Psalms 18
18
To the music director. A psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who sang the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord saved 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. He is my God, my rock who protects me. He shields me from harm, his power protects me,#18:2. Literally, “horn of my salvation.” he keeps me safe.
3I call for help from the Lord who should be praised, and he saves me from those who hate me.
4Ropes of death encircled me, surging waters of destruction flooded over me;
5The grave wound its ropes around me; death set snares for me.
6In my despair I called on the Lord—I cried out to my God for help. He heard my voice from his Temple—my cry for help reached his ears.
7The earth shook to and fro; the foundations of the mountains trembled, shaking because of his anger.
8Smoke came out of his nostrils, and fire came from his mouth; burning coals blazed before him.
9He parted the heavens and came down, with dark clouds beneath his feet.
10Riding on an angel#18:10. Literally, “cherub,” but in English this has become associated with an angelic baby. he flew, swooping on the wings of the wind.
11He hid himself in darkness, covering himself with black thunderclouds.
12Hailstones and burning coals flew out from his brightness, passing through his thick clouds.
13The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High sounded among the hailstones and burning coals.
14He fired his arrows, scattering his enemies;#18:14. Implied. he routed them with his lightning bolts.
15You roared, Lord, and by the wind from the breath of your nostrils the valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth were uncovered.
16He reached down his hand from above and grabbed hold of me. He pulled me out of the deep water.
17He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and who were much stronger than me.
18They came at me at my worst possible moment#18:18. Literally, “my day of disaster.”, but the Lord supported me.
19He set me free,#18:19. Literally, “brought me out to a spacious place.” he rescued me because he's my friend.#18:19. Or “he delights in me.”
20The Lord rewarded me because I do what's right; he repaid me because I am innocent.#18:20. Literally, “because of the cleanness of my hands.”
21For I have followed the Lord's ways; I have not sinned by turning away from my God.
22I have kept all his laws in mind; I have not ignored his commandments.
23I am blameless in his sight; I keep myself from sinning.
24The Lord rewarded me for doing what's right. I am innocent in his sight.
25You show trust to those who trust; you show integrity to those with integrity,#18:25. The word used here means “complete” or “sound.”
26You show yourself pure to those who are pure, but you show yourself smart to those who are crafty.#18:26 Both words used here have to do with being “twisted,” the first in the sense of being clever, the second in the sense of being devious and perverse.
27You save the humble, but you bring down the proud.
28You light my lamp! Lord, my God, you light up my darkness!
29With you, I can charge down a troop of soldiers; with you, my God, I can climb a fortress wall.
30God's way is absolutely right.#18:30. The word used here, often translated as “perfect,” is the same as in 18:25. What the Lord says is trustworthy. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
31For who is God except the Lord? Who is the rock, except our God?
32God makes me strong and keeps me safe.
33He makes me surefooted like the deer, able to walk the heights in safety.
34He teaches me how to fight in battle; he gives me the strength to draw a bronze bow.
35You protect me with the shield of your salvation; you support me with your powerful right hand; your help has made me great.
36You gave me space in which to walk, and prevented my feet from slipping.
37I chased my enemies, and caught up with them. I did not turn around until I had destroyed them.
38I struck them down—they couldn't get up. They fell at my feet.
39You made me strong for battle; you made those who rose up against me kneel down before me.
40You made my enemies run away; I destroyed all my enemies.
41They cried out for help, but no one came to rescue them. They even called out to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42I ground them into dust, like dust in the wind. I threw them out like mud in the street.
43You rescued me from rebellious people; you made me ruler over nations—people I didn't know now serve me.
44As soon as they hear of me, they obey; foreigners cringe before me.
45They lose heart, and come trembling in surrender from their strongholds.
46The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock! May the God who saves me be praised!
47God avenges me, he subdues peoples under me,
48he rescues me from those who hate me. You keep me safe from those who rebel against me, you save me from violent men.
49That's why I will praise you among the nations, Lord; I will sing praises about who you are.#18:49. “About who you are”: Literally, “to your name”: the concept of name in Hebrew is far more than a simple designation; it refers to the character of the person.
50You have saved the king so often,#18:50. Or “You have given many victories to the king.” showing your trustworthy love to David, your anointed, and to his descendants forever.
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Psalms 18: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com