Psalms 18

^{Psalms 18:1} I love You, O LORD, my strength.

^{Psalms 18:2} The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

^{Psalms 18:3} I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

^{Psalms 18:4} The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

^{Psalms 18:5} The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

^{Psalms 18:6} In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.

^{Psalms 18:7} Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.

^{Psalms 18:8} Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.

^{Psalms 18:9} He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet.

^{Psalms 18:10} He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.

^{Psalms 18:11} He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

^{Psalms 18:12} From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced— hailstones and coals of fire.

^{Psalms 18:13} The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded— hailstones and coals of fire.

^{Psalms 18:14} He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

^{Psalms 18:15} The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

^{Psalms 18:16} He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.

^{Psalms 18:17} He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.

^{Psalms 18:18} They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.

^{Psalms 18:19} He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

^{Psalms 18:20} The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

^{Psalms 18:21} For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.

^{Psalms 18:22} For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes.

^{Psalms 18:23} And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.

^{Psalms 18:24} So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

^{Psalms 18:25} To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

^{Psalms 18:26} to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

^{Psalms 18:27} For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.

^{Psalms 18:28} For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness.

^{Psalms 18:29} For in You I can charge an army, and with my God I can scale a wall.

^{Psalms 18:30} As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

^{Psalms 18:31} For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

^{Psalms 18:32} It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.

^{Psalms 18:33} He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.

^{Psalms 18:34} He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

^{Psalms 18:35} You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me.

^{Psalms 18:36} You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.

^{Psalms 18:37} I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.

^{Psalms 18:38} I crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.

^{Psalms 18:39} You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.

^{Psalms 18:40} You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.

^{Psalms 18:41} They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but He did not answer.

^{Psalms 18:42} I ground them as dust in the face of the wind; I trampled them like mud in the streets.

^{Psalms 18:43} You have delivered me from the strife of the people; You have made me the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me.

^{Psalms 18:44} When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.

^{Psalms 18:45} Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.

^{Psalms 18:46} The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted—

^{Psalms 18:47} the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,

^{Psalms 18:48} who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.

^{Psalms 18:49} Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.

^{Psalms 18:50} Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.