Psalms 18

The Lord is my rock

I love you, Lord, my strength.a ²The 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.b ³I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.c

⁴The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. ⁵The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. ⁶In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.d

⁷The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. ⁸Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. ⁹He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.

¹⁰He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. ¹¹He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. ¹²Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

¹³The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. ¹⁴He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. ¹⁵The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.e ¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. ¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.f ²⁰The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.g ²¹For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I am not guilty of turning from my God.

²²All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. ²³I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. ²⁴The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁵To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,h ²⁶to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.i ²⁷You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

²⁸You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.j ²⁹With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.k ³⁰As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.l

³¹For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? ³²It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.m ³³He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.n

³⁴He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.o ³⁵You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great.p ³⁶You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. ³⁸I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. ³⁹You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me.q

⁴⁰You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. ⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the Lord, but he did not answer. ⁴²I beat them as fine as windblown dust; I trampled them like mud in the streets.

⁴³You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me,r ⁴⁴foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. ⁴⁵They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! ⁴⁷He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, ⁴⁸who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me.

⁴⁹Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name.s ⁵⁰He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing love to his anointed, to David and to his descendants forever.