Psalms 68:1-35 - Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

Bible Comments

LXVIII. A Song of Triumph. The most difficult of all the Pss. In some places the text is so corrupt that it defies any attempt at emendation, and the VSS give little, if any, help. The historical allusions are obscure. The poet makes use of older works, especially of Deborah's Song in Judges 5.

Psalms 68:1-6. Praise of God for His power and lovingkindness. This section begins with a quotation from Numbers 10:35, the words used when the Ark moved forward in the forty years-' wandering through the wilderness.

Psalms 68:4. rideth through the deserts or rather steppes (cf. Isaiah 40:3).

Psalms 68:7-14. God's care of Israel in the past. The poet illustrates this by his picture, borrowed from Judges 5, of the great victory over the Canaanite kings at the battle of Megiddo in Central Palestine.

Psalms 68:8. The words even yon Sinai here and in Judges 5:5 are an erroneous gloss. They are ungrammatical and are absent in one of the oldest MSS of the LXX. Besides the poet is thinking of the time of Deborah, not Moses.

Psalms 68:13 f. is unmeaning as it stands, and no emendation helps matters much. The snow that fell at Salmon is also unintelligible: perhaps the poet knew some traditional feature of the story lost to us. Salmon was near Shechem.

Psalms 68:15-23. Yahweh is enthroned on Zion for the deliverance of His people.

Psalms 68:15. A mountain of God: i.e. a mountain fitted by its height to be the abode of superhuman beings. But even the peaks of Bashan, the range on the NE. of Palestine, may well look with envy on Zion.

Psalms 68:17. Read perhaps, He hath come from Sinai into the sanctuary. Sinai was His old home.

Psalms 68:18. ascended on high: perhaps to contend with the powers of the air and sky (cf. Isaiah 24:21).

Psalms 68:22. Some have interpreted this as a reference to the exploits of Judas Maccabæ us in Gilead, as recorded in 1 Maccabees 7. The Ps. has also been placed later, in the time of Alexander Jannæ us (p. 608), who died in 78 B.C. There is, in fact, no certain or even probable indication of date. Here we have a Jewish leader hard pressed by the foe but cheered by a priestly oracle with promise of deliverance and revenge. That is all that we know.

Psalms 68:24-27. The Festal Procession. Judah. Benjamin, and Galilee were the orthodox Jewish lands in the Maccabean times. So here again we may have a faint sign that the Ps. is Maccabean.

Psalms 68:26 a. Translate, Bless God in the choirs.

Psalms 68:27. their ruler: read, in front.

Psalms 68:28-35. Zion the spiritual centre of the whole world. God is to maintain His rule in Jerusalem: nay, the Temple is to attract foreign kings. Egypt and Ethiopia are specially mentioned.

Psalms 68:30. except the last clause, is hopelessly corrupt. We only know that beasts are the symbols for foreign kings.

Psalms 68:1-35

1 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee beforea him.

2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

3 But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedinglyb rejoice.

4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: 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:c he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

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 sendd a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.

10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.

11 The Lord gave the word: great was the companye of those that published it.

12 Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.

13 Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.

14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snowf in Salmon.

15 The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan.

16 Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.

17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men;g yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

20 He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.

21 But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.

22 The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:

23 That thy foot may be dippedh in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.

24 They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.

25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.

26 Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.

27 There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.

29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.

30 Rebuke the companyi of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war.

31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.

32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:

33 To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.

34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.j

35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.