Psalm 18

God the Sovereign Savior

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David aThe Servant of the Lord, Who Spoke to the Lord The Words of bThis Song on the Day that the Lord Delivered Him from the Hand of All His Enemies and from the Hand of Saul. And He Said:

1 I cwill love You, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

My God, my 1strength, din whom I will trust;

My shield and the 2horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I will call upon the Lord, ewho is worthy to be praised;

So shall I be saved from my enemies.

4 fThe pangs of death surrounded me,

And the floods of 3ungodliness made me afraid.

5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried out to my God;

He heard my voice from His temple,

And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

7 gThen the earth shook and trembled;

The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,

Because He was angry.

8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,

And devouring fire from His mouth;

Coals were kindled by it.

9 hHe bowed the heavens also, and came down

With darkness under His feet.

10 iAnd He rode upon a cherub, and flew;

jHe flew upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness His secret place;

kHis canopy around Him was dark waters

And thick clouds of the skies.

12 lFrom the brightness before Him,

His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

13 The Lord thundered from heaven,

And the Most High uttered mHis voice,

4Hailstones and coals of fire.

14 nHe sent out His arrows and scattered 5the foe,

Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.

15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,

The foundations of the world were uncovered

At Your rebuke, O Lord,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16 oHe sent from above, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,

From those who hated me,

For they were too strong for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

But the Lord was my support.

19 pHe also brought me out into a broad place;

He delivered me because He delighted in me.

20 qThe Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands

He has recompensed me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,

And have not wickedly departed from my God.

22 For all His judgments were before me,

And I did not put away His statutes from me.

23 I was also blameless 6before Him,

And I kept myself from my iniquity.

24 rTherefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

25 sWith the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;

With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;

And twith the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

27 For You will save the humble people,

But will bring down uhaughty looks.

28 vFor You will light my lamp;

The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

29 For by You I can 7run against a troop,

By my God I can leap over a wall.

30 As for God, wHis way is perfect;

xThe word of the Lord is 8proven;

He is a shield yto all who trust in Him.

31 zFor who is God, except the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?

32 It is God who aarms me with strength,

And makes my way perfect.

33 bHe makes my feet like the feet of deer,

And csets me on my high places.

34 dHe teaches my hands to make war,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;

Your right hand has held me up,

Your gentleness has made me great.

36 You enlarged my path under me,

eSo my feet did not slip.

37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;

Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.

38 I have wounded them,

So that they could not rise;

They have fallen under my feet.

39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle;

You have 9subdued under me those who rose up against me.

40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies,

So that I destroyed those who hated me.

41 They cried out, but there was none to save;

fEven to the Lord, but He did not answer them.

42 Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;

I gcast them out like dirt in the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;

hYou have made me the head of the 1nations;

iA people I have not known shall serve me.

44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me;

The foreigners 2submit to me.

45 jThe foreigners fade away,

And come frightened from their hideouts.

46 The Lord lives!

Blessed be my Rock!

Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

47 It is God who avenges me,

kAnd subdues the peoples under me;

48 He delivers me from my enemies.

lYou also lift me up above those who rise against me;

You have delivered me from the violent man.

49 mTherefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the 3Gentiles,

And sing praises to Your name.

50 nGreat deliverance He gives to His king,

And shows mercy to His anointed,

To David and his 4descendants forevermore.