Psalm 18–19

Psalm 18

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 hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. ^sHe said:

¹I love You, Lord, my strength.

²The Lord is my rock,

my fortress, and my deliverer, ^t

my God, my mountain where I seek refuge,

my shield ^uand 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, ^a

and my cry to Him reached His ears. ^b

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked;

the foundations of the mountains trembled; ^c

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. ^de

⁹He parted the heavens and came down, ^f

a dark cloud beneath His feet.

¹⁰He rode on a cherub and flew,

soaring on the wings of the wind. ^g

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place,

dark storm clouds His canopy around Him. ^h

¹²From the radiance of His presence, ⁱ

His clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.

¹³The Lord thundered from ^jheaven;

the Most High projected His voice. ^kl

¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered them;

He hurled ^mlightning bolts and routed them. ⁿ

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. ^o

¹⁶He reached down from heaven

and took hold of me;

He pulled me out of deep waters. ^p

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were too strong for me. ^q

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my distress,

but the Lord was my support. ^r

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

He rescued me because He delighted in me. ^t

²⁰The Lord rewarded me

according to my righteousness; ^u

He repaid me

according to the cleanness of my hands. ^v

²¹For I have kept the ways of the Lord

and have not turned from my God to wickedness. ^w

²²Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind ^x

and have not disregarded His statutes. ^y

²³I was blameless toward Him ^z

and kept myself from sinning.

²⁴So the Lord repaid me

according to my righteousness, ^a

according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. ^b

²⁵With the faithful

You prove Yourself faithful;

with the blameless man

You prove Yourself blameless;

²⁶with the pure

You prove Yourself pure,

but with the crooked

You prove Yourself shrewd. ^c

²⁷For You rescue an afflicted people, ^d

but You humble those with haughty eyes. ^e

²⁸Lord, You light my lamp;

my God illuminates my darkness. ^f

²⁹With You I can attack a barrier, ^g

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

³⁰God—His way is perfect; ⁱ

the word of the Lord is pure. ^j

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

³¹For who is God besides Yahweh? ^l

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

³²God—He clothes me with strength ⁿ

and makes my way perfect.

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

and sets me securely on the heights. ^pq

³⁴He trains my hands for war; ^r

my arms can bend a bow of bronze. ^s

³⁵You have given me the shield of Your salvation;

Your right hand upholds me, ^t

and Your humility exalts me.

³⁶You widen a place beneath me for my steps, ^u

and my ankles do not give way. ^v

³⁷I pursue my enemies and overtake them;

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

³⁸I crush them, and they cannot get up;

they fall beneath my feet. ^x

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

You subdue my adversaries beneath me. ^z

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

I annihilate those who hate me. ^c

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

they cry to the Lord, but He does not answer them. ^e

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

I trample them ^glike mud in the streets. ^h

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

You have appointed me the head of nations; ⁱ

a people I had not known serve me. ^j

⁴⁴Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;

as soon as they hear, ^kthey obey me. ^l

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heart

and come trembling from their fortifications. ^m

⁴⁶The Lord lives—may my rock be praised!

The God of my salvation is exalted. ⁿ

⁴⁷God—He gives me vengeance ^o

and subdues peoples under me. ^p

⁴⁸He frees me from my enemies.

You exalt me above my adversaries;

You rescue me from violent men. ^q

⁴⁹Therefore I will praise You, Yahweh, among the nations;

I will sing about Your name. ^r

⁵⁰He gives great victories to His king; ^s

He shows loyalty to His anointed,

to David and his descendants forever. ^t

Psalm 19

The Witness of Creation and Scripture

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

¹The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky ^uproclaims the work of His hands. ^v

²Day after day they pour out speech;

night after night they communicate knowledge. ^w

³There is no speech; there are no words;

their voice is not heard.

⁴Their message ^xhas gone out to all the earth,

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

In the heavens ^zHe has pitched a tent for the sun. ^a

⁵It is like a groom coming from the ^bbridal chamber;

it rejoices like an athlete running a course.

⁶It rises from one end of the heavens

and circles ^cto their other end; ^d

nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷The instruction of the Lord is perfect,

renewing one’s life; ^e

the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,

making the inexperienced wise. ^f

⁸The precepts of the Lord are right,

making the heart glad; ^g

the command of the Lord is radiant,

making the eyes light up. ^h

⁹The fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever; ⁱ

the ordinances of the Lord are reliable

and altogether righteous. ^j

¹⁰They are more desirable than gold—

than an abundance of pure gold; ^k

and sweeter than honey,

which comes from the honeycomb. ^l

¹¹In addition, Your servant is warned by them;

there is great reward in keeping them. ^m

¹²Who perceives his unintentional sins?

Cleanse me from my hidden faults. ⁿ

¹³Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins; ^o

do not let them rule over me. ^p

Then I will be innocent

and cleansed from blatant rebellion. ^q

¹⁴May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to You, ^r

Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. ^s