Psalm 18:2–50

²The Lord is ^amy ¹rock and ^bmy fortress and my ^cdeliverer,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My ^dshield and the ^ehorn of my salvation, my ^fstronghold.

³I call upon the Lord, who is ^aworthy to be praised,

And I am ^bsaved from my enemies.

⁴The ^acords of death encompassed me,

And the ^btorrents of ¹ungodliness ²terrified me.

⁵The ^acords of ¹Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my ^adistress I called upon the Lord,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice ^bout of His temple,

And my ^ccry for help before Him came into His ears.

⁷Then the ^aearth shook and quaked;

And the ^bfoundations of the mountains were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

⁸Smoke went up ¹out of His nostrils,

And ^afire from His mouth devoured;

Coals were kindled by it.

⁹He ^abowed the heavens also, and came down

With thick ^bdarkness under His feet.

¹⁰He rode upon a ^acherub and flew;

And He sped upon the ^bwings of the wind.

¹¹He made ^adarkness His hiding place, ^bHis ¹canopy around Him,

Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

¹²From the ^abrightness before Him passed His thick clouds,

Hailstones and ^bcoals of fire.

¹³The Lord also ^athundered in the heavens,

And the Most High uttered His voice,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴He ^asent out His arrows, and scattered them,

And lightning flashes in abundance, and ¹routed them.

¹⁵Then the ^achannels of water appeared,

And the foundations of the world were ¹laid bare

At Your ^brebuke, O Lord,

At the blast of the ^cbreath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶He ^asent from on high, He took me;

He drew me out of ^bmany waters.

¹⁷He ^adelivered me from my strong enemy,

And from those who hated me, for they were ^btoo mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in ^athe day of my calamity,

But ^bthe Lord was my stay.

¹⁹He brought me forth also into a ^abroad place;

He rescued me, because ^bHe delighted in me.

²⁰The Lord has ^arewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the ^bcleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

²¹For I have ^akept the ways of the Lord,

And have ^bnot wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all ^aHis ordinances were before me,

And I did not put away His ^bstatutes from me.

²³I was also ^1ablameless with Him,

And I ^bkept myself from my iniquity.

²⁴Therefore the Lord has ^arecompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

²⁵With ^athe kind You show Yourself kind;

With the ¹blameless ^bYou show Yourself blameless;

²⁶With the pure You show Yourself ^apure,

And with the crooked ^bYou show Yourself ¹astute.

²⁷For You ^asave an afflicted people,

But ^bhaughty eyes You abase.

²⁸For You ^alight my lamp;

The Lord my God ^billumines my darkness.

²⁹For by You I can ^1arun upon a troop;

And by my God I can ^bleap over a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is ^1ablameless;

The ^bword of the Lord is tried;

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

³¹For ^awho is God, but the Lord?

And who is a ^brock, except our God,

³²The God who ^agirds me with strength

And ¹makes my way ^2bblameless?

³³He ^amakes my feet like hinds’ feet,

And ^bsets me upon my high places.

³⁴He ^atrains my hands for battle,

So that my arms can ^bbend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have also given me ^athe shield of Your salvation,

And Your ^bright hand upholds me;

And ^cYour ¹gentleness makes me great.

³⁶You ^aenlarge my steps under me,

And my ^1bfeet have not slipped.

³⁷I ^apursued my enemies and overtook them,

And I did not turn back ^buntil they were consumed.

³⁸I shattered them, so that they were ^anot able to rise;

They fell ^bunder my feet.

³⁹For You have ^agirded me with strength for battle;

You have ^1bsubdued under me those who rose up against me.

⁴⁰You have also made my enemies ^aturn their backs to me,

And I ^1bdestroyed those who hated me.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was ^anone to save,

Even to the Lord, but ^bHe did not answer them.

⁴²Then I beat them fine as the ^adust before the wind;

I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.

⁴³You have delivered me from the ^acontentions of the people;

You have placed me as ^bhead of the nations;

A ^cpeople whom I have not known serve me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear, they obey me;

Foreigners ^1asubmit to me.

⁴⁵Foreigners ^afade away,

And ^bcome trembling out of their ¹fortresses.

⁴⁶The Lord ^alives, and blessed be ^bmy rock;

And exalted be ^cthe God of my salvation,

⁴⁷The God who ^aexecutes vengeance for me,

And ^bsubdues peoples under me.

⁴⁸He ^adelivers me from my enemies;

Surely You ^blift me above those who rise up against me;

You rescue me from the ^cviolent man.

⁴⁹Therefore I will ^agive thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,

And I will ^bsing praises to Your name.

⁵⁰He gives great ^1adeliverance to His king,

And shows lovingkindness to ^bHis anointed,

To David and ^chis ²descendants forever.