Themes from Psalm 18 in the Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon contains a prophecy of a latter-day gathering of the word of God. (See 2 Nephi 29:14.) Even so, the fact that biblical language is found in abundance in the Book of Mormon is a stumbling block to some, who see it as evidence of plagiarism.  This conclusion requires a certain naturalistic point of view in order to be valid.  For those of us who see all of these words as belonging to God, the intertextuality shouldn't bother us.  In fact, I've found that embracing this perspective allows  me to focus on the beauty of the message.

The Psalms are no exception. The Book of Mormon contains many intertextual connections with the Psalms. I recently noticed some vivid symbols in Psalm 18 which evoke images of the Nephite destruction and related prophecies.

First, it seems very clear to me that this Psalm directly refers to the protection promised to all those who make and keep sacred temple covenants with God:

1 I love you, Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
    and I have been saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
    I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;    my cry came before him, into his ears. (Psalm 18, NIV)

One might quibble about how "rock," "fortress," "refuge," and "stronghold" relate to the temple, but verse 6 dispels any doubt.

Next in this Psalm, we get a description of how the Lord delivers the supplicant from his enemies:


7 The earth trembled and quaked,
    and the foundations of the mountains shook;
    they trembled because he was angry.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
    consuming fire came from his mouth,
    burning coals blazed out of it.
9 He parted the heavens and came down;
    dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
    he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
    the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
    with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven;
    the voice of the Most High resounded.[d]
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
    with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
    and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
    at the blast of breath from your nostrils. (Psalm 18, NIV)



In these verses, we have the following destructive elements:

• earthquakes
• consuming fire
• smoke/vapor/dark clouds/darkness
• wind
• hailstones
• lightning
• thunder
• valleys of the sea exposed
• foundations of the earth laid bare

We can compare this with the types of destruction prophesied in 1 Nephi 12:

4 And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking thereof. (1 Nephi 12)

We can also compare the destruction described in 3 Nephi 8:

5 ...there arose a great storm...

6 ...a great and terrible tempest; ...terrible thunder...

7 ...exceedingly sharp lightnings...

8 ...fire...

9 ... the city ... did sink into the depths of the sea...

12 ... tempest ... whirlwinds ... thunderings ... lightnings ... exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth;

14 ... cities were sunk...burned, and ... shaken...

16 ...whirlwind...

17 ... tempests, ... thunderings, ... lightnings, ... quaking of the earth.

20 ...thick darkness upon all the face of the land...vapor of darkness;

That's a pretty remarkable fit.

Intriguingly, we also get this verse just after the destruction:

1 And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place. (3 Nephi 11)

The righteous people who were spared gather at the temple and marvel at the changes.

Conclusion

The biggest take-home message for me in all of this is that the Nephites were destroyed not simply because of their wickedness. It was more than that.  They were destroyed because they rejected the covenant. Psalm 18 helps solidify this stark example of the Creation-Covenant connection for me -- God hears the cry of the Psalmist in the temple and the same destructive forces which destroyed the Nephites come to his aid. When we abide by the covenant, the power of the Creator protects us.  If we reject the covenant, the same powers can turn against us.

Rather than question how Joseph Smith managed to copy parts of a Psalm into the Book of Mormon, a different point of view allows us to learn from this Psalm. We see why the wicked Nephites met this particular fate, and why keeping our covenants is so vital to the purposes of the creation.