Psalms 18:7

Then the earth shook and trembled,.... As it did quickly after Christ called upon the Lord, and cried to his God upon the cross, Matthew 27:50; and so some time after, when his people were praying

Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. Then the earth shook and trembled ... because he was wroth - with my persecutors.

Then God appeared on my behalf in a miraculous and glorious manner, and with the great terror and confusion of all mine enemies, which is here compared to an earthquake. The earthquake was so deep and violent, that it overthrew whole mountains by the roots; whereby he designs his lofty and potent enemies; such being oft compared to mountains, as ,3 144:5 , &c.

Psalms 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.Ver. 7. Then the earth shook and trembled, &c.] Upon David’ s prayer all this befell; like as, Acts 4:31, the house shook wherein they were praying; and the thundering legion procured thunder and rain; and so did Samuel by his prayers, 1 Samuel 12:17-18. But this terrible tempest here described is to be taken rather allegorically than historically. The prophet, in most lofty and lively terms and expressions (far above the strain of the most sublime either poets or orators), describeth God’ s powerful presence and concurrence in David’ s conquests. The foundations also of the hills] That is, so vehement was the earthquake, that it shook, as it were, the roots of the mountains, which lie deep within the ground, 2 Samuel 22:8. These hills are called the foundation of heaven, as Job 26:11, the pillars of heaven; because the tops of high mountains seem to touch the clouds, and the heavens seem to lean upon them; and because the earth is in the centre of the world, about the which the heavens do continually turn. Because he was wroth] Or, burn did his nose. So

(7) The earth shook.—The sudden burst of the storm is the Divine answer to the sufferer’s prayer. For similar manifestations comp. Psalms 68:7-8; Psalms 77:14-20; Amos 9:5; Micah 1:3; Habakkuk 3:4; but here the colours are more vivid, and the language more intense. In fact, the whole realm of poetry cannot show a finer feeling for nature in her wrath. We first hear the rumbling of the earth, probably earthquake preceding the storm (for volcanic phenomena of Palestine see Stanley’s Sinai and Palestine, 124), or possibly only its distant threatening. Comp. “Earth groans as if beneath a heavy load.” BYRON. Foundations also of the hills.—In Sam., “of the heavens”—i.e., the hills, called also “the pillars of heaven” (Job 26:11).

Verse 7. Then the earth shook and trembled] "In this and the following verses David describes, by the sublimest expressions and grandest terms, the majesty of God, and the awful manner in which he came to his assistance. The representation of the storm in these verses must be allowed by all skilful and impartial judges to be truly sublime and noble, and in the genuine spirit of poetry. The majesty of God, and the manner in which he is represented as coming to the aid of his favourite king, surrounded with all the powers of nature as his attendants and ministers, and arming (as it were) heaven and earth to fight his battles, and execute his vengeance, is described in the loftiest and most striking terms. The shaking of the earth; the trembling of the mountains and pillars of heaven; the smoke that drove out of his nostrils; the flames of devouring fire that flashed from his mouth; the heavens bending down to convey him to the battle; his riding upon a cherub, and rapidly flying on the wings of a whirlwind; his concealing his majesty in the thick clouds of heaven; the bursting of the lightnings from the horrid darkness; the uttering of his voice in peals of thunder; the storm of fiery hail; the melting of the heavens, and their dissolving into floods of tempestuous rain; the cleaving of the earth, and disclosing of the bottom of the hills, and the subterraneous channels or torrents of water, by the very breath of the nostrils of the Almighty; are all of them circumstances which create admiration, excite a kind of horror, and exceed every thing of this nature that is to be found in any of the remains of heathen antiquity. See Longinus on the Sublime, sec. 9, and Hesiod's description of Jupiter fighting against the Titans, which is one of the grandest things in all pagan antiquity; though upon comparison it will be found infinitely short of this description of the psalmist's; throughout the whole of which God is represented as a mighty warrior going forth to fight the battles of David, and highly incensed at the opposition his enemies made to his power and authority. "When he descended to the engagement the very heavens bowed down to render his descent more awful, his military tent was substantial darkness; the voice of his thunder was the warlike alarm which sounded to the battle; the chariot in which he rode was the thick clouds of heaven, conducted by cherubs, and carried on by the irresistible force and rapid wings of an impetuous tempest; and the darts and weapons he employed were thunderbolts, lightnings, fiery hail, deluging rains, and stormy winds! "No wonder that when God thus arose, all his enemies should be scattered, and those who hated him should flee before him. "It does not appear from any part of David's history that there was any such storm as is here described, which proved destructive to his enemies, and salutary to himself.

7–15. Forthwith David’s prayer is answered by the Advent of Jehovah for the discomfiture of his enemies. He manifests Himself in earthquake and storm. The majestic though terrible phenomena of nature are the expression of His presence. Nature in its stern and awful aspect is a revelation of His judicial wrath. We may call this an ‘ideal’ description of a Theophany; for though it is possible that David refers to some occasion when his enemies were scattered by the breaking of a terrible storm (cp. Joshua 10:11; Judges 5:20 f.; 1 Samuel 7:10), we have no record of such an event having actually happened in his life; and in any case the picture is intended to serve as a description of God’s providential interposition for his deliverance in general, and not upon any single occasion. His power was exerted as really and truly as if all these extraordinary natural phenomena had visibly attested His Advent. Compare the accounts of the Exodus and the Giving of the Law. See Exodus 19:16-18; Judges 5:4-5; Psalms 68:7-8; Psalms 77:16-18 : and cp. Psalms 50:2 ff., Psalms 97:2 ff., Psalms 114; Isaiah 29:6; Isaiah 30:27 ff; Isaiah 64:1 ff; Habakkuk 3:3 ff. Psalms 29 should be compared as illustrating David’s sense of the grandeur and significance of natural phenomena. The earthquake (Psalms 18:7); the distant lightnings (Psalms 18:8); the gathering darkness of the storm (Psalms 18:9-11); the final outburst of its full fury (Psalms 18:12-15); are pictured in regular succession.

Then the earth shook and trembled - The description which follows here is one of the most sublime that is to be found in any language.

7. Here begins the lofty description of David’s deliverances, continuing to Psalms 18:20. The sublimity of his strain cannot be exceeded.