Psalm 18

 ¹ I love you, Lord. You are my strength.

 ² The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior.
       My God is my rock.
       I can run to him for safety.
       He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender.
 ³ I will call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
       and I will be saved from my enemies.

 ⁴ The ropes of death came around me;
       the deadly rivers overwhelmed me.
 ⁵ The ropes of death wrapped around me.
       The traps of death were before me.
 ⁶ In my trouble I called to the Lord.
       I cried out to my God for help.
    From his temple he heard my voice;
       my call for help reached his ears.

 ⁷ The earth trembled and shook.
       The foundations of the mountains began to shake.
       They trembled because the Lord was angry.
 ⁸ Smoke came out of his nose,
       and burning fire came out of his mouth.
       Burning coals went before him.
 ⁹ He tore open the sky and came down
       with dark clouds under his feet.
 ¹⁰ He rode a creature with wings and flew.
       He raced on the wings of the wind.
 ¹¹ He made darkness his covering, his shelter around him,
       surrounded by fog and clouds.
 ¹² Out of the brightness of his presence came clouds
       with hail and lightning.
 ¹³ The Lord thundered from heaven;
       the Most High raised his voice,
       and there was hail and lightning.
 ¹⁴ He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies.
       His many bolts of lightning confused them with fear.
 ¹⁵ Lord, you spoke strongly.
       The wind blew from your nose.
    Then the valleys of the sea appeared,
       and the foundations of the earth were seen.

 ¹⁶ The Lord reached down from above and took me;
       he pulled me from the deep water.
 ¹⁷ He saved me from my powerful enemies,
       from those who hated me, because they were too strong for me.
 ¹⁸ They attacked me at my time of trouble,
       but the Lord supported me.
 ¹⁹ He took me to a safe place.
       Because he delights in me, he saved me.

 ²⁰ The Lord spared me because I did what was right.
       Because I have not done evil, he has rewarded me.
 ²¹ I have followed the ways of the Lord;
       I have not done evil by turning away from my God.
 ²² I remember all his laws
       and have not broken his rules.
 ²³ I am innocent before him;
       I have kept myself from doing evil.
 ²⁴ The Lord rewarded me because I did what was right,
       because I did what the Lord said was right.

 ²⁵ Lord, you are loyal to those who are loyal,
       and you are good to those who are good.
 ²⁶ You are pure to those who are pure,
       but you are against those who are bad.
 ²⁷ You save the humble,
       but you bring down those who are proud.
 ²⁸ Lord, you give light to my lamp.
       My God brightens the darkness around me.
 ²⁹ With your help I can attack an army.
       With God's help I can jump over a wall.

 ³⁰ The ways of God are without fault.
       The Lord's words are pure.
    He is a shield to those who trust him.  (Psalm 18, New Century Version) Pin It Now!