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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.
20  He brought me out into a place of liberty; ♦︎
   he rescued me because he delighted in me.

²¹ For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
   and have not wickedly departed from my God.
²² For all his ordinances were before me,
   and his statutes I did not put away from me.
²³ I was blameless before him,
   and I kept myself from guilt.
²⁴ Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
   according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁵ With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
   with the blameless you show yourself blameless;
²⁶ with the pure you show yourself pure;
   and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
²⁷ For you deliver a humble people,
   but the haughty eyes you bring down.
²⁸ It is you who light my lamp;
   the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
²⁹ By you I can crush a troop,
   and by my God I can leap over a wall.
³⁰ This God—his way is perfect;
   the promise of the Lord proves true;
   he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.