Psalms 18
18
Psalm 18
This song is for the music leader.
The Lord's servant, David, wrote it.
David sang these words to the Lord when the Lord saved him from the power of his enemies. This was at the time when Saul was king.
Thank you, Lord! #18:1 This Psalm also comes in 2 Samuel 22. You can read there about the things that happened when David sang this song.
1I love you, Lord.
You make me strong.
2The Lord keeps me safe.
He is my great rock and my strong place.
God is my high rock. #18:2 David calls God his ‘rock’ because a rock is a safe, strong place. If an enemy is chasing you, a rock is a good place to hide.
I run to him to hide and be safe.
He keeps me safe like a soldier's shield.
He is the strong place where I can hide safely.
3I praise the Lord because he deserves it!
When I called to him for help,
he saved me from my enemies.
4Death was near enough to catch me!
Danger was like a river that poured over me.
5Death was tying me up with ropes,
to pull me into the deep hole of the grave.
6In my trouble, I prayed to the Lord.
I called to my God to help me.
He heard my voice from his home in heaven.
My prayer reached his ears.
7Then the earth moved and it shook.
Even the strong mountains shook,
because God was angry.
8He breathed out smoke from his nose.
Fire and hot coals came out from his mouth,
to destroy his enemies.
9God caused the sky to bend as he came down.
Dark clouds were under his feet.
10He sat on a cherub and he flew.
The wind carried him as he travelled.
11God covered himself with darkness.
He hid himself in dark clouds that held rain.
12Bright light went in front of him.
Hail and lightning fell from the clouds.
13The Lord sent thunder from the sky.
People everywhere heard the voice of the Most High God.
14The Lord shot his arrows of lightning.
He caused his enemies to run away.
15When you shouted against your enemies, Lord,
even the bottom of the deep sea appeared.
People could see the foundations of the earth,
when you breathed out in anger.
16The Lord reached down to me from above.
He took hold of me and he pulled me up out of the deep water.
17Yes, he saved me from my powerful enemies.
The people who hated me were too strong for me,
but the Lord saved me from their power.
18They attacked me when I was in trouble,
but the Lord helped me.
19He led me out to a place where I would be safe.
He saved me because I made him happy.
20The Lord was kind to me
because I do things that please him.
He blesses me
because I am not guilty of bad things.
21I have obeyed the Lord's commands.
I have not turned against my God.
22I understand all his rules,
and I do not refuse to obey them.
23He knows that I have done nothing that is wrong.
I kept away from any sin.
24The Lord has been kind to me,
because I did good things.
He sees that I am not guilty.
25 Lord, if people are faithful to you,
then you are faithful to them.
If people do nothing that is bad,
they can trust you to do nothing bad to them.
26If people always do what is right,
they can trust you to be kind to them.
But if people are wicked,
you turn against them.
27You save people who are humble.
But if people are proud, you bring them down very low.
28 Lord, you make my lamp burn brightly.
My God is my light in the dark.
29You make me strong,
so that I can attack a whole army!
With the help of my God,
I can climb over any high wall. #18:29 When an army attacked a city, the soldiers had to knock down the walls of the city or climb over them.
30God's way is perfect.
Yes, the Lord's promises are always true.
He keeps safe everyone who goes to him for help,
like a shield that keeps a soldier safe.
31We know that the Lord is God,
and no one else.
Only our God can keep us safe,
like a strong rock!
32It is God who makes me strong.
He shows me the safe way through my life.
33He makes my feet stand strongly on the ground.
Like a deer,
I can stand on high mountains and not fall.
34He teaches me how to fight in war.
He makes my arms strong
to shoot arrows from a metal bow. #18:34 David would need to be very strong to bend a metal bow and shoot an arrow.
35 Lord, your power has helped me to be strong.
You have kept me safe, like a shield.
Your kind help has made me great.
36You have helped me to move safely,
so that my feet do not slip.
37I ran after my enemies and I caught them.
I did not turn back until I had killed them.
38I knocked them down to the ground.
They could not get up again.
They fell under my feet.
39You have made me strong to fight battles,
so that I win against my enemies.
40You cause my enemies to turn around,
and they run away from me.
I can destroy those who hate me.
41They call out for help,
but nobody is there to help them.
They call to the Lord,
but he does not answer them.
42I beat them into dust
that the wind blows away.
I walk over them,
like dirt that lies on the streets.
43You have saved me from people who attacked me.
You made me a ruler of other nations.
People that I did not know before
now serve me as their ruler.
44When foreign people hear about me,
they choose to obey me.
They cannot stand against me
because they are afraid.
45They are not brave enough to fight me.
They shake with fear,
as they come out of their strong cities.
46The Lord is alive! He is my strong Rock!
Everyone should praise him!
He rules as king!
He is the God who saves me.
47He is the true God who punishes my enemies.
He makes the nations obey me.
48He is the one who saves me from my enemies.
Yes, God, you give me power
to win against those who attack me.
You keep me safe from angry and cruel men.
49 Lord, I will thank you,
so that all the nations know about you.
I will sing to praise your name.
50Yes, the Lord gives power to me, David, his king.
He gives me great strength to win against my enemies.
I am the special king that he has chosen. #18:50 The Hebrew word for a king that God has chosen is ‘Messiah’. When we call Jesus Christ God's Messiah, we are saying that he is the special King that God has chosen. He is a descendant of King David.
He will continue to be kind to me
and to my descendants for ever.
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Psalms 18: EASY
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