Psa 18
 
o[See ver. 4 above]
ca[See ver. 44 above]

Psalms 18

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, athe servant of the Lord, bwho addressed the words of this csong to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2The Lord is my drock and my efortress and my deliverer,
my God, my frock, in gwhom I take refuge,
my hshield, and ithe horn of my salvation, my jstronghold.
3I call upon the Lord, who is kworthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 lThe cords of death encompassed me;
mthe torrents of destruction assailed me;
Or terrified me

5 othe cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 pIn my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his qtemple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth rreeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8Smoke went up from his nostrils,
Or in his wrath

and devouring tfire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9He ubowed the heavens and vcame down;
wthick darkness was under his feet.
10He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on xthe wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his covering, his ycanopy around him,
thick clouds zdark with water.
12Out of the brightness before him
aahailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13 The Lord also abthundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his acvoice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14And he sent out his adarrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and aerouted them.
15Then afthe channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your agrebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of ahthe breath of your nostrils.
16 He aisent from on high, he took me;
he ajdrew me out of akmany waters.
17He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were altoo mighty for me.
18They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19He brought me out into ama broad place;
he rescued me, because he andelighted in me.
20 The Lord dealt with me aoaccording to my righteousness;
according to apthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21For I have aqkept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22For arall his rules
Or just decrees
were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23I was atblameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 With authe merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with avthe crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27For you save awa humble people,
but axthe haughty eyes you bring down.
28For it is you who light my aylamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can azleap over baa wall.
30This God—his way is bbperfect;
Or blameless

the word of the Lord bdproves true;
he is bea shield for all those who bftake refuge in him.
31 For bgwho is God, but the Lord?
And who is bha rock, except our God?—
32the God who biequipped me with strength
and made my way bjblameless.
33He made my feet like the feet of a bkdeer
and set me secure on blthe heights.
34He bmtrains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand bnsupported me,
and your bogentleness made me great.
36You bpgave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40You made my enemies bqturn their backs to me,
Or  You gave me my enemies’ necks

and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 bsThey cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42I beat them fine as btdust before the wind;
I cast them out like buthe mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from bvstrife with the people;
you made me bwthe head of the nations;
bxpeople whom I had not known served me.
44As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
byforeigners bzcame cringing to me.
45 caForeigners lost heart
and cbcame trembling out of their fortresses.
46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation
47the God who gave me vengeance
and ccsubdued peoples under me,
48who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you cdexalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from cethe man of violence.
49 cfFor this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and cgsing to your name.
50Great chsalvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his cianointed,
to cjDavid and his offspring forever.
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