Psalm 18:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

NIV: Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

NASB: From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire.

CSB: From the radiance of his presence, his clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.

NLT: Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him and rained down hail and burning coals.

KJV: At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

NKJV: From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

According to David's poetic description of how the Lord rescued him, brightness went before the Lord and hailstones and coals of fire broke through the clouds. The biblical account of David's battles with Saul, or his other enemies, don't refer to literal earthquakes or fire (Psalm 18:7–8), nor hail, nor pulling David out of the water (Psalm 18:16). This is part of David's continuing imagery about the power God expressed in rescuing David. Coals of fire breaking through the clouds might be a depiction of bolts of lightning or even a meteorite shower.

Hail is rare in that area of the world, but the Bible mentions hail occurring in connection with God's judgment. The Lord sent heavy hail onto the land of Egypt as the seventh plague (Exodus 9:18–19). He also sent hailstones on the five kings of the Amorites and their forces who came against Joshua and Gibeon (Joshua 10:11). Haggai 2:17 attributes a judgment of hail to the Lord to persuade His backslidden people to return to Him, but they did not turn to Him. Revelation 16:21 reports that under the seventh bowl judgment in the tribulation hailstones weighing about one hundred pounds each fall from heaven upon the wicked.

Psalm 18:1–19 expresses David's love for the Lord and his praise to God for delivering him from his enemies. This is very similar—perhaps an updated version—of David's song of praise recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 22. Psalms 3—5 recall David's prayer for deliverance from his foes and his trust in the Lord to deliver him from them. Psalms 48:1; 96:4; 145:3; and 150 also express praise to the Lord. An account of David's deliverance from his enemies is found in 2 Samuel 19—21. Other passages of Scripture that reveal God's deliverance of His people include Exodus 14; Joshua 10; Judges 7; 2 Kings 19:20–37; and Revelation 19:11–21.

In 2 Samuel chapter 22, David expresses praise for all the times in his life where God gave him victory. That prayer or song is copied almost identically here. Psalm 18, itself, might have been adapted for use in public worship. David remembers dire situations where God rescued him. He dramatically recounts how God provided rescue and power. David also credits God with rewarding his obedience by making him a powerful and successful military leader. For these reasons, David commits himself to the praise and worship of the Lord.

This psalm is David's prayer to the Lord in which David praises the Lord for making him victorious over his enemies. Second Samuel 5, 8, and 10 are companion chapters, and 2 Samuel 22 provides another version of this psalm. Second Samuel 22:1 tells us David composed Psalm 18 on the day the Lord delivered him from his enemies and Saul. Second Samuel 19 reports David's victorious return to Jerusalem after David vanquished his enemies.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.