5 The cords of Sheol were around me.
The snares of death came on me. 6 In my distress I called on Yahweh,
and cried to my God.
He heard my voice out of his temple.
My cry before him came into his ears. 7 Then the earth shook and trembled.
The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken,
because he was angry. 8 Smoke went out of his nostrils.
Consuming fire came out of his mouth.
Coals were kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down.
Thick darkness was under his feet. 10 He rode on a cherub, and flew.
Yes, he soared on 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.