Read
Psalm 18:14
He sent out his arrows, and scattered them. He routed them with great lightning bolts.
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.
15Then the channels of waters appeared. The foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16He sent from on high. He took me. He drew me out of many waters.
Notice
Arrows and lightning make David’s rescue a scene of battle, where God’s force against enemies can bring relief and also unsettle the reader.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What troubles or comforts you about God’s use of arrows and lightning in David’s rescue?
Write on thisHow does the movement from scattered enemies to rescue from water shape your reading of God’s power?
Write on thisConnect
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 10:10The LORD confused them before Israel. He killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Horon, and struck them …Both passages credit the LORD with throwing enemies into disorder and defeating them in battle.
Psalm 144:6Throw out lightning, and scatter them. Send out your arrows, and rout them.Psalm 144 asks God to scatter and rout enemies with lightning and arrows, the actions Psalm 18 recounts.
Zechariah 9:14The LORD will be seen over them. His arrow will flash like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south.Both passages join God’s arrows with lightning, portraying his presence through the force of a storm.
Psalm 64:7But God will shoot at them. They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow.Both passages portray God shooting arrows at opponents, with those struck unable to withstand his attack.
Psalm 77:17The clouds poured out water. The skies resounded with thunder. Your arrows also flashed around.Both psalms describe God’s arrows amid a storm, linking his action with flashes across the sky.
Habakkuk 3:11The sun and moon stood still in the sky at the light of your arrows as they went, at the shining of your glittering spear.Both passages portray God’s arrows with brilliant light, using the language of weapons and the sky.
Job 6:4For the arrows of the Almighty are within me. My spirit drinks up their poison. The terrors of God set themselves in array against me.Both speak of God’s arrows, though Job experiences their terror himself while David describes them routing others.
Psalm 7:13He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death. He makes ready his flaming arrows.Both passages portray God as armed with arrows, using battle imagery to describe his force against opponents.
Deuteronomy 32:23“I will heap evils on them. I will spend my arrows on them.Both passages describe God directing his arrows against people, presenting divine action in the language of armed attack.
Deuteronomy 32:42I will make my arrows drunk with blood. My sword shall devour flesh with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the head of the leaders of the enemy.”Both passages portray divine warfare through arrows; Deuteronomy makes the bloodshed explicit, while Psalm 18 emphasizes enemies scattered.
Isaiah 30:30The LORD will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the descent of his arm, with the indignation of his anger and the flame of a devouring fire, …Both passages depict the LORD’s force through violent weather, with Isaiah naming storm and hailstones and Psalm 18 naming lightning.
Numbers 24:8God brings him out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild ox. He shall consume the nations his adversaries, shall break their bones in pieces, …Both passages connect God’s deliverance with violent defeat of adversaries, and both include arrows in their descriptions of battle.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. fear for the future. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
David credits God with routing his enemies and drawing him out of danger. The violence belongs to this account of rescue; it grants no permission for personal revenge.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 18:14. 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).