Psalms 18 — AAB
The LORD Is My Rock
For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
18Verse 1I love You, O LORD, my strength.Verse 2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield, and the horn of my salvation,my stronghold.Verse 3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;so shall I be saved from my enemies.Verse 4The cords of death encompassed me;the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.Verse 5The cords of Sheol entangled me;the snares of death confronted me.Verse 6In my distress I called upon the LORD;I cried to my God for help.From His temple He heard my voice,and my cry for His help reached His ears.Verse 7Then the earth shook and quaked,and the foundations of the mountains trembled;they were shaken because He burned with anger.Verse 8Smoke rose from His nostrils,and consuming fire came from His mouth;
glowing coals blazed forth.Verse 9He parted the heavens and came downwith dark clouds beneath His feet.Verse 10He mounted a cherub and flew;He soared on the wings of the wind.Verse 11He made darkness His hiding place,and storm clouds a canopy around Him.Verse 12From the brightness of His presenceHis clouds advanced—
hailstones and coals of fire.+Verse 13The LORD thundered from heaven;the voice of the Most High resounded—
hailstones and coals of fire.+Verse 14He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;He hurled lightning and routed them.Verse 15The channels of the sea appeared,and the foundations of the world were exposed,at Your rebuke, O LORD,at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.Verse 16He reached down from on high and took hold of me;He drew me out of deep waters.Verse 17He rescued me from my powerful enemy,from foes too mighty for me.Verse 18They confronted me in my day of calamity,but the LORD was my support.Verse 19He brought me out into the open;He rescued me because He delighted in me.Verse 20The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.Verse 21For I have kept the ways of the LORDand have not wickedly departed from my God.Verse 22For all His ordinances are before me;I have not disregarded His statutes.Verse 23And I have been blameless before Himand kept myself from iniquity.Verse 24So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.Verse 25To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;Verse 26to the pure You show Yourself pure,but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.Verse 27For You save an afflicted people,but You humble those with haughty eyes.Verse 28For You, O LORD, light my lamp;my God lights up my darkness.Verse 29For in You I can charge an army,and with my God I can scale a wall.Verse 30As for God, His way is perfect;the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.Verse 31For who is God besides the LORD?And who is the Rock except our God?Verse 32It is God who arms me with strengthand makes my way clear.Verse 33He makes my feet like those of a deerand stations me upon the heights.Verse 34He trains my hands for battle;my arms can bend a bow of bronze.Verse 35You have given me Your shield of salvation;Your right hand upholds me,
and Your gentleness exalts me.+Verse 36You broaden the path beneath meso that my ankles do not give way.Verse 37I pursued my enemies and overtook them;I did not turn back until they were consumed.Verse 38I crushed them so they could not rise;they have fallen under my feet.Verse 39You have armed me with strength for battle;You have subdued my foes beneath me.Verse 40You have made my enemies retreat before me;I destroyed those who hated me.Verse 41They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.Verse 42I ground them as dust in the face of the wind;I trampled them+like mud in the streets.Verse 43You have delivered me from the strife of the people;You have made me the head of nations;
a people I had not known shall serve me.Verse 44When they hear me, they obey me;foreigners cower before me.Verse 45Foreigners lose heartand come trembling from their strongholds.Verse 46The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!And may the God of my salvation be exalted—Verse 47the God who avenges meand subdues nations beneath me,
Verse 48who delivers me from my enemies.You exalt me above my foes;You rescue me from violent men.Verse 49Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;I will sing praises to Your name.+Verse 50Great salvation He brings to His king.He shows loving devotion to His anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.