Psalms 18:1-27

¹For the chief musician. A psalm of David, the servant of Yahweh, when he sang to Yahweh the words of this song on the day that Yahweh rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He sang: I love you, Yahweh, my strength.

²Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, the one who brings me to safety; he is my God, my rock; I take refuge in him. He is my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my stronghold.

³I will call on Yahweh who is worthy to be praised, and I will be saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death surrounded me, and the rushing waters of worthlessness overwhelmed me.

⁵The cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death trapped me.

⁶In my distress I called to Yahweh; I called for help to my God. He heard my voice from his temple; my call for help went into his presence; it went into his ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the mountains also trembled and were shaken because God was angry.

⁸Smoke went up from out of his nostrils, and blazing fire came out of his mouth. Coals were ignited by it.

⁹He opened the heavens and came down, and thick darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰He rode on a cherub and flew; he glided on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness a tent around him, heavy rainclouds in the skies.

¹²Hailstones and coals of fire fell from the lightning before him.

¹³Yahweh thundered in the heavens! The voice of the Most High shouted.

¹⁴He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; many lightning bolts dispersed them.

¹⁵Then the water channels appeared; the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, Yahweh, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from above; he took hold of me! He pulled me out of the surging water.

¹⁷He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

¹⁸They came against me on the day of my distress but Yahweh was my support!

¹⁹He set me free in a wide open place; he saved me because he was pleased with me.

²⁰Yahweh has rewarded me because of my righteousness; he has restored me because my hands were clean.

²¹For I have kept the ways of Yahweh and have not wickedly turned away from my God.

²²For all his righteous decrees have been before me; as for his statutes, I have not turned away from them.

²³I have also been innocent before him, and I have kept myself from sin.

²⁴Therefore Yahweh has restored me because of my righteousness, because my hands were clean before his eyes.

²⁵To anyone who is faithful, you show yourself to be faithful; to a man who is blameless, you show yourself to be blameless.

²⁶To anyone who is pure, you show yourself pure; but you are clever toward anyone who is twisted.

²⁷For you save afflicted people, but you bring down those with proud, uplifted eyes!