Psalm 18

You are my strength, Holy One,

I adore you.

The Holy One is my Ground of Being,

my Stronghold, my Rescuer.

Godde, my Strength and Refuge,

you shield me, you sound my salvation,

you are my safe haven …

Praise the Holy One, my Savior!

Nearly entangled in death's bonds,

destructive torrents threatened me,

the grave's tentacles encircled me

deathlike paralysis nearly finished me -

In distress, I called to the Holy One;

I cried to my Godde for help.

Within the holy sanctuary,

Godde heard my voice.

The earth trembled, it quaked,

the foundations of the mountains shook

with Godde's emotion …

Godde's exhalation was smoke,

Godde's breath, a devouring flame ...

As fiercely as a dragon, Godde parted the heavens

and descended, dark clouds beneath -

Godde rode the cheribim,

soaring, wings on the wind ... 

Godde made darkness a screen;

dark thunderclouds were Godde's pavillion.

Then Godde's blazing presence pierced the clouds

with lightning, and hailstones.

The Holy One thundered from heaven;

it was the voice of the Most High,

whose javelins scattered - 

whose lightning broke the ranks -

Valleys in the sea were exposed,

earth's foundations were laid bare

by your rebuke, Holy One,

blasted by your exhalation - 

Godde reached for me;

Godde drew me out of the tumult,

rescued me from destructive powers,

from oppression too strong for me.

Confronted, in the day of my disaster,

the Holy One was my support.

Godde brought me out into the open ... 

Godde rescued me ... 

Godde delights in me ... 

The Holy One grants me integrity;

Godde sees my spiritual poverty and takes notice.

I have kept the ways of the Holy One ...

I am not guilty of turning away from Godde

whose teachings are always before me;

Let me not turn away from Godde's instruction.

Blameless before Godde, I am protected from sin.

The Holy One alone is my righteousness,

Godde sees my poverty of spirit.

The kind see your kindness,

you reveal your perfection to the perceptive,

your purity is seen by those who are single-hearted,

the rebellious wrestle with you.

You lift up the humble,

but lower the gaze of those who are proud ... 

O my Guardian, you keep my lamp kindled,

you turn darkness into light;

with your help I could move past obstacles

with you I could circumvent any barrier ... 

Your way, O Godde, is perfect.

Our Guardian's word is flawless …

Godde shields all who seek refuge ... 

Is there a god beside our Guardian?

Isn't Godde our Ground of Being?

It is Godde who clothes me with strength

and keeps me surefooted.

Godde makes my feet as agile as a deer's,

enabling me to stand upon the heights.

Godde trains my hands ... 

my arms could bend bronze

because your saving help is my shield

and your right hand sustains me;

your humility creates greatness ... 

You provide a safe path for me

so that my ankles do not give way.

Pursue my inner enemies, overtake them –

and transform me.

They fall and cannot rise

when I try to overcome them

...  clothed in your strength

that which withstands me will yield ...

You transform these internal enemies.

If my inner enemies cry out to you,

O Holy One, you need not answer,

they are dust before the wind

that blows down a street.

You deliver me from striving,

you place me within the nations

among people I have not known

and they serve me ... 

Strangers bend down for me,

from afar they hear, they attend to my needs …

They lose heart;

tormented in their homelands.

But our Guardian lives!

Praise be to the Ground of our Being!

Exalt Godde our Savior!

It is this Godde who lays claim upon us

who seduces the faithless,

who saves us from hostility,

who lifts us above our Adversary,

who rescues us from violence.

Therefore, O Godde, my Guardian,

I will praise you

... among the nations

I shall live the praises of your name.

Your sovereign will is victorious

as you show your inexhaustible love

to your Beloved –

and your Beloved's descendants forever.