Psalm 18:title–15

Praise to God for His Deliverance

18For the music director. Of David, the servant of Yahweh,

who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song

when^a Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies,

and from the hand of Saul.^b

¹And he said:

“I love you, O Yahweh, my strength.”

²Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock in whom I have taken refuge,

my shield and the horn of my deliverance, my stronghold.

³I called upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,

and I was saved from my enemies.

⁴The ropes of death encircled me,

and streams of ruin overwhelmed me.

⁵The ropes of Sheol surrounded me;

the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my trouble I called on Yahweh,

and to my God I cried for help.

He heard my voice from his temple,

and my cry for help

came up before his presence into his ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains trembled,

and they staggered because he was angry.

⁸Smoke went forth from his nose,

and fire from his mouth consumed.

Burning coals blazed from him.

⁹So he bowed the heavens and came down

with a thick cloud under his feet.

¹⁰And he mounted a cherub and flew,

and he swooped down on wings of wind.

¹¹He made darkness his hiding place;

all about him his covering

was a darkness of waters, thick clouds.^c

¹²From the brightness before him

his clouds passed over

with hail and coals of fire.

¹³And Yahweh thundered from the heavens,

and the Most High uttered his voice

with hail and coals of fire.

¹⁴And he shot his arrows and scattered them,^d

and many lightning bolts and routed them.

¹⁵Then the channels of the sea became visible,

and the foundations of the world were uncovered

by your rebuke, O Yahweh,

by the blast^e of the wind of your nose.