Bird's-eye view
What we have here in this section of Psalm 18 is a theophany, which is a manifestation of God. But it is not a quiet, contemplative vision. This is a storm theophany, a war theophany. David, the Lord's anointed, cried out for deliverance, and God answered him by coming down as a divine warrior. This is not just florid poetry; this is a theological statement about the nature of the God we worship. He is not a distant, abstract principle. He is a person, and He gets angry at the mistreatment of His people. When He does, the whole created order is conscripted into His service as weaponry. The earth, the sky, the clouds, the fire, and the wind all become instruments of His righteous judgment. This is the God who parted the Red Sea, the God who met Israel at Sinai in smoke and fire, and the God who, in the fullness of time, would pour out this same holy wrath upon His own Son at the cross. This passage is a portrait of the terrifying majesty of our delivering God.
Clause by Clause
Verse 7
Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.
The action begins with God's emotional response. He was angry. We must not think of God's anger as a petty, sinful human tantrum. Divine wrath is the holy, settled, and utterly righteous opposition of God to all that is evil. And when God is angry, the consequences are cosmic. The earth itself, the most stable thing we know, shakes and quakes. The very foundations of the mountains, the symbols of permanence, tremble. This is not hyperbole. It is a statement about reality. The created order is not neutral; it responds to its Creator. When the Lord of heaven and earth is wroth, His creation registers the fact. This is the beginning of God's answer to His servant's prayer, and it starts with the deconstruction of the enemy's world from the ground up.
Verse 8
Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it.
The psalmist uses anthropomorphic language, ascribing human or creaturely features to God, to communicate a truth that is beyond our full comprehension. The imagery is that of a fearsome dragon. Smoke from the nostrils indicates intense, hot anger. The fire from His mouth is not just a flicker; it devours. It is a consuming fire, as Hebrews tells us our God is. This is the same God who descended on Sinai in fire and smoke. This is the God who answered Elijah by fire on Mount Carmel. The enemies of God's anointed are not dealing with another man. They have provoked the living God, and He comes breathing fire. The coals kindled by it are the instruments of His judgment, which we will see deployed shortly.
Verse 9
He bowed the heavens and came down With thick darkness under His feet.
Our God is a God who intervenes. He is not locked away in some distant heaven. When His people are in distress, He acts. He bows the heavens, bending the fabric of the cosmos to His will, and He comes down. His arrival is not announced with sunshine and gentle breezes. He comes with thick darkness under His feet. Darkness in Scripture is often a symbol of judgment and terror. Think of the plague of darkness in Egypt. It also signifies God's unapproachable holiness. He dwells in a light that no man can approach, which to our sinful eyes appears as thick darkness. When God comes down to deal with His enemies, the lights go out for them.
Verse 10
He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind.
Here we see the majesty and speed of God's arrival. He rides upon a cherub. Cherubim are high ranking angelic beings associated with the throne and holiness of God. They guarded the way to the tree of life, and their images were woven into the veil of the temple. For God to ride upon a cherub is for Him to come on His royal war chariot. He is not walking to the battle; He is flying. He speeds upon the wings of the wind. He harnesses the most powerful and untamable forces of nature and makes them His vehicle. He is utterly sovereign, swift, and unstoppable.
Verse 11
He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
This verse expands on the theme of darkness from verse 9. The darkness is not just under His feet; it is His hiding place, His royal pavilion or canopy. There is a great paradox here. In this dramatic appearance, God is revealing His power and His judgment, yet He Himself remains concealed. No man can see God and live. His full glory is veiled, even as the effects of His glory are made manifest. The imagery is that of a massive, dark storm cloud, described as a "darkness of waters," a dense mass of vapor ready to burst. This is the gathering of the tempest of God's wrath.
Verse 12
From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire.
Out of the concealment comes the revelation. Within the dark storm cloud is a brilliant light, the brightness of God's own presence, the shekinah glory. And from this blinding brightness, the weapons of His judgment are launched. The thick clouds are not just a veil; they are the delivery system. And what do they deliver? Hailstones and coals of fire. This recalls the seventh plague on Egypt, a judgment that destroyed the crops and struck terror into the hearts of God's enemies. The "coals of fire" connects back to the fire that came from His mouth in verse 8. The judgment is now being unleashed.
Verse 13
Yahweh also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High gave forth His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.
The storm breaks in full force. The thunder is not an impersonal meteorological event. It is the very voice of Yahweh, the covenant God. It is the Most High, El Elyon, the sovereign ruler over all, who is speaking. His voice is power. It is the same voice that spoke the universe into existence. And when He speaks in judgment, the result is destructive power. The psalmist repeats the refrain for emphasis: "Hailstones and coals of fire." This is the audible and visible manifestation of God's wrath against His enemies.
Verse 14
He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and threw them into confusion.
God the divine warrior now takes up His bow. His arrows are lightning bolts. He does not miss. He sends them out, and the enemy forces are scattered. They are broken and routed. He shoots "lightning flashes in abundance," a great volley of them, and He "threw them into confusion." The Hebrew word for this is powerful; it means to confound, to bring into a state of panic and disarray. God does not just defeat His enemies; He demoralizes and disintegrates them. He turns their organized opposition into a panicked mob.
Verse 15
Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O Yahweh, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
This is the climax of the deconstruction. The effect of God's assault is so total that it amounts to an undoing of creation. The channels of the sea appear, and the very foundations of the world are exposed. This is Red Sea language. It is the language of creation and flood. The ordered world of God's enemies is completely unmade. And what accomplishes this? Two things are mentioned. First, God's rebuke. His spoken word of command. Second, the blast of the breath of His nostrils. This brings us full circle, back to the smoke from His nostrils in verse 8, which signified His hot anger. His angry breath is powerful enough to part seas and expose the foundations of the earth. This is the power that saves His people.
Application
We read a passage like this, and our modern, sanitized sensibilities might be tempted to recoil. This is a violent, terrifying picture of God. But this is our God. This is the God of the Bible. And this is profoundly good news for the believer. The same power that shook the earth, the same fire that devoured, the same voice that thundered, is the power that is pledged in covenant to you for your salvation.
This entire portrait of God the warrior finds its ultimate expression at the cross of Jesus Christ. At the cross, the earth quaked. Darkness covered the land for three hours. The foundations of the world were shaken as the wrath of God against our sin was poured out. But it was poured out upon His Son. Jesus absorbed the hailstones and coals of fire so that we would not have to. He was scattered and thrown into confusion under the divine rebuke so that we could be gathered in and given peace.
Therefore, when you face enemies, whether they be spiritual forces, worldly opposition, or the sin that remains in your own heart, remember this Psalm. Your God is not passive. He is a warrior who bows the heavens and comes down. The power that raised Christ from the dead is at work for you. So pray as David prayed, and trust in the God who rides upon the wings of the wind for the salvation of His people.