Psalm 18:1–19:14

I love you, Lord. You are my strength.

²The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior.

My God is my rock.

I can run to him for safety.

He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender.

³I will call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and I will be saved from my enemies.

⁴The ropes of death came around me;

the deadly rivers overwhelmed me.

⁵The ropes of death wrapped around me.

The traps of death were before me.

⁶In my trouble I called to the Lord.

I cried out to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my call for help reached his ears.

⁷The earth trembled and shook.

The foundations of the mountains began to shake.

They trembled because the Lord was angry.

⁸Smoke came out of his nose,

and burning fire came out of his mouth.

Burning coals went before him.

⁹He tore open the sky and came down

with dark clouds under his feet.

¹⁰He rode a creature with wings and flew.

He raced on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness his covering, his shelter around him,

surrounded by fog and clouds.

¹²Out of the brightness of his presence came clouds

with hail and lightning.

¹³The Lord thundered from heaven;

the Most High raised his voice,

and there was hail and lightning.

¹⁴He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies.

His many bolts of lightning confused them with fear.

¹⁵Lord, you spoke strongly.

The wind blew from your nose.

Then the valleys of the sea appeared,

and the foundations of the earth were seen.

¹⁶The Lord reached down from above and took me;

he pulled me from the deep water.

¹⁷He saved me from my powerful enemies,

from those who hated me, because they were too strong for me.

¹⁸They attacked me at my time of trouble,

but the Lord supported me.

¹⁹He took me to a safe place.

Because he delights in me, he saved me.

²⁰The Lord spared me because I did what was right.

Because I have not done evil, he has rewarded me.

²¹I have followed the ways of the Lord;

I have not done evil by turning away from my God.

²²I remember all his laws

and have not broken his rules.

²³I am innocent before him;

I have kept myself from doing evil.

²⁴The Lord rewarded me because I did what was right,

because I did what the Lord said was right.

²⁵Lord, you are loyal to those who are loyal,

and you are good to those who are good.

²⁶You are pure to those who are pure,

but you are against those who are bad.

²⁷You save the humble,

but you bring down those who are proud.

²⁸Lord, you give light to my lamp.

My God brightens the darkness around me.

²⁹With your help I can attack an army.

With God’s help I can jump over a wall.

³⁰The ways of God are without fault.

The Lord’s words are pure.

He is a shield to those who trust him.

³¹Who is God? Only the Lord.

Who is the Rock? Only our God.

³²God is my protection.

He makes my way free from fault.

³³He makes me like a deer that does not stumble;

he helps me stand on the steep mountains.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle

so my arms can bend a bronze bow.

³⁵You protect me with your saving shield.

You support me with your right hand.

You have stooped to make me great.

³⁶You give me a better way to live,

so I live as you want me to.

³⁷I chased my enemies and caught them.

I did not quit until they were destroyed.

³⁸I crushed them so they couldn’t rise up again.

They fell beneath my feet.

³⁹You gave me strength in battle.

You made my enemies bow before me.

⁴⁰You made my enemies turn back,

and I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴¹They called for help,

but no one came to save them.

They called to the Lord,

but he did not answer them.

⁴²I beat my enemies into pieces, like dust in the wind.

I poured them out like mud in the streets.

⁴³You saved me when the people attacked me.

You made me the leader of nations.

People I never knew serve me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear me, they obey me.

Foreigners obey me.

⁴⁵They all become afraid

and tremble in their hiding places.

⁴⁶The Lord lives!

May my Rock be praised.

Praise the God who saves me!

⁴⁷God gives me victory over my enemies

and brings people under my rule.

⁴⁸He saves me from my enemies.

You set me over those who hate me.

You saved me from violent people.

⁴⁹So I will praise you, Lord, among the nations.

I will sing praises to your name.

⁵⁰The Lord gives great victories to his king.

He is loyal to his appointed king,

to David and his descendants forever.

God’s Works and Word

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

19The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the skies announce what his hands have made.

²Day after day they tell the story;

night after night they tell it again.

³They have no speech or words;

they have no voice to be heard.

⁴But their message goes out through all the world;

their words go everywhere on earth.

The sky is like a home for the sun.

⁵The sun comes out like a bridegroom from his bedroom.

It rejoices like an athlete eager to run a race.

⁶The sun rises at one end of the sky

and follows its path to the other end.

Nothing hides from its heat.

⁷The teachings of the Lord are perfect;

they give new strength.

The rules of the Lord can be trusted;

they make plain people wise.

⁸The orders of the Lord are right;

they make people happy.

The commands of the Lord are pure;

they light up the way.

⁹Respect for the Lord is good;

it will last forever.

The judgments of the Lord are true;

they are completely right.

¹⁰They are worth more than gold,

even the purest gold.

They are sweeter than honey,

even the finest honey.

¹¹By them your servant is warned.

Keeping them brings great reward.

¹²People cannot see their own mistakes.

Forgive me for my secret sins.

¹³Keep me from the sins of pride;

don’t let them rule me.

Then I can be pure

and innocent of the greatest of sins.

¹⁴I hope my words and thoughts please you.

Lord, you are my Rock, the one who saves me.