Psalms 18:8 (WEB)

Passage

Smoke went out of his nostrils. Consuming fire came out of his mouth. Coals were kindled by it.

Nearby Context

Psalms 18:6 In my distress I called on Yahweh, and cried to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry before him came into his ears.

Psalms 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.

Psalms 18:8 Smoke went out of his nostrils. Consuming fire came out of his mouth. Coals were kindled by it.

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

Psalms 18:10 He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "smoke", "went", "nostrils", "consuming", "fire", "came", "mouth", and "coals". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "smoke" and "went", 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 "smoke" and "went" 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 "smoke" and "went" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.