What does Psalm 18:10 mean?

David depicts his rescue from enemies, thanks to the Lord, as rapid. He pictures the Lord as coming to his defense and riding on a cherub and on the wings of the wind. This portrayal views God as a mighty warrior in a chariot charging the enemy swiftly.

In Scripture, cherubim—the plural term for a cherub—are angels that guard God's holiness. Modern culture tends to use terms like "angel" and "cherub" to describe something wholesome or cute. Angels like cherubim, however, are spiritual beings of incredible power. God appointed cherubim to guard the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24), making it impossible for our first parents to return to the tree of life.

Ezekiel 10:8–14 describes the cherubim as having hands like human hands, wings, and four faces. Ezekiel 10:15 calls them, "living creatures." This identification seems to identify them as the living creatures the apostle John saw around God's throne and heard saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" (Revelation 4:6–8). Two golden cherubim were mounted on top of the ark of the covenant with their faces looking down on the mercy seat and their wings spread over its top (Exodus 25:17–22). Hebrews 9:5 refers to them as "the cherubim of glory." Cherubim were also woven into the curtain of the tabernacle and the veil (Exodus 26:1, 31).