Psalm 18

The Lord Praised for Rescuing David.

¹“I love You, Lord , my strength.”

²The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my savior,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³I call upon the Lord , who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

⁴¶The ropes of death encompassed me,

And the torrents of destruction terrified me.

⁵The ropes of Sheol surrounded me;[#18:5 I.e., the netherworld]

The snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the Lord ,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice from His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

⁷¶Then the earth shook and quaked;

And the foundations of the mountains were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

⁸Smoke went up out of His nostrils,[#18:8 Or in His wrath]

And fire from His mouth was devouring;

Coals burned from it.

⁹He also bowed the heavens down low, and came down

With thick darkness under His feet.

¹⁰He rode on a cherub and flew;

And He sped on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,[#18:11 Or pavilion]

Darkness of waters, thick clouds.

¹²From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The Lord also thundered in the heavens,

And the Most High uttered His voice,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,

And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.

¹⁵Then the channels of water appeared,

And the foundations of the world were exposed

By Your rebuke, Lord ,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶¶He sent from on high, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷He saved me from my strong enemy,

And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

But the Lord was my support.

¹⁹He also brought me out into an open place;

He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

²⁰¶The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands He has repaid me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the Lord ,

And have not acted wickedly against my God.

²²For all His judgments were before me,

And I did not put away His statutes from me.

²³I was also blameless with Him,[#18:23 Lit complete; or having integrity; or perfect]

And I kept myself from my wrongdoing.

²⁴Therefore the Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

²⁵¶With the faithful You show Yourself faithful;

With the blameless You prove Yourself blameless;

²⁶With the pure You show Yourself pure,

And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

²⁷For You save an afflicted people,

But You humiliate haughty eyes.

²⁸For You light my lamp;

The Lord my God illumines my darkness.

²⁹For by You I can run at a troop of warriors;[#18:29 Or wall]

And by my God I can leap over a wall.

³⁰¶As for God, His way is blameless;[#18:30 Or perfect]

The word of the Lord is refined;

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³¹For who is God, but the Lord ?

And who is a rock, except our God,

³²The God who encircles me with strength,

And makes my way blameless?

³³He makes my feet like deer’s feet,

And sets me up on my high places.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,

And Your right hand upholds me;

And Your gentleness makes me great.

³⁶You enlarge my steps under me,

And my feet have not slipped.

³⁷¶I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁸I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;

They fell under my feet.

³⁹For You have encircled me with strength for battle;

You have forced those who rose up against me to bow down under me.

⁴⁰You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,

And I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save,

They cried to the Lord , but He did not answer them.

⁴²Then I beat them fine like the dust before the wind;

I emptied them out like the mud of the streets.

⁴³¶You have rescued me from the contentions of the people;

You have placed me as head of the nations;

A people whom I have not known serve me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear, they obey me;

Foreigners pretend to obey me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heart,

And come trembling out of their fortresses.

⁴⁶¶The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;

And exalted be the God of my salvation,

⁴⁷The God who executes vengeance for me,

And subdues peoples under me.

⁴⁸He rescues me from my enemies;

You indeed lift me above those who rise up against me;

You rescue me from a violent man.

⁴⁹Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, Lord ,

And I will sing praises to Your name.

⁵⁰He gives great salvation to His king,[#18:50 I.e., victories; lit salvations]

And shows faithfulness to His anointed,

To David and his descendants forever.