Psalm 18 - American Standard Version 2015

¹ {\b For the Chief Musician. {\i A Psalm} of David the servant of Jehovah, who spake unto Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: and he said,}\par\par\tab I love thee, O Jehovah, my strength.

² Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;\par\tab My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge;\par\tab My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.

³ I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised:\par\tab So shall I be saved from mine enemies.

⁴ The cords of death compassed me,\par\tab And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

⁵ The cords of Sheol were round about me;\par\tab The snares of death came upon me.

⁶ In my distress I called upon Jehovah,\par\tab And cried unto my God:\par\tab He heard my voice out of his temple,\par\tab And my cry before him came into his ears.

⁷ Then the earth shook and trembled;\par\tab The foundations also of the mountains quaked\par\tab And were shaken, because he was wroth.

⁸ There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,\par\tab And fire out of his mouth devoured:\par\tab Coals were kindled by it.

⁹ He bowed the heavens also, and came down;\par\tab And thick darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰ And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly;\par\tab Yea, he soared upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹ He made darkness his hiding-place, his pavilion round about him,\par\tab Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

¹² At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed,\par\tab Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³ Jehovah also thundered in the heavens,\par\tab And the Most High uttered his voice,\par\tab Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴ And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;\par\tab Yea, lightnings manifold, and discomfited them.

¹⁵ Then the channels of waters appeared,\par\tab And the foundations of the world were laid bare,\par\tab At thy rebuke, O Jehovah,\par\tab At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

¹⁶ He sent from on high, he took me;\par\tab He drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy,\par\tab And from them that hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁸ They came upon me in the day of my calamity;\par\tab But Jehovah was my stay.

¹⁹ He brought me forth also into a large place;\par\tab He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

²⁰ Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness;\par\tab According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

²¹ For I have kept the ways of Jehovah,\par\tab And have not wickedly departed from my God.

²² For all his ordinances were before me,\par\tab And I put not away his statutes from me.

²³ I was also perfect with him,\par\tab And I kept myself from mine iniquity.

²⁴ Therefore hath Jehovah recompensed me according to my righteousness,\par\tab According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

²⁵ With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful;\par\tab With the perfect man thou wilt show thyself perfect;

²⁶ With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure;\par\tab And with the perverse thou wilt show thyself froward.

²⁷ For thou wilt save the afflicted people;\par\tab But the haughty eyes thou wilt bring down.

²⁸ For thou wilt light my lamp:\par\tab Jehovah my God will lighten my darkness.

²⁹ For by thee I run upon a troop;\par\tab And by my God do I leap over a wall.

³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect:\par\tab The word of Jehovah is tried;\par\tab He is a shield unto all them that take refuge in him.

³¹ For who is God, save Jehovah?\par\tab And who is a rock, besides our God,

³² The God that girdeth me with strength,\par\tab And maketh my way perfect?

³³ He maketh my feet like hinds' {\i feet}:\par\tab And setteth me upon my high places.

³⁴ He teacheth my hands to war;\par\tab So that mine arms do bend a bow of brass.

³⁵ Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation;\par\tab And thy right hand hath holden me up,\par\tab And thy gentleness hath made me great.

³⁶ Thou hast enlarged my steps under me,\par\tab And my feet have not slipped.

³⁷ I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them;\par\tab Neither will I turn again till they are consumed.

³⁸ I will smite them through, so that they shall not be able to rise:\par\tab They shall fall under my feet.

³⁹ For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle:\par\tab Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

⁴⁰ Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me,\par\tab That I might cut off them that hate me.

⁴¹ They cried, but there was none to save;\par\tab Even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not.

⁴² Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind;\par\tab I did cast them out as the mire of the streets.

⁴³ Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people;\par\tab Thou hast made me the head of the nations:\par\tab A people whom I have not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴ As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me;\par\tab The foreigners shall submit themselves unto me.

⁴⁵ The foreigners shall fade away,\par\tab And shall come trembling out of their close places.

⁴⁶ Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock;\par\tab And exalted be the God of my salvation,

⁴⁷ Even the God that executeth vengeance for me,\par\tab And subdueth peoples under me.

⁴⁸ He rescueth me from mine enemies;\par\tab Yea, thou liftest me up above them that rise up against me;\par\tab Thou deliverest me from the violent man.

⁴⁹ Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah, among the nations,\par\tab And will sing praises unto thy name.

⁵⁰ Great deliverance giveth he to his king,\par\tab And showeth lovingkindness to his anointed,\par\tab To David and to his seed, for evermore.\par