Psalm 18. Diligam te, Domine.

Part I: Diligam te, Domine.

1. I love you, O Lord my strength, *
   O Lord my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.
2. My God, my rock in whom I put my trust, *
   my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge; you are worthy of praise.
3. I will call upon the Lord, *
   and so shall I be saved from my enemies.
4. The breakers of death rolled over me, *
   and the torrents of oblivion made me afraid.
5. The cords of hell entangled me, *
   and the snares of death were set for me.
6. I called upon the Lord in my distress *
   and cried out to my God for help.
7. He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling; *
   my cry of anguish came to his ears.
8. The earth reeled and rocked; *
   the roots of the mountains shook; they reeled because of his anger.
9. Smoke rose from his nostrils and a consuming fire out of his mouth; *
   hot burning coals blazed forth from him.
10. He parted the heavens and came down *
    with a storm cloud under his feet.
11. He mounted on cherubim and flew; *
    he swooped on the wings of the wind.
12. He wrapped darkness about him; *
    he made 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 thundered out of heaven; *
    the Most High uttered his voice.
15. He loosed his arrows and scattered them; *
    he hurled thunderbolts and routed them.
16. The beds of the seas were uncovered, and the foundations of the world laid bare, *
    at your battle cry, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
17. He reached down from on high and grasped me; *
    he drew me out of great waters.
18. He delivered me from my strong enemies and from those who hated me; *
    for they were too mighty for me.
19. They confronted me in the day of my disaster; *
    but the Lord was my support.
20. He brought me out into an open place; *
    he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Part II: Et retribuet mihi

21. The Lord rewarded me because of my righteous dealing; *
    because my hands were clean he rewarded me;
22. For I have kept the ways of the Lord rewarded me according to my righteous dealing, *
    because of the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
23. For all his judgments are before my eyes, *
    and his decrees I have not put away from me;
24. For I have been blameless with him *
    and have kept myself from iniquity.
25. Therefore the Lord rewarded me according to my righteous dealing, *
    because of the cleannness of my hands in his sight.
26. With the faithful you show yourself faithful, O God; *
    with the forthright you show yourself forthright.
27. With the pure you show yourself pure, *
    but with the crooked you are wily.
28. You will save a lowly people, *
    but you will humble the haughty eyes.
29. You, O Lord, are my lamp; *
    my God, you make my darkness bright.
30. With you I will break down an enclosure; *
    with the help of my God I will scale any wall.
31. As for God, his ways are perfect; the words of the Lord are tried in the fire; *
    he is a shield to all who trust in him.
32. For who is God, but the Lord? *
    who is the Rock, except our God?
33. It is God who girds me about with strength *
    and makes my way secure.
34. He makes me sure-footed like a deer *
    and lets me stand firm on the heights.
35. He trains my hands for battle *
    and my arms for bending even a bow of bronze.
36. You have given me your shield of victory; *
    your right hand also sustains me; your loving care makes me great.
37. You lengthen my stride beneath me, *
    and my ankles do not give way.
38. I pursue my enemies and overtake them; *
    I will not turn back till I have destroyed them.
39. I strike them down, and they cannot rise; *
    they fall defeated at my feet.
40. You have girded me with strength for the battle; *
    you have cast down my adversaries beneath me; you have put my enemies to flight.
41. I destroy those who hate me; they cry out, but there is none to help them; *
    they cry to the Lord, but he does not answer.
42. I beat them small like dust before the wind; *
    I trample them like mud in the streets.
43. You deliver me from the strife of the peoples; *
    you put me at the head of the nations.
44. A people I have not known shall serve me; no sooner shall they hear than they shall obey me; *
    strangers will cringe before me.
45. The foreign peoples will lose heart; *
    they shall come trembling out of their strongholds.
46. The Lord lives! Blessed is my Rock! *
    Exalted is the God of my salvation!
47. He is the God who gave me victory *
    and cast down the peoples beneath me.
48. You rescued me from the fury of my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; *
    you saved me from my deadly foe.
49. Therefore will I extol you among the nations, O Lord, *
    and sing praises to your Name.
50. He multiplies the victories of his king; *
    he shows loving-kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants for ever.