David’s song of praise

22 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. ² He said:

‘The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
³     my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my saviour –
    from violent people you save me.

⁴ ‘I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
    and have been saved from my enemies.
⁵ The waves of death swirled about me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
⁶ The cords of the grave coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

⁷ ‘In my distress I called to the Lord;
    I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came to his ears.
⁸ The earth trembled and quaked,
    the foundations of the heavens shook;
    they trembled because he was angry.
⁹ Smoke rose from his nostrils;
    consuming fire came from his mouth,
    burning coals blazed out of it.
¹⁰ He parted the heavens and came down;
    dark clouds were under his feet.
¹¹ He mounted the cherubim and flew;
    he soared on the wings of the wind.
¹² He made darkness his canopy around him –
    the dark rain clouds of the sky.
¹³ Out of the brightness of his presence
    bolts of lightning blazed forth.
¹⁴ The Lord thundered from heaven;
    the voice of the Most High resounded.
¹⁵ He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
    with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
¹⁶ The valleys of the sea were exposed
    and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke of the Lord,
    at the blast of breath from his nostrils.