Psalms 77:18 - Exposition

The voice of thy thunder was in the heavens; rather, in the whirlwind (Kay, Cheyne, Revised Version). A storm of wind usually accompanies thunder and lightning. This the author, with poetical exaggeration, heightens into a "whirlwind" (comp. Psalms 83:13 ; Isaiah 17:13 ). The lightnings lightened the world. More hyperbole. Not only did they "go abroad" ( Psalms 77:17 ), darting hither and thither, but their intense brightness illuminated the whole earth. The earth trembled and shook. Through the reverberation of air, the earth seems to shake in a heavy thunderstorm.