Read
Psalm 18:7
Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.
5The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death came on me.
6In my distress I called on the LORD, and cried to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry before him came into his ears.
7Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.
8Smoke went out of his nostrils. Consuming fire came out of his mouth. Coals were kindled by it.
9He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under his feet.
Notice
The mountains’ foundations shake at God’s anger, giving the response to David’s cry a scale that leaves human strength looking small.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What do you notice about God’s anger coming just after David’s cry is heard?
Write on thisWhat comes to mind when even the foundations of mountains cannot stand still before God?
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
Psalm 46:2Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;Both describe earth and mountains shaking, while Psalm 46 declares freedom from fear even amid that upheaval.
Isaiah 24:18It will happen that he who flees from the noise of the fear will fall into the pit; and he who comes up out of the middle of the pit will be taken in the …Both describe trembling foundations: the mountains’ foundations in Psalm 18 and the earth’s foundations in Isaiah.
Jeremiah 10:10But the LORD is the true God. He is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles. The nations aren’t able to withstand his …Both name God’s anger as the reason the earth trembles, showing creation subject to his wrath.
Acts 4:31When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with …Both accounts place shaking after prayer, though Acts describes a gathered group’s meeting place rather than the earth and mountains.
Joel 2:10The earth quakes before them. The heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.Both depict the earth quaking, with Joel extending the upheaval to the heavens and their lights.
Amos 8:8Won’t the land tremble for this, and everyone mourn who dwells in it? Yes, it will rise up wholly like the River; and it will be stirred up and sink again, …Both depict trembling ground; Amos also names the mourning of those who live on the land.
2 Samuel 22:8Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.Both describe the earth shaking because God is angry, with Samuel naming heaven’s foundations where the psalm names the mountains’.
Psalm 68:7–8God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness... Selah.Both portray God acting, though the supplied Psalm 68 verse describes his march before his people rather than shaking ground.
Ezekiel 38:19–20For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath I have spoken. Surely in that day there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel,Both connect God’s wrath with great shaking, which Ezekiel locates in the land of Israel.
Psalm 60:2You have made the land tremble. You have torn it. Mend its fractures, for it quakes.Both attribute trembling ground to God; Psalm 60 turns that upheaval into a plea for the land’s repair.
Psalm 114:4The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs.Both portray mountains in motion, using quaking foundations in Psalm 18 and skipping rams in Psalm 114.
Isaiah 5:25Therefore the LORD’s anger burns against his people, and he has stretched out his hand against them and has struck them. The mountains tremble, and their dead …Both connect trembling mountains with the LORD’s anger; Isaiah names his own people as those struck.
Where this verse fits
Fear for the future. praise and worship. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
God heard David’s cry before the mountains shook. The poem’s fearsome picture of his anger belongs to that account of rescue; the God addressed in distress has power over the earth.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 18:7. 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).