Psalms 18
18
PSALM 18
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,
1Thee will I love, O Lord, my strength.
2My fortress is the Lord,
My rock, and he that doth to me
deliverance afford:
My God, my strength, whom I will trust,
a buckler unto me,
The horn of my salvation,
and my high tow'r, is he.
3Upon the Lord, who worthy is
of praises, will I cry;
And then shall I preserved be
safe from mine enemy.
4Floods of ill men affrighted me,
death's pangs about me went;
5Hell's sorrows me environed;
death's snares did me prevent.
6In my distress I call'd on God,
cry to my God did I;
He from his temple heard my voice,
to his ears came my cry.
7Th' earth, as affrighted, then did shake,
trembling upon it seiz'd:
The hills' foundations moved were,
because he was displeas'd.
8Up from his nostrils came a smoke,
and from his mouth there came
Devouring fire, and coals by it
were turned into flame.
9He also bowed down the heav'ns,
and thence he did descend;
And thickest clouds of darkness did
under his feet attend.
10And he upon a cherub rode,
and thereon he did fly;
Yea, on the swift wings of the wind
his flight was from on high.
11He darkness made his secret place:
about him, for his tent,
Dark waters were, and thickest clouds
of th' airy firmament.
12And at the brightness of that light,
which was before his eye,
His thick clouds pass'd away, hailstones
and coals of fire did fly.
13The Lord God also in the heav'ns
did thunder in his ire;
And there the Highest gave his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14Yea, he his arrows sent abroad,
and them he scattered;
His lightnings also he shot out,
and them discomfited.
15The waters' channels then were seen,
the world's foundations vast
At thy rebuke discover'd were,
and at thy nostrils' blast.
16And from above the Lord sent down,
and took me from below;
From many waters he me drew,
which would me overflow.
17He me reliev'd from my strong foes,
and such as did me hate;
Because he saw that they for me
too strong were, and too great.
18They me prevented in the day
of my calamity;
But even then the Lord himself
a stay was unto me.
19He to a place where liberty
and room was hath me brought;
Because he took delight in me,
he my deliv'rance wrought.
20According to my righteousness
he did me recompense,
He me repaid according to
my hands' pure innocence.
21For I God's ways kept, from my God
did not turn wickedly.
22His judgments were before me, I
his laws put not from me.
23Sincere before him was my heart;
with him upright was I;
And watchfully I kept myself
from mine iniquity.
24After my righteousness the Lord
hath recompensed me,
After the cleanness of my hands
appearing in his eye.
25Thou gracious to the gracious art,
to upright men upright:
26Pure to the pure, froward thou kyth'st
unto the froward wight.
27For thou wilt the afflicted save
in grief that low do lie:
But wilt bring down the countenance
of them whose looks are high.
28The Lord will light my candle so,
that it shall shine full bright:
The Lord my God will also make
my darkness to be light.
29By thee through troops of men I break,
and them discomfit all;
And, by my God assisting me,
I overleap a wall.
30As for God, perfect is his way:
the Lord his word is try'd;
He is a buckler to all those
who do in him confide.
31Who but the Lord is God? but he
who is a rock and stay?
32'Tis God that girdeth me with strength,
and perfect makes my way.
33He made my feet swift as the hinds,
set me on my high places.
34Mine hands to war he taught, mine arms
brake bows of steel in pieces.
35The shield of thy salvation
thou didst on me bestow:
Thy right hand held me up, and great
thy kindness made me grow.
36And in my way my steps thou hast
enlarged under me,
That I go safely, and my feet
are kept from sliding free.
37Mine en'mies I pursued have,
and did them overtake;
Nor did I turn again till I
an end of them did make.
38I wounded them, they could not rise;
they at my feet did fall.
39Thou girdedst me with strength for war;
my foes thou brought'st down all:
40And thou hast giv'n to me the necks
of all mine enemies;
That I might them destroy and slay,
who did against me rise.
41They cried out, but there was none
that would or could them save;
Yea, they did cry unto the Lord,
but he no answer gave.
42Then did I beat them small as dust
before the wind that flies;
And I did cast them out like dirt
upon the street that lies.
43Thou mad'st me free from people's strife,
and heathen's head to be:
A people whom I have not known
shall service do to me.
44At hearing they shall me obey,
to me they shall submit.
45Strangers for fear shall fade away,
who in close places sit.
46God lives, bless'd be my Rock; the God
of my health praised be.
47God doth avenge me, and subdues
the people under me.
48He saves me from mine enemies;
yea, thou hast lifted me
Above my foes; and from the man
of vi'lence set me free.
49Therefore to thee will I give thanks
the heathen folk among;
And to thy name, O Lord, I will
sing praises in a song.
50He great deliv'rance gives his king:
he mercy doth extend
To David, his anointed one,
and his seed without end.
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 18
18
To the music director. A psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who sang the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord saved him from all his enemies, and from Saul. He sang:
1I love you, Lord. You are my strength.
2The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Savior. He is my God, my rock who protects me. He shields me from harm, his power protects me,#18:2. Literally, “horn of my salvation.” he keeps me safe.
3I call for help from the Lord who should be praised, and he saves me from those who hate me.
4Ropes of death encircled me, surging waters of destruction flooded over me;
5The grave wound its ropes around me; death set snares for me.
6In my despair I called on the Lord—I cried out to my God for help. He heard my voice from his Temple—my cry for help reached his ears.
7The earth shook to and fro; the foundations of the mountains trembled, shaking because of his anger.
8Smoke came out of his nostrils, and fire came from his mouth; burning coals blazed before him.
9He parted the heavens and came down, with dark clouds beneath his feet.
10Riding on an angel#18:10. Literally, “cherub,” but in English this has become associated with an angelic baby. he flew, swooping on the wings of the wind.
11He hid himself in darkness, covering himself with black thunderclouds.
12Hailstones and burning coals flew out from his brightness, passing through his thick clouds.
13The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High sounded among the hailstones and burning coals.
14He fired his arrows, scattering his enemies;#18:14. Implied. he routed them with his lightning bolts.
15You roared, Lord, and by the wind from the breath of your nostrils the valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth were uncovered.
16He reached down his hand from above and grabbed hold of me. He pulled me out of the deep water.
17He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and who were much stronger than me.
18They came at me at my worst possible moment#18:18. Literally, “my day of disaster.”, but the Lord supported me.
19He set me free,#18:19. Literally, “brought me out to a spacious place.” he rescued me because he's my friend.#18:19. Or “he delights in me.”
20The Lord rewarded me because I do what's right; he repaid me because I am innocent.#18:20. Literally, “because of the cleanness of my hands.”
21For I have followed the Lord's ways; I have not sinned by turning away from my God.
22I have kept all his laws in mind; I have not ignored his commandments.
23I am blameless in his sight; I keep myself from sinning.
24The Lord rewarded me for doing what's right. I am innocent in his sight.
25You show trust to those who trust; you show integrity to those with integrity,#18:25. The word used here means “complete” or “sound.”
26You show yourself pure to those who are pure, but you show yourself smart to those who are crafty.#18:26 Both words used here have to do with being “twisted,” the first in the sense of being clever, the second in the sense of being devious and perverse.
27You save the humble, but you bring down the proud.
28You light my lamp! Lord, my God, you light up my darkness!
29With you, I can charge down a troop of soldiers; with you, my God, I can climb a fortress wall.
30God's way is absolutely right.#18:30. The word used here, often translated as “perfect,” is the same as in 18:25. What the Lord says is trustworthy. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
31For who is God except the Lord? Who is the rock, except our God?
32God makes me strong and keeps me safe.
33He makes me surefooted like the deer, able to walk the heights in safety.
34He teaches me how to fight in battle; he gives me the strength to draw a bronze bow.
35You protect me with the shield of your salvation; you support me with your powerful right hand; your help has made me great.
36You gave me space in which to walk, and prevented my feet from slipping.
37I chased my enemies, and caught up with them. I did not turn around until I had destroyed them.
38I struck them down—they couldn't get up. They fell at my feet.
39You made me strong for battle; you made those who rose up against me kneel down before me.
40You made my enemies run away; I destroyed all my enemies.
41They cried out for help, but no one came to rescue them. They even called out to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42I ground them into dust, like dust in the wind. I threw them out like mud in the street.
43You rescued me from rebellious people; you made me ruler over nations—people I didn't know now serve me.
44As soon as they hear of me, they obey; foreigners cringe before me.
45They lose heart, and come trembling in surrender from their strongholds.
46The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock! May the God who saves me be praised!
47God avenges me, he subdues peoples under me,
48he rescues me from those who hate me. You keep me safe from those who rebel against me, you save me from violent men.
49That's why I will praise you among the nations, Lord; I will sing praises about who you are.#18:49. “About who you are”: Literally, “to your name”: the concept of name in Hebrew is far more than a simple designation; it refers to the character of the person.
50You have saved the king so often,#18:50. Or “You have given many victories to the king.” showing your trustworthy love to David, your anointed, and to his descendants forever.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com