1I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
so I shall be saved from my enemies.
4The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
5the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9He bowed the heavens, and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
10He rode on a cherub, and flew;
he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his covering around him,
his canopy thick clouds dark with water.
12Out of the brightness before him
there broke through his clouds
hailstones and coals of fire.
13The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
14And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.
15Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
What a mighty God we serve. The powerful imagery here is something overlooked. Perhaps we don't dwell on how God is described because God seems so human in this description. I don't think the point, however, is to figure out exactly what God is like.
For most people in the Western world, we like to think in terms of direct. What does God look like? What does god do? In the Eastern world view, the place where scripture was written, the questions are more about how things work. For instance, in verse 8, where it describes smoke, fire, and coals coming from God's mouth, it is intended to show the rage and fry of God. It is not saying that literally these things come from God.
Yet the point of the psalms is not to talk about the Western vs. Eastern mindset. Instead, we focus on this psalm as a psalm of praise. And this praise psalm comes in many parts. There are familiar words in this psalm for people who remember camp or vacation Bible school songs. So as we pray Psalm 18 over the next few days, remember that God's presence is always with us. What a mighty God we serve.
Pray Psalm 18.
G. Thomas Martin
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