Psalms 68:4

4 Sing unto God, sing psalms unto his name; extol him that rides upon the heavens by his name JAH and rejoice before him.

Psalms 68:4 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 68:4

Sing unto God
Manifest in the flesh, risen from the dead, ascended on high, set down at the right hand of his divine Father; having exerted his great strength in their redemption; and therefore should sing the song of redeeming love, with grace and melody in their hearts, unto him;

sing praises to his name:
to the honour of his name Jesus, a Saviour, because of the great work of salvation wrought out by him; give him all the praise and glory of it, which due unto his name;

extol him that rideth upon heavens:
having ascended above them, and being higher than they, and so is exalted above all blessing and praise; and uses his power and greatness for the help of his people: see ( Deuteronomy 33:26 ) . Some choose to render the words, "prepare the way" ^F17, as John the Baptist is said to do before him, ( Isaiah 11:3 ) ; "for him that rideth through the deserts", or "fields" ^F18; as he did through the fields of Judea on an ass; and through the nations of the world, in the ministry of the word, carried thither by his apostles; whereby places, comparable to deserts for their barrenness and unfruitfulness, became like the garden of the Lord: or rather, "that rideth in the west"; it being at the west end of the tabernacle and temple, where the cherubim were, on which Jehovah rode, they being his chariot;

by his name JAH;
or Jehovah; which being a name incommunicable to creatures, and given to Christ, shows him to be the most High; a self-existent Being, the immutable and everlasting "I AM"; which is, and was, and is to come; from whom all creatures receive their being, and are continued in it; and who is also Jehovah our righteousness; and by, in, and because of this name, is he to be extolled and magnified;

and rejoice before him; (See Gill on Psalms 68:3).

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (wlo) "elevate viam lapidibus", Vatablus; "parata viam", Gejerus; "make an highway", Ainsworth.
F18 (twbdeb) "per deserta", Hieron. Theodoret. Bugenhagius, aliique in Michaelis; "in campestribus", Piscator, Cocceius; "in campis, vel per campos", Gussetius, p. 641. "in the deserts", Ainsworth.

Psalms 68:4 In-Context

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

3 But the righteous shall be glad; they shall rejoice before God; they shall dance with joy.

4 Sing unto God, sing psalms unto his name; extol him that rides upon the heavens by his name JAH and rejoice before him.

5 A father of the fatherless and a defender of the widows is God in his holy habitation.

6 God sets the solitary in families; he brings out those who are bound with chains, but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.