Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 18:9
He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness [was] under his feet.
9. The dark canopy of storm clouds, which is the pavement under His feet (Nah 1:3), lowers as He descends to judgment. God is said to come down when He manifests His power in the world (Gen 11:7; Gen 18:21; Isa 64:1). The darkness, or better as R.V., thick darkness, in which He conceals Himself from human view, symbolises the mystery and awfulness of His Advent (Exo 19:16; Exo 20:21 , 1Ki 8:12; Psa 97:2).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He bowed the heavens also – He seemed to bend down the heavens – to bring them nearer to the earth. He inclines the canopy of the heavens, as it were, toward the earth; wraps himself in the darkness of night, and shoots forth his arrows; hurls abroad his lightnings, and wings them with speed. Herder, Spirit of Hebrew Poetry (Marsh), ii. 157. The allusion is still to the tempest, when the clouds ran low; when they seem to sweep along the ground; when it appears as if the heavens were brought nearer to the earth – as if, to use a common expression, the heavens and earth were coming together.
And came down – God himself seemed to descend in the fury of the storm.
And darkness was under his feet – A dark cloud; or, the darkness caused by thick clouds. Compare Nah 1:3, The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. Deu 4:11, the mountain burned … with thick darkness. Deu 5:22, these words the Lord spake out of the thick darkness. Psa 97:2, clouds and darkness are round about him. The idea here is that of awful majesty and power, as we are nowhere more forcibly impressed with the idea of majesty and power than in the fury of a storm.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. He bowed the heavens also, and came down] – He made the heavens bend under him when he descended to take vengeance on his enemies. The psalmist seems here to express the appearance of the Divine majesty in a glorious cloud, descending from heaven, which underneath was substantially dark, but above, bright, and shining with exceeding lustre; and which, by its gradual approach to the earth, would appear as though the heavens themselves were bending down and approaching towards us.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He bowed the heavens, by producing thick and dark clouds, by which the heavens seem to come down to the earth.
Came down; not by change of place, but by the manifestation of his presence and power on my behalf.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. darknessor, a dense cloud(Exo 19:16; Deu 5:22).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He bowed the heavens also, and came down,…. To execute wrath and vengeance on wicked men; which is always the sense of these phrases when they go together; see Ps 144:6; The Targum is, “he bowed the heavens, and his glory appeared”; that is, the glory of his power, and of his mighty hand of vengeance; for not his grace and mercy, but his indignation and wrath, showed themselves; for it follows,
and darkness [was] under his feet; the Targum is, “a dark cloud”, expressive of the awfulness of the dispensation to wicked men; who are not allowed to see the face of God, are debarred his presence, and denied, communion with him, and to whom everything appears awful and terrible, Ps 97:2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(9) Darkness.Better, black cloud. The dark masses of rain-cloud are now gathered, and bend to the earth under the majestic tread of God. (Comp. Nah. 1:3, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (Comp. Psa. 144:5.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. He bowed the heavens and came down At his command the heavens bend low, as if to convey him to battle. The imagery is partly taken from a severe thunderstorm and is partly Sinaitic. Exo 19:20; Psa 144:5.
Darkness Same as thick clouds, Psa 18:11. See also Exo 34:5; compare Psa 97:2. They were as the floor of his pavilion. Nahum (Nah 1:3) calls them, “the dust of his feet.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 18:9. He bowed the heavens also, and came down He made the heavens bend under him, when he descended to take vengeance on his enemies. The Psalmist seems here to express the appearance of the divine Majesty in a glorious cloud, descending from heaven, which underneath was substantially dark, but above bright and shining with an amazing lustre, and which, by its gradual approach to the earth, would appear as though the heavens themselves were bending down, and approaching towards us.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Is here not (for I do not presume to decide) an allusion to the descent of the Holy Ghost, after the return of Jesus to glory? And may we not without violence to the several expressions here set forth, trace the footsteps of that gracious descent, when, by sending forth his preachers, the arrows of conviction in the sinner’s heart are manifested, and the illuminating influence of the Holy Spirit, converting, confirming, and establishing his people in the truth as it is in Jesus, may not unaptly be compared to the lightenings shot forth? Surely, in all instances of the display of grace upon the sinner’s heart, in turning them from darkness to light, something similar to the great work the Lord wrought at the Red Sea, is manifested in spirituals, as there in things of nature. The channels of the deeps of sin are seen, and the new and living way, which the Lord opens in the blood and righteousness of Christ for his ransomed to pass over, are no less marvelous, than when the Lord led Israel through the deep, as through a wilderness. Exo 14:22 ; Heb 10:19-20 , etc.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness [was] under his feet.
Ver. 9. He bowed the heavens ] i.e. Velociter venit, saith R. David, he came speedily to destroy mine enemies.
And darkness was under his feet
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
He bowed: Jehovah is here represented as a mighty warrior going forth to fight the battles of David. When He descended to the engagement, the very heavens bowed to render his descent more awful: His military tent was substantial darkness; the voice of His thunder was the warlike alarm which sounded to battle; the chariot in which He rode was the thick clouds of heaven, conducted by cherubs, and carried on by the irresistible force and rapid wings of an impetuous tempest; and the darts and weapons He employed were thunder-bolts, lightnings, fiery hail, deluging rains, and stormy winds! No wonder that when God arose all His enemies were scattered, and those that hated Him fled before Him. Psa 68:4, Psa 144:5-15, Deu 33:26, 2Sa 22:10, Isa 51:6, Joe 3:16, Mat 24:29, Heb 12:26, 2Pe 3:10, Rev 20:11
darkness: Deu 5:22, Deu 5:23, Mar 15:33, Joh 13:7
Reciprocal: Exo 3:8 – I am Exo 19:11 – the Lord Exo 20:21 – thick Luk 9:34 – there
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 18:9. He bowed the heavens By producing thick and dark clouds, by which the heavens seemed to come down to the earth; and came down Not by change of place, but by the manifestation of his presence and power on my behalf. In other words, he, as it were, made the heavens bend under him, when he descended to take vengeance on his and my enemies. And darkness was under his feet The psalmist seems here to express the appearance of the Divine Majesty in a glorious cloud, descending from heaven, which, underneath, was substantially dark, but above bright, and shining with an amazing lustre; and which, by its gradual descent, would appear as if the heavens themselves were bending down and approaching toward the earth.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and {f} darkness [was] under his feet.
(f) Darkness signifies the wrath of God as the clear light signifies God’s favour.