At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
Psalm 18:12 pictures God appearing in brilliant light ringed with dark, thick clouds that break open before Him to pour down hailstones and burning coals as a fearful display of His power against a guilty world. It belongs to David's song of triumph and thanksgiving for deliverance from Saul and his other enemies, sung when in deep trouble he cried to the Lord in trust that God would overthrow wickedness. The same psalm stands in 2 Samuel 22 with only slight differences in language, preserving its historical setting while holding its place among David's writings and shedding light on his experience in his battles. God is shown bowing the heavens and coming down in darkness, smoke, devouring fire, thunder and storm to rescue the troubled one and draw him out of many waters, a direct act of His wrath and omnipotent command that also foreshadows final last-day destruction rather than the unaided work of fires within the earth. David's victory so described foreshadows Christ's victory over sin and spiritual foes and His inner struggle with the enemy, proving that His appearing in glory will be brilliant and visibly manifest and not merely inward, with instruction that belongs to Christians as well as to God's people of old.
Context and Imagery
Psalm 18 is a song of triumph expressing trust in God's power and goodness, confidence in deliverance from enemies, and the eventual overthrow of wickedness. It is David's psalm of thanksgiving for being delivered from the hand of Saul, written when he was in deep trouble and cried to the Lord. It sheds light on David's motives and experiences during the battles described in 2 Samuel 10, as his account of God's victories over his enemies.
The psalm is also recorded in 2 Samuel 22 with only slight changes and some difference in language. The parallel in 2 Samuel shows its historical connection while Psalm 18 preserves it among David's writings, and the two chapters are not exactly alike. The triumphant psalm is strongly echoed in 2 Samuel 22.
At the brightness before God his thick clouds passed and parted, with hailstones and fiery coals pouring down as signs of his powerful, fearsome coming to strike a guilty world. It pictures a visible appearance in fiery brightness surrounded by dark, thick clouds and accompanied by lightning, hail, and fire. The clouds clear before his brightness as hailstones and fiery coals accompany his coming.
Prophecy Doctrine and Life
The brightness before God that sends thick clouds passing with hailstones and coals of fire is God bowing the heavens and coming down in brightness and storm to help the one in deep trouble who cries to him, to take him and draw him out of many waters. Faith so moves heaven as well as earth because faith rests on the throne of the eternal God. The hailstones and coals of fire passing from thick clouds at that brightness are a direct manifestation of his wrath and omnipotent mandate, not the work of internal earth fires, which are only the agencies he uses to bring the elements of destruction together. They belong to the bowing of the heavens and coming down in darkness on the wind, with smoke and devouring fire, thunder and lightning, shaking mountains and uncovering the foundations of the world, which possibly records an ancient event and surely prophesies final last-day destruction, while giving the origin and cause of present volcanic and seismic disasters.
The same storm of deliverance is a prophetic word-picture of Christ's experience, revealing something of his inner struggles with the enemy that the Gospel accounts of his life do not show as fully. David's victory over his enemies is a type of Christ's victory over sin and spiritual foes, and the imagery of God's power belongs to that prediction. Divine glory at the Lord's appearing in his glory is therefore a brilliant, visible manifestation surrounded by dark clouds, rather than a merely inward or spiritual appearance. It is a visible appearance in fiery brightness with thick clouds, lightning, hail, and fire, explaining what it means for the Lord to appear in his glory.
Psalm 18, including this verse, is part of the Bible's instruction for Christians as well as for God's people in the earlier dispensation, for its teachings are not confined to a nationality, and Old Testament moral instruction concerns Christians too. The hailstones and coals of fire also picture harmful speech, for people who habitually collect and repeat their neighbors' faults unleash destructive words while excusing them as honesty and truth-telling.
Psalm 18:12 pictures God appearing in brilliant light ringed with dark, thick clouds that break open before Him to pour down hailstones and burning coals as a fearful display of His power against a guilty world. It belongs to David's song of triumph and thanksgiving for deliverance from Saul and his other enemies, sung when in deep trouble he cried to the Lord in trust that God would overthrow wickedness. The same psalm stands in 2 Samuel 22 with only slight differences in language, preserving its historical setting while holding its place among David's writings and shedding light on his experience in his battles. God is shown bowing the heavens and coming down in darkness, smoke, devouring fire, thunder and storm to rescue the troubled one and draw him out of many waters, a direct act of His wrath and omnipotent command that also foreshadows final last-day destruction rather than the unaided work of fires within the earth. David's victory so described foreshadows Christ's victory over sin and spiritual foes and His inner struggle with the enemy, proving that His appearing in glory will be brilliant and visibly manifest and not merely inward, with instruction that belongs to Christians as well as to God's people of old.
Context and Imagery
Psalm 18 is a song of triumph expressing trust in God's power and goodness, confidence in deliverance from enemies, and the eventual overthrow of wickedness. It is David's psalm of thanksgiving for being delivered from the hand of Saul, written when he was in deep trouble and cried to the Lord. It sheds light on David's motives and experiences during the battles described in 2 Samuel 10, as his account of God's victories over his enemies.
The psalm is also recorded in 2 Samuel 22 with only slight changes and some difference in language. The parallel in 2 Samuel shows its historical connection while Psalm 18 preserves it among David's writings, and the two chapters are not exactly alike. The triumphant psalm is strongly echoed in 2 Samuel 22.
At the brightness before God his thick clouds passed and parted, with hailstones and fiery coals pouring down as signs of his powerful, fearsome coming to strike a guilty world. It pictures a visible appearance in fiery brightness surrounded by dark, thick clouds and accompanied by lightning, hail, and fire. The clouds clear before his brightness as hailstones and fiery coals accompany his coming.
Prophecy Doctrine and Life
The brightness before God that sends thick clouds passing with hailstones and coals of fire is God bowing the heavens and coming down in brightness and storm to help the one in deep trouble who cries to him, to take him and draw him out of many waters. Faith so moves heaven as well as earth because faith rests on the throne of the eternal God. The hailstones and coals of fire passing from thick clouds at that brightness are a direct manifestation of his wrath and omnipotent mandate, not the work of internal earth fires, which are only the agencies he uses to bring the elements of destruction together. They belong to the bowing of the heavens and coming down in darkness on the wind, with smoke and devouring fire, thunder and lightning, shaking mountains and uncovering the foundations of the world, which possibly records an ancient event and surely prophesies final last-day destruction, while giving the origin and cause of present volcanic and seismic disasters.
The same storm of deliverance is a prophetic word-picture of Christ's experience, revealing something of his inner struggles with the enemy that the Gospel accounts of his life do not show as fully. David's victory over his enemies is a type of Christ's victory over sin and spiritual foes, and the imagery of God's power belongs to that prediction. Divine glory at the Lord's appearing in his glory is therefore a brilliant, visible manifestation surrounded by dark clouds, rather than a merely inward or spiritual appearance. It is a visible appearance in fiery brightness with thick clouds, lightning, hail, and fire, explaining what it means for the Lord to appear in his glory.
Psalm 18, including this verse, is part of the Bible's instruction for Christians as well as for God's people in the earlier dispensation, for its teachings are not confined to a nationality, and Old Testament moral instruction concerns Christians too. The hailstones and coals of fire also picture harmful speech, for people who habitually collect and repeat their neighbors' faults unleash destructive words while excusing them as honesty and truth-telling.