Psalms 18 - 20 — Legacy Standard Bible

Yahweh Is My Rock and My Fortress

For the choir director. Of the servant of Yahweh, of David, ¹who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

He said, “I love You, O Yahweh, ^amy strength.”²Yahweh is ^amy ¹rock and ^bmy fortress and my ^cdeliverer,My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;My ^dshield and the ^ehorn of my salvation, my ^fstronghold.³I call upon Yahweh, who is ^aworthy to be praised,And I am ^bsaved from my enemies.⁴The ^acords of death encompassed me,And the ^btorrents of vileness ¹terrified me.⁵The ^acords of Sheol surrounded me;The snares of death confronted me.⁶In my ^adistress I called upon Yahweh,And cried to my God for help;He heard my voice ^bout of His temple,And my ^ccry for help before Him came into His ears.⁷Then the ^aearth shook and quaked;And the ^bfoundations of the mountains were tremblingAnd were shaken, because He was angry.⁸Smoke went up ¹out of His nostrils,And ^afire from His mouth devoured;Coals were kindled by it.⁹He ^abowed the heavens and came downWith thick ^bdarkness under His feet.¹⁰He rode upon a ^acherub and flew;And He sped upon the ^bwings of the wind.¹¹He made ^adarkness His hiding place, ^bHis ¹canopy around Him,Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.¹²From the ^abrightness before Him passed His thick clouds,Hailstones and ^bcoals of fire.¹³Yahweh also ^athundered in the heavens,And the Most High gave forth His voice,Hailstones and coals of fire.¹⁴He ^asent out His arrows, and scattered them,And lightning flashes in abundance, and ¹threw them into confusion.¹⁵Then the ^achannels of water appeared,And the foundations of the world were ¹laid bareAt Your ^brebuke, O Yahweh,At the blast of the ^cbreath of Your nostrils.¹⁶He ^asent from on high, He took me;He drew me out of ^bmany waters.¹⁷He ^adelivered me from my strong enemy,And from those who hated me, for they were ^btoo mighty for me.¹⁸They confronted me in ^athe day of my disaster,But ^bYahweh was my support.¹⁹He brought me forth also into a ^abroad place;He rescued me, because ^bHe delighted in me.²⁰Yahweh has ^arewarded me according to my righteousness;According to the ^bcleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.²¹For I have ^akept the ways of Yahweh,And have ^bnot wickedly departed from my God.²²For all ^aHis judgments were before me,And I did not put away His ^bstatutes from me.²³I was also ¹^,^ablameless with Him,And I ^bkept myself from my iniquity.²⁴Therefore Yahweh has ^arecompensed me according to my righteousness,According to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes.²⁵With ^athe ¹kind You show Yourself kind;With the blameless ^bYou show Yourself blameless;²⁶With the pure You show Yourself ^apure,And with the crooked ^bYou show Yourself ¹astute.²⁷For You ^asave an afflicted people,But ^beyes which are lifted up, You bring down.²⁸For You ^alight my lamp;Yahweh my God ^billumines my darkness.²⁹For by You I can ¹^,^arun upon a troop;And by my God I can ^bleap over a wall.³⁰As for God, His way is ¹^,^ablameless;The ^bword of Yahweh is ²tried;He is a ^cshield to all who take refuge in Him.³¹For ^awho is God, but Yahweh?And who is a ^brock, except our God,³²The God who ^agirds me with strengthAnd ¹makes my way ²^,^bblameless?³³He ^amakes my feet like hinds’ feet,And ^bsets me upon my high places.³⁴He ^atrains my hands for battle,So that my arms can ^bbend a bow of bronze.³⁵You have also given me ^athe shield of Your salvation,And Your ^bright hand upholds me;And ^cYour ¹gentleness makes me great.³⁶You ^aenlarge my steps under me,And my ^bankles have not given way.³⁷I ^apursued my enemies and overtook them,And I did not turn back ^buntil they were consumed.³⁸I crushed them, so that they were ^anot able to rise;They fell ^bunder my feet.³⁹For You have ^agirded me with strength for battle;You have ¹^,^bsubdued under me those who rose up against me.⁴⁰¹You have also made my enemies ^aturn their backs to me,And I ²^,^bdestroyed those who hated me.⁴¹They cried for help, but there was ^anone to save,Even to Yahweh, but ^bHe did not answer them.⁴²Then I beat them fine as the ^adust before the wind;I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.⁴³You have delivered me from the ^acontentions of the people;You have placed me as ^bhead of the nations;A ^cpeople whom I have not known serve me.⁴⁴As soon as they hear, they obey me;Foreigners ¹^,^acower before me.⁴⁵Foreigners ^afade away,And ^bcome trembling out of their ¹fortresses.⁴⁶Yahweh ^alives, and blessed be ^bmy rock;And let ^cthe God of my salvation be lifted high,⁴⁷The God who ^aexecutes vengeance for me,And ^bsubdues peoples under me.⁴⁸Who ^adelivers me from my enemies;Surely You ^blift me above those who rise up against me;You rescue me from the ^cviolent man.⁴⁹Therefore I will ^agive thanks to You among the nations, O Yahweh,And I will ^bsing praises to Your name.⁵⁰He gives great ¹^,^asalvation to His king,And shows lovingkindness to ^bHis anointed,To David and ^chis seed forever.

The Law of Yahweh Is Perfect

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

The ^aheavens are telling of the glory of God;And the ^bexpanse is declaring the work of His hands.²Day to ^aday pours forth ¹speech,And ^bnight to night reveals knowledge.³There is no ¹speech, nor are there words;Their voice is not heard.⁴Their ¹^,^aline has gone out through all the earth,And their utterances to the end of the world.In them He has ^bplaced a tent for the sun,⁵Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.⁶Its ^arising is from ¹one end of the heavens,And its circuit to the ²other end of them;And there is nothing hidden from its heat.⁷^aThe law of Yahweh is ¹^,^bperfect, ^crestoring the soul;The testimony of Yahweh is ^dsure, making ^ewise the simple.⁸The precepts of Yahweh are ^aright, ^brejoicing the heart;The commandment of Yahweh is ^cpure, ^denlightening the eyes.⁹The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever;The judgments of Yahweh are ^atrue; they are ^brighteous altogether.¹⁰They are more desirable than ^agold, even more than much fine gold;^bSweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.¹¹Moreover, by them ^aYour slave is warned;In keeping them there is great ^breward.¹²Who can ^adiscern his errors? ^bAcquit me of ^chidden faults.¹³Also keep back Your slave ^afrom presumptuous sins;Let them not ^brule over me;Then I will be ¹^,^cblameless,And I shall be acquitted of ^dgreat transgression.¹⁴Let the ¹words of my mouth and ^athe meditation of my heartBe acceptable in Your sight,O Yahweh, ^bmy rock and my ^cRedeemer.

We Will Boast in the Name of Yahweh

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

May Yahweh answer you ^ain the day of distress!May the ^bname of the ^cGod of Jacob set you securely on high!²May He send you help ^afrom the sanctuaryAnd ^buphold you from Zion!³May He ^aremember all your meal offeringsAnd ^bfind your burnt offering ¹acceptable! ² Selah.⁴May He grant you your ^aheart’s desireAnd ^bfulfill all your ¹counsel!⁵¹We will ^asing for joy over your salvation,And in the name of our God we will ^bset up our banners.May Yahweh ^cfulfill all your petitions.⁶Now ^aI know that Yahweh saves His anointed;He will ^banswer him from His holy heavenWith the ¹^,^csaving might of His right hand.⁷Some boast in chariots and some in ^ahorses,But ^bwe will ¹boast in the name of Yahweh, our God.⁸They have ^abowed down and fallen,But we have ^brisen and stood upright.⁹¹^,^aSave, O Yahweh;May the ^bKing answer us in the day we call.