Thy Strong Word – 2 Samuel 22: Swan Song of ☧, Spectre of Saul Banished

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
³     my^[a] 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 assailed me;^[b]
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

⁷ “In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry came to his ears.

⁸ “Then the earth reeled and rocked;
    the foundations of the heavens trembled
    and quaked, because he was angry.
⁹ Smoke went up from his nostrils,^[c]
    and devouring fire from his mouth;
    glowing coals flamed forth from him.
¹⁰ He bowed the heavens and came down;
    thick darkness was under his feet.
¹¹ He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he was seen on the wings of the wind.
¹² He made darkness around him his canopy,
    thick clouds, a gathering of water.
¹³ Out of the brightness before him
    coals of fire flamed forth.
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 were seen;
    the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at 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 rescued me from my strong enemy,
    from those who hated me,
    for they were too mighty for me.
¹⁹ They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
    but the Lord was my support.
²⁰ He brought me out into a broad place;
    he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

²¹ “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;
    according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
²² For I have kept the ways of the Lord
    and have not wickedly departed from my God.
²³ For all his rules were before me,
    and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
²⁴ I was blameless before him,
    and I kept myself from guilt.
²⁵ And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
    according to my cleanness in his sight.

²⁶ “With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
    with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
²⁷ with the purified you deal purely,
    and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
²⁸ You save a humble people,
    but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
²⁹ For you are my lamp, O Lord,
    and my God lightens my darkness.
³⁰ For by you I can run against a troop,
    and by my God I can leap over a wall.
³¹ This God—his way is perfect;
    the word of the Lord proves true;
    he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

³² “For who is God, but the Lord?
    And who is a rock, except our God?
³³ This God is my strong refuge
    and has made my^[d] way blameless.^[e]
34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure on the heights.
³⁵ He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁶ You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your gentleness made me great.
³⁷ You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet^[f] did not slip;
³⁸ I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
    and did not turn back until they were consumed.
³⁹ I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
    they fell under my feet.
⁴⁰ For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
    you made those who rise against me sink under me.
⁴¹ You made my enemies turn their backs to me,^[g]
    those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
⁴² They looked, but there was none to save;
    they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
⁴³ I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;
    I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.

⁴⁴ “You delivered me from strife with my people;^[h]
    you kept me as the head of the nations;
    people whom I had not known served me.
⁴⁵ Foreigners came cringing to me;
    as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
⁴⁶ Foreigners lost heart
    and came trembling^[i] out of their fortresses.

⁴⁷ “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,
⁴⁸ the God who gave me vengeance
    and brought down peoples under me,
⁴⁹ who brought me out from my enemies;
    you exalted me above those who rose against me;
    you delivered me from men of violence.

⁵⁰ “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
    and sing praises to your name.
⁵¹ Great salvation he brings^[j] to his king,
    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
    to David and his offspring forever.”