Psalm 18

Psalm 18 (from The Book of Psalms translated by Robert Alter) portrays God in an eerie, unfamiliar way.  The typical Christian/Jewish view of God is an omnipotent and wholly good being that represents no evil.  This Psalm portrays God in a dark and opposite way.  The Psalm is an expression of gratitude from a man who has been saved from death by God.  In the writing he describes God.   Here are some irregular representations.

 

Line 3:

The Lord is my crag and my bastion / and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I shelter, / my shield and the horn of my rescue, / my fortress

 

This compares God to a mighty warrior.  Sure, God is seen as powerful and fights for good, but not a supporter of war.

 

Line 9:

The earth heaved and shuddered, / the mountains’ foundations were shaken. / They heaved. For smoke rose from his nostrils / and fire from his mouth consumed, coals blazed up around Him.

 

It seems to me that God is coming from underground and not from the heavens as one might suspect.  He is engulfed with fire and coals, which add feelings of evil.  This description actually fits better with a description of the Devil.

 

Line 48:

The God Who grants vengeance to me…

 

The also implies that God is a violent being and not a promoter of peace for the world, but only for the “good” people.

 

            This Psalm had other representations of God that other religions have.  It is not the usual way I see Christians and Jews viewing their God.  It was comforting to view god as a warrior always ready to fight and save me, it adds more power to his already supreme image.  However on the other hand God was depicted as what I would call The Devil.  This makes me uneasy.  It does explain why there is evil in the world for in the writing of Psalm 18, God is both good and evil.  This put fear and distrust into faith with God.