The LORD Is My Rock

I love you, LORD, my strength.

I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.

The shortest verse in the psalm is also the most personal. Before any story is told, the writer says he loves the LORD and calls him my strength. Everything after this explains why.

Also read Psalm 28:7-8, Acts 13:36, Psalm 118:14, Psalm 36:1

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer;my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.

The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Seven images for God come in a single breath: rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, horn of salvation and high tower. Most are places of safety a soldier would know. Piling them up shows that no single picture is enough for what the writer has found.

Also read Proverbs 18:10, Proverbs 2:7, Psalm 91:4, Psalm 19:14

I call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;and I am saved from my enemies.

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

Also read Psalm 145:3, Psalm 76:4, Psalm 96:4, Psalm 5:2-3

The cords of death surrounded me.The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

The danger is described as cords of death around the writer and floods of ungodliness rising. Both images are about being trapped and overwhelmed. The verse names fear, not only threat.

Also read Jonah 2:2-7, Matthew 26:38-39, Isaiah 53:3-4, Psalm 22:16

The cords of Sheol were around me.The snares of death came on me.

The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

Death and Sheol are pictured as a hunter with cords and snares. The verse repeats the trap of verse 4, so the danger closes in from every side. This is the low point from which the speaker calls out in verse 6, and the KJV reads the sorrows of hell compassed me about.

Also read Acts 2:24, Psalm 116:3, Psalm 88:15-17, Psalm 86:13

In my distress I called on the LORD,and cried to my God.He heard my voice out of his temple.My cry before him came into his ears.

In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

Also read Revelation 11:19, Psalm 18:3-4, Mark 14:36, Psalm 130:1-2

Then the earth shook and trembled.The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken,because he was angry.

Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.

Also read Acts 16:25-26, Zechariah 14:4, Habakkuk 3:6, Psalm 114:4-7

Smoke went out of his nostrils.Consuming fire came out of his mouth.Coals were kindled by it.

There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

This begins the picture of God coming to help. Smoke from his nostrils and consuming fire from his mouth show his anger at what was being done to the writer. The images are drawn from fire and storm, and the psalm does not stop to explain them.

Also read Numbers 16:35, Psalm 74:1, Nahum 1:5-6, Deuteronomy 29:23-24

He bowed the heavens also, and came down.Thick darkness was under his feet.

He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.

After the cry of verse 6, God answers by coming down. He bowed the heavens also, and came down, as if the sky itself bent low to reach the speaker. Thick darkness under his feet shows the rescuer arriving while still hidden from view.

Also read Revelation 20:11, Mark 15:33, 2 Peter 3:10, Joel 3:16

He rode on a cherub, and flew.Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.

And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

Also read Psalm 99:1, Ezekiel 10:20-22, 2 Samuel 22:11-12, Ezekiel 1:5-14

He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him,darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

God is pictured hidden in darkness, with dark waters and thick clouds as a pavilion around him. He is present but unseen. The rescue that follows comes from inside the storm cloud.

Also read Psalm 27:5, Deuteronomy 4:11, Psalm 91:1, Psalm 97:2

At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed,hailstones and coals of fire.

At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

At the brightness before God, the thick clouds pass and hailstones and coals of fire fall. The dark cloud of verse 11 now breaks open. The storm is the way help arrives.

Also read Matthew 17:5, 2 Samuel 22:13-15, Exodus 9:23-24, Matthew 17:2

The LORD also thundered in the sky.The Most High uttered his voice:hailstones and coals of fire.

The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

The storm grows loud. The LORD thunders in the sky and the Most High utters his voice, so the thunder is pictured as God speaking. The phrase hailstones and coals of fire repeats from verse 12, piling up the force of the storm.

Also read Psalm 140:10, John 12:29, Psalm 29:3-4, Psalm 104:7

He sent out his arrows, and scattered them.He routed them with great lightning bolts.

Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.

The lightning becomes God's arrows. He sends them out, scatters the enemies and routs them with great lightning bolts. The storm of verses 7 to 15 is described as a battle fought on the speaker's behalf, and the KJV says he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.

Also read Job 6:4, Joshua 10:10, Zechariah 9:14-15, Psalm 144:6

Then the channels of waters appeared.The foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, LORD,at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

The rescue reaches all the way down. The channels of waters appear and the foundations of the world are laid bare at the LORD's rebuke, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. The waters are pushed back so that in verse 16 God can draw the speaker out of many waters.

Also read Psalm 104:5, Micah 6:2, 2 Samuel 22:16, Job 4:9

He sent from on high.He took me.He drew me out of many waters.

He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.

After all the thunder, the rescue itself is close and quiet. God reaches down from on high, takes hold of the writer and draws him out of many waters. The waters echo the floods of verse 4.

Also read Exodus 2:10, Psalm 57:3, Jonah 2:5-6, Psalm 32:6

He delivered me from my strong enemy,from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.

The writer admits his enemy was strong and that those who hated him were too mighty for him. The rescue is credited to God because the writer could not have won alone.

Also read 2 Samuel 22:1, Job 16:9, Psalm 69:4-14, Hebrews 2:14-15

They came on me in the day of my calamity,but the LORD was my support.

They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

The enemies came on the day of calamity, the worst day. Against that, the verse sets one fact: the LORD was my support. Neither half is softened.

Also read 1 Samuel 30:6, Zechariah 1:15, Obadiah 1:10-14, Deuteronomy 32:35

He brought me out also into a large place.He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

Also read Job 36:16, Psalm 31:8, Psalm 118:5, Psalm 40:2

The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness.According to the cleanness of my hands, he has recompensed me.

The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

Here the psalm explains the rescue in terms of the writer's own conduct. God has rewarded him according to his righteousness and the cleanness of his hands. The same claim comes back in verse 24, so verses 20 to 24 read as one argument.

Also read 1 Samuel 24:11-13, Psalm 26:6, Proverbs 11:18, 1 Samuel 24:17

For I have kept the ways of the LORD,and have not wickedly departed from my God.

For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

The writer backs up verse 20. He has kept the ways of the LORD and has not wickedly departed from God. It is a plain statement of loyalty.

Also read 1 John 2:19, Psalm 119:102, Acts 24:16, Proverbs 8:32

For all his ordinances were before me.I didn’t put away his statutes from me.

For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.

God's ordinances were kept in front of him, and he did not put the statutes away. The picture is of someone who kept the law in view rather than out of sight.

Also read Psalm 119:128, Psalm 119:112, Psalm 119:117, Psalm 119:30

I was also blameless with him.I kept myself from my iniquity.

I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

The speaker says he was blameless with God, where the KJV has upright before him. The second line is careful: I kept myself from my iniquity, which admits that wrongdoing was a real pull he had to guard against. The verse belongs to the section on faithfulness in verses 20 to 24.

Also read Psalm 11:7, Matthew 5:29-30, Psalm 37:27, 1 Chronicles 29:17

Therefore the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

Also read 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7, 1 Samuel 26:23, Ruth 2:12, Hebrews 6:16

With the merciful you will show yourself merciful.With the perfect man, you will show yourself perfect.

With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;

This verse starts a pattern: with the merciful God shows himself merciful, and with the perfect man he shows himself perfect. Verse 26 continues it, adding that with the crooked he shows himself shrewd. How people act shapes how they meet God.

Also read Isaiah 57:1-2, Isaiah 58:7-8, Matthew 18:33-35, Nehemiah 9:17

With the pure, you will show yourself pure.With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.

With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

This verse completes the pattern begun in verse 25: God shows himself in a way that matches the person. With the pure he is pure, but with the crooked he shows himself shrewd. The KJV uses froward, an old English word for perverse.

Also read Leviticus 26:27-28, Romans 2:4-6, James 2:13, Leviticus 26:23-24

For you will save the afflicted people,but the arrogant eyes you will bring down.

For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

Two groups are set side by side. God will save the afflicted people, but the arrogant eyes he will bring down, where the KJV says high looks. The verse explains the pattern of verses 25 and 26 in terms of who is lifted up and who is humbled.

Also read Psalm 40:17, Psalm 17:10, Isaiah 57:15, 2 Corinthians 8:9

For you will light my lamp, LORD.My God will light up my darkness.

For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

God lights the writer's lamp and lights up his darkness. After the dark storm of verses 9 to 12, light is now given to the writer himself. It is a small, household image in the middle of a war poem.

Also read 2 Samuel 22:29, Isaiah 62:1, 1 Kings 15:4, Psalm 132:17

For by you, I advance through a troop.By my God, I leap over a wall.

For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

With God's help the writer advances through a troop and leaps over a wall. Both are feats beyond an ordinary soldier. The verse credits the strength to God, not to the man.

Also read 1 Samuel 30:8, 2 Samuel 22:30, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Ephesians 6:10-13

As for God, his way is perfect.The LORD’s word is tried.He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

This is the psalm's short summary of what God is like. His way is perfect, his word is tried, meaning tested and found true, and he is a shield to all who take refuge in him. The KJV reads a buckler to all those that trust in him, a buckler being a small shield.

Also read Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 12:6, Psalm 119:140, Proverbs 30:5

For who is God, except the LORD?Who is a rock, besides our God,

For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?

Two questions with an obvious answer: who is God except the LORD, and who is a rock besides our God. They return to the rock of verse 2 and claim it for the LORD alone.

Also read 2 Samuel 22:32, 1 Samuel 2:2, Isaiah 45:21-22, Psalm 86:8

the God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect?

It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

God arms the writer with strength and makes his way perfect. Strength is pictured as something put on, like armor. Verse 33 carries the thought on.

Also read 2 Samuel 22:33, Isaiah 45:5, Psalm 28:7, Psalm 93:1

He makes my feet like deer’s feet,and sets me on my high places.

He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.

God makes the writer's feet like a deer's feet and sets him on high places. A deer is sure-footed on steep ground, so the picture is of balance where others would fall. With verse 32 it describes being equipped, not only protected.

Also read 2 Samuel 22:14, Habakkuk 3:19, 2 Samuel 2:18, Deuteronomy 33:29

He teaches my hands to war,so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.

He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

Also read Psalm 46:9, Psalm 144:1, Hosea 1:5, Jeremiah 49:35

You have also given me the shield of your salvation.Your right hand sustains me.Your gentleness has made me great.

Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.

Also read Psalm 17:7, Isaiah 22:3, Psalm 28:7, Deuteronomy 33:29

You have enlarged my steps under me,My feet have not slipped.

Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.

God has enlarged the ground under the writer's steps, and his feet have not slipped. It echoes verse 19, where God brought him into a large place. Room to stand is the picture of safety here.

Also read Job 18:7, Psalm 4:1, Job 36:16, 2 Samuel 22:37

I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them.I won’t turn away until they are consumed.

I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

The tone turns hard. The writer pursues his enemies, overtakes them and does not turn back until they are consumed. The psalm presents this as a victory God has given, and verses 38 to 42 continue in the same way.

Also read Psalm 44:5, Psalm 35:2, Revelation 6:2, Psalm 35:5

I will strike them through, so that they will not be able to rise.They shall fall under my feet.

I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.

Also read 2 Samuel 8:1-18, 2 Samuel 22:39, Psalm 47:3, 2 Samuel 5:1-25

For you have armed me with strength to the battle.You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

Also read Ephesians 1:22, Psalm 34:21, John 15:23, Psalm 18:32

You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,that I might cut off those who hate me.

Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.

The speaker describes the enemies in flight: God has made them turn their backs. The KJV reads thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies. Like the rest of verses 37 to 42 this is the language of a king's battle, and the victory is credited to God.

Also read Psalm 94:23, Psalm 21:12

They cried, but there was no one to save;even to the LORD, but he didn’t answer them.

They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.

Also read Micah 3:4, Isaiah 1:15, Jeremiah 14:12, Psalm 50:22

Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind.I cast them out as the mire of the streets.

Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

Also read Malachi 4:3, Isaiah 10:6, Zechariah 10:5, Isaiah 41:2

You have delivered me from the strivings of the people.You have made me the head of the nations.A people whom I have not known shall serve me.

Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.

Also read Acts 5:31, Romans 15:18, Isaiah 52:15, 2 Samuel 8:1-18

As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me.The foreigners shall submit themselves to me.

As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.

Also read Romans 10:16-17, Psalm 81:15, Isaiah 62:8, 2 Samuel 22:44-46

The foreigners shall fade away,and shall come trembling out of their strongholds.

The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.

Also read James 1:11, Revelation 6:16, Isaiah 24:4, Micah 7:17

The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock.Exalted be the God of my salvation,

The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.

A short burst of praise: the LORD lives, blessed be my rock, exalted be the God of my salvation. It gathers up the psalm's main images. The rock of verse 2 appears again.

Also read Psalm 57:5, Revelation 1:18, Psalm 21:13, 2 Samuel 22:47

even the God who executes vengeance for me,and subdues peoples under me.

It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.

Also read 2 Samuel 22:48, Psalm 47:3, Psalm 144:2, Deuteronomy 32:35

He rescues me from my enemies.Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me.You deliver me from the violent man.

He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

Also read Psalm 7:16, Philippians 2:9, Psalm 89:13, Psalm 86:14

Therefore I will give thanks to you, LORD, among the nations,and will sing praises to your name.

Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

The thanks is given in public. The speaker will praise the LORD among the nations, where the KJV has among the heathen, so the story of the rescue is told beyond his own people. The word therefore ties this praise to everything the psalm has described.

Also read Psalm 14:7, Matthew 26:30, Psalm 30:12, Psalm 108:1

He gives great deliverance to his king,and shows loving kindness to his anointed,to David and to his offspring, forever more.

Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

The last verse names the king. God gives great deliverance to his king and shows loving kindness to his anointed, to David and to his offspring forever. The personal story ends by looking ahead to a line of kings.

Also read Romans 1:3, Psalm 144:10, Psalm 78:71-72, 1 Chronicles 17:27