Psalms 18:11

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.

Psalms 18:11 in Other Translations

KJV
11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
ESV
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.
NLT
11 He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.
MSG
11 Now he's wrapped himself in a trenchcoat of black-cloud darkness.
CSB
11 He made darkness His hiding place, dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.

Psalms 18:11 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 18:11

He made darkness his secret place
Which, and the dark waters in the next clause, are the same with the thick clouds in the last, in which Jehovah is represented as wrapping himself, and in which he lies hid as in a secret place; not so as that he cannot see others, as wicked men imagine, ( Job 22:13 Job 22:14 ) ; but as that he cannot be beheld by others; the Targum interprets it,

``he caused his Shechinah to dwell in darkness;''

his pavilion round about him [were] dark waters, [and] thick clouds of
the skies;
these were as a tent or tabernacle, in which he dwelt unseen by men; see ( Job 36:29 ) ; all this may design the dark dispensation of the Jews, after their rejection and crucifixion of Christ; when God departed from them, left their house desolate, and them without his presence and protection; when the light of the Gospel was taken away from them, and blindness happened unto them, and they had eyes that they should not see, and were given up to a judicial darkness of mind and hardness of heart; which were some of the dark, deep, and mysterious methods of divine Providence, with respect to which God may be said to be surrounded with darkness, dark waters, and thick clouds; see ( Romans 11:7 Romans 11:8 Romans 11:25 Romans 11:32 Romans 11:33 ) .

Psalms 18:11 In-Context

9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Exodus 19:9; S Deuteronomy 4:11; Psalms 97:2
  • 2. S Job 22:14; Isaiah 4:5; Jeremiah 43:10
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