Psa 18:2-50 | ESV | STEP | The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer , my God , my rock , in whom I take refuge , my shield , and the horn of my salvation , my stronghold .

2 The Lord is my ^arock and my ^bfortress and my deliverer,
my God, my ^crock, in ^dwhom I take refuge,
my ^eshield, and ^fthe horn of my salvation, my ^gstronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is ^hworthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 ⁱThe cords of death encompassed me;
^jthe torrents of destruction assailed me; ^{▼▼Or terrified me}
5 ^lthe cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 ^mIn my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his ⁿtemple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth ^oreeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, ^{▼▼Or in his wrath}
and devouring ^qfire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He ^rbowed the heavens and ^scame down;
^tthick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on ^uthe wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his ^vcanopy around him,
thick clouds ^wdark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
^xhailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13 The Lord also ^ythundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his ^zvoice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his ^aaarrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and ^abrouted them.
15 Then ^acthe channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your ^adrebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of ^aethe breath of your nostrils.
16 He ^afsent from on high, he took me;
he ^agdrew me out of ^ahmany waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were ^aitoo mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into ^aja broad place;
he rescued me, because he ^akdelighted in me.
20 The Lord dealt with me ^alaccording to my righteousness;
according to ^amthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have ^ankept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For ^aoall his rules ^{▼▼Or just decrees} were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was ^aqblameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 With ^arthe merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with ^asthe crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save ^ata humble people,
but ^authe haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my ^avlamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can ^awleap over ^axa wall.
30 This God—his way is ^ayperfect; ^{▼▼Or blameless}
the word of the Lord ^baproves true;
he is ^bba shield for all those who ^bctake refuge in him.
31 For ^bdwho is God, but the Lord?
And who is ^bea rock, except our God?—
32 the God who ^bfequipped me with strength
and made my way ^bgblameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a ^bhdeer
and set me secure on ^bithe heights.
34 He ^bjtrains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand ^bksupported me,
and your ^blgentleness made me great.
36 You ^bmgave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies ^bnturn their backs to me, ^{▼▼Or You gave me my enemies’ necks}
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 ^bpThey cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as ^bqdust before the wind;
I cast them out like ^brthe mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from ^bsstrife with the people;
you made me ^btthe head of the nations;
^bupeople whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
^bvforeigners ^bwcame cringing to me.
45 ^bxForeigners lost heart
and ^bycame trembling out of their fortresses.
46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and ^bzsubdued peoples under me,
48 who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you ^caexalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from ^cbthe man of violence.
49 ^ccFor this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and ^cdsing to your name.
50 Great ^cesalvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his ^cfanointed,
to ^cgDavid and his offspring forever.