Praying Psalm 18


I love You Lord; You are my Strength. You Lord, are my Rock, my Fortress and my Saviour; my God is my Rock, in whom I find protection. You are my Shield, the Power that saves me and my place of Safety. I call on You Lord, Who is worthy of praise and You save me from Your enemies. The ropes of death entangle me; floods of destruction sweep over me. The grave wraps its ropes around me; death lays a trap in my path. But in my distress I cry out to You my Lord; yes, I pray to my God for help. You hear me from Your Sanctuary; my cry to You reach Your ears. Then the earth quake and tremble. The foundations of the mountains shake; they quake because of Your anger. Smoke pour from Your nostrils; fierce flames leap from Your mouth. Glowing coals blaze forth from You. You open the heavens and come down; dark storm clouds are beneath Your feet. Mounted on a mighty angelic being You fly, soaring on the wings of the wind. You shroud Yourself in darkness, veiling Your approach with dark rain clouds. Thick clouds shield the brightness around You and rain down hail and burning coals. My Lord thunder from heaven; the voice of the Most High resound amid the hail and burning coals. You shoot Your arrows and scatter Your enemies; Your lightning flash and they are greatly confused. Then at Your Command my Lord, at the blast of Your breath, the bottom of the sea is seen and the foundations of the earth are laid bare. You reach down from heaven and rescued me; You draw me out of deep waters. You rescue me from Your powerful enemies, from those who hate You and are too strong for me. They attack me at a moment when I am in distress but You my Lord support me. You lead me to a place of safety; You rescue me because You delights in me. My Lord will reward me for doing right; You will restore me because of my innocence. For I will keep the ways of You Lord; I will not turned from my God to follow evil. I will follow all Your regulations; I will never abandon Your decrees. I am blameless before my God; I will keep myself from sin. My Lord will reward me for doing right. You my God will see my innocence. To the faithful You show Yourself faithful; to those with integrity You show integrity. To the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the wicked You show Yourself hostile. You rescue the humble, but You humiliate the proud. You light a lamp for me. My Lord God, lights up my darkness. In Your strength I can crush an army; with my King I can scale any wall. God’s way is perfect. All my Lord’s promises prove true. You are a Shield for all who look to You for protection. For who is like You my God? Who else but You God is a solid Rock? For Your honour I will fight; You God, will arm me with strength and You will make my way perfect. You will make me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. For Your honour, You will train my hands for battle; You will strengthen my arm to draw a bronze bow. You will give me Your shield of victory when I defend Your Name. Your right hand will support me; Your help will make me a great warrior. You will make a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping. I will chase Your enemies and will catch them; I will not stop until they are conquered. I will strike them down so they could not get up; they will fall beneath Your feet. You will arm me with strength for Your battle; You will subdue Your enemies under my feet. You will place my foot on their necks. I will destroy all who hate You. They will call for help, but no one will come to their rescue. They will even cry to You Lord, but I know You will refuse to answer. I will grind them as fine as dust in the wind. I will sweep them into the gutter like dirt. You will give me victory over Your accusers. I will fight for You and You will be Ruler over all nations; people I don’t even know will serve You. As soon as they hear of me, they will submit to You; foreign nations will cringe before You my King. They will all lose their courage and come trembling from their strongholds. You my Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May the Lord my God of my salvation be exalted! You are the Most High who pays back those who harm Your people; nations will be subdued under You and You will rescue me from Your and my enemies. As always, You will hold me safe beyond the reach of Your enemies; You will save me from Your violent opponent and his followers. For this my Master, I will always praise You among the nations; I will sing praises to Your mighty Name. You give great victories to me and You show unfailing love to me and all my fellow believers forever. I live for You and I will die for You, amen.