David’s Song of Praise
1David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2He said:
“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
3my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from violent people you save me.
4“I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and have been saved from my enemies.
5The waves of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
6The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7“In my distress I called to the LORD;
I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
8The earth trembled and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
9Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
10He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
11He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
12He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
13Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
16The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke of the LORD,
at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17“He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
18He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
20He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
21“The LORD has dealt with me according to my
righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands
he has rewarded me.
22For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
24I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
25The LORD has rewarded me according to my
righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.
26“To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
27to the purer you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself
shrewd.
28You save the humble,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
29You, LORD, are my lamp;
the LORD turns my darkness into light.
30With your help I can advance against a
troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
31“As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORD’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
32For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
33It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
34He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
35He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36You make your saving help my shield;
your help has made me great.
37You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
38“I pursued my enemies and crushed them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
39I crushed them completely, and they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
40You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
41You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
42They cried for help, but there was no one to save
them to the LORD, but he did not answer.
43I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
44“You have delivered me from the attacks of the
peoples; you have preserved me as the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
45foreigners come before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
46They all lose heart;
they come trembling w from their strongholds.
47“The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!
48He is the God who avenges me,
who puts the nations under me,
49who sets me free from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
50Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
51“He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.”
David was a skilled musician who played his harp for Saul (1 Samuel 16:23), instituted the music programs for the tabernacle and temple (1 Chronicles 25), and wrote more of the book of Psalms than anyone else. Writing a song like this was not unusual for David. This royal hymn of thanksgiving is almost identical to Psalm 18.
David was not denying that he had ever sinned. Psalm 51 shows his tremendous anguish over his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba. But David understood God’s faithfulness and was writing this hymn from God’s perspective. He knew that God had made him clean again—“whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7), with a “pure heart” (Psalm 51:10). Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we also are made clean and perfect. God replaces our sin with his purity, and he no longer sees our sin.
“To the devious you show yourself shrewd” means that to those who sin, God is a judge who will punish them for their sins. God destroys those who are evil.
David praises God wholeheartedly. Praise is not just a song about God; it is a song to God. In this song, David uses many word pictures such as rock, lamp, and shield to portray God’s marvelous attributes.
Let’s Bring it Home: Praising God has several aspects to it. We praise God when we:
(1) Say thank you to him for each attribute of his divine nature. As you read the Bible, look for other characteristics of God for which to thank him.
(2) Focus our hearts on God. Take one attribute of God, such as his mercy, then concentrate on it for an entire week in your meditation and prayer.
(3) Thank God for his many gracious gifts to us. Make a list and count your blessings.
(4) Thank God for our relationship with him. Through Christ you have been given the gift of salvation. Tell God again how much you appreciate it.
But, always remember this, when you walk in sin and know your walking in sin, there will always be consequences, so stop now and ask God for that forgiveness, and hopefully consequences will be small.
Under Gods command 