Psalms 18

The Lord Praised for Rescuing David.

For the music director. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, 2 Sam 22:1-51who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,

1“I love You, Lord, 1my strength.”2The Lord is 2my rock and 3my fortress and my 4savior, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My 5shield and the 6horn of my salvation, my 7stronghold.3I call upon the Lord, who is 8worthy to be praised, And I am 9saved from my enemies.

4The 10ropes of death encompassed me, And the 11torrents of 12destruction 13terrified me.5The 14ropes of 15Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.6In my 16distress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice 17from His temple, And my 18cry for help before Him came into His ears.

7Then the 19earth shook and quaked; And the 20foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.8Smoke went up 21out of His nostrils, And 22fire from His mouth was devouring; Coals burned from it.9He also 23bowed the heavens down low, and came down With thick 24darkness under His feet.10He rode on a 25cherub and flew; And He sped on the 26wings of the wind.11He made 27darkness His hiding place, 28His 29canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds.12From the 30brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and 31coals of fire.13The Lord also 32thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.14He 33sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and 34routed them.15Then the 35channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were exposed By Your 36rebuke, Lord, At the blast of the 37breath of Your nostrils.

16He 38sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of 39many waters.17He 40saved me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were 41too mighty for me.18They confronted me in 42the day of my disaster, But 43the Lord was my support.19He also brought me out into an 44open place; He rescued me, because 45He delighted in me.

20The Lord has 46rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the 47cleanness of my hands He has repaid me.21For I have 48kept the ways of the Lord, And have 49not acted wickedly against my God.22For all 50His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His 51statutes from me.23I was also 5253blameless with Him, And I 54kept myself from my wrongdoing.24Therefore the Lord has 55repaid me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

25With 56the faithful You show Yourself faithful; With the 57blameless 58You prove Yourself blameless;26With the pure You show Yourself 59pure, And with the crooked 60You show Yourself 61astute.27For You 62save an afflicted people, But You humiliate 63haughty eyes.28For You 64light my lamp; The Lord my God 65illumines my darkness.29For by You I can 66run at a 67troop of warriors; And by my God I can 68leap over a wall.

30As for God, His way is 6970blameless; The 71word of the Lord is refined; He is a 72shield to all who take refuge in Him.31For 73who is God, but the Lord? And who is a 74rock, except our God,32The God who 75encircles me with strength, And 76makes my way 7778blameless?33He 79makes my feet like deer’s feet, And 80sets me up on my high places.34He 81trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can 82bend a bow of bronze.35You have also given me 83the shield of Your salvation, And Your 84right hand upholds me; And 85Your 86gentleness makes me great.36You 87enlarge my steps under me, And my 8889feet have not slipped.

37I 90pursued my enemies and overtook them, And I did not turn back 91until they were consumed.38I shattered them, so that they were 92not able to rise; They fell 93under my feet.39For You have 94encircled me with strength for battle; You have forced those who rose up against me 95to bow down under me.40You have also made my enemies 96turn their backs to me, And I 9798destroyed those who hated me.41They cried for help, but there was 99no one to save, They cried to the Lord, but 100He did not answer them.42Then I beat them fine like the 101dust before the wind; I emptied them out like the mud of the streets.

43You have rescued me from the 102contentions of the people; You have placed me as 103head of the nations; A 104people whom I have not known serve me.44As soon as they hear, they obey me; Foreigners 105pretend to obey me.45Foreigners 106lose heart, And 107come trembling out of their 108fortresses.

46The Lord 109lives, and blessed be 110my rock; And exalted be 111the God of my salvation,47The God who 112executes vengeance for me, And 113subdues peoples under me.48He 114rescues me from my enemies; You indeed 115lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from a 116violent man.49Therefore I will 117give thanks to You among the nations, Lord, And I will 118sing praises to Your name.50He gives great 119120salvation to His king, And shows faithfulness to 121His anointed, To David and 122his 123descendants forever.