I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my anchor,
my fortress,
and my shield,
my God,
my harbor where I take refuge;
my guard,
my guide,
my stronghold.

I call to the Lord, the blessed, the faithful,
so I shall be saved from my enemies.

The bands of death encompassed me;
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
the chains of Hell entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.

In my agony I called upon the Lord;
I cried out to God.
He heard at once;
there was no distance between us;

my God heard my cry and His heart thundered.

The earth trembled;
the mountains quaked,
the sand became a thousand thousand splintering stars,
the sky turned red; a raging storm of flames descended,
a devouring fire consuming all.
Smoke ascended to the heavens.

My God shattered the clouds,
and stood in the midst of the clamor
and crashing, crushing noise.
All was still in that instant.

He touched the flames,
and they became outstretched fingers;
He made the darkness a gentle mist,
a canopy of cooling water.

Then the Most High spoke; brightness broke forth,
streaks of lightning, hailstones of fire;
the voice of the Lord thundered throughout the heavens.
He sent out His arrows, and scattered the wicked;
His anger flashed forth and routed them.

Then the channels were revealed,
the foundations laid bare,
O Lord; at the blast of Your fierce rebuke,
the wicked scurry into hiding.

He reached down from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of the destroying tempest.
He delivered 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 delivered me, because He delighted in me.

Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

✮