Psalms 18:11

"He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind."

Key Reflection

In the first-century Jewish context, this imagery of riding a cherub and soaring on the wings of the wind would have evoked powerful and awe-inspiring visions of divine majesty. The text draws on ancient Near Eastern iconography where gods were often depicted as riding on winged creatures or soaring through the heavens. This portrayal underscored the divine nature and power of the one being described, aligning with the psalmist's declaration of God’s supremacy and ability to control natural phenomena like winds and clouds.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

He made darkness his secret place -Herder has beautifully rendered this verse, “Now he wrapped himself in darkness; Clouds on clouds enclosed him round.” The word rendered “secret place” -סתרsêther- means properly a hiding; then something hidden, private, secret. Hence, it means a covering, a veil. CompareJob 22:14;Job 24:15. InPsalms 81:7it is applied to thunder: “I answered thee in the secret place of thunder;” that is, in the secret place or retreat - the deep, dark cloud, from where the thunder seems to come. Here the meaning seems to be, that God was encompassed with darkness. He had, as it were, wrapped himself in night, and made his abode in the gloom of the storm.

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