Psalms 18 — GNB
18Verse 1I love thee, O LORD, my strength!Verse 2Jehovah is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I trust; My shield, my strong defence, and my high tower.Verse 3I called upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And was delivered from my enemies.Verse 4The snares of death encompassed me; The floods of destruction filled me with dismay;Verse 5The snares of the underworld surrounded me, And the nets of death seized upon me.Verse 6In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried unto my God; He heard my voice from his palace, And my cry came before him into his ears.Verse 7Then the earth quaked and trembled; The foundations of the mountains rocked and were shaken, Because his wrath was kindled.Verse 8A smoke went up from his nostrils, And fire from his mouth devoured; Burning coals shot forth from him.Verse 9He bowed the heavens, and came down; And darkness was under his feet;Verse 10And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; Yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.Verse 11And he made darkness his covering; His pavilion round about him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.Verse 12At the brightness before him, his thick clouds passed away; Then came hailstones and coals of fire.Verse 13The LORD also thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered his voice, Amid hailstones and coals of fire.Verse 14He sent forth his arrows, and scattered them; Continual lightnings, and discomfited them.Verse 15Then the channels of the deep were seen, And the foundations of the earth were laid bare At thy rebuke, O LORD! At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.Verse 16He stretched forth his hand from above; he took me, And drew me out of deep waters.Verse 17He delivered me from my strong enemy; From my adversaries, who were too powerful for me.Verse 18They fell upon me in the day of my calamity; But the LORD was my stay.Verse 19He brought me forth into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me.Verse 20The LORD hath rewarded me according to my righteous; According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.Verse 21For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God.Verse 22For all his laws were in my sight; I did not put away his statutes from me.Verse 23I was upright before him, And kept myself from iniquity.Verse 24Therefore hath the LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes.Verse 25To the merciful thou showest thyself merciful; To the upright thou showest thyself upright;Verse 26To the pure thou showest thyself pure, And to the perverse thou showest thyself perverse.Verse 27For thou savest the afflicted people, But the haughty countenance thou bringest down.Verse 28Thou causest my lamp to shine; Jehovah, my God, enlighteneth my darkness.Verse 29For through thee I have broken through troops; Through my God I have leaped over walls.Verse 30The ways of God are just and true; His word is pure, tried in the fire; He is a shield to all who put their trust in him.Verse 31Who, then, is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our God?Verse 32It is God that girded me with strength, And made my way plain.Verse 33He made my feet like the hind's, And set me in my high places;Verse 34He taught my hands to war, So that my arm bent the bow of brass.Verse 35Thou gavest me the shield of thy protection; Thy right hand held me up, And thy goodness made me great.Verse 36Thou didst make a wide path for my steps, So that my feet did not stumble.Verse 37I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And turned not back till I had destroyed them.Verse 38I smote them, so that they could not rise; They fell under my feet.Verse 39Thou didst gird me with strength for the battle; Thou didst cast down my adversaries under me.Verse 40Thou didst cause my enemies to turn their backs, So that I destroyed them that hated me.Verse 41They cried, but there was none to help; To Jehovah, but he answered them not.Verse 42I beat them small, like dust before the wind; I cast them out as the dirt of the streets.Verse 43Thou hast delivered me from the assaults of the nations; Thou hast made me the head of the kingdoms. Nations whom I knew not serve me;Verse 44They who have only heard of me obey me; Yea, men of a strange land submit themselves to me;Verse 45Men of a strange land fade away, like a leaf, And come trembling from their strongholds.Verse 46Jehovah is the living God; blessed be my rock; Exalted be the God of my salvation!Verse 47It is God who hath given me vengeance, And subdued the nations under me;Verse 48He delivered me from my enemies; Yea, thou hast lifted me up above my adversaries; Thou hast saved me from the violent man!Verse 49Therefore I will give thanks to thee, O LORD! among the nations, And sing praises to thy name.Verse 50Great deliverance giveth he to his king, And showeth mercy to his anointed,—To David and to his posterity for ever.