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Psalms 18 - Amplified Bible, 2015 bible

Psalms 18

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spoke the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said: "I love You [fervently and devotedly], O LORD, my strength."

²The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me; My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower—my stronghold.

³I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; And I am saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death surrounded me, And the streams of ungodliness and torrents of destruction terrified me.

⁵The cords of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress [when I seemed surrounded] I called upon the LORD And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry for help came before Him, into His very ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of the mountains trembled; They were shaken because He was indignant and angry.

⁸Smoke went up from His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it.

⁹He bowed the heavens also and came down; And thick darkness was under His feet.

¹⁰And He rode upon a cherub (storm) and flew; And He sped on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place (covering); His pavilion (canopy) around Him, The darkness of the waters, the thick clouds of the skies.

¹²Out of the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴He sent out His arrows and scattered them; And He sent an abundance of lightning flashes and confused and routed them [in defeat].

¹⁵Then the stream beds of the waters appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my disaster, But the LORD was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into a broad place; He rescued me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity); According to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.

²³I was[1] blameless before Him, And I kept myself free from my sin.

²⁴Therefore the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity), According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

²⁵With the kind (merciful, faithful, loyal) You show Yourself kind, With the blameless You show Yourself blameless,

²⁶With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

²⁷For You save an afflicted and humble people, But bring down those [arrogant fools] with haughty eyes.

²⁸For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine; The LORD my God illumines my darkness.

²⁹For by You I can crush a troop, And by my God I can leap over a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is[2] blameless. The word of the LORD is tested [it is perfect, it is faultless]; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³¹For who is God, but the LORD? Or who is a rock, except our God,

³²The God who encircles me with strength And makes my way blameless?

³³He makes my feet like[3] hinds' feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble]; He sets me [securely] upon my high places.

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

³⁵You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds and sustains me; Your gentleness [Your gracious response when I pray] makes me great.

³⁶You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure, So that my feet will not slip.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them; And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁸I shattered them so that they were not able to rise; They fell [wounded] under my feet.

³⁹For You have encircled me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

⁴⁰You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me [in defeat], And I silenced and destroyed those who hated me.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— Even to the LORD [they cried], but He did not answer them.

⁴²Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the dirt of the streets.

⁴³You have rescued me from the contentions of the people; You have placed me as the head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear me, they respond and obey me; Foreigners feign obedience to me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heart, And come trembling out of their strongholds.

⁴⁶The LORD lives, blessed be my rock; And may the God of my salvation be exalted,

⁴⁷The God who avenges me, And subdues peoples (nations) under me.

⁴⁸He rescues me from my enemies; Yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me; You deliver me from the man of violence.

⁴⁹Therefore will I give thanks and praise You, O LORD, among the nations, And sing praises to Your name.

⁵⁰He gives great triumphs to His king, And shows steadfast love and mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.