Psalm 18 (17):11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He is so elevated beyond the entirety of understanding that no one approaches Him except through love. For love fulfills the law (Rom 13:10). He has made Himself known to those who love Him in ways that are beyond comprehension, to prevent any belief that He could be understood through physical representations.

Through this, He symbolizes His ascension; with cherubim and swift wings, He either refers to the cloud that received Him, concerning which it is stated in the Acts, ‘And these say, They that see them shall be taken up, and the cloud shall lift Him up from their eyes’ (Acts 1:9), or to the swiftness of His manifestation, the rapidity of His arrival, and the assistance provided.

Once more, the portrayal of God's arrival instills a significant sense of awe in the listeners. However, we cannot perceive the descent or ascent of the Divine essence, for the nature of God is beyond description, omnipresent, and sustains all of creation. Through this, we grasp the various manifestations of creation, as God presents Himself to humanity—sometimes in benevolence, other times in majesty; at times, He reveals something extraordinary to invoke reverence. Thus, the phrase ‘He bowed down the heavens, and came down’ signifies His self-revelation. The darkness beneath symbolizes the hidden nature of His coming, while the elevation of the Cherubim and the swift movement of the winds illustrate the urgency of His arrival.

He will ride upon the cherubim and swiftly soar upon the breezes. This foreshadows the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven. At the moment of His ascension, the cherubim indeed bore Him upon their wings, as the prophet Ezekiel witnessed this profound event through his prophetic vision. Ezekiel recounts that the cherubim spread their wings, along with the wheels that accompanied them, and the glory of the God of Israel rested upon them. The glory of the Lord ascended from within their midst (Ezekiel 11:22-23). There is no doubt regarding the Lord's ascension, as the apostle Paul describes Him as the radiance of the glory of God the Father (Heb. 1:3). The Lord ascended into heaven on the wings of the cherubim, which St. David referred to as winds due to their swift motion.

Descent and Ascent Concealed by clouds and shadows, He embodies His creation of a spiritual dwelling within humanity. The Redeemer has returned to His original throne. He has ascended to heaven accompanied by the cherubim, yet did not descend with them; instead, He alone shifted the heavens and came down. Regarding His ascension, David proclaimed, "And He ascended upon the cherubim and flew," referring to the body He assumed.

The author continues to illustrate the manifestations of God’s might in the atmosphere, particularly when God desires to reveal His indignation toward humanity. Just as he earlier portrayed the symbol of divine wrath through clouds, fire, thunder, and lightning, he now depicts God traversing the skies on winds and whirlwinds, moving rapidly through the entire cosmos. A parallel description can be found in Psalm 103:3, which describes God as walking on the wings of the wind and dispatching breezes as swift messengers to fulfill His purposes. Yet, the imagery of God is not that of a mere sovereign over the gales, but rather as a king seated in a remarkably swift chariot, from which He launches arrows against His adversaries.

He rose to the Cherubim - Christ the Lord ascended into the heavens, reigning above all powers and dominions (Eph. 1:21). The concept of flying signifies swiftness or great speed. The celestial beings, referred to as windy krila, are the angelic spirits that bore Christ the Lord upward, opening the gates of heaven for the faithful, for humanity, and providing access to the divine realm (Jerome).