Psalm 18

Living Bible

18 This song of David was written at a time when the Lord had delivered him from his many enemies, including Saul.

Lord, how I love you! For you have done such tremendous things for me.

² The Lord is my fort where I can enter and be safe; no one can follow me in and slay me. He is a rugged mountain where I hide; he is my Savior, a rock where none can reach me, and a tower of safety. He is my shield. He is like the strong horn of a mighty fighting bull. ³ All I need to do is cry to him—oh, praise the Lord—and I am saved from all my enemies!

⁴ Death bound me with chains, and the floods of ungodliness mounted a massive attack against me. ⁵ Trapped and helpless, I struggled against the ropes that drew me on to death.

⁶ In my distress I screamed to the Lord for his help. And he heard me from heaven;^[a] my cry reached his ears. ⁷ Then the earth rocked and reeled, and mountains shook and trembled. How they quaked! For he was angry. ⁸ Fierce flames leaped from his mouth, setting fire to the earth;^[b] smoke blew from his nostrils. ⁹ He bent the heavens down and came to my defense;^[c] thick darkness was beneath his feet. ¹⁰ Mounted on a mighty angel,^[d] he sped swiftly to my aid with wings of wind. ¹¹ He enshrouded himself with darkness, veiling his approach with dense clouds dark as murky waters. ¹² Suddenly the brilliance of his presence broke through the clouds with lightning^[e] and a mighty storm of hail.

¹³ The Lord thundered in the heavens; the God above all gods has spoken—oh, the hailstones; oh, the fire! ¹⁴ He flashed his fearful arrows of lightning and routed all my enemies. See how they run! ¹⁵ Then at your command, O Lord, the sea receded from the shore. At the blast of your breath the depths were laid bare.

¹⁶ He reached down from heaven and took me and drew me out of my great trials. He rescued me from deep waters. ¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me—I who was helpless in their hands.

¹⁸ On the day when I was weakest, they attacked. But the Lord held me steady. ¹⁹ He led me to a place of safety, for he delights in me.

²⁰ The Lord rewarded me for doing right and being pure. ²¹ For I have followed his commands and have not sinned by turning back from following him. ²² I kept close watch on all his laws; I did not refuse a single one. ²³ I did my best to keep them all, holding myself back from doing wrong. ²⁴ And so the Lord has paid me with his blessings, for I have done what is right, and I am pure of heart. This he knows, for he watches my every step.

²⁵ Lord, how merciful you are to those who are merciful. And you do not punish those who run from evil.^{[f] 26} You give blessings to the pure but pain to those who leave your paths. ²⁷ You deliver the humble but condemn the proud and haughty ones. ²⁸ You have turned on my light! The Lord my God has made my darkness turn to light. ²⁹ Now in your strength I can scale any wall, attack any troop.

³⁰ What a God he is! How perfect in every way! All his promises prove true. He is a shield for everyone who hides behind him. ³¹ For who is God except our Lord? Who but he is as a rock?

³² He fills me with strength and protects me wherever I go. ³³ He gives me the surefootedness of a mountain goat upon the crags. He leads me safely along the top of the cliffs. ³⁴ He prepares me for battle and gives me strength to draw an iron bow!^[g]

³⁵ You have given me your salvation as my shield. Your right hand, O Lord, supports me; your gentleness has made me great. ³⁶ You have made wide steps beneath my feet so that I need never slip. ³⁷ I chased my enemies; I caught up with them and did not turn back until all were conquered. ³⁸ I pinned them to the ground; all were helpless before me. I placed my feet upon their necks. ³⁹ For you have armed me with strong armor for the battle. My enemies quail before me and fall defeated at my feet. ⁴⁰ You made them turn and run; I destroyed all who hated me. ⁴¹ They shouted for help, but no one dared to rescue them; they cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer them. ⁴² So I crushed them fine as dust and cast them to the wind. I threw them away like sweepings from the floor. ^43-45 You gave me victory in every battle. The nations came and served me. Even those I didn’t know before come now and bow before me. Foreigners who have never seen me submit instantly. They come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶ God is alive! Praise him who is the great rock of protection. ⁴⁷ He is the God who pays back those who harm me and subdues the nations before me.

⁴⁸ He rescues me from my enemies; he holds me safely out of their reach and saves me from these powerful opponents. ⁴⁹ For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations. ⁵⁰ Many times you have miraculously rescued me, the king you appointed. You have been loving and kind to me and will be to my descendants.