“The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 77:18 Mean?
Asaph describes a theophany—a visible manifestation of God's power—using the language of a thunderstorm. God's voice was thunder. His lighting illuminated the entire world. The earth trembled and shook. This isn't metaphor about a pleasant afternoon shower—this is the full, terrifying power of God displayed through nature at its most violent.
The progression—thunder, lightning, earthquake—escalates from sound to sight to physical impact. First you hear God's voice. Then you see His light. Then you feel the ground move. The entire sensory experience is overwhelmed by God's presence. There is no sense left untouched, no dimension of experience that remains unaffected.
This verse comes at the end of Asaph's extended remembrance of the Exodus—specifically the Red Sea crossing. The storm imagery may describe the actual weather conditions during that event, or it may be poetic language for the overwhelming power God displayed. Either way, the message is clear: the God Asaph is remembering isn't a gentle, manageable deity. He's a God whose voice shakes the earth.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Has your view of God become 'domesticated'—comfortable and manageable? How does this verse challenge that?
- 2.When was the last time you were genuinely awed by God's power? What prompted that experience?
- 3.How do you hold together the 'thunder and lightning' God of this verse with the gentle shepherd of Psalm 23? Are they in tension or in harmony?
- 4.If God's voice is thunder and His presence shakes the earth, how does that change the way you approach Him in prayer?
Devotional
Thunder in heaven. Lightning illuminating the world. The earth trembling. Asaph isn't describing a quaint religious experience—he's describing a God whose power makes the planet shake. This is the God you're praying to. The one whose voice is thunder and whose presence makes the ground unstable.
We tend to domesticate God. We make Him comfortable, manageable, safe. And then we wonder why our faith feels small. Asaph's memory of who God actually is—a God of thunder, lightning, and earthquakes—is meant to shake us out of our small theology. The God of the Bible isn't safe. He's good, but He's not safe. And His power isn't decorative—it's real enough to make the earth tremble.
If your faith has become quiet and manageable—if God feels more like a concept than a force—this verse is a wake-up call. The God you serve lit up the entire world with lightning. His voice was audible as thunder. The ground under your feet exists at His pleasure. That's not someone whose opinion you can casually ignore or whose power you can politely manage.
But here's what makes this awesome rather than terrifying: this earth-shaking God is the same one Asaph called "my God" in the opening of the psalm. The thunder belongs to the shepherd. The lightning comes from the one who daily loads you with benefits. The earthquake is caused by the God who restores your soul. His power is terrifying, and it's entirely on your side.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven,.... Thunder is the voice of God, Job 37:5 this is heard in "the orb" (b), or…
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven - Compare the notes at Psa 29:1-11. The word rendered “heaven” here - גלגל…
The psalmist here recovers himself out of the great distress and plague he was in, and silences his own fears of God's…
in the heaven The word galgal, derived from a root meaning to roll, was understood by the Jewish commentators to mean…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture