Psalm 18

vs 11-13

This picture does not sound like happy God. It sounds like vengeful God. It actually sounds like God is manifesting in an enormous, angry storm. Perhaps this is where the "God is thunder and lightning" comes from?

vs 14

God smiting people with bolts of lightning? There it is, it really is in the Bible.

vs 15

I am guessing this is a poetic way of saying that nothing was hidden from God - if anyone or anything is going to be rebuked by God, then it can't hide.

vs 16

Wait, David was drowning? Well, metaphorically, he may well have felt that way - overcome by sorrow and overcome by his enemies.

vs 17

There you go.

vs 18

David's language skips from ultra-flowery to much more clarity right now. It's a nice change.

vs 19

I'm not quite sure what the relevance of a spacious place is - perhaps because his enemies were crowded all around him, the space shows God pulling him out of his crowded 'drowning' situation. Also, it might be a reference to God's giving the land to Israel - the idea that God is generous and gives lots (slight pun).

But the second sentence here is just as interesting - God rescued David because God delighted in David. It's almost like God was so happy with David's work on earth that he couldn't bare not getting to watch the King David show for a few more years.

vs 20

Ok, so the TV show thing was a bit off the mark, but this is far more revealing - David was God's delight because he was righteous and clean. Yes, we all know David wasn't perfect, but God delighted in him all the same.