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Psalm 18

1  I love you, O Lord my strength. ♦︎
   The Lord is my crag, my fortress and my deliverer,
2  My God, my rock in whom I take refuge, ♦︎
   my shield, the horn of my salvation and my stronghold.
3  I cried to the Lord in my anguish ♦︎
   and I was saved from my enemies.
4  The cords of death entwined me ♦︎
   and the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5  The cords of the Pit fastened about me ♦︎
   and the snares of death entangled me.
6  In my distress I called upon the Lord ♦︎
   and cried out to my God for help.
7  He heard my voice in his temple ♦︎
   and my cry came to his ears.
8  The earth trembled and quaked; ♦︎
   the foundations of the mountains shook;
      they reeled because he was angry.
9  Smoke rose from his nostrils
      and a consuming fire went out of his mouth; ♦︎
   burning coals blazed forth from him.
10  He parted the heavens and came down ♦︎
   and thick darkness was under his feet.
11  He rode upon the cherubim and flew; ♦︎
   he came flying on the wings of the wind.
12  He made darkness his covering round about him, ♦︎
   dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion.
13  From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds ♦︎
   burst hailstones and coals of fire.
14  The Lord also thundered out of heaven; ♦︎
   the Most High uttered his voice
      with hailstones and coals of fire.
15  He sent out his arrows and scattered them; ♦︎
   he hurled down lightnings and put them to flight.
16  The springs of the ocean were seen,
      and the foundations of the world uncovered ♦︎
   at your rebuke, O Lord,
      at the blast of the breath of your displeasure.
17  He reached down from on high and took me; ♦︎
   he drew me out of the mighty waters.
18  He delivered me from my strong enemy, ♦︎
   from foes that were too mighty for me.
19  They came upon me in the day of my trouble; ♦︎
   but the Lord was my upholder.

Elihu Proclaims God’s Majesty

²⁴ ‘Remember to extol his work,
   of which mortals have sung.
²⁵ All people have looked on it;
   everyone watches it from far away.
²⁶ Surely God is great, and we do not know him;
   the number of his years is unsearchable.
²⁷ For he draws up the drops of water;
   he distils^* his mist in rain,
²⁸ which the skies pour down
   and drop upon mortals abundantly.
²⁹ Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,
   the thunderings of his pavilion?
³⁰ See, he scatters his lightning around him
   and covers the roots of the sea.
³¹ For by these he governs peoples;
   he gives food in abundance.
³² He covers his hands with the lightning,
   and commands it to strike the mark.
³³ Its crashing^* tells about him;
   he is jealous^* with anger against iniquity.

¹⁴ ‘Hear this, O Job;
   stop and consider the wondrous works of God.
¹⁵ Do you know how God lays his command upon them,
   and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?
¹⁶ Do you know the balancings of the clouds,
   the wondrous works of the one whose knowledge is perfect,
¹⁷ you whose garments are hot
   when the earth is still because of the south wind?
¹⁸ Can you, like him, spread out the skies,
   unyielding as a cast mirror?
¹⁹ Teach us what we shall say to him;
   we cannot draw up our case because of darkness.
²⁰ Should he be told that I want to speak?
   Did anyone ever wish to be swallowed up?
²¹ Now, no one can look on the light
   when it is bright in the skies,
   when the wind has passed and cleared them.
²² Out of the north comes golden splendour;
   around God is awesome majesty.
²³ The Almighty^*—we cannot find him;
   he is great in power and justice,
   and abundant righteousness he will not violate.
²⁴ Therefore mortals fear him;
   he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.’

Jesus Stills the Storm

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴A gale arose on the lake, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵And they went and woke him up, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ ²⁶And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. ²⁷They were amazed, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’