Psalm 18 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

God the Sovereign Savior

(2 Sam. 22:1–51 )

Psa 18:1To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

I will love You, O LORD, my strength.

Psa 18:2

Psa 18:2The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psa 18:3

Psa 18:3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Psa 18:4

Psa 18:4The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

Psa 18:5

Psa 18:5The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.

Psa 18:6

Psa 18:6In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

Psa 18:7

Psa 18:7Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.

Psa 18:8

Psa 18:8Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.

Psa 18:9

Psa 18:9He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.

Psa 18:10

Psa 18:10And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.

Psa 18:11

Psa 18:11He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.

Psa 18:12

Psa 18:12From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

Psa 18:13

Psa 18:13The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.[fn]

Psa 18:14

Psa 18:14He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.

Psa 18:15

Psa 18:15Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O LORD,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

Psa 18:16

Psa 18:16He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.

Psa 18:17

Psa 18:17He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.

Psa 18:18

Psa 18:18They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the LORD was my support.

Psa 18:19

Psa 18:19He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

Psa 18:20

Psa 18:20The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.

Psa 18:21

Psa 18:21For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.

Psa 18:22

Psa 18:22For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.

Psa 18:23

Psa 18:23I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.

Psa 18:24

Psa 18:24Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

Psa 18:25

Psa 18:25With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

Psa 18:26

Psa 18:26With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

Psa 18:27

Psa 18:27For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.

Psa 18:28

Psa 18:28For You will light my lamp;
The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

Psa 18:29

Psa 18:29For by You I can run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.

Psa 18:30

Psa 18:30As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the LORD is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Psa 18:31

Psa 18:31For who is God, except the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?

Psa 18:32

Psa 18:32It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.

Psa 18:33

Psa 18:33He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.

Psa 18:34

Psa 18:34He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Psa 18:35

Psa 18:35You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.

Psa 18:36

Psa 18:36You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.

Psa 18:37

Psa 18:37I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.

Psa 18:38

Psa 18:38I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.

Psa 18:39

Psa 18:39For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

Psa 18:40

Psa 18:40You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.

Psa 18:41

Psa 18:41They cried out, but there was none to save;
Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.

Psa 18:42

Psa 18:42Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I cast them out like dirt in the streets.

Psa 18:43

Psa 18:43You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
You have made me the head of the nations;
A people I have not known shall serve me.

Psa 18:44

Psa 18:44As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners submit to me.

Psa 18:45

Psa 18:45The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.

Psa 18:46

Psa 18:46The LORD lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

Psa 18:47

Psa 18:47It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;

Psa 18:48

Psa 18:48He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.

Psa 18:49

Psa 18:49Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

Psa 18:50

Psa 18:50Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forevermore.

See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NKJV Footnotes

(18:13)

Following Masoretic Text, Targum, and Vulgate; a few Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint omit Hailstones and coals of fire.

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