1And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

2He said,
         “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

3My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
         My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge;
         My savior, You save me from violence.

4“I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
         And I am saved from my enemies.

5“For the waves of death encompassed me;
         The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me;

6The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
         The snares of death confronted me.

7“In my distress I called upon the LORD,
         Yes, I cried to my God;
         And from His temple He heard my voice,
         And my cry for help came into His ears.

8“Then the earth shook and quaked,
         The foundations of heaven were trembling
         And were shaken, because He was angry.

9“Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
         Fire from His mouth devoured;
         Coals were kindled by it.

10“He bowed the heavens also, and came down
         With thick darkness under His feet.

11“And He rode on a cherub and flew;
         And He appeared on the wings of the wind.

12“And He made darkness canopies around Him,
         A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.

13“From the brightness before Him
         Coals of fire were kindled.

14“The LORD thundered from heaven,
         And the Most High uttered His voice.

15“And He sent out arrows, and scattered them,
         Lightning, and routed them.

16“Then the channels of the sea appeared,
         The foundations of the world were laid bare
         By the rebuke of the LORD,
         At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

17“He sent from on high, He took me;
         He drew me out of many waters.

18“He delivered me from my strong enemy,
         From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

19“They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
         But the LORD was my support.

20“He also brought me forth into a broad place;
         He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

21“The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
         According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

22“For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
         And have not acted wickedly against my God.

23“For all His ordinances were before me,
         And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.

24“I was also blameless toward Him,
         And I kept myself from my iniquity.

25“Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
         According to my cleanness before His eyes.

26“With the kind You show Yourself kind,
         With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

27With the pure You show Yourself pure,
         And with the perverted You show Yourself astute.

28“And You save an afflicted people;
         But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase.

29“For You are my lamp, O LORD;
         And the LORD illumines my darkness.

30“For by You I can run upon a troop;
         By my God I can leap over a wall.

31“As for God, His way is blameless;
         The word of the LORD is tested;
         He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

32“For who is God, besides the LORD?
         And who is a rock, besides our God?

33“God is my strong fortress;
         And He sets the blameless in His way.

34“He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
         And sets me on my high places.

35“He trains my hands for battle,
         So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
         And Your help makes me great.

37“You enlarge my steps under me,
         And my feet have not slipped.

38“I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
         And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

39“And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise;
         And they fell under my feet.

40“For You have girded me with strength for battle;
         You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

41“You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
         And I destroyed those who hated me.

42“They looked, but there was none to save;
         Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.

43“Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth;
         I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets.

44“You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people;
         You have kept me as head of the nations;
         A people whom I have not known serve me.

45“Foreigners pretend obedience to me;
         As soon as they hear, they obey me.

46“Foreigners lose heart,
         And come trembling out of their fortresses.

47“The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock;
         And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,

48The God who executes vengeance for me,
         And brings down peoples under me,

49Who also brings me out from my enemies;
         You even lift me above those who rise up against me;
         You rescue me from the violent man.

50“Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations,
         And I will sing praises to Your name.

51“He is a tower of deliverance to His king,
         And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
         To David and his descendants forever.”

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
David sang this song to the LORD when the LORD rescued him from all his enemies, especially from Saul.

King James Bible
And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:

Douay-Rheims Bible
And David spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul,

Darby Bible Translation
And David spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.

English Revised Version
And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:

Webster's Bible Translation
And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul:

World English Bible
David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:

Young's Literal Translation
And David speaketh to Jehovah the words of this song in the day Jehovah hath delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul,

Cross References

Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said, "I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.

Deuteronomy 31:30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete:

1 Chronicles 16:7 Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD.

Psalm 18:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said, "I love You, O LORD, my strength."

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

Chapter 22

This chapter is a psalm, a psalm of praise; we find it afterwards inserted among David's psalms (Ps. 18) with some little variation. We have it here as it was first composed for his own closed and his own harp; but there we have it as it was afterwards delivered to the chief musician for the service of the church, a second edition with some amendments; for, though it was calculated primarily for David's case, yet it might indifferently serve the devotion of others, in giving thanks for their deliverances; or it was intended that his people should thus join with him in his thanksgivings, because, being a public person, his deliverances were to be accounted public blessings and called for public acknowledgments. The inspired historian, having largely related David's deliverances in this and the foregoing book, and one particularly in the close of the foregoing chapter, thought fit to record this sacred poem as a memorial of all that had been before related. Some think that David penned this psalm when he was old, upon a general review of the mercies of his life and the many wonderful preservations God had blessed him with, from first to last. We should in our praises, look as far back as we can, and not suffer time to wear out the sense of God's favours. Others think that he penned it when he was young, upon occasion of some of his first deliverances, and kept it by him for his use afterwards, and that, upon every new deliverance, his practice was to sing this song. But the book of Psalms shows that he varied as there was occasion, and confined not himself to one form. Here is, I. The title of the psalm (v. 1). II. The psalm itself, in which, with a very warm devotion and very great fluency and copiousness of expression, 1. He gives glory to God. 2. He takes comfort in him; and he finds matter for both, (1.) In the experiences he had of God's former favours. (2.) In the expectations he had of his further favours. These are intermixed throughout the whole psalm.

Verse 1

Observe here, I. That it has often been the lot of God's people to have many enemies, and to be in imminent danger of falling into their hands. David was a man after God's heart, but not after men's heart: many were those that hated him, and sought his ruin; Saul is particularly named, either, 1. As distinguished from his enemies of the heathen nations. Saul hated David, but David did not hate Saul, and therefore would not reckon him among his enemies; or, rather, 2. As the chief of his enemies, who was more malicious and powerful than any of them. Let not those whom God loves marvel if the world hate them.

II. Those that trust God in the way of duty shall find him a present help to them in their greatest dangers. David did so. God delivered him out of the hand of Saul. He takes special notice of this. Remarkable preservations should be mentioned in our praises with a particular emphasis. He delivered him also out of the hand of all his enemies, one after another, sometimes in one way, sometimes in another; and David, from his own experience, has assured us that, though many are the troubles of the righteous, yet the Lord delivers them out of them all, Ps. 34:19. We shall never be delivered from all our enemies till we get to heaven; and to that heavenly kingdom God will preserve all that are his, 2 Tim. 4:18.

III. Those that have received many signal mercies from God ought to give him the glory of them. Every new mercy in our hand should put a new song into our mouth, even praises to our God. Where there is a grateful heart, out of the abundance of that the mouth will speak. David spoke, not only to himself, for his own pleasure, not merely to those about him, for their instruction, but to the Lord, for his honour, the words of this song. Then we sing with grace when we sing to the Lord. In distress he cried with his voice (Ps. 142:1), therefore with his voice he gave thanks. Thanksgiving to God is the sweetest vocal music.

IV. We ought to be speedy in our thankful returns to God: In the day that God delivered him he sang this song. While the mercy is fresh, and our devout affections are most excited by it, let the thank-offering be brought, that it may be kindled with the fire of those affections.

Links

2 Samuel 22 Commentaries: Barnes • Clarke • Darby • Gill • Geneva • Guzik • JFB • Keil / Delitzsch • KJV Translators' • Henry's Concise • Matthew Henry • Scofield • TSK • Wesley

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New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.

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