David Praises the LORD for Rescuing Him.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spoke the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

1“I love You [fervently and devotedly], O LORD, my strength.”

2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me;

My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge;

My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower--my stronghold.

3I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;

And I am saved from my enemies.

4The cords of death surrounded me,

And the streams of ungodliness and torrents of destruction terrified me.

5The cords of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

6In my distress [when I seemed surrounded] I called upon the LORD

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice from His temple,

And my cry for help came before Him, into His very ears.

7Then the earth shook and quaked,

The foundations of the mountains trembled;

They were shaken because He was indignant and angry.

8Smoke went up from His nostrils,

And fire from His mouth devoured;

Coals were kindled by it.

9He bowed the heavens also and came down;

And thick darkness was under His feet.

10And He rode upon a cherub (storm) and flew;

And He sped on the wings of the wind.

11He made darkness His hiding place (covering); His pavilion (canopy) around Him,

The darkness of the waters, the thick clouds of the skies.

12Out of the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

13The LORD also thundered in the heavens,

And the Most High uttered His voice,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

14He sent out His arrows and scattered them;

And He sent an abundance of lightning flashes and confused and routed them [in defeat].

15Then the stream beds of the waters appeared,

And the foundations of the world were laid bare

At Your rebuke, O LORD,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16He reached from on high, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

17He rescued me from my strong enemy,

And from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

18They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

But the LORD was my support.

19He brought me out into a broad place;

He rescued me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me.

20The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity);

According to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.

21For I have kept the ways of the LORD,

And have not wickedly departed from my God.

22For all His ordinances were before me,

And I did not put away His statutes from me.

23I was [a]blameless before Him,

And I kept myself free from my sin.

24Therefore the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity),

According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

25With the kind (merciful, faithful, loyal) You show Yourself kind,

With the blameless You show Yourself blameless,

26With the pure You show Yourself pure,

And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

27For You save an afflicted and humble people,

But bring down those [arrogant fools] with haughty eyes.

28For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine;

The LORD my God illumines my darkness.

29For by You I can crush a troop,

And by my God I can leap over a wall.

30As for God, His way is [b]blameless.

The word of the LORD is tested [it is perfect, it is faultless];

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

31For who is God, but the LORD?

Or who is a rock, except our God,

32The God who encircles me with strength

And makes my way blameless?

33He makes my feet like [c]hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble];

He sets me [securely] upon my high places.

34He trains my hands for war,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,

And Your right hand upholds and sustains me;

Your gentleness [Your gracious response when I pray] makes me great.

36You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure,

So that my feet will not slip.

37I pursued my enemies and overtook them;

And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

38I shattered them so that they were not able to rise;

They fell [wounded] under my feet.

39For You have encircled me with strength for the battle;

You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

40You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me [in defeat],

And I silenced and destroyed those who hated me.

41They cried for help, but there was no one to save them--

Even to the LORD [they cried], but He did not answer them.

42Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;

I emptied them out as the dirt of the streets.

43You have rescued me from the contentions of the people;

You have placed me as the head of the nations;

A people whom I have not known serve me.

44As soon as they hear me, they respond and obey me;

Foreigners feign obedience to me.

45Foreigners lose heart,

And come trembling out of their strongholds.

46The LORD lives, blessed be my rock;

And may the God of my salvation be exalted,

47The God who avenges me,

And subdues peoples (nations) under me.

48He rescues me from my enemies;

Yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me;

You deliver me from the man of violence.

49Therefore will I give thanks and praise You, O LORD, among the nations,

And sing praises to Your name.

50He gives great triumphs to His king,

And shows steadfast love and mercy to His anointed,

To David and his descendants forever.