Praise for God’s Deliverance
(Ps. 18:1–50)
1Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
2And he said:
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
3The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn22:3 Strength of my salvation,
My stronghold and my refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
5“When the waves of death surrounded me,
The floods of ungodliness 22:5 Or overwhelmedmade me afraid.
6The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
7In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry entered His ears.
8“Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of 22:8 So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Syr., Vg. hills (cf. Ps. 18:7)heaven quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
9Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
10He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
11He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
And He 22:11 So with MT, LXX; many Heb. mss., Syr., Vg. flew (cf. Ps. 18:10); Tg. spoke with powerwas seen upon the wings of the wind.
12He made darkness canopies around Him,
Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
13From the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were kindled.
14“The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
15He sent out arrows and scattered them;
Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.
16Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered,
At the rebuke of the Lord,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
17“He sent from above, He took me,
He drew me out of many waters.
18He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me;
For they were too strong for me.
19They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
20He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
21“The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
22For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
23For all His judgments were before me;
And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.
24I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
According to 22:25 LXX, Syr., Vg. the cleanness of my hands in His sight (cf. Ps. 18:24); Tg. my cleanness before His wordmy cleanness in His eyes.
26“With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
27With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
28You will save the humble22:28 afflicted people;
But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down.
The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.
30For by You I can run against a troop;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
And who is a rock, except our God?
And He makes 22:33 So with Qr., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:32); Kt. Hismy way perfect.
And sets me on my high places.
35He teaches my hands 22:35 Lit. for the warto make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your gentleness has made me great.
37You enlarged my path under me;
So my feet did not slip.
38“I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
39And I have destroyed them and wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
40For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have 22:40 Lit. caused to bow downsubdued under me those who rose against me.
41You have also 22:41 given me victory overgiven me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
42They looked, but there was none to save;
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
43Then I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I trod them like dirt in the streets,
And I 22:43 scatteredspread them out.
44“You have also delivered me from the 22:44 contentionsstrivings of my people;
You have kept me as the head of the nations.
A people I have not known shall serve me.
45The foreigners submit to me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
46The foreigners fade away,
And 22:46 So with LXX, Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:45); MT gird themselvescome frightened from their hideouts.
47“The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let God be exalted,
The Rock of my salvation!
48It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;
49He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
50Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forevermore.”
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
