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Psalm 18:8
Smoke went out of his nostrils. Consuming fire came out of his mouth. Coals were kindled by it.
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.
10He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.
Notice
Smoke from God's nostrils and fire from his mouth make his anger fearsome in this poem, where a cry for help precedes the shaking earth.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What response do you have to the consuming fire coming from God's mouth?
Write on thisHow does the cry for help in verse 6 shape your reading of this fearsome scene?
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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
Psalm 97:3A fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries on every side.Both passages portray consuming fire associated with God's presence; Psalm 97 names his adversaries as those it burns.
Psalm 21:9You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them.Both psalms use devouring fire to portray the LORD's anger, with Psalm 21 describing people swallowed up in his wrath.
Psalm 11:6On the wicked he will rain blazing coals; fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.Fire and blazing coals appear in both passages; Psalm 11 names the wicked as those receiving this judgment.
Job 41:21His breath kindles coals. A flame goes out of his mouth.Both descriptions join fire coming from a mouth with coals being kindled, sharing vivid language of burning breath.
Nahum 1:5–6The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, yes, the world, and all who dwell in it.Nahum's quaking mountains and trembling earth match the upheaval surrounding the smoke and fire in Psalm 18.
Revelation 11:5If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way.Both passages describe fire proceeding from a mouth; Revelation states that this fire kills those seeking to cause harm.
Deuteronomy 29:20The LORD will not pardon him, but then the LORD’s anger and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book will fall …Smoke expresses the LORD's anger in both passages, while Deuteronomy spells out judgment against a particular person.
Amos 4:11“I have overthrown some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick plucked out of the fire; yet you haven’t returned …Both passages associate fire with God's fearsome action, though Amos describes people as a burning stick plucked from fire.
Genesis 19:28He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.Smoke is the shared image: it rises from the devastated land in Genesis and from God's nostrils in the psalm.
Numbers 16:35Fire came out from the LORD, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense.Both passages describe consuming fire coming from the LORD; Numbers records the deaths of the men offering incense.
Psalm 144:5–6Part your heavens, LORD, and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.Both psalms connect smoke with God's descent from heaven, though Psalm 144 locates the smoke on the mountains.
Daniel 7:10A fiery stream issued and came out from before him. Thousands of thousands ministered to him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment …Both visions portray fire issuing from God's presence; Daniel places the fiery stream within a scene of judgment.
Where this verse fits
Praise and worship. injustice and anger. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The consuming fire belongs to the God who heard David's distress. The scene remains fearsome; in this song, the God who shakes the earth has heard a human cry.
Now put it in your words.
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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).