Psalm 18 Diligam te, Domine
S 1 to 6: Thomas Walmisley (1814-1856)
I will love thee, O Lord my strength;
The Lord is my stony rock and my defence;
My Saviour, my God and my might in whom I will trust;
My buckler; the horn also of my salvation, and my refuge.
I will call upon the Lord which is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be safe from mine enemies.
The sorrows of death compassed me,
And the overflowings of ungodliness made me afraid.
The pains of hell came about me;
The snares of death overtook me.
In my trouble I will call upon the Lord
And complain unto my God.
So shall he hear my voice out of his holy temple,
And my complaint shall come before him;
It shall enter even into his ears.
S 7 to 15: Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876)
The earth trembled and quaked;
The very foundations also of the hills sand were removed because he was wroth.
There went a smoke out in his presence,
And a consuming fire out of his mouth,
So that coals were kindled at it.
He bowed the heavens also and came down,
And it was dark under his feet.
He rode upon the cherubins and did fly;
He came flying upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his secret place;
His pavilion round about him with dark water
And thick clouds to cover him.
At the brightness of his presence
His clouds removed hailstones and coals of fire.
The Lord also thundered out of heaven,
And the Highest gave his thunder:
Hailstones and coals of fire.
He sent out his arrows and scattered them;
He cast forth lightnings and destroyed them.
The springs of waters were seen,
And the foundations of the round world were discovered at thy chiding, O Lord;
At the blasting of the breath of thy displeasure.
s 16 to 30: Thomas Walmisley (1814-1856)
He shall send down from on high to fetch me,
And shall take me out of many waters.
He shall deliver me from my strongest enemy
And from them which hate me,
For they are too mighty for me.
They prevented me in the day of my trouble,
But the Lord was my upholder.
He brought me forth also into a place of liberty;
He brought me forth even
Because he had a favour unto me.
The Lord shall reward me after my righteous dealing; according to the cleanness of my
Hands shall he recompense me.
Because I have kept the ways of the Lord
And have not forsaken my God as the wicked doth.
For I have an eye unto all his laws
And will not cast out his commandments from me.
I was also uncorrupt before him
And eschewed mine own wickedness.
Therefore shall the Lord reward me
After my righteous dealing
And according unto the cleanness of my hands
In his eye-sight.
With the holy thou shalt be holy,
And with a perfect man thou shalt be perfect.
With the clean thou shalt be clean,
And with the froward thou shalt learn frowardness.
For thou shalt save the people that are in adversity,
And shalt bring down the high looks of the proud.
Thou also shalt light my candle;
The Lord my God shall make my darkness to be light.
For in thee I shall discomfit an host of men,
And with the help of my God I shall leap over the wall.
The way of God is an undefiled way;
The word of the Lord also is tried in the fire;
He is the defender of all them that put their trust in him.
S 31 to 46: Henry Smart (1813-1879)
For who is God but the Lord,
Or who hath any strength except our God?
It is God that girdeth me with strength of war
And maketh my way perfect.
He maketh my feet like hart's feet
And setteth me up on high.
He teacheth mine hands to fight
And mine arms shall break even a bow of steel.
Thou hast given me the defence of thy salvation;
Thy right hand also shall hold me up and
Thy loving correction shall make me great.
Thou shalt make room enough under me for to go,
That my footsteps shall not slide.
A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me,
But the strange children shall dissemble with me.
The strange children shall fail and
Be afraid out of their prisons.
S 47 to end: John Robinson (1682-1762)
The Lord liveth and blessed be my strong helper,
And praised be the God of my salvation;
Even the God that seeth that I be avenged
And subdueth the people unto me.
It is he that delivereth me from my cruel enemies and setteth me up above mine adversaries;
Thou shalt rid me from the wicked man.
For this cause will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord
Among the Gentiles, and sing praises unto thy Name.
Great prosperity giveth he unto his King,
And sheweth loving kindness unto David
His Anointed and unto his seed for evermore.
Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.