Psalm 18:title–15

David’s song of Victory

^z

18 How I love you, Lord!

You are my defender.

²The Lord is my protector;

he is my strong fortress.

My God is my protection, and with him I am safe.

He protects me like a shield;

he defends me and keeps me safe.

³I call to the Lord,

and he saves me from my enemies.

Praise the Lord!

⁴The danger of death was all round me;

the waves of destruction rolled over me.

⁵The danger of death was round me,

and the grave set its trap for me.

⁶In my trouble

I called to the Lord; I called to my God for help.

In his temple he heard my voice;

he listened to my cry for help.

⁷Then the earth trembled and shook;

the foundations of the mountains rocked and quivered,

because God was angry.

⁸Smoke poured out of his nostrils,

a consuming flame and burning coals from his mouth.

⁹He tore the sky apart and came down

with a dark cloud under his feet.

¹⁰He flew swiftly on a winged creature;^a

he travelled on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He covered himself with darkness;

thick clouds, full of water, surrounded him.

¹²Hailstones and flashes of fire

came from the lightning before him

and broke through the dark clouds.

¹³Then the Lord thundered from the sky;

and the voice of the Most High was heard.^b

¹⁴He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;

with flashes of lightning he sent them running.

¹⁵The floor of the ocean was laid bare,

and the foundations of the earth were uncovered,

when you rebuked your enemies, Lord,

and roared at them in anger.