Psalms 18
18
1-2I love you, God—
you make me strong.
God is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God—the high crag
where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders,
safe in the granite hideout.
3I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty,
and find myself safe and saved.
4-5The hangman’s noose was tight at my throat;
devil waters rushed over me.
Hell’s ropes cinched me tight;
death traps barred every exit.
6A hostile world! I call to God,
I cry to God to help me.
From his palace he hears my call;
my cry brings me right into his presence—
a private audience!
7-15Earth wobbles and lurches;
huge mountains shake like leaves,
Quake like aspen leaves
because of his rage.
His nostrils flare, bellowing smoke;
his mouth spits fire.
Tongues of fire dart in and out;
he lowers the sky.
He steps down;
under his feet an abyss opens up.
He’s riding a winged creature,
swift on wind-wings.
Now he’s wrapped himself
in a trenchcoat of black-cloud darkness.
But his cloud-brightness bursts through,
spraying hailstones and fireballs.
Then God thundered out of heaven;
the High God gave a great shout,
spraying hailstones and fireballs.
God shoots his arrows—pandemonium!
He hurls his lightnings—a rout!
The secret sources of ocean are exposed,
the hidden depths of earth lie uncovered
The moment you roar in protest,
let loose your hurricane anger.
16-19But me he caught—reached all the way
from sky to sea; he pulled me out
Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,
the void in which I was drowning.
They hit me when I was down,
but God stuck by me.
He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!
20-24 God made my life complete
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I got my act together,
he gave me a fresh start.
Now I’m alert to God’s ways;
I don’t take God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works;
I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
and I’m watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
25-27The good people taste your goodness,
The whole people taste your health,
The true people taste your truth,
The bad ones can’t figure you out.
You take the side of the down-and-out,
But the stuck-up you take down a notch.
28-29Suddenly, God, you floodlight my life;
I’m blazing with glory, God’s glory!
I smash the bands of marauders,
I vault the highest fences.
30What a God! His road
stretches straight and smooth.
Every God-direction is road-tested.
Everyone who runs toward him
Makes it.
31-42Is there any god like God?
Are we not at bedrock?
Is not this the God who armed me,
then aimed me in the right direction?
Now I run like a deer;
I’m king of the mountain.
He shows me how to fight;
I can bend a bronze bow!
You protect me with salvation-armor;
you hold me up with a firm hand,
caress me with your gentle ways.
You cleared the ground under me
so my footing was firm.
When I chased my enemies I caught them;
I didn’t let go till they were dead men.
I nailed them; they were down for good;
then I walked all over them.
You armed me well for this fight,
you smashed the upstarts.
You made my enemies turn tail,
and I wiped out the haters.
They cried “uncle”
but Uncle didn’t come;
They yelled for God
and got no for an answer.
I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind.
I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter.
43-45You rescued me from a squabbling people;
you made me a leader of nations.
People I’d never heard of served me;
the moment they got wind of me they listened.
The foreign devils gave up; they came
on their bellies, crawling from their hideouts.
46-48Live, God! Blessings from my Rock,
my free and freeing God, towering!
This God set things right for me
and shut up the people who talked back.
He rescued me from enemy anger,
he pulled me from the grip of upstarts,
He saved me from the bullies.
49-50That’s why I’m thanking you, God,
all over the world.
That’s why I’m singing songs
that rhyme your name.
God’s king takes the trophy;
God’s chosen is beloved.
I mean David and all his children—
always.
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Psalms 18: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Psalms 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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