22:1 | David prayed to GOD the words of this song after GOD saved him from all his enemies and from Saul. |
22:2 | GOD is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. |
22:3 | 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. |
22:4 | I sing to GOD the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and saved. |
22:5 | The waves of death crashed over me, devil waters rushed over me. |
22:6 | Hell's ropes cinched me tight; death traps barred every exit. |
22:7 | A 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! |
22:8 | Earth wobbled and lurched; the very heavens shook like leaves, Quaked like aspen leaves because of his rage. |
22:9 | His nostrils flared, billowing smoke; his mouth spit fire. Tongues of fire darted in and out; |
22:10 | he lowered the sky. He stepped down; under his feet an abyss opened up. |
22:11 | He rode a winged creature, swift on wind-wings. |
22:12 | He wrapped himself in a trenchcoat of black rain-cloud darkness. |
22:13 | But his cloud-brightness burst through, a grand comet of fireworks. |
22:14 | Then GOD thundered out of heaven; the High God gave a great shout. |
22:15 | God shot his arrows--pandemonium! He hurled his lightnings--a rout! |
22:16 | 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. |
22:17 | But me he caught--reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out |
22:18 | Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning. |
22:19 | They hit me when I was down, but GOD stuck by me. |
22:20 | He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved--surprised to be loved! |
22:21 | 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. |
22:22 | Indeed, I've kept alert to GOD's ways; I haven't taken God for granted. |
22:23 | Every day I review the ways he works, I try not to miss a trick. |
22:24 | I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step. |
22:25 | GOD rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes. |
22:26 | You stick by people who stick with you, you're straight with people who're straight with you, |
22:27 | You're good to good people, you shrewdly work around the bad ones. |
22:28 | You take the side of the down-and-out, but the stuck-up you take down a peg. |
22:29 | Suddenly, GOD, your light floods my path, GOD drives out the darkness. |
22:30 | I smash the bands of marauders, I vault the high fences. |
22:31 | What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth. Every GOD-direction is road-tested. Everyone who runs toward him Makes it. |
22:32 | Is there any god like GOD? Are we not at bedrock? |
22:33 | Is not this the God who armed me well, then aimed me in the right direction? |
22:34 | Now I run like a deer; I'm king of the mountain. |
22:35 | He shows me how to fight; I can bend a bronze bow! |
22:36 | You protect me with salvation-armor; you touch me and I feel ten feet tall. |
22:37 | You cleared the ground under me so my footing was firm. |
22:38 | When I chased my enemies I caught them; I didn't let go till they were dead men. |
22:39 | I nailed them; they were down for good; then I walked all over them. |
22:40 | You armed me well for this fight; you smashed the upstarts. |
22:41 | You made my enemies turn tail, and I wiped out the haters. |
22:42 | They cried "uncle" but Uncle didn't come; They yelled for GOD and got no for an answer. |
22:43 | I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind. I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter. |
22:44 | You rescued me from a squabbling people; you made me a leader of nations. People I'd never heard of served me; |
22:45 | the moment they got wind of me they submitted. |
22:46 | They gave up; they came trembling from their hideouts. |
22:47 | Live, GOD! Blessing to my Rock, my towering Salvation-God! |
22:48 | This God set things right for me and shut up the people who talked back. |
22:49 | He rescued me from enemy anger. You pulled me from the grip of upstarts, You saved me from the bullies. |
22:50 | That's why I'm thanking you, GOD, all over the world. That's why I'm singing songs that rhyme your name. |
22:51 | God's king takes the trophy; God's chosen is beloved. I mean David and all his children--always. |