Psalms 18
18
For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang:
1I love you, Lord;
you are my strength.
2The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
3I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.
4The ropes of death entangled me;
floods of destruction swept over me.
5The grave#18:5 Hebrew Sheol. wrapped its ropes around me;
death laid a trap in my path.
6But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry to him reached his ears.
7Then the earth quaked and trembled.
The foundations of the mountains shook;
they quaked because of his anger.
8Smoke poured from his nostrils;
fierce flames leaped from his mouth.
Glowing coals blazed forth from him.
9He opened the heavens and came down;
dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.
10Mounted on a mighty angelic being,#18:10 Hebrew a cherub. he flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.
11He shrouded himself in darkness,
veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.
12Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him
and rained down hail and burning coals.#18:12 Or and lightning bolts; also in 18:13.
13The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded
amid the hail and burning coals.
14He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;
great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused.
15Then at your command, O Lord,
at the blast of your breath,
the bottom of the sea could be seen,
and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.
16He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
18They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,
but the Lord supported me.
19He led me to a place of safety;
he rescued me because he delights in me.
20The Lord rewarded me for doing right;
he restored me because of my innocence.
21For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I have not turned from my God to follow evil.
22I have followed all his regulations;
I have never abandoned his decrees.
23I am blameless before God;
I have kept myself from sin.
24The Lord rewarded me for doing right.
He has seen my innocence.
25To the faithful you show yourself faithful;
to those with integrity you show integrity.
26To the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
27You rescue the humble,
but you humiliate the proud.
28You light a lamp for me.
The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
29In your strength I can crush an army;
with my God I can scale any wall.
30God’s way is perfect.
All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
31For who is God except the Lord?
Who but our God is a solid rock?
32God arms me with strength,
and he makes my way perfect.
33He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
enabling me to stand on mountain heights.
34He trains my hands for battle;
he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.
35You have given me your shield of victory.
Your right hand supports me;
your help#18:35 Hebrew your humility; compare 2 Sam 22:36. has made me great.
36You have made a wide path for my feet
to keep them from slipping.
37I chased my enemies and caught them;
I did not stop until they were conquered.
38I struck them down so they could not get up;
they fell beneath my feet.
39You have armed me with strength for the battle;
you have subdued my enemies under my feet.
40You placed my foot on their necks.
I have destroyed all who hated me.
41They called for help, but no one came to their rescue.
They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer.
42I ground them as fine as dust in the wind.
I swept them into the gutter like dirt.
43You gave me victory over my accusers.
You appointed me ruler over nations;
people I don’t even know now serve me.
44As soon as they hear of me, they submit;
foreign nations cringe before me.
45They all lose their courage
and come trembling from their strongholds.
46The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!
May the God of my salvation be exalted!
47He is the God who pays back those who harm me;
he subdues the nations under me
48and rescues me from my enemies.
You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies;
you save me from violent opponents.
49For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations;
I will sing praises to your name.
50You give great victories to your king;
you show unfailing love to your anointed,
to David and all his descendants forever.
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Psalms 18: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Psalm 18
18
The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, #Ps. 36, title; 89:3, 20; [2 Sam. 3:18; 7:5] the servant of the Lord, #See 2 Sam. 22 who addressed the words of this #Ex. 15:1; Deut. 31:30song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2The Lord is my #ver. 31, 46; Ps. 19:14; 31:3 rock and my #Ps. 91:2; 144:2 fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my #ver. 31, 46; Ps. 19:14; 31:3 rock, in #[Heb. 2:13] whom I take refuge,
my #ver. 30; Gen. 15:1 shield, and #Ps. 112:9; Luke 1:69 the horn of my salvation, my #See Ps. 9:9stronghold.
3I call upon the Lord, who is #Ps. 48:1; 96:4; 113:3; 145:3worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 #
Ps. 116:3; [Ps. 119:61] The cords of death encompassed me;
# See Ps. 32:6 the torrents of destruction assailed me;#18:4 Or terrified me
5 # [See ver. 4 above] the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 #
Ps. 66:14; 102:2; 120:1; [Jonah 2:2] In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his #See Ps. 11:4temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7Then the earth #[Judg. 5:4; Acts 4:31; 16:26]reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8Smoke went up from his nostrils,#18:8 Or in his wrath
and devouring #See Ps. 21:9fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9He #Ps. 144:5 bowed the heavens and #Isa. 64:1 came down;
# See Ex. 20:21 thick darkness was under his feet.
10He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on #Ps. 104:3the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his covering, his #Job 36:29; [Ps. 97:2] canopy around him,
thick clouds #[Ps. 29:3]dark with water.
12Out of the brightness before him
# [Ps. 148:8; Josh. 10:11] hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13The Lord also #1 Sam. 2:10; 7:10; See Job 37:4 thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his #Isa. 30:30; See Ps. 29:3-9voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14And he sent out his #Ps. 7:13; 64:7; 77:17; 144:6; Deut. 32:23, 42; Hab. 3:11 arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and #Ex. 14:24; Josh. 10:10routed them.
15Then #Ps. 42:1; Joel 1:20 (Heb.); [Job 36:30] the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your #Ps. 106:9; Nah. 1:4 rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of #[Ex. 15:8]the breath of your nostrils.
16He #[Ps. 144:7] sent from on high, he took me;
he #[Ex. 2:10] drew me out of #See Ps. 32:6; Job 22:11many waters.
17He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were #Ps. 142:6too mighty for me.
18They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19He brought me out into #Ps. 31:8; 118:5; [ver. 36] a broad place;
he rescued me, because he #Ps. 22:8; 2 Sam. 15:26delighted in me.
20The Lord dealt with me #Ps. 7:8; 1 Sam. 24:19; 26:23; 1 Kgs. 8:32 according to my righteousness;
according to #See Job 22:30the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21For I have #[Gen. 18:19; Prov. 8:32]kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22For #Ps. 119:30, 102all his rules#18:22 Or just decrees were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23I was #Gen. 17:1; [1 Kgs. 14:8]blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25With #Matt. 5:7the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with #Ps. 81:12; Lev. 26:23, 24; Prov. 3:34; Acts 7:42; Rom. 1:28the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27For you save #[Ex. 3:7] a humble people,
but #See Ps. 101:5the haughty eyes you bring down.
28For it is you who light my #Ps. 132:17; 1 Kgs. 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kgs. 8:19; [2 Sam. 21:17]; See Job 18:5, 6lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can #[Isa. 35:6] leap over #See 2 Sam. 5:6-9a wall.
30This God—his way is #Deut. 32:4; Dan. 4:37; Matt. 5:48; [Rev. 15:3] perfect;#18:30 Or blameless
the word of the Lord #See Ps. 12:6 proves true;
he is #ver. 2 a shield for all those who #Ps. 17:7take refuge in him.
31For #[Ps. 86:8] who is God, but the Lord?
And who is #See ver. 2a rock, except our God?—
32the God who #1 Sam. 2:4; Isa. 45:5 equipped me with strength
and made my way #Ps. 101:2, 6; 119:1; Job 22:3blameless.
33He made my feet like the feet of a #Hab. 3:19 deer
and set me secure on #Deut. 32:13; Isa. 58:14the heights.
34He #Ps. 144:1trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand #Ps. 20:2 supported me,
and your #[Isa. 63:9]gentleness made me great.
36You #Ps. 31:8; Prov. 4:12; [ver. 19]gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40You made my enemies #Ex. 23:27; [Ps. 21:12]turn their backs to me,#18:40 Or You gave me my enemies’ necks
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 # See Job 27:9 They cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42I beat them fine as #2 Kgs. 13:7 dust before the wind;
I cast them out like #Isa. 10:6; Mic. 7:10; Zech. 10:5the mire of the streets.
43You delivered me from #[2 Sam. 3:1; 19:9, 43; 20:1] strife with the people;
you made me #[Ps. 2:8]; See 2 Sam. 8:1-14 the head of the nations;
#
Isa. 55:5; [Ps. 22:27] people whom I had not known served me.
44As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
#
Ps. 144:7 foreigners #Ps. 66:3; 81:15; Deut. 33:29came cringing to me.
45 # [See ver. 44 above] Foreigners lost heart
and #Mic. 7:17came trembling out of their fortresses.
46The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47the God who gave me vengeance
and #Ps. 47:3; 144:2; [Isa. 45:1]subdued peoples under me,
48who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you #Ps. 59:1 exalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from #Ps. 140:1the man of violence.
49 # Cited Rom. 15:9 For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and #Ps. 66:4sing to your name.
50Great #Ps. 144:10 salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his #See Ps. 2:2 anointed,
to #[Ps. 89:29; 2 Sam. 7:12, 13, 29]David and his offspring forever.
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