Psalm 18


God the Sovereign Savior

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David athe servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of bthis song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

I cwill love You, O Lord, my strength.

2
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my 1strength, ain whom I will trust;
My shield and the 2horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3
I will call upon the Lord, awho is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.


4
aThe pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of 1ungodliness made me afraid.

5
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.

6
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.


7
aThen the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.

8
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.

9
aHe bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.

10
aAnd He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
bHe flew upon the wings of the wind.

11
He made darkness His secret place;
aHis canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.

12
aFrom the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.


13
The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered aHis voice,
1Hailstones and coals of fire.

14
aHe sent out His arrows and scattered 1the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.

15
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.


16
aHe sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.

17
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.

18
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.

19
aHe also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.


20
aThe Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.

21
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.

22
For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.

23
I was also blameless 1before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.

24
aTherefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.


25
aWith the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

26
With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And awith the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

27
For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down ahaughty looks.


28
aFor You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

29
For by You I can 1run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.

30
As for God, aHis way is perfect;
bThe word of the Lord is 1proven;
He is a shield cto all who trust in Him.


31
aFor who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?

32
It is God who aarms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.

33
aHe makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And bsets me on my high places.

34
aHe teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.


35
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.

36
You enlarged my path under me,
aSo my feet did not slip.


37
I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.

38
I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.

39
For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have 1subdued under me those who rose up against me.

40
You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.

41
They cried out, but there was none to save;
aEven to the Lord, but He did not answer them.

42
Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I acast them out like dirt in the streets.


43
You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
aYou have made me the head of the 1nations;
bA people I have not known shall serve me.

44
As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners 1submit to me.

45
aThe foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.


46
The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

47
It is God who avenges me,
aAnd subdues the peoples under me;

48
He delivers me from my enemies.
aYou also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.

49
aTherefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the 1Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.


50
aGreat deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his 1descendants forevermore.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved.