(A poem composed by David, a servant of Jehovah, and dedicated to Jehovah on the occasion of Jehovah saving him from his enemies, particularly Saul.)
I love you, Jehovah! You are my strength.
Jehovah is the foundation of my life,
He is my fortress and my deliverer;
My god is the rocks wherein I find refuge;
My shield, my salvation, my defender.
I pray to Jehovah, the praiseworthy,
And I am rescued from my enemies.
I was entangled in the cords of death,
And a deadly torrent swept over me,
I was being strangled by the cords of death,
And all but caught in the trap of the grave.
In my distress I called to Jehovah;
I cried out to my god to beg his help,
And in his temple he did hear my voice:
My appeal commanded his attention!
Then the earth did tremble and quake
Even the base of mountains shook --
Because of Jehovah's anger.
Like smoke billowing from his nostrils,
Like fire issuing from his mouth,
Setting alight charcoal embers,
He sped through the celestial dome
And descended from the sky to earth
With a cloud of black smoke at his feet.
(He flew in one of his airships
That soared upon the wings of the wind.)
Darkness shrouded and sheltered him;
Heavy rain clouds obscured his ship.
Into the brightness that lay ahead
There came from the surrounding cloud
Falls of bombs and fiery missiles.
Jehovah thundered from the sky,
And amid the bombs and missiles,
The voice of the Most High resounded.
He fired upon and scattered his foes;
Launches of missiles routed them.
At your rebuke, O Jehovah,
The bed of the sea was exposed
And the crust of the earth laid bare,
As if by a blast of your breath.
He descended from high and seized me,
Pulling me out of deep water.
He rescued me from mighty foes
And from all of those who hated me. ---
They were more powerful than I!
In troublous times they attacked me,
But Jehovah came to my aid.
He took me to a place of safety,
Sparing me out of affection.
Jehovah showed me this favor
Because of my righteous conduct.
He has restored and rewarded me
Because my hands are free from evil,
Because I've kept Jehovah's laws
And not turned away from my god.
All his commandments have I observed,
Nor have I ignored his decrees.
In his eyes I am without blame:
I have refrained from sinful acts.
And so Jehovah rewards me
Because I have done what is right
And am innocent in his sight.
You are faithful to those faithful to you,
You are guileless to those of rectitude,
You are sincere with those who are honest,
But are shrewd dealing with the devious.
You encourage and empower the humble,
But humble the haughty and arrogant.
It's you, Jehovah, that makes my lamp burn bright,
And you, my god, that turns my darkness to light.
With your help I can attack an army;
With my god I can scale their defenses.
The ways of my god are the perfect ways;
The words of Jehovah are tested and true.
He is a shield to those who trust in him.
For who can be God except Jehovah?
And who is like a solid rock but our god?
He is the god that endows me with strength;
He is the one that makes my path broad and clear.
He makes my steps sure-footed like a deer
So I can stand nimbly on the mountain tops.
He trains and strengthens my hands for battle
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have lent me your shield of victory.
You have sustained me with your strong right hand.
You have humbled yourself to exalt me.
You have widened the path on which I walk
So that my feet have room and will not slip.
I pursued my enemies and caught them,
Not withdrawing until they were defeated.
I struck them down so they could not rise again;
They fell and I did trod them under foot.
You have given me the strength to do battle,
And made my enemies bow at my feet.
You have made my opponents retreat in flight,
And I have defeated those who hated me.
(They cried out, but who was there to save them?
Not Jehovah, for he did not answer.)
I pulverized them into windblown dust
And swept them into the gutter like dirt.
You spared me from strife within my country
And ordained me the sovereign of nations. ---
Even people I do not know serve me!
Cringing foreigners cower in my presence.
When they hear a word from me, they obey.
They have lost courage; they tremble with fear
When they come in from their forts and strongholds.
Long live Jehovah! Praise be to my defender!
May the god who is my salvation be exalted!
He is the god who avenges those who harm me,
Who pacifies the peoples under my control,
Who deliveries me from those who are my enemies.
You raised me above the reach of my adversaries
And protected me from the acts of the violent.
Therefore, I extol you to all the nations,
And sing praises to the name of Jehovah,
Who has given his king great victories
And shown steadfast love to his anointed one,
David, and to his descendants forever.
