18:1 I LOVE You fervently {and} devotedly, O Lord, my Strength. |
18:2 The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my keen {and} firm Strength in Whom I will trust {and} take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower. |
18:3 I will call upon the Lord, Who is to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. |
18:4 The cords {or} bands of death surrounded me, and the streams of ungodliness {and} the torrents of ruin terrified me. |
18:5 The cords of Sheol (the place of the dead) surrounded me; the snares of death confronted {and} came upon me. |
18:6 In my distress [when seemingly closed in] I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; He heard my voice out of His temple (heavenly dwelling place), and my cry came before Him, into His [very] ears. |
18:7 Then the earth quaked and rocked, the foundations also of the mountains trembled; they moved {and} were shaken because He was indignant {and} angry. |
18:8 There went up smoke from His nostrils; and lightning out of His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it. |
18:9 He bowed the heavens also and came down; and thick darkness was under His feet. |
18:10 And He rode upon a cherub [a storm] and flew [swiftly]; yes, He sped on with the wings of the wind. |
18:11 He made darkness His secret hiding place; as His pavilion (His canopy) round about Him were dark waters {and} thick clouds of the skies. |
18:12 Out of the brightness before Him there broke forth through His thick clouds hailstones and coals of fire. |
18:13 The Lord also thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice, amid hailstones and coals of fire. |
18:14 And He sent out His arrows and scattered them; and He flashed forth lightnings and put them to rout. |
18:15 Then the beds of the sea appeared and the foundations of the world were laid bare at Your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. |
18:16 He reached from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. |
18:17 He delivered me from my strong enemy and from those who hated {and} abhorred me, for they were too strong for me. |
18:18 They confronted {and} came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay {and} support. |
18:19 He brought me forth also into a large place; He was delivering me because He was pleased with me {and} delighted in me. |
18:20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness (my conscious integrity and sincerity with Him); according to the cleanness of my hands has He recompensed me. |
18:21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. |
18:22 For all His ordinances were before me, and I put not away His statutes from me. |
18:23 I was upright before Him {and} blameless with Him, ever [on guard] to keep myself free from my sin {and} guilt. |
18:24 Therefore has the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness (my uprightness and right standing with Him), according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. |
18:25 With the kind {and} merciful You will show Yourself kind {and} merciful, with an upright man You will show Yourself upright, |
18:26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure, and with the perverse You will show Yourself contrary. |
18:27 For You deliver an afflicted {and} humble people but will bring down those with haughty looks. |
18:28 For You cause my lamp to be lighted {and} to shine; the Lord my God illumines my darkness. |
18:29 For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. |
18:30 As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested {and} tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge {and} put their trust in Him. |
18:31 For who is God except the Lord? Or who is the Rock save our God, |
18:32 The God who girds me with strength and makes my way perfect? |
18:33 He makes my feet like hinds' feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places. |
18:34 He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. |
18:35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand has held me up; Your gentleness {and} condescension have made me great. |
18:36 You have given plenty of room for my steps under me, that my feet would not slip. |
18:37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; neither did I turn again till they were consumed. |
18:38 I smote them so that they were not able to rise; they fell wounded under my feet. |
18:39 For You have girded me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me and caused to bow down those who rose up against me. |
18:40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me. |
18:41 They cried [for help], but there was none to deliver--even unto the Lord, but He answered them not. |
18:42 Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the dirt {and} mire of the streets. |
18:43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; You made me the head of the nations; a people I had not known served me. |
18:44 As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me; foreigners submitted themselves cringingly {and} yielded feigned obedience to me. |
18:45 Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their caves {or} strongholds. |
18:46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted, |
18:47 The God Who avenges me and subdues peoples under me, |
18:48 Who delivers me from my enemies; yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me; You deliver me from the man of violence. |
18:49 Therefore will I give thanks {and} extol You, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to Your name. |
18:50 Great deliverances {and} triumphs gives He to His king; and He shows mercy {and} steadfast love to His anointed, to David and his offspring forever. |