Psalms 18-21

1I love You, O LORD, my strength.

2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

4The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

5The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

6In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.

7Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.

8Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.

9He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet.

10He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.

11He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

12From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced— hailstones and coals of fire.

13The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded— hailstones and coals of fire.

14He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

15The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.

17He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.

18They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.

19He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

20The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

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

22For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes.

23And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.

24So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

25To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

26to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

27For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.

28For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness.

29For in You I can charge an army, and with my God I can scale a wall.

30As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

31For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

32It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.

33He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.

34He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me.

36You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.

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

38I crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.

39You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.

40You have made my enemies retreat before me; I destroyed those who hated me.

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

42I ground them as dust in the face of the wind; I trampled them like mud in the streets.

43You have delivered me from the strife of the people; You have made me the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me.

44When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.

45Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.

46The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted—

47the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,

48who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.

49Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.

50Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

1The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

2Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

3Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard,

4their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.

5Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course,

6it rises at one end of the heavens and runs its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.

7The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.

8The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

9The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous.

10They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

11By them indeed Your servant is warned; in keeping them is great reward.

12Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.

13Keep Your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed of great transgression.

14May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

1May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2May He send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion.

3May He remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Selah

4May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

5May we shout for joy at your victory and raise a banner in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your petitions.

6Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand.

7Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8They collapse and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.

9O LORD, save the king. Answer us on the day we call.

1O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength. How greatly he exults in Your salvation!

2You have granted his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

3For You welcomed him with rich blessings; You placed on his head a crown of pure gold.

4He asked You for life, and You granted it— length of days, forever and ever.

5Great is his glory in Your salvation; You bestow on him splendor and majesty.

6For You grant him blessings forever; You cheer him with joy in Your presence.

7For the king trusts in the LORD; through the loving devotion of the Most High, he will not be shaken.

8Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.

9You will place them in a fiery furnace at the time of Your appearing. In His wrath the LORD will engulf them, and the fire will consume them.

10You will wipe their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from the sons of men.

11Though they intend You harm, the schemes they devise will not prevail.

12For You will put them to flight when Your bow is trained upon them.

13Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your power.