| 18:1 |
I love you, O LORD, my strength. |
| 18:2 |
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. |
| 18:3 |
I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. |
| 18:4 |
The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. |
| 18:5 |
The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. |
| 18:6 |
In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. |
| 18:7 |
The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. |
| 18:8 |
Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. |
| 18:9 |
He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. |
| 18:10 |
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. |
| 18:11 |
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him--the dark rain clouds of the sky. |
| 18:12 |
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. |
| 18:13 |
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. |
| 18:14 |
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them. |
| 18:15 |
The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils. |
| 18:16 |
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. |
| 18:17 |
He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. |
| 18:18 |
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. |
| 18:19 |
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. |
| 18:20 |
The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. |
| 18:21 |
For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God. |
| 18:22 |
All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. |
| 18:23 |
I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. |
| 18:24 |
The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. |
| 18:25 |
To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, |
| 18:26 |
to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. |
| 18:27 |
You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. |
| 18:28 |
You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. |
| 18:29 |
With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. |
| 18:30 |
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. |
| 18:31 |
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? |
| 18:32 |
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. |
| 18:33 |
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. |
| 18:34 |
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. |
| 18:35 |
You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. |
| 18:36 |
You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. |
| 18:37 |
I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. |
| 18:38 |
I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. |
| 18:39 |
You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet. |
| 18:40 |
You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. |
| 18:41 |
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them--to the LORD, but he did not answer. |
| 18:42 |
I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets. |
| 18:43 |
You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me. |
| 18:44 |
As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me. |
| 18:45 |
They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. |
| 18:46 |
The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! |
| 18:47 |
He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, |
| 18:48 |
who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me. |
| 18:49 |
Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. |
| 18:50 |
He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever. |
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