Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.
David came to the throne through almost insurmountable trials, and foreign enemies harassed him even into old age. Rather than boast of his own victories, he exalts God as the true author of them, showing that his reign prefigures Christ's kingdom, one that will triumph over all resistance by the Father's incomprehensible power.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 18:1-50
Poetry itself has no jewel brighter than these verses that follow: sorrow, the cry, God's descent, the rescue of the afflicted set to music worthy of heaven's harps. Christ our Saviour is the chief subject here, and every line finds its deepest meaning in Him.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 18:4
"There went up a smoke out of his nostrils." A violent oriental method of expressing fierce wrath. Since the breath from the nostrils is heated by strong emotion, the figure portrays the Almighty Deliverer as pouring forth smoke in the heat of his wrath and the impetuousness of his zeal. Nothing makes God so angry as an injury done to his children.