Psalm 18:2–50

²The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.

My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold.

³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;

so shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me;

the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

⁵The cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD;

I cried to my God for help.

From His temple He heard my voice,

and my cry for His help reached His ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains trembled;

they were shaken because He burned with anger.

⁸Smoke rose from His nostrils,

and consuming fire came from His mouth;

glowing coals blazed forth.

⁹He parted the heavens and came down

with dark clouds beneath His feet.

¹⁰He mounted a cherub and flew;

He soared on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place,

and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

¹²From the brightness of His presence

His clouds advanced —

hailstones and coals of fire.^a

¹³The LORD thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded —

hailstones and coals of fire.^b

¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;

He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁵The channels of the sea appeared,

and the foundations of the world were exposed,

at Your rebuke, O LORD,

at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

He drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

from foes too mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in my day of calamity,

but the LORD was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into the open;

He rescued me because He delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all His ordinances are before me;

I have not disregarded His statutes.

²³And I have been blameless before Him

and kept myself from iniquity.

²⁴So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

²⁵To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,

to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

²⁶to the pure You show Yourself pure,

but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

²⁷For You save an afflicted people,

but You humble those with haughty eyes.

²⁸For You, O LORD, light my lamp;

my God lights up my darkness.

²⁹For in You I can charge an army,

and with my God I can scale a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³¹For who is God besides the LORD?

And who is the Rock except our God?

³²It is God who arms me with strength

and makes my way clear.

³³He makes my feet like those of a deer

and stations me upon the heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle;

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me Your shield of salvation;

Your right hand upholds me,

and Your gentleness exalts me.^c

³⁶You broaden the path beneath me

so that my ankles do not give way.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them;

I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁸I crushed them so they could not rise;

they have fallen under my feet.

³⁹You have armed me with strength for battle;

You have subdued my foes beneath me.

⁴⁰You have made my enemies retreat before me;

I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them —

to the LORD, but He did not answer.

⁴²I ground them as dust in the face of the wind;

I trampled them^d like mud in the streets.

⁴³You have delivered me from the strife of the people;

You have made me the head of nations;

a people I had not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴When they hear me, they obey me;

foreigners cower before me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heart

and come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!

And may the God of my salvation be exalted—

⁴⁷the God who avenges me

and subdues nations beneath me,

⁴⁸who delivers me from my enemies.

You exalt me above my foes;

You rescue me from violent men.

⁴⁹Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;

I will sing praises to Your name.^e

⁵⁰Great salvation He brings to His king.

He shows loving devotion to His anointed,

to David and his descendants forever.