Psalm 18
18
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,
1I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
2The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised:
So shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4The sorrows of death compassed me,
And the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5The sorrows of hell compassed me about:
The snares of death prevented me.
6In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried unto my God:
He heard my voice out of his temple,
And my cry came before him, even into his ears.
7Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,
And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it.
9He bowed the heavens also, and came down:
And darkness was under his feet.
10And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly:
Yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him
Were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed,
Hail stones and coals of fire.
13The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice;
Hail stones and coals of fire.
14Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
And he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD,
At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16He sent from above, he took me,
He drew me out of many waters.
17He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me:
For they were too strong for me.
18They prevented me in the day of my calamity:
But the LORD was my stay.
19He brought me forth also into a large place;
He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22For all his judgments were before me,
And I did not put away his statutes from me.
23I was also upright before him,
And I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful;
With an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
26With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure;
And with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
27For thou wilt save the afflicted people;
But wilt bring down high looks.
28For thou wilt light my candle:
The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
29For by thee I have run through a troop;
And by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect:
The word of the LORD is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
31For who is God save the LORD?
Or who is a rock save our God?
32 It is God that girdeth me with strength,
And maketh my way perfect.
33He maketh my feet like hinds' feet,
And setteth me upon my high places.
34He teacheth my hands to war,
So that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
35Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation:
And thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
36Thou hast enlarged my steps under me,
That my feet did not slip.
37I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them:
Neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
38I have wounded them that they were not able to rise:
They are fallen under my feet.
39For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle:
Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
40Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies;
That I might destroy them that hate me.
41They cried, but there was none to save them:
Even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
42Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind:
I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people;
And thou hast made me the head of the heathen:
A people whom
I have not known shall serve me.
44As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me:
The strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45The strangers shall fade away,
And be afraid out of their close places.
46The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock;
And let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God that avengeth me,
And subdueth the people under me.
48He delivereth me from mine enemies: Yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me:
Thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen,
And sing praises unto thy name.
50Great deliverance giveth he to his king;
And sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
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Psalm 18: KJV
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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Learn More About King James VersionPsalms 18
18
(For the music leader. A psalm by David, the Lord's servant. David sang this to the Lord after the Lord had rescued him from his enemies, but especially from Saul.)
David's Song of Thanks
1I love you, Lord God,
and you make me strong.
2You are my mighty rock,#18.2 mighty rock: The Hebrew text has “rock,” which is sometimes used in poetry to compare the Lord to a mountain where his people can run for protection from their enemies.
my fortress, my protector,
the rock where I am safe,
my shield, my powerful weapon,#18.2 my powerful weapon: The Hebrew text has “the horn,” which refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Palestine.
and my place of shelter.
3I praise you, Lord!
I prayed, and you rescued me
from my enemies.
4Death had wrapped
its ropes around me,
and I was almost swallowed
by its flooding waters.
5Ropes from the world
of the dead
had coiled around me,
and death had set a trap
in my path.
6I was in terrible trouble
when I called out to you,
but from your temple
you heard me
and answered my prayer.
7The earth shook and shivered,
and the mountains trembled
down to their roots.
You were angry
8and breathed out smoke.
Scorching heat and fiery flames
spewed from your mouth.
9You opened the heavens
like curtains,
and you came down
with storm clouds
under your feet.
10You rode on the backs
of flying creatures
and swooped down
with the wind as wings.
11Darkness was your robe;
thunderclouds filled the sky,
hiding you from sight.
12Hailstones and fiery coals
lit up the sky
in front of you.
13 Lord Most High, your voice
thundered from the heavens,
as hailstones and fiery coals
poured down like rain.
14You scattered your enemies
with arrows of lightning.
15You roared at the sea,
and its deepest channels
could be seen.
You snorted,
and the earth shook
to its foundations.
16You reached down from heaven,
and you lifted me
from deep in the ocean.
17You rescued me from enemies,
who were hateful
and too powerful for me.
18On the day disaster struck,
they came and attacked,
but you defended me.
19When I was fenced in,
you freed and rescued me
because you love me.
20You are good to me, Lord,
because I do right,
and you reward me
because I am innocent.
21I do what you want
and never turn to do evil.
22I keep your laws in mind
and never look away
from your teachings.
23I obey you completely
and guard against sin.
24You have been good to me
because I do right;
you have rewarded me
for being innocent
by your standards.
25You are always loyal
to your loyal people,
and you are faithful
to the faithful.
26With all who are sincere,
you are sincere,
but you treat the unfaithful
as their deeds deserve.
27You rescue the humble,
but you put down all
who are proud.
28You, the Lord God,
keep my lamp burning
and turn darkness to light.
29You help me defeat armies
and capture cities.
30Your way is perfect, Lord,
and your word is correct.
You are a shield for those
who run to you for help.
31You alone are God!
Only you are a mighty rock.#18.31 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.
32You give me strength
and guide me right.
33 #
Hb 3.19. You make my feet run as fast
as those of a deer,
and you help me stand
on the mountains.
34You teach my hands to fight
and my arms to use
a bow of bronze.
35You alone are my shield.
Your right hand supports me,
and by coming to help me,
you have made me famous.
36You clear the way for me,
and now I won't stumble.
37I kept chasing my enemies,
until I caught them
and destroyed them.
38I stuck my sword
through my enemies,
and they were crushed
under my feet.
39You helped me win victories,
and you forced my attackers
to fall victim to me.
40You made my enemies run,
and I killed them.
41They cried out for help,
but no one saved them;
they called out to you,
but there was no answer.
42I ground them to dust
blown by the wind,
and I poured them out
like mud in the streets.
43You rescued me
from stubborn people,
and you made me the leader
of foreign nations,
who are now my slaves.
44They obey and come crawling.
45They have lost all courage,
and from their fortresses,
they come trembling.
46You are the living Lord!
I will praise you.
You are a mighty rock.#18.46 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.
I will honor you
for keeping me safe.
47You took revenge for me,
and you put nations
in my power.
48You protected me
from violent enemies
and made me much greater
than all of them.
49 #
Ro 15.9. I will praise you, Lord,
and I will honor you
among the nations.
50You give glorious victories
to your chosen king.
Your faithful love for David
and for his descendants
will never end.
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