Psalm 18-21

New King James Version

^4 (G)The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ^[c]ungodliness made me afraid.
⁵ The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
⁶ In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

^7 (H)Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
⁸ Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
^9 (I)He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
^10 (J)And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
^(K)He flew upon the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He made darkness His secret place;
^(L)His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
^12 (M)From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³ The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered ^(N)His voice,
^[d]Hailstones and coals of fire.
^14 (O)He sent out His arrows and scattered ^[e]the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
¹⁵ Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

^16 (P)He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
^19 (Q)He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

^20 (R)The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
²¹ For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
²² For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
²³ I was also blameless ^[f]before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
^24 (S)Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

^25 (T)With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
²⁶ With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And ^(U)with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
²⁷ For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down ^(V)haughty looks.

^28 (W)For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
²⁹ For by You I can ^[g]run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
³⁰ As for God, ^(X)His way is perfect;
^(Y)The word of the Lord is ^[h]proven;
He is a shield ^(Z)to all who trust in Him.

^31 (AA)For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
³² It is God who ^(AB)arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
^33 (AC)He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And ^(AD)sets me on my high places.
^34 (AE)He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵ You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
³⁶ You enlarged my path under me,
^(AF)So my feet did not slip.

³⁷ I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
³⁸ I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
³⁹ For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have ^[i]subdued under me those who rose up against me.
⁴⁰ You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
⁴¹ They cried out, but there was none to save;
^(AG)Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
⁴² Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I ^(AH)cast them out like dirt in the streets.

⁴³ You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
^(AI)You have made me the head of the ^[j]nations;
^(AJ)A people I have not known shall serve me.
⁴⁴ As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners ^[k]submit to me.
^45 (AK)The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.

⁴⁶ The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
⁴⁷ It is God who avenges me,
^(AL)And subdues the peoples under me;
⁴⁸ He delivers me from my enemies.
^(AM)You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
^49 (AN)Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the ^[l]Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

^50 (AO)Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his ^[m]descendants forevermore.

In them He has set a ^[q]tabernacle for the sun,
⁵ Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
^(AS)And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
⁶ Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

^7 (AT)The law of the Lord is perfect, ^[r]converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making ^(AU)wise the simple;
⁸ The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than ^(AV)gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the ^[s]honeycomb.
¹¹ Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can understand his errors?
^(AW)Cleanse me from secret faults.
¹³ Keep back Your servant also from ^(AX)presumptuous sins;
Let them not have ^(AY)dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of ^[t]great transgression.

^14 (AZ)Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my ^[u]strength and my ^(BA)Redeemer.

⁴ May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
And ^(BB)fulfill all your ^[w]purpose.
⁵ We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

⁶ Now I know that the Lord saves His ^[x]anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.

⁷ Some trust in chariots, and some in ^(BC)horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
⁸ They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.

⁹ Save, Lord!
May the King answer us when we call.

³ For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
^4 (BE)He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—
Length of days forever and ever.
⁵ His glory is great in Your salvation;
Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.
⁶ For You have made him most blessed forever;
^(BF)You have made him ^[y]exceedingly glad with Your presence.
⁷ For the king trusts in the Lord,
And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be ^[z]moved.

⁸ Your hand will find all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find those who hate You.
⁹ You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger;
The Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath,
And the fire shall devour them.
¹⁰ Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth,
And their ^[aa]descendants from among the sons of men.
¹¹ For they intended evil against You;
They devised a plot which they are not able to ^(BG)perform.
¹² Therefore You will make them turn their back;
You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.

¹³ Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength!
We will sing and praise Your power.