Psalms 18:8 (KJV)

Passage

There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

Nearby Context

Psalms 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

Psalms 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.

Psalms 18:8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

Psalms 18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.

Psalms 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "went", "smoke", "nostrils", "fire", "mouth", "devoured", "coals", and "kindled". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "went" and "smoke", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Then the earth shook and trembled the..." into verse 9's "He bowed the heavens also and came...", so "went" and "smoke" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "went" and "smoke" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.