Psalm 18

Diligam te, Domine

¹ I will love you, O Lord my strength;*

the Lord is my rock, my stronghold, and my deliverer,

² My Savior, my God, and my might in whom I will trust,*

my buckler, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge.

³ I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;*

so shall I be safe from my enemies.

⁴ The waves of death encompassed me;*

the floods that would swallow me up made me afraid.

⁵ The cords of the grave surrounded me;*

the snares of death overtook me.

⁶ In my trouble I called upon the Lord*

and cried unto my God for help.

⁷ From his holy temple he heard my voice.*

My complaint came before him; it entered into his ears.

⁸ The earth trembled and quaked;*

the very foundations of the hills shook and were removed, because he was angry.

⁹ There went out smoke from his nostrils and a consuming fire out of his mouth;*

coals of fire issued from his presence.

¹⁰ He parted the heavens also and came down,*

and it was dark under his feet.

¹¹ He rode upon the cherubim and flew;*

he came flying upon the wings of the wind.

¹² He made darkness his secret place;*

dark waters and thick clouds were his covering round about him.

¹³ At the brightness of his presence his clouds broke forth:*

hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴ The Lord also thundered out of heaven, and the Most High gave forth his voice:*

hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁵ He sent out his arrows and scattered them;*

he cast forth lightning and destroyed them.

¹⁶ The springs of water were seen, and the foundations of the world were uncovered,*

at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blasting of the breath of your displeasure.

¹⁷ He reached down from on high to grasp me,*

and he took me out of many waters.

¹⁸ He delivered me from my strongest enemy, and from those who hated me,*

for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁹ They confronted me in the day of my trouble,*

but the Lord upheld me.

²⁰ He brought me forth into a place of liberty;*

he delivered me, because I had found favor in his eyes.

²¹ The Lord rewarded me according to my righteous dealing;*

according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me,

²² Because I had kept the ways of the Lord*

and had not forsaken my God, as the wicked do.

²³ For I had an eye unto all his laws*

and did not cast out his commandments from me.

²⁴ I was also uncorrupt before him*

and kept myself from my own wickedness.

²⁵ Therefore the Lord rewarded me according to my righteous dealing,*

and according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁶ With the faithful you show yourself faithful,*

and with the upright you show yourself upright.

²⁷ With the pure you show yourself pure,*

but with the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

²⁸ For you shall save the people who are in adversity,*

but shall bring down the high looks of the proud.

²⁹ You also shall light my lamp;*

the Lord my God shall turn my darkness into light.

³⁰ For with you I shall crush a host of men,*

and with the help of my God I can leap over a wall.

³¹ The way of God is an undefiled way; the word of the Lord also is tried in the fire;*

he is the defender of all those who put their trust in him.

³² For who is God, but the Lord,*

or who is a rock, except our God?

³³ It is God who girds me with strength for war*

and makes my way perfect.

³⁴ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer*

and sets me up on high.

³⁵ He teaches my hands to fight,*

and my arms shall bend even a bow of bronze.

³⁶ You have given me the shield of your salvation;*

your right hand also shall hold me up, and your loving correction shall make me great.

³⁷ You have made a broad path for my feet,*

and my footsteps shall not slip.

³⁸ I will follow my enemies and overtake them;*

I will not turn again until I have destroyed them.

³⁹ I will smite them, and they shall not be able to stand.*

They shall fall under my feet.

⁴⁰ You have girded me with strength for the battle;*

you shall throw down my enemies under me.

⁴¹ You have made my enemies turn their backs upon me,*

and I shall destroy those who hate me.

⁴² They shall cry, but there shall be none to help them;*

even unto the Lord shall they cry, but he shall not hear them.

⁴³ I will beat them as small as dust before the wind;*

I will tread them down as mire in the streets.

⁴⁴ You shall deliver me from the strivings of the peoples,*

and you shall make me the head of the nations.

⁴⁵ A people whom I have not known*

shall be in subjection under me.

⁴⁶ As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me;*

and foreigners shall cringe before me.

⁴⁷ Foreigners shall lose heart,*

and, being afraid, shall come out of their strongholds.

⁴⁸ The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,*

and praised be the God of my salvation,

⁴⁹ Even the God who sees that I am avenged*

and subdues the peoples under me.

⁵⁰ It is he who delivers me from my cruel enemies, and lifts me up above my adversaries;*

you shall rid me of the wicked.

⁵¹ For this cause will I give thanks unto you, O Lord, among the nations,*

and sing praises unto your Name.

⁵² Great prosperity he gives unto his King,*

and shows loving-kindness to David his Anointed, and unto his seed for evermore.

Psalms with similar themes:

God’s Glory
18  29  99  46  148  150 

In Time of Trouble
3  11  12  13  18  20  46  30  146  40  49  57  85  62  63  80  86  90  107  118  144 

Righteousness
1  15  11  12  18  19  26  34  40  92  111  112 

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