- Psalm 18:21-50
- Diligam te, Domine
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 *
and have not offended against my God;
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 cleanness 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.
