Psalm 18:8-19:8

8Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.

9He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.

10He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.

11He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

13The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Samuel 22:14); most Hebrew manuscripts resounded, / amid hailstones and bolts of lightning

14He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them.

15The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.

17He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.

19He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

20The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

21For I have kept the ways of the LORD ; I am not guilty of turning from my God.

22All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.

23I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.

24The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.

27You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

28You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

29With your help I can advance against a troop Or can run through a barricade ; with my God I can scale a wall.

30As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD ’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.

31For who is God besides the LORD ? And who is the Rock except our God?

32It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

33He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.

34He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great.

36You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.

37I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

38I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.

39You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me.

40You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.

41They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but he did not answer.

42I beat them as fine as windblown dust; I trampled them Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac and Targum (see also 2 Samuel 22:43); Masoretic Text I poured them out like mud in the streets.

43You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me,

44foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.

45They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.

46The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!

47He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me,

48who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me.

49Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. 50He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing love to his anointed, to David and to his descendants forever.

Psalm 19In Hebrew texts 19:1-14 is numbered 19:2-15. 1For the director of music. A psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

3They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.

4Yet their voice Septuagint, Jerome and Syriac; Hebrew measuring line goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

5It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.

7The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

8The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.