5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon the Lord , And cried to my God for help ; He heard my voice out of His temple , And my cry for help before Him came into His ears . 7 Then the earth shook and quaked ; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken , because He was angry . 8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils , And fire from His mouth devoured ; Coals were kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet . 10 He rode upon a cherub and flew ; And He sped upon the wings of the wind .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 18:5-10
Commentary on Psalm 18:1-19
(Read Psalm 18:1-19)
The first words, "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength," are the scope and contents of the psalm. Those that truly love God, may triumph in him as their Rock and Refuge, and may with confidence call upon him. It is good for us to observe all the circumstances of a mercy which magnify the power of God and his goodness to us in it. David was a praying man, and God was found a prayer-hearing God. If we pray as he did, we shall speed as he did. God's manifestation of his presence is very fully described, Hebrews 5:7. God made the earth to shake and tremble, and the rocks to cleave, and brought him out, in his resurrection, because he delighted in him and in his undertaking.