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Psalm 18:12
At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, hailstones and coals of fire.
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.
14He sent out his arrows, and scattered them. He routed them with great lightning bolts.
Notice
Brightness, thick clouds, and burning coals make God's presence fearsome here, unsettling any picture of divine help that leaves out his power to judge.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What changes in your reading when brightness appears with hailstones and burning coals?
Write on thisHow does this storm-filled account of God's help compare with the help you tend to expect?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 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
Joshua 10:11As they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth Horon, the LORD hurled down great stones from the sky on them to Azekah, and they died. …Hail accompanies God's action against enemies in the psalm's surrounding scene; Joshua records hailstones killing those fleeing Israel.
Revelation 16:21Great hailstones, about the weight of a talent, came down out of the sky on people. People blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for this plague …Both passages portray fearsome hailstones, with Revelation describing their devastating effect on people who blaspheme God.
Matthew 17:2He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light.Brightness marks God's presence in the psalm, while Matthew describes the shining face and garments of Jesus.
Exodus 9:23–24Moses stretched out his rod toward the heavens, and the LORD sent thunder and hail; and lightning flashed down to the earth. The LORD rained hail on the land …Both passages associate hail with God's action, and the psalm's surrounding verses include thunder and lightning as Exodus does.
Matthew 17:5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am …Both scenes include brightness and cloud, though Matthew's cloud carries the voice identifying God's beloved Son.
Exodus 20:21The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.The psalm surrounds God with thick clouds and darkness; Exodus locates God's presence in the thick darkness Moses approaches.
Job 41:21His breath kindles coals. A flame goes out of his mouth.Both texts use coals and fire as fearsome imagery, though Job describes a creature's breath rather than God's presence.
Habakkuk 3:4–5His splendor is like the sunrise. Rays shine from his hand, where his power is hidden.Both passages describe brightness associated with God, and Habakkuk links that radiance with his hidden power.
Psalm 104:2He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.Both psalms portray God amid radiance, using brightness in Psalm 18 and light worn as a garment in Psalm 104.
Psalm 97:3–4A fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries on every side.Fire accompanies God's presence in both psalms, with Psalm 97 stating that it consumes his adversaries.
2 Samuel 22:13–15Both accounts pair the brightness before God with coals of fire, using near-identical language.
Psalm 148:8lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy wind, fulfilling his word,Both psalms connect hail and clouds with God; Psalm 148 states that the stormy wind fulfills his word.
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One step
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Encouragement
The hail and fire belong to David's account of God routing enemies. This is fearsome rescue, and the power in the scene belongs to God.
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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).