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Psalm 68:5-35

Listen to Psalm 68:5-35
5 A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.
6 God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
7 O God, when You went out before Your people, When You marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 The earth shook; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You, O God, sent a plentiful rain, Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance, When it was weary.
10 Your congregation dwelt in it; You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.
11 The Lord gave the word; Great was the company of those who proclaimed it:
12 "Kings of armies flee, they flee, And she who remains at home divides the spoil.
13 Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, You will be like 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 snow in Zalmon.
15 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, Even thousands of thousands; The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.
18 You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the Lord God might dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah
20 Our God is the God of salvation; And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.
21 But God will wound the head of His enemies, The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in His trespasses.
22 The Lord said, "I will bring back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 That your foot may crush them in blood, And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies."
24 They have seen Your procession, O God, The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; Among them were the maidens playing timbrels.
26 Bless God in the congregations, The Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
27 There is little Benjamin, their leader, The princes of Judah and their company, The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 Your God has commanded your strength; Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us.
29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, Kings will bring presents to You.
30 Rebuke the beasts of the reeds, The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, Till everyone submits himself with pieces of silver. Scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old! Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice.
34 Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, And His strength is in the clouds.
35 O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!

Psalm 68:5-35 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm [or] Song of David. The Targum makes the argument of this psalm to be the coming of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; in which it is followed by many of the Jewish interpreters: but Aben Ezra rejects such an interpretation of it, and thinks that David composed it, concerning the war he had with the uncircumcised nations, the Philistines and others, 2 Samuel 8:1, &c. And so the title of the Syriac version begins, "a psalm of David, when the kings prepared themselves to fight against him:" and Kimchi says it was composed on account of Sennacherib's army coming against Jerusalem, in the times of Hezekiah, and so delivered by David, under a spirit of prophecy concerning that affair; though he owns that some of their writers interpret it of the war of Gog and Magog, in the times of the Messiah they yet expect. But they are much nearer the truth, who take it that it was written on occasion of the ark being brought to the city of David; seeing it begins with much the same words that Moses used when the ark set forward in his times, Numbers 10:35; and the bringing of which was attended with great joy and gladness, 2 Samuel 6:14; such as the righteous are called upon to express in this psalm, Psalm 68:3. And this being a type of Christ, and of his ascending the holy hill of God, may be allowed of; for certain it is that this psalm treats of the coming of Christ, and of blessings by him, and of victory over his enemies; and particularly of his ascension to heaven, as most evidently appears from Ephesians 4:8; and from prophecies in it, concerning the calling of the Gentiles. Wherefore the latter part of the Syriac inscription of it is very pertinent; "also a prophecy concerning the dispensation of the Messiah, and concerning the calling of the Gentiles to the faith." Jarchi interprets Psalm 68:31 of the Messiah.
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Footnotes 2

  • [a] Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read you may dip your foot.
  • [b] Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read Command, O God.

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