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David prayed to God the words of this song after God saved him from all his enemies and from Saul.
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God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight.
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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.
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I sing to God the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and saved.
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The waves of death crashed over me, devil waters rushed over me.
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Hell's ropes cinched me tight; death traps barred every exit.
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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!
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Earth wobbled and lurched; the very heavens shook like leaves, Quaked like aspen leaves because of his rage.
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His nostrils flared, billowing smoke; his mouth spit fire. Tongues of fire darted in and out;
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he lowered the sky. He stepped down; under his feet an abyss opened up.
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He rode a winged creature, swift on wind-wings.
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He wrapped himself in a trenchcoat of black rain-cloud darkness.
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But his cloud-brightness burst through, a grand comet of fireworks.
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Then God thundered out of heaven; the High God gave a great shout.
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God shot his arrows - pandemonium! He hurled his lightnings - a rout!
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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.
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But me he caught - reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out
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Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning.
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They hit me when I was down, but God stuck by me.
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He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved - surprised to be loved!
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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.
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Indeed, I've kept alert to God's ways; I haven't taken God for granted.
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Every day I review the ways he works, I try not to miss a trick.
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I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step.
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God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
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You stick by people who stick with you, you're straight with people who're straight with you,
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You're good to good people, you shrewdly work around the bad ones.
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You take the side of the down-and-out, but the stuck-up you take down a peg.
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Suddenly, God, your light floods my path, God drives out the darkness.
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I smash the bands of marauders, I vault the high fences.
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What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth. Every God-direction is road-tested. Everyone who runs toward him Makes it.
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Is there any god like God? Are we not at bedrock?
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Is not this the God who armed me well, then aimed me in the right direction?
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Now I run like a deer; I'm king of the mountain.
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He shows me how to fight; I can bend a bronze bow!
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You protect me with salvation-armor; you touch me and I feel ten feet tall.
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You cleared the ground under me so my footing was firm.
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When I chased my enemies I caught them; I didn't let go till they were dead men.
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I nailed them; they were down for good; then I walked all over them.
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You armed me well for this fight; you smashed the upstarts.
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You made my enemies turn tail, and I wiped out the haters.
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They cried "uncle" but Uncle didn't come; They yelled for God and got no for an answer.
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I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind. I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter.
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You rescued me from a squabbling people; you made me a leader of nations. People I'd never heard of served me;
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the moment they got wind of me they submitted.
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They gave up; they came trembling from their hideouts.
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Live, God! Blessing to my Rock, my towering Salvation-God!
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This God set things right for me and shut up the people who talked back.
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He rescued me from enemy anger. You pulled me from the grip of upstarts, You saved me from the bullies.
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That's why I'm thanking you, God, all over the world. That's why I'm singing songs that rhyme your name.
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God's king takes the trophy; God's chosen is beloved. I mean David and all his children - always.
