Psalm 18

1 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

God the Sovereign SaviorTo the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David The Servant of the Lord, Who Spoke to the Lord The Words of This Song on the Day that the Lord Delivered Him from the Hand of All His Enemies and from the Hand of Saul. And He Said:

2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.4 The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.8 Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it.9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet.10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.11 He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies.12 From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.13 The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At Your rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.16 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support.19 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God.22 For all His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.23 I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.24 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.27 For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks.28 For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.29 For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall.30  As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.31 For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?32  It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect.33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.34 He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.36 You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip.37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.38 I have wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet.39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me.41 They cried out, but there was none to save; Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.42 Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind; I cast them out like dirt in the streets.43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; You have made me the head of the nations; A people I have not known shall serve me.44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me; The foreigners submit to me.45 The foreigners fade away, And come frightened from their hideouts.46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.47  It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me;48 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.50 Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.

PSALMS 18

David's Song of Thanks

1 I love you, [Lord] God,
and you make me strong.

2 You are my mighty rock, t
my fortress, my protector,
the rock where I am safe,
my shield, my powerful weapon, t
and my place of shelter.

3 I praise you, [Lord]!
I prayed, and you rescued me
from my enemies.

4 Death had wrapped
its ropes around me,
and I was almost swallowed
by its flooding waters.

5 Ropes from the world
of the dead
had coiled around me,
and death had set a trap
in my path.

6 I was in terrible trouble
when I called out to you,
but from your temple
you heard me
and answered my prayer.

7 The earth shook and shivered,
and the mountains trembled
down to their roots.
You were angry

8 and breathed out smoke.
Scorching heat and fiery flames
spewed from your mouth.

9 You opened the heavens
like curtains,
and you came down
with storm clouds
under your feet.

10 You rode on the backs
of flying creatures
and swooped down
with the wind as wings.

11 Darkness was your robe;
thunderclouds filled the sky,
hiding you from sight.

12 Hailstones and fiery coals
lit up the sky
in front of you.

13 [Lord] Most High, your voice
thundered from the heavens,
as hailstones and fiery coals
poured down like rain.

14 You scattered your enemies
with arrows of lightning.

15 You roared at the sea,
and its deepest channels
could be seen.
You snorted,
and the earth shook
to its foundations.

16 You reached down from heaven,
and you lifted me
from deep in the ocean.

17 You rescued me from enemies,
who were hateful
and too powerful for me.

18 On the day disaster struck,
they came and attacked,
but you defended me.

19 When I was fenced in,
you freed and rescued me
because you love me.

20 You are good to me, [Lord],
because I do right,
and you reward me
because I am innocent.

21 I do what you want
and never turn to do evil.

22 I keep your laws in mind
and never look away
from your teachings.

23 I obey you completely
and guard against sin.

24 You have been good to me
because I do right;
you have rewarded me
for being innocent
by your standards.

25 You are always loyal
to your loyal people,
and you are faithful
to the faithful.

26 With all who are sincere,
you are sincere,
but you treat the unfaithful
as their deeds deserve.

27 You rescue the humble,
but you put down all
who are proud.

28 You, the [Lord] God,
keep my lamp burning
and turn darkness to light.

29 You help me defeat armies
and capture cities.

30 Your way is perfect, [Lord],
and your word is correct.
You are a shield for those
who run to you for help.

31 You alone are God!
Only you are a mighty rock.t

32 You give me strength
and guide me right.

33  t You make my feet run as fast
as those of a deer,
and you help me stand
on the mountains.

34 You teach my hands to fight
and my arms to use
a bow of bronze.

35 You alone are my shield.
Your right hand supports me,
and by coming to help me,
you have made me famous.

36 You clear the way for me,
and now I won't stumble.

37 I kept chasing my enemies,
until I caught them
and destroyed them.

38 I stuck my sword
through my enemies,
and they were crushed
under my feet.

39 You helped me win victories,
and you forced my attackers
to fall victim to me.

40 You made my enemies run,
and I killed them.

41 They cried out for help,
but no one saved them;
they called out to you,
but there was no answer.

42 I ground them to dust
blown by the wind,
and I poured them out
like mud in the streets.

43 You rescued me
from stubborn people,
and you made me the leader
of foreign nations,
who are now my slaves.

44 They obey and come crawling.

45 They have lost all courage,
and from their fortresses,
they come trembling.

46 You are the living [Lord]!
I will praise you.
You are a mighty rock.t
I will honor you
for keeping me safe.

47 You took revenge for me,
and you put nations
in my power.

48 You protected me
from violent enemies
and made me much greater
than all of them.

49  t I will praise you, [Lord],
and I will honor you
among the nations.

50 You give glorious victories
to your chosen king.
Your faithful love for David
and for his descendants
will never end.