Psalms 18

God the Sovereign Savior

²The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; 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 pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

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

⁶In 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

¹⁵Then 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

³⁰As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

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

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

³³He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

⁵⁰Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.

Psalms 18 (NKJV)

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Psalms

Chapter 18

18 of 150