| 1 | I love You fervently
and
devotedly, O Lord, my Strength. |
| 2 | The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my keen
and
firm Strength in Whom I will trust
and
take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower. |
| 3 | I will call upon the Lord, Who is to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. |
| 4 | The cords
or
bands of death surrounded me, and the streams of ungodliness
and
the torrents of ruin terrified me. |
| 5 | The cords of Sheol (the place of the dead) surrounded me; the snares of death confronted
and
came upon me. |
| 6 | In my distress [when seemingly closed in] I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; He heard my voice out of His temple (heavenly dwelling place), and my cry came before Him, into His [very] ears. |
| 7 | Then the earth quaked and rocked, the foundations also of the mountains trembled; they moved
and
were shaken because He was indignant
and
angry. |
| 8 | There went up smoke from His nostrils; and lightning out of His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it. |
| 9 | He bowed the heavens also and came down; and thick darkness was under His feet. |
| 10 | And He rode upon a cherub [a storm] and flew [swiftly]; yes, He sped on with the wings of the wind. |
| 11 | He made darkness His secret hiding place; as His pavilion (His canopy) round about Him were dark waters
and
thick clouds of the skies. |
| 12 | Out of the brightness before Him there broke forth through His thick clouds hailstones and coals of fire. |
| 13 | The Lord also thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice, amid hailstones and coals of fire. |
| 14 | And He sent out His arrows and scattered them; and He flashed forth lightnings and put them to rout. |
| 15 | Then the beds of the sea appeared and the foundations of the world were laid bare at Your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. |
| 16 | He reached from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. |
| 17 | He delivered me from my strong enemy and from those who hated
and
abhorred me, for they were too strong for me. |
| 18 | They confronted
and
came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay
and
support. |
| 19 | He brought me forth also into a large place; He was delivering me because He was pleased with me
and
delighted in me. |
| 20 | The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness (my conscious integrity and sincerity with Him); according to the cleanness of my hands has He recompensed me. |
| 21 | For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. |
| 22 | For all His ordinances were before me, and I put not away His statutes from me. |
| 23 | I was upright before Him
and
blameless with Him, ever [on guard] to keep myself free from my sin
and
guilt. |
| 24 | Therefore has the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness (my uprightness and right standing with Him), according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. |
| 25 | With the kind
and
merciful You will show Yourself kind
and
merciful, with an upright man You will show Yourself upright, |
| 26 | With the pure You will show Yourself pure, and with the perverse You will show Yourself contrary. |
| 27 | For You deliver an afflicted
and
humble people but will bring down those with haughty looks. |
| 28 | For You cause my lamp to be lighted
and
to shine; the Lord my God illumines my darkness. |
| 29 | For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. |
| 30 | As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested
and
tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge
and
put their trust in Him. |
| 31 | For who is God except the Lord? Or who is the Rock save our God, |
| 32 | The God who girds me with strength and makes my way perfect? |
| 33 | He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places. |
| 34 | He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. |
| 35 | You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand has held me up; Your gentleness
and
condescension have made me great. |
| 36 | You have given plenty of room for my steps under me, that my feet would not slip. |
| 37 | I pursued my enemies and overtook them; neither did I turn again till they were consumed. |
| 38 | I smote them so that they were not able to rise; they fell wounded under my feet. |
| 39 | For You have girded me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me and caused to bow down those who rose up against me. |
| 40 | You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me. |
| 41 | They cried [for help], but there was none to deliver—even unto the Lord, but He answered them not. |
| 42 | Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the dirt
and
mire of the streets. |
| 43 | You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; You made me the head of the nations; a people I had not known served me. |
| 44 | As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me; foreigners submitted themselves cringingly
and
yielded feigned obedience to me. |
| 45 | Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their caves
or
strongholds. |
| 46 | The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted, |
| 47 | The God Who avenges me and subdues peoples under me, |
| 48 | Who delivers me from my enemies; yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me; You deliver me from the man of violence. |
| 49 | Therefore will I give thanks
and
extol You, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to Your name. |
| 50 | Great deliverances
and
triumphs gives He to His king; and He shows mercy
and
steadfast love to His anointed, to David and his offspring forever. |
Cross references:
-
Psalm 18:2 : Heb. 2:13.
-
Psalm 18:3 : Rev. 5:12.
-
Psalm 18:49 : Rom. 15:9.
-
Psalm 18:50 : II Sam. 22:2-51.
|