NIV Psalms 18
- I love you, O LORD, my strength.
- 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.
- I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
- The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
- The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
- 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.
- The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.
- Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
- He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
- He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
- He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him-- the dark rain clouds of the sky.
- Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
- The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
- He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies , great bolts of lightning and routed them.
- 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.
- He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
- He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
- They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.
- He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
- The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
- For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
- All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
- I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
- The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
- To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
- to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
- You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
- You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
- With your help I can advance against a troop ; with my God I can scale a wall.
- 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.
- For who is God besides the LORD ? And who is the Rock except our God?
- It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
- He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.
- He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
- You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.
- You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
- I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
- I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
- You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
- You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
- They cried for help, but there was no one to save them-- to the LORD, but he did not answer.
- I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets.
- 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.
- As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me.
- They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
- The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
- He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me,
- who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.
- Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.
- He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.