Psalm 18:title–15

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

¹I love thee, O Lord, my strength.

²The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,

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

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

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

and I am saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me,

the torrents of perdition assailed me;

⁵the cords of Sheol entangled me,

the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

⁷Then the earth reeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

⁸Smoke went up from his nostrils,

and devouring fire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

⁹He bowed the heavens, and came down;

thick darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰He rode on a cherub, and flew;

he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness his covering around him,

his canopy thick clouds dark with water.

¹²Out of the brightness before him

there broke through his clouds

hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The Lord also thundered in the heavens,

and the Most High uttered his voice,

hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;

he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.

¹⁵Then the channels of the sea were seen,

and the foundations of the world were laid bare,

at thy rebuke, O Lord,

at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.