Psalms 68:16

16 Why do you look with hostility, O many-peaked mountains? This mountain God desires for his dwelling. Yes, Yahweh will abide [in it] forever.

Psalms 68:16 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 68:16

Why leap ye, ye high hills?
&c.] Meaning the kingdoms of this world that lift up themselves above, and look with contempt upon the interest, kingdom, and church of Christ; lie in wait for it, leap upon it, insult over it, and endeavour to crush and extirpate it; but all in vain; these high hills and mountains are nothing before Zerubbabel King of saints; his church is built on a rock, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it; the little stone cut out of the mountain without hands will become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth, and break in pieces and consume the kingdoms of it: the word (dur) , in, the Arabic language, signifies "to lie in wait", as Jarchi from R. Moses Hadarsan observes; and to look out, and leap upon the prey; so R. Hai in Ben Melech says, it has the signification of looking, observing, hoping, or waiting, in the Arable language F11;

[this is] the hill [which] God desireth to dwell in;
as in ( Psalms 132:13 ) ; the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; the essential Word, the Messiah: his desire was towards his church and people, in eternity, in time, and now is; he has chosen and desired them for his habitation, and in the midst of them he delights to be, ( Revelation 1:13 ) ;

yea, the Lord will dwell [in it] for ever:
he dwells in his church now by his gracious presence; he will dwell in the New Jerusalem church state personally for the space of a thousand years; and after that he will dwell with and among his people to all eternity; see ( Psalms 132:14 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F11 "Ratzad, insidiatus fuit, uti praedae leo", Golius, col. 991. Castel. col. 3633.

Psalms 68:16 In-Context

14 When Shaddai scattered kings on it, on Zalmon it snowed.
15 A mountain of God [is] the mountain of Bashan; a mountain of [many] peaks [is] the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you look with hostility, O many-peaked mountains? This mountain God desires for his dwelling. Yes, Yahweh will abide [in it] forever.
17 The chariots of God [are] twice ten thousand, [with] thousands doubled. The Lord [is] among them [at] Sinai, distinctive [in victory].
18 You have ascended on high; you have led away captives. You have received gifts [from] among humankind, and even [from the] rebellious, so that Yah God may dwell [there].

Footnotes 1

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.