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Psalm 18 is the 18th psalm of the
Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
, beginning in English in the
King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of ...
: "I love you, O LORD, my strength.". In the Greek
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...
and the Latin
Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels us ...
, it is psalm 17 in a slightly different numbering system, known as "Diligam te Domine fortitudo mea". It is almost identical to
2 Samuel 22 2 Samuel 22 is the twenty-second chapter in the second parts of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible (or the 22nd chapter of the "Second Book of Samuel" in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible). According to Jewish tradition the book was a ...
, although verse 1 of the psalm, ''I love you, O LORD, my strength'', is not included in the Samuel version. With 50 verses, this is the longest psalm in Book 1 of the Book of Psalms (Psalms 1-41). The psalm forms a regular part of
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
,
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
,
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
and other Protestant liturgies. It was set to music by composers such as
Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...
.


Text


King James Version

This psalm, in the
English Standard Version The English Standard Version (ESV) is an English translation of the Bible. Published in 2001 by Crossway, the ESV was "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors." The ESV relies on recently published crit ...
, reads in the
King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of ...
: Introduction: The LORD Is My Rock and My Fortress To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said: # I love you, O LORD, my strength. # The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. # I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. # The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; # the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. # In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. # Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. # Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. # He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. # He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind. # He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water. # Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. # The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. # And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. # Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. # He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. # He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. # They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. # He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. # The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. # For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. # For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me. # I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt. # So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. # With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; # with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. # For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. # For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. # For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. # This God---his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. # For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?--- # the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. # He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. # He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. # You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. # You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. # I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed. # I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet. # For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me. # You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed. # They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them. # I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets. # You delivered me from strife with the people; you made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me. # As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me. # Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses. # The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation--- # the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me, # who delivered me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you rescued me from the man of violence. # For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name. # Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.


Theme

William Blake.'' David Delivered out of Many Waters'' The
Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonica ...
describes this psalm as "a triumphal ode combining a thanksgiving prayer ... with a royal victory song, ending on a messianic note". According to Charles and Emilie Briggs in the ''International Critical Commentary'' series, this psalm borrowed material from 2 Samuel 22, which may have been written by
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
himself, with later additions by multiple editors adapting it for use in public worship. This psalm is one of a number of psalms which refer to God as a "rock" and a "fortress". Details in the Psalm, including the language of a watery descent to
Sheol Sheol ( ; he, ''Šəʾōl'', Tiberian: ''Šŏʾōl'') in the Hebrew Bible is a place of still darkness which lies after death. Although not well defined in the Tanakh, Sheol in this view was a subterranean underworld where the souls of the ...
, closely match details from the
Book of Jonah The Book of Jonah is collected as one of the twelve minor prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Hebrew Bible, and as a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament. The book tells of a Hebrew prophet named Jonah, son of Amittai, wh ...
.


Usage


Judaism

* This psalm is recited on the seventh day of
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or ...
in some traditions. * Verse 32 is recited before
Ein Keloheinu ''Ein Keloheinu'' (in Hebrew: אֵין כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ, "there is none like our God") is a well known Jewish hymn. Orthodox Jews pronounce it as Ein Kelokeinu when referring to it outside of prayer, in order to avoid taking the name of ...
. * On most days, verse 50 is recited at the end of
Birkat Hamazon Birkat Hamazon ( he, בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, The Blessing of the Food), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( yi, ; translit. ''bentschen'' or "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish l ...
; on all other days, the almost identical verse from
2 Samuel 22 2 Samuel 22 is the twenty-second chapter in the second parts of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible (or the 22nd chapter of the "Second Book of Samuel" in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible). According to Jewish tradition the book was a ...
is recited instead.


New Testament

Some verses of Psalm 18 are referenced in the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christi ...
: * Verse 2b is cited in
Hebrews The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still ...
* Verse 49 is cited in Romans 15:9


Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's ''
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
'', Psalm 18 is appointed to be read on the evening of the third day of the month.Church of England
Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter
as printed by
John Baskerville John Baskerville (baptised 28 January 1707 – 8 January 1775) was an English businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best remembered as a printer and type designer. He was also responsible for inventing "wov ...
in 1762, pp. 196ff


Musical settings

The first line of Psalm 18 was paraphrased in the German hymn " Ich will dich lieben, meine Stärke" by Angelus Silesius in 1657.
Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...
set a metred paraphrase of Psalm 18 in German, "Ich lieb dich, Herr, von Herzen sehr", SWV 114, as part of the
Becker Psalter The ''Becker Psalter'' is a German metrical psalter authored by the Leipzig theologian Cornelius Becker and first published by Jakob Apel in Leipzig in 1602 under the title ''Der Psalter Davids Gesangweis''. Several composers set the psalms contai ...
.


References


External links

* * * in Hebrew and English - Mechon-mamre * Text of Psalm 18 according to th
1928 Psalter

For the Leader. / I love you, LORD, my strength, LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer
text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 18 – Great Praise from a Place of Great Victory
enduringword.com
Psalm 18 / Refrain: The Lord my God shall make my darkness to be bright.
Church of England
Psalm 18
at biblegateway.com
Hymns for Psalm 18
hymnary.org {{Psalms 018 Works attributed to David