PSALM 17 (18)

I shall love You, O Lord,
who are my strength.
The Lord is my rock
and my oak,
and my savior.

My God is my strength,
and I will hope in Him,
my shield and the horn
of my well being,
my refuge.

Praising Him I will
invoke the Lord,
and I shall be
saved from my enemies.

The pains of death
surrounded me,
and torrents of iniquity
terrified me.

The pains of hell surrounded
me, and I was held
by the bonds of death.

In my tribulation
I invoked the Lord
and I cried out to God,
that from his temple
he might hear my voice,
and that my cry
in his presence
might reach his ears.

And the earth was shaken
and troubled,
and the base of the
mountains was stricken,
and they were shaken
because of his anger.

Smoke rose from his furor, and fire issued
from his mouth,
lighting glowing coals.

He bent the heavens and
descended, and there was
darkness beneath his feet.

He mounted upon a Cherubim and flew,
He flew on the wings of the wind,
and placed shadows as
his retreat,
around him as his
tabernacle,
shadowy waters
in clouds of air.
Before  the light of his presence,
clouds disappeared, amid
hail and fiery coals
and the Lord thundered
from the heavens,
the Most High
gave forth his voice
with hail and fiery coals:
and He sent forth his arrows
and dispersed them
and He multiplied
the lightning bolts
and threw them into chaos,
and fountains of water
appeared and the foundations
of the earth
were revealed
at the sound of your voice.
O Lord,
at the wind of your
angry breath.

He sent from on high
and received me,
He lifted me from
the flooding waters,
He freed me from my
most powerful enemies
and those who hated me,
though they were
stronger than me.

They assaulted me on the day
of my affliction,
and the Lord became
my protector.

And He put me at large,
He saved me because
it pleased Him,
and the Lord repaid me
according to my justice,
according to the purity
of my hands.
He repaid me,
for I have kept the ways
of the Lord,
and I have not acted
impiously toward
my God.

For all of his judgments
have been in my sight
and I have not rejected
his precepts, and have been
immaculate with Him
and I have kept myself from
my iniquity,
and the Lord
will repay me according
to my justice,
and according to the purity
of my hands
in the sight of
his eyes.

With the holy
You shall be holy,
with the innocent
You act
innocently.
With the elect
You shall be elect
and with the perverse
You shall be
severe.,
for You shall save
the poor
and cause the eyes of the mighty
to be lowered,
for You shall give light
to my lamp, O Lord,
You will illuminate
my shadows, my God,
for in You I shall be rescued
from a pirates' den
and with my God I shall
leap over the wall.
The way of my God is
spotless,
the words of the Lord
are proven by fire,
He is the shield of
all those who hope
in Him,
for who is God besides the Lord,
who is strong besides our God?

It is God who girds me with strength,
who has made my way smooth,
making my feet fleet as those of deer
and placing me on the heights,
training my hands for battle,
making my arms a bronze bow.

You gave me the shield
of your protection
and your right hand
supported me,
and your gentleness
made me strong.

You will make wide the places
where I walk
and my steps will not falter.

I shall pursue my enemies
and capture them,
and I shall not turn back
until I have finished them,
until they shall fall
and not rise,
until they shall fall
beneath my feet.

You have girded me
with strength for battle,
You have bent my adversaries
beneath me,
You have made my enemies
turn their backs to me
and You have dispersed those who hate me.
They shall call out and
there will be no one
to save them,
to the Lord,
and He will not
heed them.

I will scatter them
like powder
before the wind,
I will sweep them away
like the mire of the streets.

You will save me from
the strife of the people,
You put me at the head of nations,
people whom I did not know
shall serve me,
on hearing of me,
they shall obey me.

The sons of strangers render me
false homage,
the sons of strangers
are defeated,
and come trembling from their
hiding places.

The Lord lives, and
blessed be my Rock,
and may the God of my salvation
be exalted,
God who gives vengeance
to me,
and gathers peoples
under me,
who has liberated me
from my enemies
and placed me above
those who resist me,
who has rescued me
from the violent.

Therefore I shall celebrate You
among the nations,
O Lord,
and sing a psalm
to your name.

You who have given great victories
to your king
and have shown mercy
to your anointed,
David, and to his seed,
forever.