John Calvin Commentary Psalms 18:8

"There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it." — Psalms 18:8 (ASV)

There went up a smoke by [or out of] his nostrils, etc. The Hebrew word אף, aph, properly signifies the nose, or the nostrils. But as it is sometimes taken metaphorically for wrath, some translate it thus: There went up a smoke in his wrath, which, in my opinion, is not at all appropriate.

David compares the mists and vapors that darken the air to the thick smoke that a man sends forth from his nostrils when he is angry.

And when God, by His very breath, covers the heavens with clouds, taking away from us the brightness of the sun and all the stars, He overwhelms us in darkness. By this, we are very impressively taught how dreadful His wrath is.

By the rendering I have given, the figure here strikingly harmonizes with the one in the clause that immediately follows, namely, that fire proceeding from his mouth consumed.

The Psalmist means that God, without great labor or effort, as soon as He sends forth a breath or blast from His nostrils and opens His mouth, will kindle such a fire that its smoke will darken the whole world, and its intense heat will devour it.

What He adds, Coals were kindled by it, serves to distinguish this dreadful fire from a flame that blazes for a moment and then is extinguished.

The bowing of the heavens, denotes a time when the heavens are covered and obscured with clouds. When dense vapors occupy the middle of the air, the clouds seem to us to come down and lie upon our heads.

Not only that, but when the majesty of God approaches, drawing nearer to us, as it were, it strikes us with dread dismay and greatly distresses us. This is in contrast to before, when the sky was fair, pleasant, and tranquil, and we felt free and enjoyed ourselves with much gaiety.

Again, let us remember that Scripture, in these descriptions of a clouded and darkened sky, portrays to us the anger of God.

When the sky is clear and unclouded, it seems as if it were the pleasant and kindly face of God beaming upon us and making us rejoice. Conversely, when the atmosphere is troubled, we feel a lowness of spirits that constrains us to look sad, as if we saw God approaching us with a threatening expression.

At the same time, we are taught that no change takes place either in the atmosphere or on the earth that is not a witness to us of God’s presence.