1: David prayed to GOD the words of this song after GOD saved him from all his enemies and from Saul.
2: GOD is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight.
3: My God--the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout; My mountaintop refuge, he saves me from ruthless men.
4: I sing to GOD the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and saved.
5: The waves of death crashed over me, devil waters rushed over me.
6: Hell's ropes cinched me tight; death traps barred every exit.
7: A hostile world! I called to GOD, to my God I cried out. From his palace he heard me call; my cry brought me right into his presence--a private audience!
8: Earth wobbled and lurched; the very heavens shook like leaves, Quaked like aspen leaves because of his rage.
9: His nostrils flared, billowing smoke; his mouth spit fire. Tongues of fire darted in and out;
10: he lowered the sky. He stepped down; under his feet an abyss opened up.
11: He rode a winged creature, swift on wind-wings.
12: He wrapped himself in a trenchcoat of black rain-cloud darkness.
13: But his cloud-brightness burst through, a grand comet of fireworks.
14: Then GOD thundered out of heaven; the High God gave a great shout.
15: God shot his arrows--pandemonium! He hurled his lightnings--a rout!
16: The secret sources of ocean were exposed, the hidden depths of earth lay uncovered The moment GOD roared in protest, let loose his hurricane anger.
17: But me he caught--reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out
18: Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning.
19: They hit me when I was down, but GOD stuck by me.
20: He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved--surprised to be loved!
21: GOD made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I cleaned up my act, he gave me a fresh start.
22: Indeed, I've kept alert to GOD's ways; I haven't taken God for granted.
23: Every day I review the ways he works, I try not to miss a trick.
24: I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step.
25: GOD rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
26: You stick by people who stick with you, you're straight with people who're straight with you,
27: You're good to good people, you shrewdly work around the bad ones.
28: You take the side of the down-and-out, but the stuck-up you take down a peg.
29: Suddenly, GOD, your light floods my path, GOD drives out the darkness.
30: I smash the bands of marauders, I vault the high fences.
31: What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth. Every GOD-direction is road-tested. Everyone who runs toward him Makes it.
32: Is there any god like GOD? Are we not at bedrock?
33: Is not this the God who armed me well, then aimed me in the right direction?
34: Now I run like a deer; I'm king of the mountain.
35: He shows me how to fight; I can bend a bronze bow!
36: You protect me with salvation-armor; you touch me and I feel ten feet tall.
37: You cleared the ground under me so my footing was firm.
38: When I chased my enemies I caught them; I didn't let go till they were dead men.
39: I nailed them; they were down for good; then I walked all over them.
40: You armed me well for this fight; you smashed the upstarts.
41: You made my enemies turn tail, and I wiped out the haters.
42: They cried "uncle" but Uncle didn't come; They yelled for GOD and got no for an answer.
43: I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind. I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter.
44: You rescued me from a squabbling people; you made me a leader of nations. People I'd never heard of served me;
45: the moment they got wind of me they submitted.
46: They gave up; they came trembling from their hideouts.
47: Live, GOD! Blessing to my Rock, my towering Salvation-God!
48: This God set things right for me and shut up the people who talked back.
49: He rescued me from enemy anger. You pulled me from the grip of upstarts, You saved me from the bullies.
50: That's why I'm thanking you, GOD, all over the world. That's why I'm singing songs that rhyme your name.
51: God's king takes the trophy; God's chosen is beloved. I mean David and all his children--always.