Psalm 18:1–19:14

¹I love you, Lord, my strength.

²The Lord is my rock,

my fortress, and my deliverer,^t

my God, my rock where I seek refuge,

my shield^u and the horn of my salvation,^v

my stronghold.

³I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,^w

and I was saved from my enemies.^x

⁴The ropes of death were wrapped around me;

the torrents of destruction terrified me.^y

⁵The ropes of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.^z

⁶I called to the Lord in my distress,

and I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,^aa

and my cry to him reached his ears.^ab

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked;

the foundations of the mountains trembled;^ac

they shook because he burned with anger.

⁸Smoke rose from his nostrils,

and consuming fire came from his mouth;

coals were set ablaze by it.^Had

⁹He bent the heavens and came down,^ae

total darkness beneath his feet.

¹⁰He rode on a cherub and flew,

soaring on the wings of the wind.^af

¹¹He made darkness his hiding place,

dark storm clouds his canopy around him.^ag

¹²From the radiance of his presence,^ah

his clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.

¹³The Lord thundered from^A heaven;

the Most High made his voice heard.^Bai

¹⁴He shot his arrows and scattered them;

he hurled^C lightning bolts and routed them.^aj

¹⁵The depths of the sea became visible,

the foundations of the world were exposed,

at your rebuke, Lord,

at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.^a

¹⁶He reached down from on high

and took hold of me;

he pulled me out of deep water.^b

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were too strong for me.^c

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.^d

¹⁹He brought me out to a spacious place;^e

he rescued me because he delighted in me.^f

²⁰The Lord rewarded me

according to my righteousness;^g

he repaid me

according to the cleanness of my hands.^h

²¹For I have kept the ways of the Lord

and have not turned from my God to wickedness.ⁱ

²²Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me^D

and have not disregarded his statutes.^j

²³I was blameless toward him^k

and kept myself from my iniquity.

²⁴So the Lord repaid me

according to my righteousness,^l

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.^m

²⁵With the faithful

you prove yourself faithful,

with the blameless

you prove yourself blameless,

²⁶with the pure

you prove yourself pure,

but with the crooked

you prove yourself shrewd.ⁿ

²⁷For you rescue an oppressed people,^o

but you humble those with haughty eyes.^p

²⁸Lord, you light my lamp;

my God illuminates my darkness.^q

²⁹With you I can attack a barricade,^E

and with my God I can leap over a wall.^r

³⁰God—his way is perfect;^s

the word of the Lord is pure.^t

He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.^u

³¹For who is God besides the Lord?^v

And who is a rock? Only our God.^w

³²God—he clothes me with strength^x

and makes my way perfect.

³³He makes my feet like the feet of a deer^y

and sets me securely on the heights.^Az

³⁴He trains my hands for war;^aa

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.^ab

³⁵You have given me the shield of your salvation;

your right hand upholds me,^ac

and your humility exalts me.

³⁶You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps,^ad

and my ankles do not give way.^ae

³⁷I pursue my enemies and overtake them;

I do not turn back until they are wiped out.^af

³⁸I crush them, and they cannot get up;

they fall beneath my feet.^ag

³⁹You have clothed me with strength for battle;^ah

you subdue my adversaries beneath me.^ai

⁴⁰You have made my enemies retreat before me;^Baj

I annihilate those who hate me.^ak

⁴¹They cry for help, but there is no one to save them^al—

they cry to the Lord, but he does not answer them.^am

⁴²I pulverize them like dust before the wind;^an

I trample them^C like mud in the streets.^ao

⁴³You have freed me from the feuds among the people;

you have appointed me the head of nations;^ap

a people I had not known serve me.^aq

⁴⁴Foreigners submit to me cringing;

as soon as they hear they obey me.^a

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heart

and come trembling from their fortifications.^b

⁴⁶The Lord lives—blessed be my rock!

The God of my salvation is exalted.^c

⁴⁷God—he grants me vengeance^d

and subdues peoples under me.^e

⁴⁸He frees me from my enemies.

You exalt me above my adversaries;

you rescue me from violent men.^f

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

I will sing praises about your name.^g

⁵⁰He gives great victories to his king;^h

he shows loyalty to his anointed,

to David and his descendants forever.ⁱ

Psalm 19

THE WITNESS OF CREATION AND SCRIPTURE

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

¹The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the expanse^j proclaims the work of his hands.^k

²Day after day they pour out speech;

night after night they communicate knowledge.^A

³There is no speech; there are no words;

their voice is not heard.

⁴Their message^B has gone out to the whole earth,

and their words to the ends of the world.^l

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.^m

⁵It is like a bridegroom coming from his home;

it rejoices like an athlete running a course.

⁶It rises from one end of the heavens

and circles to their other end;ⁿ

nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷The instruction of the Lord is perfect,

renewing one’s life;^o

the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,

making the inexperienced wise.^p

⁸The precepts of the Lord are right,

making the heart glad;^q

the command of the Lord is radiant,

making the eyes light up.^r

⁹The fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever;^s

the ordinances of the Lord are reliable

and altogether righteous.^t

¹⁰They are more desirable than gold—

than an abundance of pure gold;^u

and sweeter than honey

dripping from a honeycomb.^v

¹¹In addition, your servant is warned by them,

and in keeping them there is an abundant reward.^w

¹²Who perceives his unintentional sins?

Cleanse me from my hidden faults.^x

¹³Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;^y

do not let them rule me.^z

Then I will be blameless

and cleansed from blatant rebellion.^aa

¹⁴May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to you,^ab

Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.^ac