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Psalm 18:9
He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under his feet.
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.
11He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
Notice
The heavens bend as God comes down, and the darkness under his feet gives his nearness a weight that can unsettle familiar ideas of comfort.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What picture of God comes to mind as you read about the heavens bowing?
Write on thisHow does darkness under God’s feet compare with the way you tend to picture his presence?
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Where else Scripture says this
11 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 144:5Part your heavens, LORD, and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.Psalm 144 asks God to part the heavens and come down; Psalm 18 describes him bowing the heavens and descending.
Exodus 20:21The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.Both associate thick darkness with God’s presence: beneath his feet in the psalm, where Moses approaches in Exodus.
2 Samuel 22:10He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under his feet.Both passages use the same words to describe God bowing the heavens and descending with thick darkness under his feet.
2 Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with …Both describe the heavens affected by divine action, though Peter speaks of their passing away rather than God’s descent.
Deuteronomy 33:26“There is no one like God, Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens for your help, in his excellency on the skies.Both use the heavens to portray God’s majesty: he bows them in the psalm and rides on them in Deuteronomy.
Exodus 19:11and be ready for the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai.God comes down in both passages; Exodus names Mount Sinai as the place where the people will witness his descent.
Hebrews 12:26whose voice shook the earth then, but now he has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.”Both portray the heavens as subject to God’s power: bowed at his descent in the psalm, shaken at his promise in Hebrews.
Deuteronomy 5:22–23The LORD spoke these words to all your assembly on the mountain out of the middle of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice. He …Thick darkness accompanies God’s presence in both passages, beneath his feet in the psalm and surrounding his speech in Deuteronomy.
Matthew 24:29“But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the …Both describe upheaval in the heavens and darkness, though Matthew describes darkened heavenly lights while the psalm places darkness beneath God’s feet.
Joel 3:16The LORD will roar from Zion, and thunder from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth will shake; but the LORD will be a refuge to his people, and a …The heavens respond to God’s power in both passages, bowing as he descends in the psalm and shaking at his roar in Joel.
Revelation 20:11I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the sky fled away. There was found no place for them.Both portray the sky yielding before God: the heavens bow at his descent, while the sky flees from the enthroned figure in Revelation.
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One step
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Encouragement
God’s coming is fearsome in David’s song of rescue. The darkness belongs to the scene of his presence; even the heavens bend as he comes down.
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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).