Psalms 68:1

e, (hence ereb the evening or twilight, because it appears to be formed of an equal mixture of light and darkness; the Septuagint translate it dusmwn, the west, or setting of the sun; so does the Vulgate and others); probably it may mean the gloomy desert, through which God, in the chariot of his glory, led the Israelites. If this interpretation do not please, then let it be referred to the darkness in which God is said to dwell, through which the rays of his power and love, in the various dispensations of his power and mercy, shine forth for the comfort and instruction of mankind. By his name Jah - יה Yah, probably a contraction of the word יהוה Yehovah; at least so the ancient Versions understood it. It is used but in a few places in the sacred writings. It might be translated The Self existent. Verse 6 The solitary in families - יחדים yechidim, the single persons. Is not the meaning, God is the Author of marriage; and children, the legal fruit of it, are an inheritance from him? Verse 7 O God, when thou wentest forth - This and the following verse most manifestly refer to the passage of the Israelites through the wilderness. Verse 9 Didst send a plentiful rain - גשם נדבות geshem nedaboth, a shower of liberality. I believe this to refer to the manna by which God refreshed and preserved alive the weary and hungry Israelites. Verse 10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein - חיתך chaiyathecha, thy living creature; τα ζωα, Septuagint; animalia, Vulgate; so all the Versions. Does not this refer to the quails that were brought to the camp of the Israelites, and dwelt, as it were, round about it? And was not this, with the manna and the refreshing rock, that goodness which God had provided for the poor - the needy Israelites? Verse 11 Great was the company of those that published it - המבשרות צבא רב hammebasseroth tsaba rab; "Of the female preachers there was a great host." Such is the literal translation of this passage; the reader may make of it what he pleases. Some think it refers to the women who, with music, songs, and dances, celebrated the victories of the Israelites over their enemies. But the publication of good news, or of any joyful event, belonged to the women. It was they who announced it to the people at large; and to this universal custom, which prevails to the present day, the psalmist alludes. See this established in the note on Isa 40:9 (note). Verse 12 Kings of armies did flee - Rabin and the kings of the Canaanites, who united their forces to overwhelm the Israelites. And she - Deborah the prophetess, a woman accustomed to tarry at home, and take care of the family; she divided the spoils, and vanquished their kings. Verse 13 Though ye have lien among the pots - The prophet is supposed here to address the tribes of Reuben and Gad, who remained in their inheritances, occupied with agricultural, maritime, and domestic affairs, when the other tribes were obliged to go against Jabin, and the other Canaanitish kings. Ye have been thus occupied, while your brethren sustained a desperate campaign; but while you are inglorious, they obtained the most splendid victory, and dwell under those rich tents which they have taken from the enemy; coverings of the most beautiful colors, adorned with gold and silver. The words בירקרק חרוץ birakrak charuts, native gold, so exceedingly and splendidly yellow as to approach to greenness - from ירק yarak, to be green; and the doubling of the last syllable denotes an exeess in the denomination - excessively green - blistering green. The Targum gives us a curious paraphrase of this and the following verse: "If ye, O ye kings, slept among your halls, the congregation of Israel, which is like a dove covered with the clouds of glory, divided the prey of the Egyptians, purified silver, and coffers full of the finest gold. And when it stretched out its hands in prayer over the sea, the Almighty cast down kingdoms; and for its sake cooled hell like snow, and snatched it from the shadow of death." Perhaps the Romanists got some idea of purgatory here. For the sake of the righteous, the flames of hell are extinguished! Verse 15 The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan - This and the following verse should be read thus: "Is Mount Bashan the craggy mount, Mount Bashan, the mount of God? Why envy ye, ye craggy mounts? This is the mount of God in which he has desired to dwell." The Targum countenances this translation: Mount Moriah, the place where our fathers of old worshipped God, is chosen to build on it the house of the sanctuary, and Mount Sinai for the giving of the law. Mount Bashan, Mount Tabor, and Carmel are rejected; they are made as Mount Bashan." Verse 16 Why leap ye, ye high hills? - "God said, Why leap ye, ye high hills? It is not pleasing to me to give my law upon high and towering hills. Behold, Mount Sinai is low; and the Word of the Lord has desired to place on it the Divine majesty. Moreover, the Lord dwells for ever in the heaven of heavens." - Targum. The psalmist is speaking particularly of the mountains of Judea, and those of Gilead; the former were occupied by the Canaanites, and the others by Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, king of the Amorites, whom Moses defeated. Verse 17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand - רבתים אלפי שנאן ribbothayim alpey shinan, "two myriads of thousands doubled." Does not this mean simply forty thousand? A myriad is 10,000; two myriads, 20,000; these doubled, 40,000. Or thus: 10,000 + 10,000 + 20,000 = 40,000. The Targum says, "The chariots of God are two myriads; two thousand angels draw them; the majesty of God rests upon them in holiness on Mount Sinai." But what does this mean? We must die to know. Verse 18 Thou hast ascended on high - When the ark had reached the top of Sion, and was deposited in the place assigned for it, the singers joined in the following chorus. This seems to be an allusion to a military triumph. The conqueror was placed on a very elevated chariot. Led captivity captive - The conquered kings and generals were usually tied behind the chariot of the conqueror - bound to it, bound together, and walked after it, to grace the triumph of the victor. Thou hast received gifts for men - "And gave gifts unto men;" Eph 4:8 . At such times the conqueror threw money among the crowd. Thou hast received gifts among men, באדם baadam, In Man, in human nature; and God manifest in the flesh dwells among mortals! Thanks be to God for his unspeakable Gift! By establishing his abode among the rebellious the prophet may refer to the conquest of the land of Canaan, and the country beyond Jordan. Yea, for the rebellious also - Even to the rebellious. Those who were his enemies, who traduced his character and operations, and those who fought against him now submit to him, and share his munificence; for it is the property of a hero to be generous. That the Lord God might dwell among them - יה אלהים yah Elohim, the self-existing God; see on Psa 68:4 (note). The conqueror now coming to fix his abode among the conquered people to organize them under his laws, to govern and dispense justice among them. The whole of this is very properly applied by St. Paul, Eph 4:5 , to the resurrection and glory of Christ; where the reader is requested to consult the note. Verse 19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us - With benefits is not in the text. Perhaps it would be better to translate the clause thus: "Blessed be Adonai, our Prop day by day, who supports us." Or, "Blessed be the Lord, who supports us day by day." Or as the Vulgate, Septuagint, and Arabic: "Blessed be the Lord daily, our God who makes our journey prosperous; even the God of our salvation." The Syriac, "Blessed be the Lord daily, who hath chosen our inheritance." The word עמס amas, which we translate to load, signifies to lift, bear up, support, or to bear a burden for another. Hence it would not be going far from the ideal meaning to translate: "Blessed be the Lord day by day, who bears our burdens for us." But loadeth us with benefits is neither a translation nor meaning. Verse 20 The issues from death - The going out or exodus from death - from the land of Egypt and house of bondage. Or the expression may mean, Life and death are in the hand of God. "He can create, and he destroy." Verse 21 The hairy scalp - קדקד שער kodkod sear. Does this mean any thing like the Indian scalping? Or does it refer to a crest on a helmet or headcap? I suppose the latter. Verse 22 From the depths of the sea - All this seems to speak of the defeat of the Egypttians, and the miraculous passage of the Red Sea. Verse 23 That thy foot may be dipped in the blood - God will make such a slaughter among his enemies, the Amorites, that thou shalt walk over their dead bodies; and beasts of prey shall feed upon them. Verse 24 They have seen thy goings - These kings of the Amorites have seen thy terrible majesty in their discomfiture, and the slaughter of their subjects. Verse 25 The singers went before - This verse appears to be a description of the procession. Verse 26 Bless ye God - This is what they sung. Verse 27 There is little Benjamin - This is a description of another part of the procession. Verse 28 Thy God hath commanded - This and the following verses is what they sung. Verse 30 Rebuke the company of spearmen - חית קנה chaiyath kaneh, the wild beast of the reed - the crocodile or hippopotamus, the emblem of Pharaoh and the Egyptians; thus all the Versions. Our translators have mistaken the meaning; but they have put the true sense in the margin. Verse 31 Aethiopta shall soon stretch out her hands unto God - This verse had its literal fulfillment under Solomon, when Egypt formed an alliance with that king by his marriage with Pharaoh's daughter; and when the queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But as this may be a prophetic declaration of the spread of Christianity, it was literally fulfilled after the resurrection of our Lord. There were Egyptians at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, who, St. Hilary tells us, on their return to their own country proclaimed what they had seen, and became in that country the ambassadors of Christ. The Ethiopian eunuch was one of the first among the Gentiles who received the Gospel. Thus princes or chief men came out of Egypt, and Ethiopia stretched out her hands to God. The words themselves refer to the sending ambassadors, and making alliances. The Hebrew is very emphatic: כוש תריץ ידיו לאלהים cush tarits yadiav lelohim; Cush will cause her hands to run out to God. She will, with great alacrity and delight, surrender her power and influence unto God. The Chaldee paraphrases well: "The sons of Cush will run, that they may spread out their hands in prayer before God." Verse 32 Sing unto God - All the inhabitants of the earth are invited to sing unto God, to acknowledge him as their God, and give him the praise due to his name. Verse 33 Rideth upon the heavens - He who manages the heavens, directing their course and influence, he formed every orb, ascertained its motion, proportioned its solid contents to the orbit in which it was to revolve, and the other bodies which belong to the same system. As an able and skillful rider manages his horse, so does God the sun, moon, planets, and all the hosts of heaven. He doth send out his voice - At his word of command they run, shed, or reflect their light; and without the smallest deviations obey his will. Mighty voice - He thunders in the heavens, and men tremble before him. Verse 34 His strength is in the clouds - This refers to the bursting, rattling, and pounding of thunder and lightning; for all nations have observed that this is an irresistible agent; and even the most enlightened have looked on it as an especial manifestation of the power and sovereignty of God. Verse 35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places - The sanctuary and heaven. Out of the former he had often shone forth with consuming splendor; see the case of Korah and his company: out of the latter he had often appeared in terrible majesty in storms, thunder, lightning, etc. He that giveth strength and power unto his people - Therefore that people must be invincible who have this strong and irresistible God for their support. Blessed be God - He alone is worthy to be worshipped. Without him nothing is wise, nothing holy, nothing strong; and from him, as the inexhaustible Fountain, all good must be derived. His mercy over his creatures is equal to his majesty in the universe, and as he has all good in his possession, so is he willing to deal it out, to supply the utmost necessities of his creatures. Blessed be God! The Arabic adds, Alleluiah! The best analysis I find of this Psalm is that by Bishop Nicholson. I shall give it at large, begging the reader to refer particularly to those passages on which the preceding notes are written, as in some of them the analysis gives a different view of the subject. The old Psalter gives the whole Psalm a spiritual and mystical interpretation. And this is commonly the ease in the commentaries of the fathers. Introduction The psalmist describes his afflicted state, and the wickedness of his adversaries, vv. 1-21; he declares the miseries that should come upon his enemies, Psa 69:22-28 ; enlarges on has afflicted state, and expresses his confidence in God, Psa 69:29-34 ; prophesies the restoration of the Jews to their own land and temple, Psa 69:35 , Psa 69:36 . The title is: "To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David." See this title explained on Psalm 45 (note). The Psalm is supposed to have been written during the captivity, and to have been the work of some Levite Divinely inspired. It is a very fine composition, equal to most in the Psalter. Several portions of it seem to have a reference to our Lord; to his advent passion, resurrection, the vocation of the Gentiles, the establishment of the Christian Church, and the reprobation of the Jews. The ninth verse is quoted by St. John, Joh 2:17 . The twenty-first verse is quoted by St. Matthew, Mat 27:34 , Mat 27:48 ; by St. Mark, Mar 15:23 ; by St. John, Joh 19:29 ; and applied to the sufferings of our Lord, in the treatment he received from the Jews. St. Paul quotes the twenty-second as a prophecy of the wickedness of the Jews, and the punishment they were to receive. He quotes the twenty-third verse in the same way. See Isa 6:9-10 (note); Joh 12:39-40 (note); Rom 11:10 (note); 2Cor 3:14 (note). Those portions which the writers of the New Testament apply to our Lord, we may apply also; of others we should be careful. Verse 1 The waters are come in unto my soul - I am in the deepest distress. The waters have broken their dikes, and are just ready to sweep me away! Save me, Lord! In such circumstances I can have no other help. In the first, second, third, fourteenth, and fifteenth verses, the psalmist, speaking in the person of the captives in Babylon, compares their captivity to an abyss of waters, breaking all bounds, and ready to swallow them up; to a deep mire, in which there was no solid bottom, and no standing; and to a pot. in which they were about to be inclosed for ever. This is strongly figurative, and very expressive. Verse 3 I am weary of my crying - A pathetic description of the state of the poor captives for about seventy years. Verse 4 Then I restored that which I took not away - I think, with Calmet, that this is a sort of proverbial expression, like such as these, "Those who suffered the wrong, pay the costs." Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi. "Kings sin, and the people are punished." "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." Our fathers have grievously sinned against the Lord, and we their posterity suffer for it. See on Psa 69:12 (note). Some have applied it to our Lord. I restored, by my suffering and death, that image of God and the Divine favor, which I took not away. That is, In my human nature I expiated the crime that human beings had committed against God. But such applications are very gratuitous. Verse 5 Thou knowest my foolishness - Though we have been brought into captivity in consequence of the crimes of our fathers, yet we have guilt enough of our own to

: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. 5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. 6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. In these verses, I. David prays that God would appear in his glory, 1. For the confusion of his enemies ( v. 1, 2 ): " Let God arise, as a judge to pass sentence upon them, as a general to take the field and do execution upon them; and let them be scattered, and flee before him, as unable to keep their ground, much less to make head against him. Let God arise, as the sun when he goes forth in his strength; and the children of darkness shall be scattered, as the shadows of the evening flee before the rising sun. Let them be driven away as smoke by the wind, which ascends as if it would eclipse the sun, but is presently dispelled, and there appears to remainder of it. Let them melt as wax before the fire, which is quickly dissolved." Thus does David comment upon Moses's prayer, and not only repeat it with application to himself and his own times, but enlarge upon it, to direct us how to make use of scripture-prayers. Nay, it looks further, to the Redeemer's victory over the enemies of this kingdom, for he was the angel of the covenant, that guided Israel through the wilderness. Note, (1.) There are, and have been, and ever will be, such as are enemies to God and hate him, that join in with the old serpent against the kingdom of God among men and against the seed of the woman. (2.) They are the wicked, and none but the wicked, that are enemies to God, the children of the wicked one. (3.) Though we are to pray for our enemies as such, yet we are to pray against God's enemies as such, against their enmity to him and all their attempts upon his kingdom. (4.) If God but arise, all his impenitent and implacable enemies, that will not repent to give him glory, will certainly and speedily be scattered, and driven away, and made to perish at his presence; for none ever hardened his heart against God and prospered. The day of judgment will be the day of the complete and final perdition of ungodly men ( 2 Pet. iii. 7 ), who shall melt like wax before that flaming fire in which the Lord shall then appear, 2 Thess. i. 8 . 2. For the comfort and joy of his own people ( v. 3 ): " Let the righteous be glad, that are now in sorrow; let them rejoice before God in his favourable presence. God is the joy of his people; let them rejoice whenever they come before God, yea, let them exceedingly rejoice, let them rejoice with gladness." Note, Those who rejoice in God have reason to rejoice with exceeding joy; and this joy we ought to wish to all the saints, for it belongs to them. Light is sown for the righteous. II. He praises God for his glorious appearances, and calls upon us to praise him, to sing to his name, and extol him, 1. As a great God, infinitely great ( v. 4 ): He rides upon the heavens, by his name JAH. He is the spring of all the motions of the heavenly bodies, directs and manages them, as he that rides in the chariot sets it a-going, has a supreme command of the influences of heaven; he rides upon the heavens for the help of his people ( Deut. xxxiii. 26 ), so swiftly, so strongly, and so much above the reach of opposition. He rules these by his name Jah, or Jehovah, a self-existent self-sufficient being; the fountain of all being, power, motion, and perfection; this is his name for ever. When we thus extol God we must rejoice before him. Holy joy in God will very well consist with that reverence and godly fear wherewith we ought to worship him. 2. As a gracious God, a God of mercy and tender compassion. He is great, but he despises not any, no, not the meanest; nay, being a God of great power, he uses his power for the relief of those that are distressed, v. 5, 6 . The fatherless, the widows, the solitary, find him a God all-sufficient to them. Observe how much God's goodness is his glory. He that rides on the heavens by his name Jah, one would think should immediately have been adored as King of kings and Lord of lords, and the sovereign director of all the affairs of states and nations; he is so, but this he rather glories in, that he is a Father of the fatherless. Though God be high, yet has he respect unto the lowly. Happy are those that have an interest in such a God as this. He that rides upon the heavens is a Father worth having; thrice happy are the people whose God is the Lord. (1.) When families are bereaved of their head God takes care of them, and is himself their head; and the widows and the fatherless children shall find that in him which they have lost in the relation that is removed, and infinitely more and better. He is a Father of the fatherless, to pity them, to bless them, to teach them, to provide for them, to portion them. He will preserve them alive ( Jer. xlix. 11 ), and with him they shall find mercy, Hos. xiv. 3 . They have liberty to call him Father, and to plead their relation to him as their guardian, Ps. cxlvi. 9 ; x. 14, 18 . He is a judge or patron of the widows, to give them counsel and to redress their grievances, to own them and plead their cause, Prov. xxii. 23 . He has an ear open to all their complaints and a hand open to all their wants. He is so in his holy habitation, which may be understood either of the habitation of his glory in heaven (there he has prepared his throne of judgment, which the fatherless and widow have free recourse to, and are taken under the protection of, Ps. ix. 4 , 7 ), or of the habitation of his grace on earth; and so it is a direction to the widows and fatherless how to apply to God; let them go to his holy habitation, to his word and ordinances; there they may find him and find comfort in him. (2.) When families are to be built up he is the founder of them: God sets the solitary in families, brings those into comfortable relations that were lonely, gives those a convenient settlement that were unsettled ( Ps. cxiii. 9 ); he makes those dwell at home that were forced to seek for relief abroad (so Dr. Hammond), putting those that were destitute into a way of getting their livelihood, which is a very good way for man's charity, as it is of God's bounty. 3. As a righteous God, (1.) In relieving the oppressed. He brings out those that are bound with chains, and sets those at liberty who were unjustly imprisoned and brought into servitude. No chains can detain those whom God will make free. (2.) In reckoning with the oppressors: The rebellious dwell in a dry land and have no comfort in that which they have got by fraud and injury. The best land will be a dry land to those that by their rebellion have forfeited the blessing of God, which is the juice and fatness of all our enjoyments. The Israelites were brought out of Egypt into the wilderness, but were there better provided for than the Egyptians themselves, whose land, if Nilus failed them, as it sometimes did, was a dry land. Thankful Praises to God; Mercies Recollected. 7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah: 8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. 10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared o