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18:1 I love you, O LORD, my strength. 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 18:3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies. 18:4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of perdition assailed me; 18:5 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. 18:7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. 18:8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. 18:9 He bowed the heavens, and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. 18:10 He rode on a cherub, and flew; he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind. 18:11 He made darkness his covering around him, his canopy thick clouds dark with water. 18:12 Out of the brightness before him there broke through his clouds hailstones and coals of fire. 18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice. 18:14 And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them. 18:15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. 18:16 He reached down from on high, he took me; he drew me out of mighty waters. 18:17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me. 18:18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity; but the LORD was my support. 18:19 He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. 18:20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me. 18:21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 18:22 For all his ordinances were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me. 18:23 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt. 18:24 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. 18:25 With the loyal you show yourself loyal; with the blameless you show yourself blameless; 18:26 with the pure you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you show yourself perverse. 18:27 For you deliver a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. 18:28 It is you who light my lamp; the LORD, my God, lights up my darkness. 18:29 By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. 18:30 This God-- his way is perfect; the promise of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him. 18:31 For who is God except the LORD? And who is a rock besides our God?-- 18:32 the God who girded me with strength, and made my way safe. 18:33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer, and set me secure on the heights. 18:34 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 18:35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand has supported me; your help has made me great. 18:36 You gave me a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. 18:37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; and did not turn back until they were consumed. 18:38 I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet. 18:39 For you girded me with strength for the battle; you made my assailants sink under me. 18:40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed. 18:41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them. 18:42 I beat them fine, like dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets. 18:43 You delivered me from strife with the peoples; you made me head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me. 18:44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me. 18:45 Foreigners lost heart, and came trembling out of their strongholds. 18:46 The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation, 18:47 the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me; 18:48 who delivered me from my enemies; indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries; you delivered me from the violent. 18:49 For this I will extol you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises to your name. 18:50 Great triumphs he gives to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever. 18:51