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
Psalm 18#18:0 Psalm 18 is virtually identical in wording to 2 Samuel 22.
For the choir director; by David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord when the Lord rescued him from all his enemies, especially from Saul. He said,
1I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my Savior,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the strength of my salvation,
my stronghold.
3The Lord should be praised.
I called on him, and I was saved from my enemies.
4The ropes of death had become tangled around me.
The torrents of destruction had overwhelmed me.
5The ropes of the grave had surrounded me.
The clutches of death had confronted me.
6I called on the Lord in my distress.
I cried to my God for help.
He heard my voice from his temple,
and my cry for help reached his ears.
7Then the earth shook and quaked.
Even the foundations of the mountains trembled.
They shook violently because he was angry.
8Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and a raging fire came out of his mouth.
Glowing coals flared up from it.
9He spread apart the heavens
and came down with a dark cloud under his feet.
10He rode on one of the angels #18:10 Or “cherubim.” as he flew,
and he soared on the wings of the wind.
11He made the darkness his hiding place,
the dark rain clouds his covering.
12Out of the brightness in front of him,
those rain clouds passed by with hailstones and lightning.
13The Lord thundered in the heavens.
The Most High made his voice heard with hailstones and lightning.
14He shot his arrows and scattered them.
He flashed streaks of lightning and threw them into confusion.
15Then the ocean floor could be seen.
The foundations of the earth were laid bare
at your stern warning, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath from your nostrils.
16He reached down from high above and took hold of me.
He pulled me out of the raging water.
17He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
because they were too strong for me.
18On the day when I faced disaster, they confronted me,
but the Lord came to my defense.
19He brought me out to a wide-open place.
He rescued me because he was pleased with me.
20The Lord rewarded me
because of my righteousness,
because my hands are clean.
He paid me back
21because I have kept the ways of the Lord
and I have not wickedly turned away from my God,
22because all his judgments are in front of me
and I have not turned away from his laws.
23I was innocent as far as he was concerned.
I have kept myself from guilt.
24The Lord paid me back
because of my righteousness,
because he can see that my hands are clean.
25 ⌞In dealing⌟ with faithful people you are faithful,
with innocent people you are innocent,
26with pure people you are pure.
⌞In dealing⌟ with devious people you are clever.
27You save humble people,
but you bring down a conceited look.
28O Lord, you light my lamp.
My God turns my darkness into light.
29With you I can attack a line of soldiers.
With my God I can break through barricades.
30God’s way is perfect!
The promise of the Lord has proven to be true.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
31Who is God but the Lord?
Who is a rock except our God?
32God arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.
33He makes my feet like those of a deer
and gives me sure footing on high places.
34He trains my hands for battle
so that my arms can bend an ⌞archer’s⌟ bow of bronze.
35You have given me the shield of your salvation.
Your right hand supports me.
Your gentleness makes me great.
36You make a wide path for me to walk on
so that my feet do not slip.
37I chased my enemies and caught up with them.
I did not return until I had ended their lives.
38I wounded them so badly that they were unable to get up.
They fell under my feet.
39You armed me with strength for battle.
You made my opponents bow at my feet.
40You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and I destroyed those who hated me.
41They cried out for help, but there was no one to save them.
They cried out to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42I beat them into a powder as fine as the dust blown by the wind.
I threw them out as though they were dirt on the streets.
43You rescued me from my conflicts with the people.
You made me the leader of nations.
A people I did not know will serve me:
44As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.
Foreigners will cringe in front of me.
45Foreigners will lose heart,
and they will tremble when they come out of their fortifications.
46The Lord lives!
Thanks be to my rock!
May God my Savior be honored.
47God gives me vengeance!
He brings people under my authority.
48He saves me from my enemies.
You lift me up above my opponents.
You rescue me from violent people.
49That is why I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the nations
and make music to praise your name.
50He gives great victories to his king.
He shows mercy to his anointed,
to David, and to his descendant #18:50 Or “to his descendants.” forever.
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