Psa 18:7-19 | KingComments | STEP | [Hint for the reader: To get an impression of the LORD’s answer, it is good to read the whole of these verses in one go. So rather than studying verse by verse in detail, first read the whole in quiet succession. Then the experience that Elijah had is gained: the LORD did not appear to him in the storm, fire or earthquake, but ultimately in the sound of a gentle blowing ( )]. In these verses David tells us that the LORD listened to his cry for help (cf. ) and how He answered. God’s response to deliver David and His people is His mighty appearance. He describes what became visible of God when He began to act on his behalf. It did not make David anxious, but filled him with awe. That God was acting for him! Smoke and fire, wind and waters, thunder and lightning, all these natural phenomena God put into action for his deliverance. God’s action begins with the earth shaking and quaking ( ). “The foundations of mountains”, which symbolize the immobility and stability of the earth, “were trembling and were shaken”. God only has to touch them with a finger and the earth loses everything a man thinks he can hold on to. It is not a question of a slight fluctuation, but of an uncontrollable violent shaking back and forth, so that everything staggers and falls over. This happens “because He was angry”. It shows His exalted majesty, whereby man in his pride shrivels up to nothing. It is quite possible that God helped David through such natural phenomena to defeat his enemies or escape them. David sees God’s hand in this, which is true, while the enemies, and all men without God, speak only of remarkable phenomena in nature. All kinds of plagues and disasters that will afflict mankind when the believers are caught up, and which are described in the book of Revelation, will be explained by the unbelievers in this way. The believing remnant clearly sees the hand of God in that. We see the same thing with the plagues that came upon Egypt. They were used as judgment on Egypt, while for the Israelites they were signs and wonders of God. Further emphasis is given to God’s anger by the smoke that went up out of His nostrils and the fire that came from His mouth ( ; cf. ). The fire did a devouring work, which is proven by the coals that were kindled by it. The smoke and the consuming fire make it clear that He is judging the enemies. Fire is invariably a picture of the judgment of God that consumes everything that resists Him. Also “our God is a consuming fire” ( ). By bowing the heavens, He brings them closer to the earth ( ). It is a poetic and human description of His coming down to earth to act on behalf of His godly man. In Him, heaven came to earth. That meant judgment for the wicked persecutors and deliverance for the righteous. The thick darkness under His feet emphasizes that He came to judge. Another indication that He came to judge is that “He rode on a cherub” ( ). Ezekiel sees that cherubim are attached to the throne chariot of His government ( ). These heavenly beings have great power and are associated with the execution of God’s government and the maintaining of His righteousness. We see this particularly displayed in the cherubim looking down on the mercy seat on top of the ark in which the law is ( ). Cherubim have wings that allow them to move quickly. They are consequently also connected to heaven while performing their work on earth. God is swift in executing judgment when the appointed time for it has come. He moves with the speed and inimitability of the wind toward His goal (cf. ). David continues in figurative language his impressive description of God in His action to deliver His anointed. God has wrapped Himself in the darkness of the night to hide Himself in it ( ). That hiding is like a canopy. That canopy consists of “darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies”. Everything speaks of the threat of judgment. God announces His action in “the brightness before Him” ( ). God can cover Himself in darkness. The threat that emanates from it can inspire awe and work repentance. When man does not take that threat seriously, God appears in judgment. Then He appears as a blinding light. Out of the light glow of His holiness come “hailstones and coals of fire”. We also see such a combination at the seventh plague on Egypt ( ). The dark, obscure clouds began to speak majestically, deafeningly: “The LORD also thundered in the heavens” ( ). From heaven He made His voice sound through “hailstones and coals of fire” which were also mentioned in the previous verse. The repetition indicates that it happened regularly. He is “the Most High”, He is exalted above the universe. God speaks through His judgments; in them His voice is heard ( ). During the thunders, He shoots His arrows in the form of lightning flashes in all directions ( ; cf. ; ). Thus He scattered the enemies, disrupting their order and confusing them, rendering them powerless. As a final act, David describes that through the action of God the channels of water became visible and “the foundations of the world were laid bare” ( ). It is a thundering final act, as it were, in which God demonstrates that there is no area in all of nature that can resist when He deals with it. It is a picture of His dealing with hostile powers. As He makes visible the channels of water, so He uncovers all the hostile powers. He rules over the foundations of the world. He is the glorious and victorious King over all powers in heaven, on earth and in the sea. His rule cannot be questioned by anything or anyone. All of the foregoing acts were done by God as “rebuke” against the opponents of the righteous for whom He stands up. For that rebuke He uses from the universe what He needs, for the entire universe is under His authority and at His disposal. He only has to blow against a single element with the breath of His nostrils and it is stirred up to an all-destructive storm against which no shelter can stand.

‏ Psalms 18:7-19

God Intervenes

[Hint for the reader: To get an impression of the LORD’s answer, it is good to read the whole of these verses in one go. So rather than studying verse by verse in detail, first read the whole in quiet succession. Then the experience that Elijah had is gained: the LORD did not appear to him in the storm, fire or earthquake, but ultimately in the sound of a gentle blowing (1Kgs 19:11-13)].

In these verses David tells us that the LORD listened to his cry for help (cf. Psa 17:13) and how He answered. God’s response to deliver David and His people is His mighty appearance. He describes what became visible of God when He began to act on his behalf. It did not make David anxious, but filled him with awe. That God was acting for him! Smoke and fire, wind and waters, thunder and lightning, all these natural phenomena God put into action for his deliverance.

God’s action begins with the earth shaking and quaking (Psa 18:7). “The foundations of mountains”, which symbolize the immobility and stability of the earth, “were trembling and were shaken”. God only has to touch them with a finger and the earth loses everything a man thinks he can hold on to. It is not a question of a slight fluctuation, but of an uncontrollable violent shaking back and forth, so that everything staggers and falls over. This happens “because He was angry”. It shows His exalted majesty, whereby man in his pride shrivels up to nothing.

It is quite possible that God helped David through such natural phenomena to defeat his enemies or escape them. David sees God’s hand in this, which is true, while the enemies, and all men without God, speak only of remarkable phenomena in nature. All kinds of plagues and disasters that will afflict mankind when the believers are caught up, and which are described in the book of Revelation, will be explained by the unbelievers in this way. The believing remnant clearly sees the hand of God in that. We see the same thing with the plagues that came upon Egypt. They were used as judgment on Egypt, while for the Israelites they were signs and wonders of God.

Further emphasis is given to God’s anger by the smoke that went up out of His nostrils and the fire that came from His mouth (Psa 18:8; cf. Isa 65:5). The fire did a devouring work, which is proven by the coals that were kindled by it. The smoke and the consuming fire make it clear that He is judging the enemies. Fire is invariably a picture of the judgment of God that consumes everything that resists Him. Also “our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29).

By bowing the heavens, He brings them closer to the earth (Psa 18:9). It is a poetic and human description of His coming down to earth to act on behalf of His godly man. In Him, heaven came to earth. That meant judgment for the wicked persecutors and deliverance for the righteous. The thick darkness under His feet emphasizes that He came to judge.

Another indication that He came to judge is that “He rode on a cherub” (Psa 18:10). Ezekiel sees that cherubim are attached to the throne chariot of His government (Eze 1:5-14 ; Eze 10:1). These heavenly beings have great power and are associated with the execution of God’s government and the maintaining of His righteousness. We see this particularly displayed in the cherubim looking down on the mercy seat on top of the ark in which the law is (Exo 25:22).

Cherubim have wings that allow them to move quickly. They are consequently also connected to heaven while performing their work on earth. God is swift in executing judgment when the appointed time for it has come. He moves with the speed and inimitability of the wind toward His goal (cf. Psa 104:3-4).

David continues in figurative language his impressive description of God in His action to deliver His anointed. God has wrapped Himself in the darkness of the night to hide Himself in it (Psa 18:11). That hiding is like a canopy. That canopy consists of “darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies”. Everything speaks of the threat of judgment.

God announces His action in “the brightness before Him” (Psa 18:12). God can cover Himself in darkness. The threat that emanates from it can inspire awe and work repentance. When man does not take that threat seriously, God appears in judgment. Then He appears as a blinding light. Out of the light glow of His holiness come “hailstones and coals of fire”. We also see such a combination at the seventh plague on Egypt (Exo 9:22-23).

The dark, obscure clouds began to speak majestically, deafeningly: “The LORD also thundered in the heavens” (Psa 18:13). From heaven He made His voice sound through “hailstones and coals of fire” which were also mentioned in the previous verse. The repetition indicates that it happened regularly. He is “the Most High”, He is exalted above the universe. God speaks through His judgments; in them His voice is heard (Psa 29:3-9). During the thunders, He shoots His arrows in the form of lightning flashes in all directions (Psa 18:14; cf. Psa 77:18 ; Psa 144:6; Hab 3:11). Thus He scattered the enemies, disrupting their order and confusing them, rendering them powerless.

As a final act, David describes that through the action of God the channels of water became visible and “the foundations of the world were laid bare” (Psa 18:15). It is a thundering final act, as it were, in which God demonstrates that there is no area in all of nature that can resist when He deals with it. It is a picture of His dealing with hostile powers. As He makes visible the channels of water, so He uncovers all the hostile powers. He rules over the foundations of the world. He is the glorious and victorious King over all powers in heaven, on earth and in the sea. His rule cannot be questioned by anything or anyone.

All of the foregoing acts were done by God as “rebuke” against the opponents of the righteous for whom He stands up. For that rebuke He uses from the universe what He needs, for the entire universe is under His authority and at His disposal. He only has to blow against a single element with the breath of His nostrils and it is stirred up to an all-destructive storm against which no shelter can stand.

The Great Deliverance

After the impressive description of the intervention of God in His omnipotence (Psa 18:7-15), David describes in these verses in an equally impressive way his deliverance by God from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. That deliverance is expressed by several verbs in this section: “sent from on high”, “took me”, “drew me out”, “delivered me”, “brought me forth” and “rescued me”. In all these actions God proves His faithfulness. David experiences deliverance in an almost tangible way.

The words “drew me out” also appear in Exodus 2. There it is in connection with Moses being pulled out of the waters of death by Pharaoh’s daughter (Exo 2:10).

The fearful action of the LORD that David described in the previous verses did not make him fearful. It has been a “deliverance” operation, in which his enemies have been eliminated and he has been delivered. In Psa 18:16 we recognize Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. The going of Israel through the Red Sea is like the raising of the people out of great waters. It is represented pictorially in this way, that from on high, from His holy palace, God reached out His mighty hand, seized the people and drew them out of the Red Sea and placed them in the freedom of the wilderness. This is how David experienced his deliverance.

The “many waters” are a picture of many difficulties and dangers. It was indeed a “strong enemy” with whom he had to deal (Psa 18:17). Added to this were others who “hated” him. They were people “too mighty for” him. Their threat was so intense that he knew the day of his ruin had arrived if the LORD did not intervene (Psa 18:18). The distress had risen to a climax. “But” then there was the LORD, He was there to support him, He held him up, so that he would not fall and fall into the hand of the enemy. This Divine “but” indicates a reversal that God works in a situation where a man can do nothing more (cf. Eph 2:1-4).

Instead of his downfall, David experienced the support of the LORD. Instead of being surrounded by his enemies, the LORD brought him forth into a broad place (Psa 18:19). Instead of falling into the hand of his enemies, he has experienced the rescue of God. He owes everything to God and nothing to himself. And what prompted God to intervene in this exalted way and rescue him? David acknowledges it with great gratitude and amazement: “Because He delighted in me.” David knew himself to be the object of God’s love.

What David tells of his deliverance from the cords of death by the power of God is a clear picture of the deliverance of the Lord Jesus from death by the power of God. Paul writes of this when he says that we would know “what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. [These are] in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly [places], far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Eph 1:19-21).

Through the cross, the Lord Jesus defeated all powers (Col 2:14-15). God answered that victory by raising Christ from the dead. It was His joy to do so. Not only the power of God, but also the glory of the Father raised Christ from the dead (Rom 6:4). Because Christ glorified Him on earth, the Father, in response, glorified Him and did so immediately by taking Him up into heaven (Jn 13:31-32). His glorification on earth is yet to come. We see a further illustration of this in this psalm in what God is doing to David.