What does Psalm 18:14 mean?

Looking back on how God rescued him from his enemies (2 Samuel 22:1), David continues to poetically describe the power of God (Psalm 18:7–13). Here he evokes the frightening aspect of lightning. The sudden burst of light, heat, noise, and destruction makes lightning a useful symbol of God's unstoppable power.

When Elihu addressed Job, he said, "Behold, [God] scatters his lightning about him" (Job 36:30). He added that the Lord "covers his hands with the lightning and commands it to strike its mark. Its crashing declares his presence" (Job 36:32–33). Fear of lightning may cause people to take shelter, but the Lord owns the lightning and wears it like a glove. The victory David obtained over his enemies was like a fierce display of God's anger and power, as if it were lightning aimed at the enemy.

Of course, we should not think every lightning storm is aimed at those who oppose God, and people are not wrong to seek shelter in a lightning storm. However, lightning should remind us that God possesses awesome power and merits our praise.