Psalm 18 (NASB2020)

Psalm 18

The Lord Praised for Rescuing David.

For the music director. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, 18:0 2 Sam 22:1-51who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,

1“I love You, Lord, my strength.”

2The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my savior,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

4¶The ropes of death encompassed me,

And the torrents of 18:4 Or ungodliness; Heb Belialdestruction 18:4 Or were assailing; or terrifyingterrified me.

5The ropes of 18:5 I.e., the netherworldSheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

6In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice from His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

7¶Then the earth shook and quaked;

And the foundations of the mountains were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

8Smoke went up 18:8 Or in His wrathout of His nostrils,

And fire from His mouth was devouring;

Coals burned from it.

9He also bowed the heavens down low, and came down

With thick darkness under His feet.

10He rode on a cherub and flew;

And He sped on the wings of the wind.

11He made darkness His hiding place, His 18:11 Or pavilioncanopy around Him,

Darkness of waters, thick clouds.

12From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

13The Lord also thundered in the heavens,

And the Most High uttered His voice,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

14He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,

And lightning flashes in abundance, and 18:14 Lit confusedrouted them.

15Then the channels of water appeared,

And the foundations of the world were exposed

By Your rebuke, Lord,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16¶He sent from on high, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

17He saved me from my strong enemy,

And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

18They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

But the Lord was my support.

19He also brought me out into an open place;

He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

20¶The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands He has repaid me.

21For I have kept the ways of the Lord,

And have not acted wickedly against my God.

22For all His judgments were before me,

And I did not put away His statutes from me.

23I was also 18:23 Lit complete; or having integrity; or perfectblameless with Him,

And I kept myself from my wrongdoing.

24Therefore the Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

25¶With the faithful You show Yourself faithful;

With the 18:25 See note v 23blameless You prove Yourself blameless;

26With the pure You show Yourself pure,

And with the crooked You show Yourself 18:26 Lit twistedastute.

27For You save an afflicted people,

But You humiliate haughty eyes.

28For You light my lamp;

The Lord my God illumines my darkness.

29For by You I can run at a 18:29 Or walltroop of warriors;

And by my God I can leap over a wall.

30¶As for God, His way is 18:30 Or perfectblameless;

The word of the Lord is refined;

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

31For who is God, but the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God,

32The God who encircles me with strength,

And 18:32 Or has mademakes my way 18:32 Lit complete; or having integrityblameless?

33He makes my feet like deer’s feet,

And sets me up on my high places.

34He trains my hands for battle,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,

And Your right hand upholds me;

And Your 18:35 Or condescensiongentleness makes me great.

36You enlarge my steps under me,

And my 18:36 Lit anklesfeet have not slipped.

37¶I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

38I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;

They fell under my feet.

39For You have encircled me with strength for battle;

You have forced those who rose up against me to bow down under me.

40You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,

And I 18:40 Or silenceddestroyed those who hated me.

41They cried for help, but there was no one to save,

They cried to the Lord, but He did not answer them.

42Then I beat them fine like the dust before the wind;

I emptied them out like the mud of the streets.

43¶You have rescued me from the contentions of the people;

You have placed me as head of the nations;

A people whom I have not known serve me.

44As soon as they hear, they obey me;

Foreigners pretend to obey me.

45Foreigners lose heart,

And come trembling out of their 18:45 Or prisonsfortresses.

46¶The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;

And exalted be the God of my salvation,

47The God who executes vengeance for me,

And subdues peoples under me.

48He rescues me from my enemies;

You indeed lift me above those who rise up against me;

You rescue me from a violent man.

49Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, Lord,

And I will sing praises to Your name.

50He gives great 18:50 I.e., victories; lit salvationssalvation to His king,

And shows faithfulness to His anointed,

To David and his 18:50 Lit seeddescendants forever.

Understand Psalm 18

Walk through Psalm 18 verse by verse, then read what three commentaries say about the chapter. The explanations are written for new readers.

Read the Psalm 18 commentary