Salmo 18

Great Psalm

1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the power that saves me, my high tower.

3 I cry out to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The ropes of death have entangled me; the torrents of destruction surprised me.

5 The ropes of Sheol enfolded me; the bonds of death overtook me.

6 In my affliction I cried to the Lord; I cried out to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry reached his presence, his ears.

7 The earth shook and shook, and the foundations of the mountains were shaken; they trembled because he was angry.

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; out of his mouth came burning coals and consuming fire.

9 He opened the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under their feet.

10 He mounted a cherub and flew on the wings of the wind.

11 He has made darkness his hiding place; from the dark clouds, full of water, the shelter that enveloped him.

12 With the brightness of his presence the clouds broke up into hail and lightning,

13 when the LORD thundered from heaven, and the voice of the Most High resounded.

14 He shot his arrows and scattered my enemies, with his lightning he defeated them.

15 The bottom of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the earth were exposed at your rebuke, O Lord, with the strong blast of your nostrils.

16 He stretched out his hand from above and took hold of me; took me out of the deep waters.

17 He delivered me from my mighty enemy, from my adversaries who were too strong for me.

18 They attacked me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.

19 He has given me complete deliverance; He freed me because he loves me.

20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the purity of my hands he rewarded me.

21 For I followed the ways of the LORD; I did not act like a wicked man, turning away from my God.

22 All your ordinances are before me; I did not deviate from his decrees.

23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from doing evil.

24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyes.

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26 To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the perverse you react to the height.

27 You save the humble, but you humble the haughty.

28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

29 With your help I can attack a troop; with my God I can overcome walls.

30 This is the God whose way is perfect; the word of the Lord is demonstrably genuine. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock but our God?

32 He is the God who gives me strength and makes my way perfect.

33 Make my feet swift as the hinds' feet, support me on high.

34 He trains my hands for battle and my arms to bend a bow of bronze.

35 You give me your shield of victory; your right hand sustains me; you come down to meet me to exalt me.

36 You have made my way clear, lest my ankles be twisted.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; and I did not return until they were destroyed.

38 I slaughtered them, and they could not rise; lie under my feet.

39 You gave me strength to fight; you subdued those who rebelled against me.

40 You put my enemies to flight and I destroyed those who hated me.

41 They cried out for help, but there was no one to save them; they cried out to the Lord, but he did not answer.

42 I reduced them to dust, dust blown away by the wind. I trampled them like mud in the streets.

43 You delivered me from a people in revolt; you made me the head of nations; a people I have not known are subject to me.

44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me; they are foreigners who submit to me.

45 They all lost courage; trembling, they come out of their strongholds.

46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!