Psalm 18:title–50

PRAISE FOR DELIVERANCE

For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the power of Saul.^s He said:

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