Psa 18 | ESV | STEP | To the choirmaster . A Psalm of David , the servant of the Lord , who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies , and from the hand of Saul . He said : I love you, O Lord , my strength .

1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my ^drock and my ^efortress and my deliverer,
my God, my ^frock, in ^gwhom I take refuge,
my ^hshield, and ⁱthe horn of my salvation, my ^jstronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is ^kworthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 ^lThe cords of death encompassed me;
^mthe torrents of destruction assailed me; ^{▼▼Or terrified me}
5 ^othe cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 ^pIn my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his ^qtemple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth ^rreeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, ^{▼▼Or in his wrath}
and devouring ^tfire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He ^ubowed the heavens and ^vcame down;
^wthick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on ^xthe wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his ^ycanopy around him,
thick clouds ^zdark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
^aahailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13 The Lord also ^abthundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his ^acvoice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his ^adarrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and ^aerouted them.
15 Then ^afthe channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your ^agrebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of ^ahthe breath of your nostrils.
16 He ^aisent from on high, he took me;
he ^ajdrew me out of ^akmany waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were ^altoo mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into ^ama broad place;
he rescued me, because he ^andelighted in me.
20 The Lord dealt with me ^aoaccording to my righteousness;
according to ^apthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have ^aqkept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For ^arall his rules ^{▼▼Or just decrees} were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was ^atblameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 With ^authe merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with ^avthe crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save ^awa humble people,
but ^axthe haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my ^aylamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can ^azleap over ^baa wall.
30 This God—his way is ^bbperfect; ^{▼▼Or blameless}
the word of the Lord ^bdproves true;
he is ^bea shield for all those who ^bftake refuge in him.
31 For ^bgwho is God, but the Lord?
And who is ^bha rock, except our God?—
32 the God who ^biequipped me with strength
and made my way ^bjblameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a ^bkdeer
and set me secure on ^blthe heights.
34 He ^bmtrains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand ^bnsupported me,
and your ^bogentleness made me great.
36 You ^bpgave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies ^bqturn their backs to me, ^{▼▼Or You gave me my enemies’ necks}
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 ^bsThey cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as ^btdust before the wind;
I cast them out like ^buthe mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from ^bvstrife with the people;
you made me ^bwthe head of the nations;
^bxpeople whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
^byforeigners ^bzcame cringing to me.
45 ^caForeigners lost heart
and ^cbcame trembling out of their fortresses.
46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and ^ccsubdued peoples under me,
48 who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you ^cdexalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from ^cethe man of violence.
49 ^cfFor this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and ^cgsing to your name.
50 Great ^chsalvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his ^cianointed,
to ^cjDavid and his offspring forever.

‏ Psalms 18

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, athe servant of the Lord, bwho addressed the words of this csong to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, ^athe servant of the Lord, ^bwho addressed the words of this ^csong to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said: