18:2 The Lord is my solid rock, my fortress, my rescuer. My God is my rock— I take refuge in him!— he’s my shield, my salvation’s strength, my place of safety.
18:3 Because he is praiseworthy, I cried out to the Lord, and I was saved from my enemies.
18:4 Death’s cords were wrapped around me; rivers of wickedness terrified me.
18:5 The cords of the grave surrounded me; death’s traps held me tight.
18:6 In my distress I cried out to the Lord; I called to my God for help. God heard my voice from his temple; I called to him for help, and my call reached his ears.
18:7 The earth rocked and shook; the bases of the mountains trembled and reeled because of God’s anger.
18:8 Smoke went up from God’s nostrils; out of his mouth came a devouring fire; flaming coals blazed out in front of him!
18:9 God parted the skies and came down; thick darkness was beneath his feet.
18:10 God mounted the heavenly creatures and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
18:11 God made darkness cloak him; his covering was dark water and dense cloud.
18:12 God’s clouds went ahead of the brightness before him; hail and coals of fire went too.
18:13 The Lord thundered in heaven; the Most High made his voice heard with hail and coals of fire.
18:14 God shot his arrows, scattering the enemy; he sent the lightning and threw them into confusion.
18:15 The seabeds were exposed; the earth’s foundations were laid bare at your rebuke, Lord, at the angry blast of air coming from your nostrils.
18:16 From on high God reached down and grabbed me; he took me out of all that water.
18:17 God saved me from my powerful enemy, saved me from my foes, who were too much for me.
18:18 They came at me on the very day of my distress, but the Lord was my support.
18:19 He brought me out to wide-open spaces; he pulled me out safe because he is pleased with me.
18:20 The Lord rewarded me for my righteousness; he restored me because my hands are clean,
18:21 because I have kept the Lord’s ways. I haven’t acted wickedly against my God.
18:22 All his rules are right in front of me; I haven’t turned away from any of his laws.
18:23 I have lived with integrity before him; I’ve kept myself from wrongdoing.
18:24 And so the Lord restored me for my righteousness because my hands are clean in his eyes.
18:25 You deal faithfully with the faithful; you show integrity toward the one who has integrity.
18:26 You are pure toward the pure, but toward the crooked, you are tricky.
18:27 You are the one who saves people who suffer and brings down those with proud eyes.
18:28 You are the one who lights my lamp— the Lord my God illumines my darkness.
18:29 With you I can charge into battle; with my God I can leap over a wall.
18:30 God! His way is perfect; the Lord’s word is tried and true. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
18:31 Now really, who is divine except the Lord? And who is a rock but our God?
18:32 Only God! The God who equips me with strength and makes my way perfect,
18:33 who makes my step as sure as the deer’s, who lets me stand securely on the heights,
18:34 who trains my hands for war so my arms can bend a bronze bow.
18:35 You’ve given me the shield of your salvation; your strong hand has supported me; your help has made me great.
18:36 You’ve let me walk fast and safe, without even twisting an ankle.
18:37 I chased my enemies and caught them! I didn’t come home until I finished them off.
18:38 I struck them down; they couldn’t get up again; they fell under my feet.
18:39 You equipped me with strength for war; you brought my adversaries down underneath me.
18:40 You made my enemies turn tail from me; I destroyed my foes.
18:41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them. They cried for help to the Lord, but he wouldn’t answer them.
18:42 I crushed them like dust blown away by the wind; I threw them out like mud dumped in the streets.
18:43 You delivered me from struggles with many people; you appointed me the leader of many nations. Strangers come to serve me.
18:44 After hearing about me, they obey me; foreigners grovel before me.
18:45 Foreigners lose their nerve; they come trembling out of their fortresses.
18:46 The Lord lives! Bless God, my rock! Let the God of my salvation be lifted high!
18:47 This is the God who avenges on my behalf, who subdues people before me,
18:48 who delivers me from my enemies. Yes, you lifted me high above my adversaries; you delivered me from violent people.
18:49 That’s why I thank you, Lord, in the presence of the nations. That’s why I sing praises to your name.
18:50 You are the one who gives great victories to your king, who shows faithful love to your anointed one— to David and to his descendants forever.
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