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Psalm 18:11

He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

9He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under his feet.
10He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, hailstones and coals of fire.
13The LORD also thundered in the sky. The Most High uttered his voice: hailstones and coals of fire.
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← Psalm 18:10Psalm 18:12 →
Notice

Darkness becomes God's own shelter here, a striking image for anyone who tends to read obscurity as a sign that God is absent.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What difference do you notice between God hiding in darkness and God being absent?

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What do you make of a pavilion built from dark waters and thick clouds?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

10 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Deuteronomy 4:11You came near and stood under the mountain. The mountain burned with fire to the heart of the sky, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.Darkness and cloud surround the mountain in Deuteronomy; dark waters and thick clouds form God's pavilion in the psalm.
Psalm 97:2Clouds and darkness are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.Both describe clouds and darkness around God; Psalm 97 also names righteousness and justice as the foundation of his throne.
Job 38:19“What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place,Both speak of darkness as having a place, though Job's question does not describe it as God's shelter.
Job 36:32He covers his hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark.Both portray God as master of storm elements: he makes clouds his pavilion and commands lightning to strike.
Psalm 81:7You called in trouble, and I delivered you. I answered you in the secret place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah.” Selah.Both associate God's hidden place with a storm, using dark clouds in Psalm 18 and thunder in Psalm 81.
Joel 2:2A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn spreading on the mountains, a great and strong people; there has never been …Both use clouds and thick darkness, though Joel describes a threatening day and Psalm 18 describes God's pavilion.
Psalm 91:1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.Both use the language of shelter and concealment, though Psalm 18 describes God's hiding place and Psalm 91 describes human refuge.
Jeremiah 43:10Tell them, the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne …Both describe a pavilion: one formed from darkness around God, the other a royal pavilion Nebuchadnezzar will spread over hidden stones.
Psalm 27:5For in the day of trouble, he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock.Both name God's pavilion as a hiding place; Psalm 18 conceals God there, while Psalm 27 describes him sheltering the speaker.
Exodus 14:20It came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. There was the cloud and the darkness, yet it gave light by night. One didn’t come near the other all …Both feature cloud and darkness; Exodus describes them between two camps, while Psalm 18 describes them around God.
Where this verse fits

Feeling distant from God. praise and worship. sermon or Bible study notes.

What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about worship →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Underline the darkness words in Psalm 18:9–13

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Encouragement

The surrounding lines describe God coming down through the storm. His concealment does not mean he has withdrawn; even the thick clouds belong to him.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 18:11. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 18 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).