout;
My mountaintop refuge,
he saves me from ruthless men.
4I sing to God the Praise-Lofty,
and find myself safe and saved.
5-6The waves of death crashed over me,
devil waters rushed over me.
Hell’s ropes cinched me tight;
death traps barred every exit.
7A hostile world! I called to God,
to my God I cried out.
From his palace he heard me call;
my cry brought me right into his presence—
a private audience!
8-16Earth wobbled and lurched;
the very heavens shook like leaves,
Quaked like aspen leaves
because of his rage.
His nostrils flared, billowing smoke;
his mouth spit fire.
Tongues of fire darted in and out;
he lowered the sky.
He stepped down;
under his feet an abyss opened up.
He rode a winged creature,
swift on wind-wings.
He wrapped himself
in a trenchcoat of black rain-cloud darkness.
But his cloud-brightness burst through,
a grand comet of fireworks.
Then God thundered out of heaven;
the High God gave a great shout.
God shot his arrows—pandemonium!
He hurled his lightnings—a rout!
The secret sources of ocean were exposed,
the hidden depths of earth lay uncovered
The moment God roared in protest,
let loose his hurricane anger.
17-20But me he caught—reached all the way
from sky to sea; he pulled me out
Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,
the void in which I was drowning.
They hit me when I was down,
but God stuck by me.
He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!
21-25 God made my life complete
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I cleaned up my act,
he gave me a fresh start.
Indeed, I’ve kept alert to God’s ways;
I haven’t taken God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works,
I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
and I’m watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
26-28You stick by people who stick with you,
you’re straight with people who’re straight with you,
You’re good to good people,
you shrewdly work around the bad ones.
You take the side of the down-and-out,
but the stuck-up you take down a peg.
29-31Suddenly, God, your light floods my path,
God drives out the darkness.
I smash the bands of marauders,
I vault the high fences.
What a God! His road
stretches straight and smooth.
Every God-direction is road-tested.
Everyone who runs toward him
Makes it.
32-46Is there any god like God?
Are we not at bedrock?
Is not this the God who armed me well,
then aimed me in the right direction?
Now I run like a deer;
I’m king of the mountain.
He shows me how to fight;
I can bend a bronze bow!
You protect me with salvation-armor;
you touch me and I feel ten feet tall.
You cleared the ground under me
so my footing was firm.
When I chased my enemies I caught them;
I didn’t let go till they were dead men.
I nailed them; they were down for good;
then I walked all over them.
You armed me well for this fight;
you smashed the upstarts.
You made my enemies turn tail,
and I wiped out the haters.
They cried “uncle”
but Uncle didn’t come;
They yelled for God
and got no for an answer.
I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind.
I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter.
You rescued me from a squabbling people;
you made me a leader of nations.
People I’d never heard of served me;
the moment they got wind of me they submitted.
They gave up; they came trembling from their hideouts.
47-51Live, God! Blessing to my Rock,
my towering Salvation-God!
This God set things right for me
and shut up the people who talked back.
He rescued me from enemy anger.
You pulled me from the grip of upstarts,
You saved me from the bullies.
That’s why I’m thanking you, God,
all over the world.
That’s why I’m singing songs
that rhyme your name.
God’s king takes the trophy;
God’s chosen is beloved.
I mean David and all his children—
always.
Currently Selected:
2 Samuel 22: MSG
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
2 Samuel 22
22
David’s Song of Praise
1David sang this song to the Lord when the Lord saved him from Saul and all his other enemies. 2He said:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my Savior.
3My God is my rock.
I can run to him for safety.
He is my shield and my saving strength,
my defender and my place of safety.
The Lord saves me from those who want to harm me.
4I will call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I will be saved from my enemies.
5“The waves of death came around me;
the deadly rivers overwhelmed me.
6The ropes of death wrapped around me.
The traps of death were before me.
7In my trouble I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my call for help reached his ears.
8“The earth trembled and shook.
The foundations of heaven began to shake.
They trembled because the Lord was angry.
9Smoke came out of his nose,
and burning fire came out of his mouth.
Burning coals went before him.
10He tore open the sky and came down
with dark clouds under his feet.
11He rode a creature with wings and flew.
He raced on the wings of the wind.
12He made darkness his shelter,
surrounded by fog and clouds.
13Out of the brightness of his presence
came flashes of lightning.
14The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High raised his voice.
15He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies.
His bolts of lightning confused them with fear.
16The Lord spoke strongly.
The wind blew from his nose.
Then the valleys of the sea appeared,
and the foundations of the earth were seen.
17“The Lord reached down from above and took me;
he pulled me from the deep water.
18He saved me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me, because they were too strong for me.
19They attacked me at my time of trouble,
but the Lord supported me.
20He took me to a safe place.
Because he delights in me, he saved me.
21“The Lord spared me because I did what was right.
Because I have not done evil, he has rewarded me.
22I have followed the ways of the Lord;
I have not done evil by turning from my God.
23I remember all his laws
and have not broken his rules.
24I am innocent before him;
I have kept myself from doing evil.
25The Lord rewarded me because I did what was right,
because I did what the Lord said was right.
26“Lord, you are loyal to those who are loyal,
and you are good to those who are good.
27You are pure to those who are pure,
but you are against those who are evil.
28You save the humble,
but you bring down those who are proud.
29Lord, you give light to my lamp.
The Lord brightens the darkness around me.
30With your help I can attack an army.
With God’s help I can jump over a wall.
31“The ways of God are without fault;
the Lord’s words are pure.
He is a shield to those who trust him.
32Who is God? Only the Lord.
Who is the Rock? Only our God.
33God is my protection.
He makes my way free from fault.
34He makes me like a deer that does not stumble;
he helps me stand on the steep mountains.
35He trains my hands for battle
so my arms can bend a bronze bow.
36You protect me with your saving shield.
You have stooped to make me great.
37You give me a better way to live,
so I live as you want me to.
38I chased my enemies and destroyed them.
I did not quit till they were destroyed.
39I destroyed and crushed them
so they couldn’t rise up again.
They fell beneath my feet.
40You gave me strength in battle.
You made my enemies bow before me.
41You made my enemies turn back,
and I destroyed those who hated me.
42They called for help,
but no one came to save them.
They called to the Lord,
but he did not answer them.
43I beat my enemies into pieces,
like dust on the ground.
I poured them out and walked on them
like mud in the streets.
44“You saved me when my people attacked me.
You kept me as the leader of nations.
People I never knew serve me.
45Foreigners obey me.
As soon as they hear me, they obey me.
46They all become afraid
and tremble in their hiding places.
47“The Lord lives!
May my Rock be praised!
Praise God, the Rock, who saves me!
48God gives me victory over my enemies
and brings people under my rule.
49He frees me from my enemies.
“You set me over those who hate me.
You saved me from violent people.
50So I will praise you, Lord, among the nations.
I will sing praises to your name.
51The Lord gives great victories to his king.
He is loyal to his appointed king,
to David and his descendants forever.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.