Psalm 18:1-18

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Psalm 18

Praise for Deliverance

For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.^(A) He said:

¹I love You, Lord, my strength.
²The Lord is my rock,
my fortress, and my deliverer,^(B)
my God, my mountain where I seek refuge,
my shield^(C) and the horn of my salvation,^(D)
my stronghold.
³I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,^(E)
and I was saved from my enemies.^(F)

⁴The ropes of death were wrapped around me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.^(G)
⁵The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.^(H)
⁶I called to the Lord in my distress,
and I cried to my God for help.
From His temple He heard my voice,^(I)
and my cry to Him reached His ears.^(J)

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;^(K)
they shook because He burned with anger.
⁸Smoke rose from His nostrils,
and consuming fire came from His mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.^[a]^(L)
⁹He parted the heavens and came down,^(M)
a dark cloud beneath His feet.
¹⁰He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.^(N)
¹¹He made darkness His hiding place,
dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.^(O)
¹²From the radiance of His presence,^(P)
His clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
¹³The Lord thundered from^[b] heaven;
the Most High projected His voice.^[c]^(Q)
¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered them;
He hurled^[d] lightning bolts and routed them.^(R)
¹⁵The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed,
at Your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.^(S)

¹⁶He reached down from heaven
and took hold of me;
He pulled me out of deep waters.^(T)
¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.^(U)
¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my distress,
but the Lord was my support.^(V)