Afternoon Prayer

Psalm 18:21-50 or Coverdale21 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.