Psalm 18:1–15

¹I love you, Lord.

You give me strength.

²The Lord is my rock and my fort. He is the One who saves me.

My God is my rock. I go to him for safety.

He is like a shield to me. He’s the power that saves me. He’s my place of safety.

³I call out to the Lord. He is worthy of praise.

He saves me from my enemies.

⁴The ropes of death were almost wrapped around me.

A destroying flood swept over me.

⁵The ropes of the grave were tight around me.

Death set its trap in front of me.

⁶When I was in trouble, I called out to the Lord.

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice.

My cry for help reached his ears.

⁷The earth trembled and shook.

The base of the mountains rocked back and forth.

It trembled because the Lord was angry.

⁸Smoke came out of his nose.

Flames of fire came out of his mouth.

Burning coals blazed out of it.

⁹He opened the heavens and came down.

Dark clouds were under his feet.

¹⁰He got on the cherubim and flew.

The wings of the wind lifted him up.

¹¹He covered himself with darkness.

The dark rain clouds of the sky were like a tent around him.

¹²Clouds came out of the brightness that was all around him.

They came with hailstones and flashes of lightning.

¹³The Lord thundered from heaven.

The voice of the Most High God was heard.

¹⁴He shot his arrows and scattered our enemies.

He sent great flashes of lightning and chased the enemies away.

¹⁵The bottom of the sea could be seen.

The foundations of the earth were uncovered.

Lord, it happened when your anger blazed out.

It came like a blast of breath from your nose.