18 This song of David was written at a time when the Lord had delivered him from his many enemies, including Saul.

Lord, how I love you! For you have done such tremendous things for me.

² The Lord is my fort where I can enter and be safe; no one can follow me in and slay me. He is a rugged mountain where I hide; he is my Savior, a rock where none can reach me, and a tower of safety. He is my shield. He is like the strong horn of a mighty fighting bull. ³ All I need to do is cry to him—oh, praise the Lord—and I am saved from all my enemies!

⁴ Death bound me with chains, and the floods of ungodliness mounted a massive attack against me. ⁵ Trapped and helpless, I struggled against the ropes that drew me on to death.

⁶ In my distress I screamed to the Lord for his help. And he heard me from heaven;^[a] my cry reached his ears. ⁷ Then the earth rocked and reeled, and mountains shook and trembled. How they quaked! For he was angry. ⁸ Fierce flames leaped from his mouth, setting fire to the earth;^[b] smoke blew from his nostrils. ⁹ He bent the heavens down and came to my defense;^[c] thick darkness was beneath his feet. ¹⁰ Mounted on a mighty angel,^[d] he sped swiftly to my aid with wings of wind. ¹¹ He enshrouded himself with darkness, veiling his approach with dense clouds dark as murky waters. ¹² Suddenly the brilliance of his presence broke through the clouds with lightning^[e] and a mighty storm of hail.

¹³ The Lord thundered in the heavens; the God above all gods has spoken—oh, the hailstones; oh, the fire! ¹⁴ He flashed his fearful arrows of lightning and routed all my enemies. See how they run! ¹⁵ Then at your command, O Lord, the sea receded from the shore. At the blast of your breath the depths were laid bare.

¹⁶ He reached down from heaven and took me and drew me out of my great trials. He rescued me from deep waters. ¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me—I who was helpless in their hands.

¹⁸ On the day when I was weakest, they attacked. But the Lord held me steady. ¹⁹ He led me to a place of safety, for he delights in me.

²⁰ The Lord rewarded me for doing right and being pure. ²¹ For I have followed his commands and have not sinned by turning back from following him. ²² I kept close watch on all his laws; I did not refuse a single one. ²³ I did my best to keep them all, holding myself back from doing wrong. ²⁴ And so the Lord has paid me with his blessings, for I have done what is right, and I am pure of heart. This he knows, for he watches my every step.