18

I love you, Lord, my strength
The 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; O I believe in You

I called to the Lord, Who is worthy of praise
And I have been saved from my enemies
The cords of death entangled me
The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me

The cords of the grave coiled around me
The snares of death confronted me
In my distress I called to the Lord
I cried to my God for help and He heard me

From His temple He heard my voice
My cry came before Him, into His ears
The earth trembled and quaked
Happened what didn’t happen for years

The earth trembled and quaked
And the foundations of the mountains shook
They trembled because He was angry
They trembled because He had that angry look

Smoke rose from His nostrils
Consuming fire came from his mouth
Burning coals blazed out of it
He parted the heavens and came down

He by Himself did come down
Dark clouds were under His feet
He mounted the cherubim and flew
He soared on the wings of the wind

He made darkness His covering, His canopy around him—
The dark rain clouds of the sky, the Mighty
Out of the brightness of His presence clouds advanced
With hailstones and bolts of lightning

The Lord thundered from heaven
The voice of the Most High resounded loudly
He shot His arrows and scattered the enemy
With great bolts of lightning He routed them and they lost their proud

The valleys of the sea were exposed
And the foundations of the earth laid bare
At your rebuke, Lord
At the blast of breath from Your nostrils in the air

He reached down from on high and took hold of me
He drew me out of deep waters
He rescued me from my powerful enemy
Who were too strong for me, from my foes

They confronted me in the day of my disaster
But the Lord was my support
He rescued me because He delighted in me
And into a spacious place I was brought

The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness
According to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me
For I have kept the ways of the Lord
I am not guilty of turning from my God

All His laws are before me
I have not turned away from His decrees
I have been blameless before Him
And have kept myself from sin

The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness
According to the cleanness of my hands in his sight
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful
To the blameless You show Yourself blameless, Lord of Might

To the pure You show yourself pure
But to the devious You show yourself shrewd
You save the humble
But bring low those whose eyes are haughty in the way it should

You, Lord, keep my lamp burning
My God turns my darkness into light
With your help I can advance against a troop
With my God I can scale a wall as my Lord’s full of might

As for God, His way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless
He shields all who take refuge in Him
Who feels emptiness and loneliness

For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength
And keeps my way secure by His word

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
He causes me to stand on the heights
He trains my hands for battle
Doing capable to bend a bow of bronze my arms

You make Your saving help my shield
And Your right hand sustains me
Your help has made me great
Your word guards me

You provide a broad path for my feet
So that my ankles do not give way
I pursued my enemies and overtook them
I did not turn back till they were destroyed, that’s what You made

I crushed them so that they could not rise
They fell beneath my feet
You armed me with strength for battle
You humbled my adversaries before me

You made my enemies turn their backs in flight
And I destroyed my foes
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
To the Lord, but He did not answer and that I knew

I beat them as fine as windblown dust
I trampled them like mud in the streets
You have delivered me from the attacks of the people, You have made me the head of nations
People I did not know now serve me because of Your deeds

Foreigners cower before me
As soon as they hear of me, they obey me
They all lose heart;
From their strongholds they come trembling

The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
He is the God who avenges me
Who subdues nations under me, let it be known forever

He is th God who saves me from my enemies
You exalted me above my foes
From a violent man you rescued me
And about it everyone knows

Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations
I will sing the praises of your name
He gives his king great victories
Everything changes but my Lord is the same

He shows unfailing love to His anointed
Could I ask for more ever?
He shows unfailing love to His anointed
To David and to His descendants forever