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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