‏ Psalms 18

Psalm 18

For the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord, who recited the words of this song to the Lord after the Lord had saved him from the power of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2The Lord is my rock, my fortress, deliverer,
my God, my rock, where I take refuge,
my shield, my defender, my tower.
3Worthy of praise is the Lord whom I call on,
he rescues me from all my foes.

4The waves of death broke about me,
fearful floods of chaos.
5Sheol threw cords around me,
snares of death came to meet me.
6In distress I cried to the Lord,
and shouted for help to my God;
in his temple he heard my voice,
into his ears came my cry.

7Then the earth shook and quaked,
mountains trembled to their foundations,
and quaked because of his wrath.
8Smoke went up from his nostrils,
devouring fire from his mouth,
coals were kindled by it.

9Then he bent the sky and came down,
thick darkness was under his feet.
10He rode on a cherub and flew,
darting on wings of wind,
11with his screen of darkness about him,
in thick dark clouds of water.

12At the radiance before him there passed
hailstones and coals of fire.
13The Lord thundered from heaven,
the Most High uttered his voice.
14He shot his arrows and scattered them,
flashed lightnings, and routed them.
15The channels of the sea were revealed,
the world was laid bare to its base,
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

16He stretched from on high, he seized me,
drew me up from the mighty waters,
17and saved me from those who hated me ---
fierce foes, too mighty for me.
18In my day of distress they assailed me,
but the Lord proved my support.
19To a spacious place he brought me,
and, for love of me, he saved me.

20The Lord repays my innocence,
he rewards my cleanness of hands.
21For I kept the ways of the Lord,
nor have wickedly strayed from my God.
22His commandments were all before me,
his statutes I put not away.
23And I was blameless before him,
guarding myself from sin.
24So the Lord repaid my innocence,
my cleanness of hands in his sight.

25With the loyal you are loyal,
and with the blameless blameless.
26With the pure you show yourself pure,
but shrewd with the devious.
27For the lowly people you save,
but haughty eyes you abase.
28You are my lamp, Lord,
my God who enlightens my darkness.
29With you I can storm a rampart,
with my God I can leap a wall.
30As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is pure.
He is shield to all who take refuge in him.

31For who is God but the Lord?
And who is a rock but our God?
32The God who arms me with strength,
who cleared and smoothed my way.
33He made my feet like hinds’ feet,
and set me up on the heights.
34He taught my hands how to fight,
and my arms how to bend a bronze bow.

35The shield of your help you gave me,
your right hand supports me,
you stoop down to make me great.
36In your strength I took giant strides,
and my feet never slipped.
37So I chased the foe till I caught them,
and turned not, till I made an end of them.
38I smashed them, they could not rise,
they fell beneath my feet.

39You did arm me with strength for war,
you did bow my assailants beneath me.
40You made my foes turn their back to me,
and those who did hate me I finished.
41They cried for help, but none saved them;
to the Lord, but he answered them not.
42I beat them like dust of the market-place,
stamped them like mud of the streets.

43From the strife of the peoples you saved me,
you made me head of the nations,
peoples I knew not did serve me.
44On the instant they hear, they obey me,
foreigners come to me cringing.
45Foreigners lose courage,
and come out of their strongholds trembling.

46The Lord is alive! Blest be my rock!
Exalted be God, my protector!
47The God who gave me revenge,
and brought down nations beneath me,
48who saved me from angry foes,
and set me above my assailants,
safe from the violent.

49For this I will praise you among the nations,
making music, O Lord, to your name:
50for great triumphs he grants to his king,
and faithful love he shows his anointed,
to David and his seed evermore.