Psalm 68:1-7—To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. 1 Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those also who hate Him flee before Him. 2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts 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; Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. “‘To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.’ — a man after God’s own heart. “‘A Song.’— The sight of the sacred chest under way suggested the time when God arises to action.” (Bible Believer’s Commentary) “This is one of the most magnificent songs of triumph in the entire Old Testament. Its dramatic comment upon a memorable event, its wide perspective of thought and speech, its spirit of invincible faith in God, and its presentation of the historic past and the envisaged future, combine to make it an outstanding portion of the Psalter.” (The New Bible commentary) “It opens with an echo of the words with which the ark set out on all its journeys (Num 10:35); and finds its climax in God's ascent of the ‘high mount’ which he has chosen for His dwelling.” (Derek Kidner)
““This was sung when the Levites took up the ark upon their shoulders..."(Adam Clarke) and began to move, as it is written “So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: ‘Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You.’ And when it rested, he said: ‘Return, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel.’” (Numbers 10:35-36)
“‘Let God arise’ etc. ה, kumah, whereas here the word is in the future tense, and is literally rendered, ‘God shall,’ or will, ‘arise.’ And, in like manner, all the clauses of this and the next two verses are expressed in the same tense, as if they were a prediction of what was to come.” (Joseph Benson) “To the Jewish mind, the ark rightly represented the presence of God; when the ark moved, God moved.” (Bible Believer’s Commentary)And thus: “‘As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.’ The implication here is that the enemies of God are of no more significance than a column of smoke driven away by the wind, or a little wax, melted and destroyed by the fire.” (Burton Coffman) “All the Lord's enemies shall perish. <Judg. 5:31>, Deborah's song.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)
“‘But let the righteous be glad.’ etc. “The righteous are here represented by Israel; all the godly, the true Israel spiritually, are included.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown) “There is… in these verses the inherent principle that the ultimate happiness of the righteous depends upon God's triumph over his enemies.” (Burton Coffman Commentary)
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His name Yah, and rejoice before Him. 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 “‘Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Yah (heb 3050)’— “Yah is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; he is my God, and I will praise Him; my father's God, and I will exalt Him." (Exod 15:2) “My Jewish people would always fling at me this challenging question, ‘If Jesus is our Messiah, and the whole Old Testament is about Him, how come His name is never mentioned in it even once?’ He responds: ‘I could never answer it satisfactorily to their way of thinking, and I admit I often wondered why His name was not actually written in the Old Bible… Then one day the Holy Spirit opened my eyes, and I just shouted.” (Arthur E. Glass) “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31) “Yah-shua” meaning the Yah is my salvation is …” probably a contraction of the word Yahweh (heb 3068)… It is used but in a few places in the sacred writings.” (Adam Clarke) “‘Extol Him who rides on the clouds’ etc. You men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)— in the clouds. The Hebrew, ‘extol’ means also ‘make a way for;’ ‘raise up a road for Him who rides on the clouds.’ Jesus will descend on the clouds of heaven when He returns to judge the world. John the Baptist prepared the way for Messiah. And so must we! Here is the ancient message that he was charged to proclaim: “The voice said, ‘Cry out!’ And he said, ‘What shall I cry?’ ‘All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.’ O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’” (Isaiah 40:6–9) “‘A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,’ a title that God much glorieth in; and although he rideth upon the heavens, and is higher than the highest, yet so low stoopeth he to our meanness; neither will he leave his people orphans or comfortless, John 14:18.— This “‘is God is in his holy habitation’- Not in heaven only, but in and with his Church on earth; the ark and mercy seat were never sundered.” (John Trapp) “‘God sets the solitary in families;’ such as were single and solitary he blesseth with a wife and children, as he did Abraham. Houses are oft put for posterity, as Exodus 1:21 Ruth 4:11 2 Samuel 7:11. —‘He brings out those which are bound with chains;’ He setteth captives and prisoners at liberty, as he did the Israelites, etc. ‘He brings out those who are bound into prosperity.’ In the cloudy pillar, as their Captain leading them out of Egypt. ‘But the rebellious’— as the Egyptians— dwell in a dry land’ deprived of all true comfort, and plagued with manifold calamities.” (Mathew Poole) “O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched through the wilderness, Selah” Even so, go out before us now and lead us by Your Spirit!
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 Yahweh 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.
“‘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.’ Here is namely, God's presence and movement in a pillar of cloud by day, when he went before Israel in the wilderness, together with the solemn and awful appearances at Mount Sinai. Never, surely, did the history of mankind furnish the like. Several of the sacred writers of the Old Testament refer to it, as denoting the love of Jehovah to his people.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Comm.)
“‘You, O God, sent a plentiful rain [former rains], whereby You confirmed Your inheritance, when it was weary.’ This looks to the spiritual provision for God's Israel. The Spirit of grace and the gospel of grace are the plentiful rain, with which God confirms his inheritance, and from which their fruit is found. Christ shall come as showers that water the earth.” (Matthew Henry) “Hence the Lord sent the quails, and the manna, and the milk and honey, as so many tokens of divine favor, and as a pledge of the everlasting riches of the Lord Jesus, in the enjoyment of whom Jehovah would confirm his covenant with Abraham forever. Genesis 12:3. In the faith of this, the Patriarchs lived and died,…” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
“The account of Israel's victories is to be applied to the victories over death and hell, by the exalted Redeemer, for those that are His.” (Mathew Henry) “The feeblest in Israel had a portion of the prey.” ( C. H. Spurgeon) “In many instances the Lord himself ‘gave the word,’ commanding the Israelites to march against their enemies, or to go forward regardless of them: and when he had given his people the victory, he put into their mouths the word of praise and thanksgiving. Then ‘great was the army of those that published it.’ The word rendered ‘published,’ is feminine : and the Psalmist seems to allude to the custom of the women in companies, joining to celebrate the successes of the nation with songs of praise and triumph, as Miriam and the women of Israel, and Deborah, and others did. (Exodus 15:1-21. Judges 5:1-31) So decided were their victories, that while the kings commanding numerous and powerful armies fled, with the greatest precipitation, but in vain; the spoil which was taken was so large, that even the women who remained at home received a share of it.” (Thomas Scott) Let us do our part in the body of Christ.
“’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.’ The dove, as the sacrificial bird, is a type of Christ, but it is also applied to godly Israel in the Song of Solomon, when they are addressed as ‘O my dove.’ It applies therefore to both. The wings are covered with silver and gold. Silver stands for redemption and the greenish gold, the finest, for glory. Christ has brought redemption and glory, and under His blessed wings, Israel enjoys and possesseth both.” (Arno Gaebelein) “’When the Almighty scattered [and destroy] kings in it [Canaan], “it (the dove mentioned in the preceding verse, the words being feminine,) not only became very honourable; but was likewise so purified from sin, and adorned with holiness, that it appeared white like the top of Salmon when covered with snow.” (Thomas Scott) This is the generation of Joshua and Caleb.
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 Yahweh, Who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah
"'A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan' etc by way of Creation not eminency. The psalmist [David] 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.” (Adam Clarke) “It sets forth the glory of God’s chosen mountain. A finer passage could hardly be found..” (C. J. Ellicott) “Bashan was fat and fertile, but Sion was better; because the place where God’s honour dwelled, any relation to whom doth greatly ennoble any place or person: so Genesis 17:21-22, Ishmael have I blessed, twelve princes shall he beget; but my covenant will I establish with Isaac. Since thou hast been precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, Isaiah 43:4.” (John Trapp) “The towering ranges of Bashan—Hermon with its snowy peaks—are personified. They become, in the poet’s imagination, envious of the distinction given to the petty heights of Judæa... The contrast between the littleness of Palestine and the vast extent of the empires which hung upon its northern and southern skirts, is rarely absent from the minds of the prophets and psalmists. (Isaiah 49:19-20.) Here the watchful jealousy with which these powers regarded Israel is represented by the figure of the high mountain ranges watching Zion like hungry beasts of prey ready to spring. And what do they see? The march of God Himself, surrounded by an army of angels, from Sinai to His new abode.” (Ellicott's Commentary)
The Chariots of God. etc. “The ascension of Christ must here be meant, and thereto it is applied, Ephesians 4:8.” (Matthew Henry) This was the custom in wars. “This seems to be an allusion to a military triumph. The conqueror was placed on a very elevated chariot. 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.' And gave gifts unto men;'... At such times the conqueror threw money [booty] among the crowd.” (Adam Clarke) “Having received power to give eternal life, the Lord Jesus bestows it on as many as were given Him, John 17:2. Christ came to a rebellious world, not to condemn it, but that through Him it might be saved. The glory of Zion's King is, that He is a Saviour and Benefactor to all His willing people, and a consuming fire to all that persist in rebellion against Him.” (Matthew Henry) “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: ‘When He ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’ (Psalm 68:18) Now this, ‘He ascended’-- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.” (Eph 4:9-10) “to Hades... the abode of the dead; in Scripture this is regularly a region to which one goes down from the earth’s surface. So, in Acts 2:25-35, the fact that Christ (in fulfillment of Psalm 16:10) was not left in Hades is the correlative of his being exalted to God’s right hand (in fulfillment of Psalm 110:1)...” (F. F. Bruce)
The purpose of His abasement was that He might provide the latter rains at the end of this age— “whence all blessings might flow; dispensing all good things to all His creatures, according to their several capacities and necessities; and, particularly, fill both converted Jews and Gentiles with all the gifts and graces of his Holy Spirit.” (Adam Clarke) The quotation in Psalm 68:18 has one serious problem. “The Psalm has ‘received gifts,’ whereas Paul cites it as ‘gave gifts.’ … certain logic does lead from a victor accepting gifts from the vanquished only to turn around and bestow gifts on his faithful followers. It finds a parallel in the day of Pentecost, after being exalted to the right hand of God, received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, and then ‘poured out’ the gift on His followers (Acts 2:33). The important thing from Paul’s perspective is that Christ endowed the church with gifts.” (George R. Knight) Meditate on this!
20 Our God is the God of salvation; and to GOD Yahweh 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.”
“Our God is the God of salvation; and to GOD Yahweh belong escapes from death.’ That is, the issue, or escape, from death,… in the resurrection …” (Thomas Le Blanc) "Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne. Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee, And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity." (Matthew Bridges) “’But God shall wound the head of His enemies’— “more properly, ‘God shall crush the head,’ etc.“ (Albert Barnes) “Cruentabit caput, a wound in the head if deep (and God strikes no small blows) is mortal. Christ will break the head of those that bruise His heel, that attempt anything against Him and His.” (Trapp) “The idea is that of complete destruction, - as, if the head is crushed, life becomes extinct.” (Albert Barnes) See Genesis 3:15; and Romans 16:20. He will “eternally destroy him with the fire prepared for him and his angels; and the same may be applied to the man of sin, and all other enemies of Christ, who is the divine Person here...” (Gill)
“Though He gives escape from death, yet He will not do so always. On the contrary, He will assuredly smite and destroy His enemies, wounding them where a wound is fatal. And the hairy scalp— “The hairy scalp,’ says Dr. Kay, ‘points almost certainly to Absalom.’ Others take it as merely indicating the young and strong.” (The Pulpit Commentary) These are wicked “warriors consecrated to their sanguinary work unshorn locks being the mark of a vow…” (Samuel R. Driver)— “‘of such a one as goeth on still in his trespasses.’ Of the man who perseveres in a course of wickedness. If he repents, God will be merciful to him; if he persists in sin, he will be punished [with death].” (Albert Barnes) Long hair was “the sign of the warrior's strength and of his devotion to his cause. See Deuteronomy 32:42 and the song of Deborah (Judges 5:2).” (John Dummelow)
‘The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea.’... Though his enemies (Psalms 68:21) fly to Bashan and bury themselves in its woods, or though they even hide themselves in the depths of the sea, he will search them out, and ‘bring them back,’ that vengeance may be taken on them.” (The Pulpit Commentary)
“The outcome is certain: this all-conquering King will tread down those who insist on fighting Him, and none will escape (v. 23).” (Mike Yates, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church)— “‘That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of [thine] enemies, [and] the tongue of thy dogs in the same,’ that is, in the blood of that great slaughter, where dogs will lap blood.” (Geneva Study Bible)
“The ascension of Christ made way for most signal displays of the Lord"s power, in spreading the gospel, and in taking vengeance on his enemies: and the more glorious prevalence of Christianity shall be attended with such slaughter of antichristian opposers, as will literally verify the words here used. (... Isa 63:1-6. Rev 19:17-21.)” (Thomas Scott)
24 They have seen Your procession, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
“‘They;— all flesh—‘have seen Your procession, O God’— the festal procession which celebrates God’s victory on behalf of His people. He comes in triumph once more, as He came of old.— ‘the procession of my God, my King,’— The title is significant. He has again placed Himself at the head of His people and victoriously manifested His sovereignty. Cp. Psalm 44:4; Psalm 74:12.— ‘into the sanctuary’—... The preposition implies His rest there after His entry.” (The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) “The splendid procession… was before the eyes of men and angels as it ascended to the holy place; and the psalmist points to it with exultation before he proceeds to describe it.” (C. H. Spurgeon)
25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the maidens playing timbrels.
“First the singers, and lastly the musicians, for the song must lead the music, and not the music drown the singing...” (C. H. Spurgeon) of doctrine. “The scene recalls the thanksgiving by the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20), when ‘Miriam took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances,’ for ‘the deliverance which is being celebrated is the counterpart of the deliverance from Egypt’ (Delitzsch).” (The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)
26 Bless God in the congregations, Yahweh, from the fountain of Israel.
Bless God in the congregations, Yahweh, from the fountain of Israel.’ It is better to render with R.V., and A.V. marg., (ye that are) of the fountain of Israel; the patriarch being regarded as the fountain-head from which the nation is derived. Cp. Isaiah 48:1, ‘Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel-- but not in truth or righteousness’... Thus the Psalmist’s outlook reaches forward to the final triumph celebrated in the Apocalyptic song, Revelation 15:3 f.” (The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) “Ezekiel saw an ever growing stream flow from under the altar, and issue out from under the threshold of the sanctuary, and wherever it flowed it gave life: let as many as have quaffed this life giving stream glorify ‘the fountain of Israel’ [that is the Messiah].” (C. H. Spurgeon)
27 There is little Benjamin, their leader, the princes of Judah and their company, the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
Little Benjamin was the youngest, smallest and seemingly weakest, but present. “Benjamin, Judah, Zebulun, Naphtali. The same tribes are prominent in the New Testament, as foremost in the battle of the church against the world. Paul, the ‘least’ of the apostles (1Co 15:8-10), was by origin Saul of Benjamin (Php 3:5). Christ, ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah,’ James and John, the brothers, the other James, Thaddaeus, and Simon, were from Judah, and the other apostles were from Nephthalim and Zabulon, or Galilee (Mt 4:13).” ( A. R. Fausset) “There are all the twelve tribes of Israel with their rulers present, to conduct the ark of God to the hill, in which it pleaseth him to dwell; for, though all the tribes are not mentioned, these which are named, include the whole, since Zebulun and Naphtali are the most remote, and Judah and Benjamin the nearest tribes to Zion. Benjamin was a dwindled family through the signal depopulation of that tribe, from which it never entirely recovered. Jud 20:43-48 1Ch 12:29.” (Edward Marsh) It does not include any person cut off.
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.
It was the Lord! “Princes shall come out of Egypt. Old foes shall be new friends. Solomon shall find a spouse in Pharaoh's house. Christ shall gather a people from the realm of sin. Great sinners shall yield themselves to the sceptre of grace, and great men shall become good men, by coming to God. Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. Cush shall hasten to present peace offerings. Sheba's queen shall come from the far south. Candace's chamberlain shall ask of Him who was led as a lamb to the slaughter. Abyssinia shall yet be converted, and Africa become the willing seeker after grace, eagerly desiring and embracing the Christ of God. Poor Ethiopia, thy hands have been long manacled and hardened by cruel toil, but millions of thy sons have in their bondage found the liberty with which Christ made men free; and so thy cross, like the cross of Simon of Cyrene, has been Christ's cross, and God has been thy salvation. Hasten, O Lord, this day, when both the civilization and the barbarism of the earth shall adore thee, Egypt and Ethiopia blending with glad accord in thy worship! Here is the confidence of thy saints, even thy promise; hasten it in thine own time, good Lord.” (C. H. Spurgeon) “A powerful invitation is given to those that are without, to join the church. Some shall submit from fear; overcome by their consciences, and the checks of Providence, they are brought to make peace with the church. Others will submit willingly, ver. 29,31. There is that beauty and benefit in the service of God, and in the gospel of Christ which went forth from Jerusalem, which is enough to invite sinners out of all nations.” (Matthew Henry)
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!
“The response to this final victory of an unstoppable King is a victory parade, marked by singing, music, and a line of admirers bringing tribute (v. 24-31). But this final judgment has not yet come; at this moment there is still time to stop fighting against God and to join His children in singing praises. There is an invitation to all nations and kingdoms to see God’s majesty and strength, and to respond by living for Him as our King forever (v. 32-35). Will we listen? And if we are His already because we have trusted Jesus the rescuer, will we trust His strength to protect us and provide for us? He invites us to bless Him and be blessed.” (Mike Yates, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church)