Psalms 18
1 I love thee, O LORD, my strength!
Unto the end, for David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength:
2 Jehovah is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I trust; My shield, my strong defence, and my high tower.
The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is my helper, and in him will I put my trust. My protector and the horn of my salvation, and my support.
3 I called upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And was delivered from my enemies.
Praising I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies.
4 The snares of death encompassed me; The floods of destruction filled me with dismay;
The sorrows of death surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity troubled me.
The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and the snares of death prevented me. (Sheol h7585)
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried unto my God; He heard my voice from his palace, And my cry came before him into his ears.
In my affliction I called upon the Lord, and I cried to my God: And he heard my voice from his holy temple: and my cry before him came into his ears.
7 Then the earth quaked and trembled; The foundations of the mountains rocked and were shaken, Because his wrath was kindled.
The earth shook and trembled: the foundations of the mountains were troubled and were moved, because he was angry with them.
8 A smoke went up from his nostrils, And fire from his mouth devoured; Burning coals shot forth from him.
There went up a smoke in his wrath: and a fire flamed from his face: coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens, and came down; And darkness was under his feet;
He bowed the heavens, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; Yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
And he ascended upon the cherubim, and he flew; he flew upon the wings of the winds.
11 And he made darkness his covering; His pavilion round about him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
And he made darkness his covert, his pavilion round about him: dark waters in the clouds of the air.
12 At the brightness before him, his thick clouds passed away; Then came hailstones and coals of fire.
At the brightness that was before him the clouds passed, hail and coals of fire.
13 The LORD also thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered his voice, Amid hailstones and coals of fire.
And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the highest gave his voice: hail and coals of fire.
14 He sent forth his arrows, and scattered them; Continual lightnings, and discomfited them.
And he sent forth his arrows, and he scattered them: he multiplied lightnings, and troubled them.
15 Then the channels of the deep were seen, And the foundations of the earth were laid bare At thy rebuke, O LORD! At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
Then the fountains of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were discovered: At thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the spirit of thy wrath.
16 He stretched forth his hand from above; he took me, And drew me out of deep waters.
He sent from on high, and took me: and received me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy; From my adversaries, who were too powerful for me.
He delivered me from my strongest enemies, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.
18 They fell upon me in the day of my calamity; But the LORD was my stay.
They prevented me in the day of my affliction: and the Lord became my protector.
19 He brought me forth into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
And he brought me forth into a large place: he saved me, because he was well pleased with me.
20 The LORD hath rewarded me according to my righteous; According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
And the Lord will reward me according to my justice; and will repay me according to the cleanness of my hands:
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
Because I have kept the ways of the Lord; and have not done wickedly against my God.
22 For all his laws were in my sight; I did not put away his statutes from me.
For till his judgments are in my sight: and his justices I have not put away from me.
23 I was upright before him, And kept myself from iniquity.
And I shall be spotless with him: and shall keep myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore hath the LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes.
And the Lord will reward me according to my justice; and according to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes.
25 To the merciful thou showest thyself merciful; To the upright thou showest thyself upright;
With the holy, thou wilt be holy; and with the innocent man thou wilt be innocent.
26 To the pure thou showest thyself pure, And to the perverse thou showest thyself perverse.
And with the elect thou wilt be elect: and with the perverse thou wilt be perverted.
27 For thou savest the afflicted people, But the haughty countenance thou bringest down.
For thou wilt save the humble people; but wilt bring down the eyes of the proud.
28 Thou causest my lamp to shine; Jehovah, my God, enlighteneth my darkness.
For thou lightest my lamp, O Lord: O my God enlighten my darkness.
29 For through thee I have broken through troops; Through my God I have leaped over walls.
For by thee I shall be delivered from temptation; and through my God I shall go over a wall.
30 The ways of God are just and true; His word is pure, tried in the fire; He is a shield to all who put their trust in him.
As for my God, his way is undefiled: the words of the Lord are fire tried: he is the protector of all that trust in him.
31 Who, then, is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our God?
For who is God but the Lord? or who is God but our God?
32 It is God that girded me with strength, And made my way plain.
God who hath girt me with strength; and made my way blameless.
33 He made my feet like the hind's, And set me in my high places;
Who hath made my feet like the feet of harts: and who setteth me upon high places.
34 He taught my hands to war, So that my arm bent the bow of brass.
Who teacheth my hands to war: and thou hast made my arms like a brazen bow.
35 Thou gavest me the shield of thy protection; Thy right hand held me up, And thy goodness made me great.
And thou hast given me the protection of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath held me up: And thy discipline hath corrected me unto the end: and thy discipline, the same shall teach me.
36 Thou didst make a wide path for my steps, So that my feet did not stumble.
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; and my feet are not weakened.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And turned not back till I had destroyed them.
I will pursue after my enemies, and overtake them: and I will not turn again till they are consumed.
38 I smote them, so that they could not rise; They fell under my feet.
I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand: they shall fall under my feet.
39 Thou didst gird me with strength for the battle; Thou didst cast down my adversaries under me.
And thou hast girded me with strength unto battle; and hast subdued under me them that rose up against me.
40 Thou didst cause my enemies to turn their backs, So that I destroyed them that hated me.
And thou hast made my enemies turn their back upon me, and hast destroyed them that hated me.
41 They cried, but there was none to help; To Jehovah, but he answered them not.
They cried, but there was none to save them, to the Lord: but he heard them not.
42 I beat them small, like dust before the wind; I cast them out as the dirt of the streets.
And I shall beat them as small as the dust before the wind; I shall bring them to nought, like the dirt in the streets.
43 Thou hast delivered me from the assaults of the nations; Thou hast made me the head of the kingdoms. Nations whom I knew not serve me;
Thou wilt deliver me from the contradictions of the people: thou wilt make me head of the Gentiles.
44 They who have only heard of me obey me; Yea, men of a strange land submit themselves to me;
A people, which I knew not, hath served me: at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me.
45 Men of a strange land fade away, like a leaf, And come trembling from their strongholds.
The children that are strangers have lied to me, strange children have faded away, and have halted from their paths.
46 Jehovah is the living God; blessed be my rock; Exalted be the God of my salvation!
The Lord liveth, and blessed be my God, and let the God of my salvation be exalted:
47 It is God who hath given me vengeance, And subdued the nations under me;
O God, who avengest me, and subduest the people under me, my deliverer from my enemies.
48 He delivered me from my enemies; Yea, thou hast lifted me up above my adversaries; Thou hast saved me from the violent man!
And thou wilt lift me up above them that rise up against me: from the unjust man thou wilt deliver me.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to thee, O LORD! among the nations, And sing praises to thy name.
Therefore will I give glory to thee, O Lord, among the nations, and I will sing a psalm to thy name.
50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king, And showeth mercy to his anointed, —To David and to his posterity for ever.
Giving great deliverance to his king, and shewing mercy to David his anointed: and to his seed for ever.
