18
To the music director. A psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who sang the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord saved him from all his enemies, and from Saul. He sang:
1 I love you, Lord. You are my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Savior. He is my God, my rock who protects me. He shields me from harm, his power protects me,* he keeps me safe.
3 I call for help from the Lord who should be praised, and he saves me from those who hate me.
4 Ropes of death encircled me, surging waters of destruction flooded over me;
5 The grave wound its ropes around me; death set snares for me.
6 In my despair I called on the Lord—I cried out to my God for help. He heard my voice from his Temple—my cry for help reached his ears.
7 The earth shook to and fro; the foundations of the mountains trembled, shaking because of his anger.
8 Smoke came out of his nostrils, and fire came from his mouth; burning coals blazed before him.
9 He parted the heavens and came down, with dark clouds beneath his feet.
10 Riding on an angel† he flew, swooping on the wings of the wind.
11 He hid himself in darkness, covering himself with black thunderclouds.
12 Hailstones and burning coals flew out from his brightness, passing through his thick clouds.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High sounded among the hailstones and burning coals.
14 He fired his arrows, scattering his enemies;‡ he routed them with his lightning bolts.
15 You roared, Lord, and by the wind from the breath of your nostrils the valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth were uncovered.
16 He reached down his hand from above and grabbed hold of me. He pulled me out of the deep water.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and who were much stronger than me.
18 They came at me at my worst possible moment§, but the Lord supported me.
19 He set me free,* he rescued me because he's my friend.†
20 The Lord rewarded me because I do what's right; he repaid me because I am innocent.‡
21 For I have followed the Lord's ways; I have not sinned by turning away from my God.
22 I have kept all his laws in mind; I have not ignored his commandments.
23 I am blameless in his sight; I keep myself from sinning.
24 The Lord rewarded me for doing what's right. I am innocent in his sight.
25 You show trust to those who trust; you show integrity to those with integrity,§
26 You show yourself pure to those who are pure, but you show yourself smart to those who are crafty.*
27 You save the humble, but you bring down the proud.
28 You light my lamp! Lord, my God, you light up my darkness!
29 With you, I can charge down a troop of soldiers; with you, my God, I can climb a fortress wall.
30 God's way is absolutely right.† What the Lord says is trustworthy. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
31 For who is God except the Lord? Who is the rock, except our God?
32 God makes me strong and keeps me safe.
33 He makes me surefooted like the deer, able to walk the heights in safety.
34 He teaches me how to fight in battle; he gives me the strength to draw a bronze bow.
35 You protect me with the shield of your salvation; you support me with your powerful right hand; your help has made me great.
36 You gave me space in which to walk, and prevented my feet from slipping.
37 I chased my enemies, and caught up with them. I did not turn around until I had destroyed them.
38 I struck them down—they couldn't get up. They fell at my feet.
39 You made me strong for battle; you made those who rose up against me kneel down before me.
40 You made my enemies run away; I destroyed all my enemies.
41 They cried out for help, but no one came to rescue them. They even called out to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I ground them into dust, like dust in the wind. I threw them out like mud in the street.
43 You rescued me from rebellious people; you made me ruler over nations—people I didn't know now serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me, they obey; foreigners cringe before me.
45 They lose heart, and come trembling in surrender from their strongholds.
46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock! May the God who saves me be praised!
47 God avenges me, he subdues peoples under me,
48 he rescues me from those who hate me. You keep me safe from those who rebel against me, you save me from violent men.
49 That's why I will praise you among the nations, Lord; I will sing praises about who you are.‡
50 You have saved the king so often,§ showing your trustworthy love to David, your anointed, and to his descendants forever.
* 18:2 Literally, “horn of my salvation.” † 18:10 Literally, “cherub,” but in English this has become associated with an angelic baby. ‡ 18:14 Implied. § 18:18 Literally, “my day of disaster.” * 18:19 Literally, “brought me out to a spacious place.” † 18:19 Or “he delights in me.” ‡ 18:20 Literally, “because of the cleanness of my hands.” § 18:25 The word used here means “complete” or “sound.” * 18:26 Both words used here have to do with being “twisted,” the first in the sense of being clever, the second in the sense of being devious and perverse. † 18:30 The word used here, often translated as “perfect,” is the same as in 18:25. ‡ 18:49 “About who you are”: Literally, “to your name”: the concept of name in Hebrew is far more than a simple designation; it refers to the character of the person. § 18:50 Or “You have given many victories to the king.”