Psalms 18:14

14 And he sent his arrows, and destroyed those men; he multiplied lightnings, and troubled those men.

Psalms 18:14 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 18:14

Yea, he sent out his arrows
By which thunderbolts, cracks of thunder, and flashes of lightning, seem to be meant; see ( Psalms 77:17 Psalms 77:18 ) ( 144:6 ) ; comparable to arrows shot, and sent out of a bow; and may denote, either the doctrines of the Gospel, which were sharp in the hearts of Christ's enemies, and are either the means of subduing them to him, or of destroying them, being the savour of death unto death; or however, like arrows, give great pain and uneasiness where they stick, and grievously distress and torment; as does the fire which comes out of the mouth of the two witnesses, ( Revelation 11:5 Revelation 11:10 ) . The Targum is,

``he sent his word as arrows;''

or else the judgments of God are meant, as famine, pestilence, and the sword, which God sent unto, and spent upon the Jewish nation, ( Deuteronomy 32:23 ) ;

and scattered them;
among the nations of the world, where they have been dispersed ever since;

and he shot out lightnings;
or "many lightnings", so the Targum:

and discomfited them;
troubled, terrified, and distressed them.

Psalms 18:14 In-Context

12 Full clear clouds passed in his sight; hail and the coals of fire.
13 And the Lord thundered from heaven; and the highest gave his voice, hail and coals of fire. (And the Lord thundered from the heavens; yea, the Most High sent forth his voice, and hail, and coals of fire.)
14 And he sent his arrows, and destroyed those men; he multiplied lightnings, and troubled those men.
15 And the wells of waters appeared; and the foundaments of the earth were showed. Lord, of thy blaming; of the breathing of the spirit of thine ire. (And the seabed appeared; and the foundations of the earth were uncovered. Yea, by the Lord's rebuke; by the blast of the breath from his nostrils.)
16 He sent from the highest place, and took me; and he took me from many waters. (He reached down from the highest place, and took hold of me; yea, he took me out of the deep waters.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.