Psalm 18

I love you, O LORD my strength, *

O LORD my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.

My God, my rock in whom I put my trust, *

my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge;

you are worthy of praise.

I will call upon the LORD, *

and so shall I be saved from my enemies.

The breakers of death rolled over me, *

and the torrents of oblivion made me afraid.

The cords of hell entangled me, *

and the snares of death were set for me.

I called upon the LORD in my distress *

and cried out to my God for help.

He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling; *

my cry of anguish came to his ears.

The earth reeled and rocked; *

the roots of the mountains shook;

they reeled because of his anger.

Smoke rose from his nostrils

and a consuming fire out of his mouth; *

hot burning coals blazed forth from him.

He parted the heavens and came down *

with a storm cloud under his feet.

He mounted on cherubim and flew; *

he swooped on the wings of the wind.

He wrapped darkness about him; *

he made dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion.

From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds, *

burst hailstones and coals of fire.

The LORD thundered out of heaven; *

the Most High uttered his voice.

He loosed his arrows and scattered them; *

he hurled thunderbolts and routed them.

The beds of the seas were uncovered,

and the foundations of the world laid bare, *

at your battle cry, O LORD,

at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

He reached down from on high and grasped me; *

he drew me out of great waters.

He delivered me from my strong enemies

and from those who hated me; *

for they were too mighty for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster; *

but the LORD was my support.

He brought me out into an open place; *

he rescued me because he delighted in me.

The LORD rewarded me because of my righteous dealing; *

because my hands were clean he rewarded me;

For I have kept the ways of the LORD *

and have not offended against my God;

For all his judgments are before my eyes, *

and his decrees I have not put away from me;

For I have been blameless with him *

and have kept myself from iniquity;

Therefore the LORD rewarded me according to my righteous dealing, *

because of the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

With the faithful you show yourself faithful, O God; *

with the forthright you show yourself forthright.

With the pure you show yourself pure, *

but with the crooked you are wily.

You will save a lowly people, *

but you will humble the haughty eyes.

You, O LORD, are my lamp; *

my God, you make my darkness bright.

With you I will break down an enclosure; *

with the help of my God I will scale any wall.

As for God, his ways are perfect;

the words of the LORD are tried in the fire; *

he is a shield to all who trust in him.

For who is God, but the LORD? *

who is the Rock, except our God?

It is God who girds me about with strength *

and makes my way secure.

He makes me sure-footed like a deer *

and lets me stand firm on the heights.

He trains my hands for battle *

and my arms for bending even a bow of bronze.

You have given me your shield of victory; *

your right hand also sustains me;

your loving care makes me great.

You lengthen my stride beneath me, *

and my ankles do not give way.

I pursue my enemies and overtake them; *

I will not turn back till I have destroyed them.

I strike them down, and they cannot rise; *

they fall defeated at my feet.

You have girded me with strength for the battle; *

you have cast down my adversaries beneath me;

you have put my enemies to flight.

I destroy those who hate me;

they cry out, but there is none to help them; *

they cry to the LORD, but he does not answer.

I beat them small like dust before the wind; *

I trample them like mud in the streets.

You deliver me from the strife of the peoples; *

you put me at the head of the nations.

A people I have not known shall serve me;

no sooner shall they hear than they shall obey me; *

strangers will cringe before me.

The foreign peoples will lose heart; *

they shall come trembling out of their strongholds.

The LORD lives! Blessed is my Rock! *

Exalted is the God of my salvation!

He is the God who gave me victory *

and cast down the peoples beneath me.

You rescued me from the fury of my enemies;

you exalted me above those who rose against me; *

you saved me from my deadly foe.

Therefore will I extol you among the nations, O LORD, *

and sing praises to your Name.

He multiplies the victories of his king; *

he shows loving-kindness to his anointed,

to David and his descendants for ever.