Psalms 18

A Song of Victory

1 I love You, Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my rescuer. My God is my rock, where I hide out. My shield, the horn of my rescue, my high tower.

3 I call on the Lord, who deserves all the praise, And I get saved from my enemies.

The Power of God

4 The ropes of death were all around me; The floods of worthlessness scared me.

5 The ropes of the grave got me; The traps of death were in my way.

6 In my trouble, I called on the Lord; I screamed to my God. He heard my voice from His temple; My cry reached His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the mountains quaked and shook, because He was mad.

8 Smoke came from His nose, Fire from His mouth devoured; Hot coals blazed from Him.

9 He bent the heavens and came down, With dark clouds under His feet.

10 He rode on a cherub and flew; He flew on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness His hiding spot, His tent around Him was dark waters, heavy clouds.

12 From the light in front of Him, His clouds went by, with hail and hot coals.

13 The Lord thundered in the sky; The Most High let His voice be heard.

14 He sent out His arrows and scattered them; He shot out lightning and messed them up.

15 The channels of the sea were visible, The foundations of the world were uncovered At Your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nose.

The Deliverance of God

16 He reached down from on high, He grabbed me; He pulled me from heavy waters.

17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, From my haters, because they were too strong for me.

18 They came at me on my bad day, But the Lord was my support.

19 He brought me out into a wide-open space; He rescued me, because He was happy with me.

20 The Lord paid me back for my righteousness; He rewarded me for my clean hands.

21 Because I kept the ways of the Lord, And I did not turn from my God and get wicked.

22 All His rules were in front of me; I did not push His laws away.

23 I was straight with Him, And I kept myself from my sin.

24 So the Lord gave me what was coming to me, because of my righteousness, because of my clean hands in front of His eyes.

The Ways of God

25 With the faithful, You show Yourself faithful; With the straight-up dude, You show Yourself straight-up.

26 With the pure, You show Yourself pure; With the messed up, You get twisted.

27 You save the humble people, But You bring down the proud looks.

28 You light up my lamp, Lord; My God lights up my darkness.

29 With You, I can run through a whole crew; With my God, I can jump over a wall.

30 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven. He is a shield for all who run to Him.

31 Who is God but the Lord, And who is a rock except our God,

32 The God who straps me with strength And makes my way straight.

33 He makes my feet like deer feet; He sets me on my high places.

34 He trains my hands for war, So my arms can bend a bronze bow.

35 You gave me the shield of Your rescue; Your right hand holds me up, And Your humble way makes me great.

36 You made my steps wide under me, And my feet do not slip.

The Victory

37 I chased down my enemies and caught them; I did not turn back until they were gone.

38 I hit them, so they could not get up; They fell under my feet.

39 You strapped me with strength for the fight; You brought down those who came at me.

40 You made my enemies turn their backs and run, So I could wipe out my haters.

41 They cried out, but there was nobody to save them, To the Lord, but He did not answer them.

42 I beat them like dust in the wind; I tossed them out like mud in the street.

43 You rescued me from the fights of the people; You made me the leader of nations. People I am not even know are serving me.

44 As soon as they heard, they obeyed me; Foreigners bow down to me.

45 Foreigners lose their heart, And come out of their hideouts shaking.

A Hymn of Praise

46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock, And may the God of my rescue be lifted high.

47 The God who gives me payback And brings the nations under me.

48 He rescues me from my enemies; You lift me up over those who rise against me; You save me from the violent dude.

49 So I am going to thank You, Lord, among the nations, And sing praises to Your name.

50 He gives big-time rescue to His King, And shows grace to His Chosen One, To David and his family forever.