Psalm 18:1-19

Thanksgiving for Deliverance

18¹ To the chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David, the servant of Jehovah, who spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul. And he said, I will love thee, O Jehovah, my strength. ² Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I will trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. ³ I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. ⁴ The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid. ⁵ The bands of Sheol surrounded me, the cords of death encountered me. ⁶ In my distress I called upon Jehovah, and I cried out to my God; he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, into his ears. ⁷ Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled and shook, because he was wroth. ⁸ There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals burned forth from it. ⁹ And he bowed the heavens, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. ¹⁰ And he rode upon a cherub and did fly; yea, he flew fast upon the wings of the wind. ¹¹ He made darkness his secret place, his tent round about him: darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. ¹² From the brightness before him his thick clouds passed forth: hail and coals of fire. ¹³ And Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice: hail and coals of fire. ¹⁴ And he sent his arrows, and scattered [mine enemies]; and he shot forth lightnings, and discomfited them. ¹⁵ And the beds of the waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were uncovered at thy rebuke, Jehovah, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. ¹⁶ He reached forth from above, he took me, he drew me out of great waters: ¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me; for they were mightier than I. ¹⁸ They encountered me in the day of my calamity, but Jehovah was my stay. ¹⁹ And he brought me forth into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.