The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, (A)the servant of the Lord, (B)who addressed the words of this (C)song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

18 I love you, O Lord, my strength.

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11 (A)being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for (B)all endurance and patience (C)with joy;

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David's Song of Deliverance

22 And David spoke (A)to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. (B)He said,

(C)“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
    (D)my[a] God, my rock, (E)in whom I take refuge,
(F)my shield, and (G)the horn of my salvation,
    (H)my stronghold and (I)my refuge,
    my savior; you save me from violence.
I call upon the Lord, who is (J)worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.

(K)“For the waves of death encompassed me,
    the torrents of destruction assailed me;[b]
(L)the cords of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

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

“Then (O)the earth reeled and rocked;
    (P)the foundations of the heavens trembled
    and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,[c]
    and devouring fire from his mouth;
    (Q)glowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 (R)He bowed the heavens and (S)came down;
    (T)thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he was seen on (U)the wings of the wind.
12 He made (V)darkness around him (W)his canopy,
    thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him
    (X)coals of fire flamed forth.
14 (Y)The Lord thundered from heaven,
    and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out (Z)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 (AA)blast of the breath of his nostrils.

17 (AB)“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 (AC)He brought me out into a broad place;
    he rescued me, because (AD)he delighted in me.

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

26 (AK)“With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
    with the (AL)blameless man you show yourself blameless;
27 with the purified you deal purely,
    and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
28 (AM)You save a humble people,
    (AN)but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
29 (AO)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—(AP)his way is perfect;
    the (AQ)word of the Lord proves true;
    he is (AR)a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

32 “For who is God, but the Lord?
    (AS)And who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my (AT)strong refuge
    and has made my[d] way blameless.[e]
34 (AU)He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure (AV)on the heights.
35 (AW)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 (AX)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 (AY)under my feet.
40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
    you made (AZ)those who rise against me sink under me.
41 You (BA)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 (BB)he did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine (BC)as the dust of the earth;
    I crushed them and stamped them down (BD)like the mire of the streets.

44 “You delivered me from strife with my people;[h]
    you kept me as the head of (BE)the nations;
    (BF)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] (BG)out of their fortresses.

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

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

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 22:3 Septuagint (compare Psalm 18:2); Hebrew lacks my
  2. 2 Samuel 22:5 Or terrified me
  3. 2 Samuel 22:9 Or in his wrath
  4. 2 Samuel 22:33 Or his; also verse 34
  5. 2 Samuel 22:33 Compare Psalm 18:32; Hebrew he has blamelessly set my way free, or he has made my way spring up blamelessly
  6. 2 Samuel 22:37 Hebrew ankles
  7. 2 Samuel 22:41 Or You gave me my enemies' necks
  8. 2 Samuel 22:44 Septuagint with the peoples
  9. 2 Samuel 22:46 Compare Psalm 18:45; Hebrew equipped themselves
  10. 2 Samuel 22:51 Or He is a tower of salvation

19 (A)We love because he first loved us.

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The Lord Is My Strength and My Song

12 You[a] will say (A)in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
    for though you were angry with me,
(B)your anger turned away,
    that you might comfort me.

“Behold, God is my salvation;
    I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for (C)the Lord God[b] is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation.”

(D)With joy you[c] will draw water from the wells of salvation. (E)And you will say in that day:

(F)“Give thanks to the Lord,
    call upon his name,
(G)make known his deeds among the peoples,
    proclaim (H)that his name is exalted.

(I)“Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
    let this be made known[d] in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
    for great (J)in your[e] midst is (K)the Holy One of Israel.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 12:1 The Hebrew for you is singular in verse 1
  2. Isaiah 12:2 Hebrew for Yah, the Lord
  3. Isaiah 12:3 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 3, 4
  4. Isaiah 12:5 Or this is made known
  5. Isaiah 12:6 The Hebrew for your in verse 6 is singular, referring to the inhabitant of Zion

13 I can do all things (A)through him who strengthens me.

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I Love the Lord

116 I (A)love the Lord, because he has (B)heard
    my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he (C)inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
(D)The snares of death encompassed me;
    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.
Then (E)I called on the name of the Lord:
    “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

(F)Gracious is the Lord, and (G)righteous;
    our God is (H)merciful.
The Lord preserves (I)the simple;
    when (J)I was brought low, he saved me.

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19 (A)Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    (B)but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

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My Rock and My Fortress

Of David.

144 Blessed be the Lord, my (A)rock,
    (B)who trains my hands for war,
    and my fingers for battle;
he is my (C)steadfast love and my (D)fortress,
    my (E)stronghold and my deliverer,
my (F)shield and he in whom I take refuge,
    who (G)subdues peoples[a] under me.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people

Hannah's Prayer

And Hannah prayed and said,

(A)“My heart exults in the Lord;
    (B)my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
    because (C)I rejoice in your salvation.

(D)“There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is (E)no rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly,
    let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.
(F)The bows of the mighty are broken,
    but the feeble bind on strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
    but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
(G)The barren has borne seven,
    (H)but she who has many children is forlorn.
(I)The Lord kills and brings to life;
    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
(J)The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
    (K)he brings low and he exalts.
(L)He raises up the poor from the dust;
    he lifts the needy from the ash heap
(M)to make them sit with princes
    and inherit a seat of honor.
(N)For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
    and on them he has set the world.

(O)“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
    but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
    for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 (P)The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
    (Q)against them he will thunder in heaven.
(R)The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
    he will give strength to his king
    (S)and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

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14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
    (A)he has become my salvation.

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The Lord is my strength and (A)my shield;
    in him my heart (B)trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my (C)song I give thanks to him.

The Lord is the strength of his people;[a]
    he is (D)the saving refuge of his anointed.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 28:8 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts is their strength

16 O Lord, I am your (A)servant;
    I am your servant, (B)the son of your maidservant.
    You have (C)loosed my bonds.

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