Psalm 68 commentary

PSALM 68 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A
song.
I TRODUCTIO
SPURGEO , "TITLE. To the Chief Musician, a Psalm or Song of David. We have
already said enough upon this title when dealing with Psalms 65:1-13; Psalms 66:1-
20. The present is obviously a song to be sung at the removal of the ark; and in all
probability was rehearsed when David conducted it with holy joy from the house of
Obededom to the prepared place on Mount Zion. It is a most soul stirring hymn.
The first verses were often the battle song of the Covenanters and Ironsides; and the
whole Psalm fitly pictures the way of the Lord Jesus among his saints, and his
ascent to glory. The Psalm is at once surpassingly excellent and difficult. Its
darkness in some stanzas is utterly impenetrable. Well does a German critic speak
of it as a Titan very hard to master. Our slender scholarship has utterly failed us
and we have had to follow a surer Guide. We trust our thoughts may not however
prove unprofitable.
DIVISIO . With the words of the first two verses the ark is uplifted, and the
procession begins to move. In Psalms 68:3-6, the godly in the assembly are exhorted
to commence their joyous songs, and arguments are adduced to help their joy. Then
the glorious march of Jehovah in the wilderness is sung: Psalms 68:7-10, and his
victories in war are celebrated in verses Psalms 68:11-14. The joyous shouts are
louder as Zion comes in sight, and the ark is borne up the hill: Psalms 68:15-19. On
the summit of the mount the priests sing a hymn concerning the Lord's goodness
and justice; the safety of his friends, and ruin of his foes: Psalms 68:20-23.
Meanwhile the procession is described as it winds up the hill: Psalms 68:24-27. The
poet anticipates a time of wider conquest, Psalms 68:28-31 : and concludes with a
noble burst of song unto Jehovah.
COKE, "Title. ‫למנצח‬ ‫לדוד‬ ‫מזמור‬ ‫שׁיר‬ lamnatseach ledavid mizmor shiir.— This Psalm
was composed by David, to be sung in the procession of the ark from Obed-edom's
house to mount Sion. The several parts of it were suited to the several divisions of
the march, and the whole of it adapted to so sacred and joyful a solemnity, as will
appear by a careful perusal and examination of it. It refers, in a secondary sense, to
our Saviour's ascension. Dr. Chandler has considered it in the most accurate
manner, and we shall principally follow his observations.

ELLICOTT, "“It is no easy task,” writes Hitzig of this psalm, “to become master of
this Titan.” The epithet is apt. The psalm is Titanic not only in its unmanageable
resistance to all the powers of criticism, but also in its lyric force and grandeur. It
scales too, Titan-like, the very divinest heights of song.
In the case where there is still room for so many contradictory theories, it is best to
confine an introduction to certainties. Psalms 68 will no doubt remain what it has
been called, “the cross of critics, the reproach of interpreters;” but it tells us some
facts of its history and character that are beyond question.
1. The mention of the Temple in Psalms 68:29, in a context which does not allow of
the interpretation sometimes possible, palace, or heavenly abode, brings down the
composition to a period certainly subsequent to Solomon.
2. The poet makes free use of older songs. Indeed M. Renan calls the psalm “an
admirable series of lyric fragments” (Langues Sémitiques, p. 123). Most prominent
among these references are those to Deborah’s magnificent ode (Judges 5) which is
with the writer throughout, inspiring some of his finest thoughts.
3. The ode, while glancing ever and anon back over Israel’s ancient history, is yet
loud and clear with the “lyric cry” of the author’s present. See Psalms 68:4-7;
Psalms 68:21, (where there is probably a veritable historic portrait), Psalms 68:22;
Psalms 68:30 seqq.
4. The interest of this present, though we lack the key to its exact condition, centred,
as far as the poet was concerned, in the Temple, which is represented as the object
of the reverence and regard of foreign powers, who bring gifts to it.
5. otwithstanding the warlike march of the poem, and the martial ring of its music,
it appears from Psalms 68:5; Psalms 68:10; Psalms 68:19-20, not to have been
inspired by any immediate battle or victory, but by that general confidence in the
protection of God which Israel’s prophets and poets ever drew from the history of
the past.
These few features, obvious on the face of the poem, lend probability to the
conjecture which sees in this psalm a processional hymn of the second Temple. That
Temple needed gifts and offerings from the Persian monarchs, and was rising into
completion at a time when Israel could boast of no military greatness, but found its
strength only in religion. The poetical form is irregular, varying with the subject
and tone.

1 May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.
BAR ES, "Let God arise - See the notes at Psa_3:7. There is an obvious reterence
here to the words used by Moses on the removal of the ark in Num_10:35. The same
language was also employed by Solomon when the ark was removed to the temple, and
deposited in the most holy place 2Ch_6:41 :” Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy
resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength.” It would seem probable, therefore, that
this psalm was composed on some such occasion.
Let his enemies be scattered - So in Num_10:35 : “Rise up, Lord, and let thine
enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.” The ark was the
symbol of the divine presence, and the idea is, that whereever that was, the enemies of
God would be subdued, or that it was only by the power of Him who was supposed to
reside there that his enemies could be overcome.
Let them also that hate him flee before him - Almost the exact language used by
Moses in Num_10:35. It is possible that this may have been used on some occasion
when the Hebrews were going out to war; but the more probable supposition is that it is
general language designed to illustrate the power of God, or to state that his rising up, at
any time, would be followed by the discomfiture of his enemies. The placing of the ark
where it was designed to remain permanently would be a proper occasion for suggesting
this general truth, that all the enemies of God must be scattered when he rose up in his
majesty and power.
CLARKE, "Let God arise - This was sung when the Levites took up the ark upon
their shoulders; see Num_10:35-36 (note), and the notes there.
GILL, "Let God arise,.... Which, as Kimchi observes, is either by way of prayer, or by
way of prophecy; and in either way the sense is the same: for, if it is considered as a
prayer, it is a prayer of faith that so it would be; or, if as a prophecy, it is certain that so it
should be. And this is to be understood of the same divine Person, whose chariots the
angels are; who is said to be the "Adonai", or "Lord" in the midst of them; and of whom
it is prophesied that he should ascend to heaven, Psa_68:17; even the Messiah, who is
God over all. And this "arising", attributed to him, may be interpreted either of his
incarnation, his exhibition and manifestation in the flesh; which is sometimes called in
Scripture a raising of him up, as in Act_3:26; or of his resurrection from the dead, as it is

interpreted by many of the ancients; which, as it was a certain thing, and previous to his
ascension hereafter spoken of, so it was a proof of his deity; for though it was only the
man that rose, who died and was buried, yet as in union with the divine Person of the
Son of God, and who rose by virtue of that union; and thereby he was declared to be the
Son of God with power. Or else rather this is to be understood of his arising and exerting
his power as a man of war, as a mighty and victorious hero, on the behalf of his people,
and against his enemies; as he did when he arose and met Satan, the prince of the world,
and engaged with all the powers of darkness; see Psa_45:3; and this sense is confirmed
by what follows:
let his enemies be scattered; let them also that hate him flee before him: the
sense of these two clauses is the same; his enemies, and those that hate him, are the
same persons; and to be scattered and flee express the same things; for enemies, being
discomfited, flee and scatter. Some interpret this of the watch set to guard our Lord's
sepulchre; who, upon his rising from the dead, were filled with great fear and dread, and
scattered, and fled to the priests, to acquaint them with what was done: others, of the
Jewish nation in general, who were enemies to Christ; and hated him, and would not
have him to reign over them; against whom he rose up and exerted his great strength;
came in his kingdom and power against them; poured out his wrath upon them to the
uttermost; which issued in the utter destruction of them, as a body politic; and in the
entire dispersion of them in all countries, which remains until quite recently. Or rather
the whole is to be applied to Satan, and to his principalities and powers; the professed
enemies of Christ, personal and mystical; who, when he arose and exerted his mighty
power in his conflict with them, in the garden and on the cross, were spoiled and
dissipated, and obliged to fly before him: and who at the same time overcame the world,
made an end of sin, abolished death, as well as destroyed him which had the power of it;
see Num_10:35.
HE RY, "I. David prays that God would appear in his glory,
1. For the confusion of his enemies (Psa_68:1, Psa_68:2): “Let God arise, as a judge to
pass sentence upon them, as a general to take the field and do execution upon them; and
let them be scattered, and flee before him, as unable to keep their ground, much less to
make head against him. Let God arise, as the sun when he goes forth in his strength; and
the children of darkness shall be scattered, as the shadows of the evening flee before the
rising sun. Let them be driven away as smoke by the wind, which ascends as if it would
eclipse the sun, but is presently dispelled, and there appears to remainder of it. Let them
melt as wax before the fire, which is quickly dissolved.” Thus does David comment upon
Moses's prayer, and not only repeat it with application to himself and his own times, but
enlarge upon it, to direct us how to make use of scripture-prayers. Nay, it looks further,
to the Redeemer's victory over the enemies of this kingdom, for he was the angel of the
covenant, that guided Israel through the wilderness. Note, (1.) There are, and have been,
and ever will be, such as are enemies to God and hate him, that join in with the old
serpent against the kingdom of God among men and against the seed of the woman. (2.)
They are the wicked, and none but the wicked, that are enemies to God, the children of
the wicked one. (3.) Though we are to pray for our enemies as such, yet we are to pray
against God's enemies as such, against their enmity to him and all their attempts upon
his kingdom. (4.) If God but arise, all his impenitent and implacable enemies, that will
not repent to give him glory, will certainly and speedily be scattered, and driven away,
and made to perish at his presence; for none ever hardened his heart against God and

prospered. The day of judgment will be the day of the complete and final perdition of
ungodly men (2Pe_3:7), who shall melt like wax before that flaming fire in which the
Lord shall then appear, 2Th_1:8.
JAMISO 1-3, "Psa_68:1-35. This is a Psalm-song (see on Psa_30:1, title), perhaps
suggested by David’s victories, which secured his throne and gave rest to the nation. In
general terms, the judgment of God on the wicked, and the equity and goodness of His
government to the pious, are celebrated. The sentiment is illustrated by examples of
God’s dealings, cited from the Jewish history and related in highly poetical terms. Hence
the writer intimates an expectation of equal and even greater triumphs and summons all
nations to unite in praises of the God of Israel. The Psalm is evidently typical of the
relation which God, in the person of His Son, sustains to the Church (compare Psa_
68:18).
Compare Num_10:35; Psa_1:4; Psa_22:14, on the figures here used.
before him — as in Psa_68:2, from His presence, as dreaded; but in Psa_68:3, in
His presence, as under His protection (Psa_61:7).
CALVI , "1.God shall arise: his enemies shall be scattered In this verse the
Psalmist intimates, as it were by way of preface, the subject which he proposed to
treat in the psalm, and which related to the truth that God, however long he may
seem to connive at the audacity and cruelty of the enemies of his Church, will
eventually arise to avenge it, and will prove himself able to protect it by the mere
forth-putting of his hand. I agree with other interpreters in thinking that the
sentiment is borrowed from Moses, ( umbers 10:35) (9) There can be little doubt
that in dictating the form of prayer there referred to, he had an eye to the
instruction and comfort of all succeeding ages, and would teach the Lord’s people
confidently to rely for safety upon the ark of the covenant, which was the visible
symbol of the Divine presence. We may notice this difference, however, that Moses
addressed the words to God as a prayer, while David rather expresses his
satisfaction and delight in what he saw daily fulfilling before his own eyes. Some
indeed read, Let God arise; but they appear to misapprehend the scope of the
Psalmist. He means to say that observation attested the truth which Moses had
declared of God’s needing only to rise up that all his enemies might be scattered
before his irresistible power. Yet I see no objections to the other reading, provided
the idea now mentioned be retained, and the words be considered as intimating that
God needs no array of preparation in overthrowing his enemies, and can dissipate
them with a breath. We are left to infer, that when his enemies at any time obtain an
ascendancy, it is owing to an exercise of Divine forbearance, and that rage as they
may, it is only with his permission; the time being not yet come for his rising. There
is much comfort to be derived from the circumstance, that those who persecute the
Church are here spoken of as God’s enemies. When he undertakes our defense, he
looks upon the injuries done to us as dishonors cast upon his Divine Majesty. The
Psalmist adds a striking figure to illustrate how easily God can overthrow the
machinations of our enemies, comparing them to smoke which vanishes when blown
upon by the wind, or wax which melts before the fire (10) We consider it utterly

incredible that such a formidable array of opposition should be made to disappear
in a moment. But the Spirit takes this method of chiding the fearfulness of our
carnal minds, and teaching us that there is no such strength in our enemies as we
suppose, — that we allow the smoke of them to blind our eyes, and the solid mass of
resistance which they present to deceive us into a forgetfulness of the truth, that the
mountains themselves flow down at the presence of the Lord. (11)
SPURGEO , "Ver. 1. Let God arise. In some such words Moses spake when the
cloud moved onward, and the ark was carried forward. The ark would have been a
poor leader if the Lord had not been present with the symbol. Before we move, we
should always desire to see the Lord lead the way. The words suppose the Lord to
have been passive for awhile, suffering his enemies to rage, but restraining his
power. Israel beseeches him to "arise, "as elsewhere to "awake, ""gird on his
sword, "and other similar expressions. We, also, may thus importunately cry unto
the Lord, that he would be pleased to make bare his arm, and plead his own cause.
Let his enemies be scattered. Our glorious Captain of the vanguard clears the way
readily, however many may seek to obstruct it; he has but to arise, and they flee, he
has easily over thrown his foes in days of yore, and will do so all through the ages to
come. Sin, death, and hell know the terror of his arm; their ranks are broken at his
approach. Our enemies are his enemies, and in this is our confidence of victory.
Let them also that hate him flee before him. To hate the infinitely good God is
infamous, and the worst punishment is not too severe. Hatred of God is impotent.
His proudest foes can do him no injury. Alarmed beyond measure, they shall flee
before it comes to blows. Long before the army of Israel can come into the fray, the
haters of God shall flee before HIM who is the champion of his chosen. He comes, he
sees, he conquers. How fitting a prayer is this for the commencement of a revival!
How it suggests the true mode of conducting one: --the Lord leads the way, his
people follow, the enemies flee.
EW TRA SLATIO
In order that our readers may see the Psalm at a glance in a good translation, we
subjoin the version of FRA Z DELITZSCH; recommending our ministerial
brethren to procure the volumes of his valuable Commentary on the Psalms, issued
by the Messrs. CLARK, of Edinburgh.
Psalms 68:1-35
HYM OF WAR A D VICTORY I THE STYLE OF DEBORAH
2 LET Elohim arise, let His enemies be scattered,
And let those who hate Him flee before His face.
3 As smoke is driven away, do Thou drive them away;
As wax melteth before the fire,
Let the wicked perish before Elohim.
4 And let the righteous rejoice, let them exult before
Elohim,
And let them be glad with joy.
5 Sing unto Elohim, harp His name,
Pave a highway for Him who rideth along through the
steppes;

Jah is his name, and exult ye before Him.
6 A Father of the fatherless and an Advocate of the
widows
Is Elohim in His holy habitation.
7 Elohim maketh a household for the solitary,
He leadeth forth prisoners into prosperity;
Yet the rebellious abide in a land of drought.
8 Elohim, when Thou wentest forth before Thy people,
When thou didst march along in the wilderness--
Sela.
9 The earth shook,
The heavens also dropped before Elohim,
Yon Sinai before Elohim, the God of Israel.
10 With plentiful rain didst Thou, Elohim, water Thine
inheritance,
And when it was parched, THOU hast confirmed it.
11 Thy creatures have settled down therein,
Thou didst provide with Thy goodness for the poor,
Elohim.
12 The Lord will sound forth the mandate;
Of the women who herald victory there is a great army.
13 The kings of hosts shall flee, shall flee,
And she that tarrieth at home, shall divide the spoil.
14 If ye encamp among the sheep folds,
The dove's wings are covered with silver
And her feathers with glistening gold.
15 When the Almighty scattereth kings therein,
It becometh snow white upon Zalmon.
16 A mountain of Elohim is the mountain of Bashan,
A mountain full of peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
17 Why look ye enviously, ye many peaked mountains,
Upon the mountain which Elohim hath chosen, to dwell
thereon?
Yea, Jahve will dwell (there) for ever.
18 The war chariots of Elohim are myriads, a thousand
thousands,
The Lord is among them, it is a Sinai in holiness.
19 Thou hast ascended up to the height, Thou hast led
captives captive,
Thou hast received gifts among men,
Even from the rebellious, that Jah Elohim might dwell
(there).
20 Blessed be the Lord:
Day by day doth He bear our burden,
He, God, is our salvation.
(Sela.)
21 He, God, is to us a God for deeds of deliverance,

And Jahve the Lord hath ways of escape for death.
22 Yea, Elohim will smite the head of His enemies,
The hairy scalp of him who stalks along in his
trespasses.
23 The Lord hath said: Out of Bashan will I bring back,
I will bring back out of the depths of the sea,
24 That thou mayest bathe thy foot in blood,
That the tongue of thy dogs may have its share of the
enemy.
25 They behold Thy splendid procession, Elohim,
The splendid procession of my God, my King in holiness.
26 Before went the singers, behind the players on stringed
instruments,
In the midst of damsels striking timbrels.
27 In the choirs of the congregation bless ye Elohim,
The Lord, ye who are out of the fountain of Israel.
28 There is Benjamin the youngest, their ruler;
The princes of Judah--their motley band,
The princes of Zebulun, the princes of aphtali,
29 Thy God hath commanded thy supreme power--
Uphold in power, Elohim, what Thou hast wrought for us!
--
30 From Thy temple above Jerusalem
Let kings present offerings unto Thee.
31 Threaten the wild beast of the reed, the troops of bulls
with the calves of the people,
That they may prostrate themselves with ingots of silver! --
He hath scattered the peoples that delight in wars.
32 Magnates come out of Egypt,
Cush--quickly do his hands stretch out unto Elohim.
33 Ye kingdoms of the earth, sing unto Elohim,
Praising the Lord with stringed instruments--
(Sela.)
34 To Him who rideth in the heaven of heavens of the
primeval time--
Lo, He made Himself heard with His voice, a mighty voice.
35 Ascribe ye might unto Elohim!
Over Israel is His majesty.
And His omnipotence in the heights of the heavens.
36 Terrible is Elohim out of thy sanctuaries;
"The God of Israel giveth might and abundant strength
to the people!"
Blessed be Elohim!
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS
Whole Psalm. In this Psalm we have especial reason to condemn or to admire the
timidity, or the caution and delicacy, of our translators, whichever it may be
considered, for the manner in which they have rendered the names of the Almighty.

They almost universally translate them "God" or "Lord; "whereas, it has been
observed that, almost all the remarkable titles of the Deity are employed in
describing and praising the person addressed here. He is called "Elohim" in Psalms
68:2; "Adonai, "Psalms 68:12; "Shaddai, "Psalms 68:15; "Jehovah, "Psalms 68:17;
"Jah, "Psalms 68:19; and "Al, "Psalms 68:20. The Hebrew names of God have, each
of them, a distinct and peculiar meaning. o one word will suffice for them all. The
vague use of the terms "God" and "Lord" in our translation can never convey to
the reader's mind the important ideas which the original expression, if properly
translated, would bear, and we have lost a strong additional confirmation of the
deity of Messiah, by abandoning the testimony which the ascription to him of God's
peculiar titles would give to this great truth. R. H. Ryland.
Whole Psalm. As 65 opened with a reference to the form of blessing ( umbers 6:24-
26), so this with a reference to the prayer used when the cloud pillar summoned the
camp to commence a march. There the presence (panim) of God shed saving light on
his people; here his enemies flee from it (mippanayv), Psalms 68:1... In the Jewish
ritual the Psalm is used at Pentecost, the Anniversary of the Giving of the Law, and
the Feast of Finished Harvest... The remarkable character of the Psalm is indicated
by the fact that there are no fewer than thirteen words in it which are not found
elsewhere. The Pentecostal Gift of Tongues seems needed for its full exposition.
William Kay.
Whole Psalm. By many critics esteemed the loftiest effusion of David's lyrical muse.
William Binnie.
Whole Psalm. To judge from the antiquity of its language, the concise description,
the thoroughly fresh, forcible, and occasional artlessly ironical expression of its
poetry, we consider this poem as one of the most ancient monuments of Hebrew
poetry. Boettcher.
Whole Psalm. It must be confessed that in this Psalm there are as many precipices,
and as many labyrinths, as there are verses, or even words. It has not
inappropriately been designated the cross of critics, the reproach of interpreters.
Simon de Muis.
Whole Psalm. The beginning of this Psalm clearly intimates that the inspired
psalmist had light given him to see the march of Israel through the wilderness, the
ark of the covenant moving before the people to find a resting place. The psalmist is
filled with praise, when he is enabled to see that God revealed his Fatherly love in
the whole of that movement--that his eye was upon the fatherless, the widow, the
solitary, and afflicted; but David is also carried by the Spirit to the Mount of Olives,
where he sees the ascending Lord; he sees the triumphal chariots, with an
innumerable company of angels, and then beholds the Lord welcomed in glory as
the mighty Conqueror; and not only so, but as having received or purchased gifts
for men, even the rebellious (Psalms 68:18), "that the Lord God might dwell among
them, "or within them. "Wherefore, "the command of our Father is, "come out
from among them, and be ye separate, "etc. (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). The doxology
of God's people is, "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with his benefits."
Our blessed Master attends day by day to all our wants, and causes his love to flow
to us, because he is God our Salvation--Selah. What comfort ought this to afford
under every condition! for the Lord Jesus goes before us through the desert. He is
touched with the feeling of our infirmities. The widow, the fatherless, the desolate,

are all the objects of his care and love. He has gone before us to prepare our
heavenly rest; the work is finished. He now comes, day by day, to load us with
blessings, and at the last will carry us safely through death into life and glory. To
the Lord our Saviour belong the issues from death; then, "Death, where is thy
sting?" etc. Ridley H. Herschell, in "Strength in Weakness. Meditations on some of
the Psalms in time of Trial, "1860.
Ver. 1. Let God arise, etc. The moving ark (See umbers 10:35-36) is a type of Jesus
going forth to cast down rebel foes. It is high joy to trace the Antitype's victorious
march. How mightily the Lord advanced! The strength of God was in his arm. His
sword was Deity. His darts were barbed with all Jehovah's might. "He had on his
vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords."
Revelation 19:16. His foes, indeed, strove mightily. It was no easy work to rescue
souls from Satan's grasp, or to lay low the prison house of darkness. The enemy
rushed on, clad in his fiercest armour, wild in his keenest rage, wily in his deadliest
crafts. He plied his every temptation, as a terrific battery. But the true Ark never
quailed. The adversary licked the dust. Malignant passions maddened in opposing
breasts. The kings stood up; rulers took counsel; all plots were laid; the ignominious
death was planned and executed. But still the Ark moved on. The cross gave aid, not
injury. The grave could not detain. Death could not vanquish. The gates of hell fly
open. The mighty conqueror appears. And, as in Canaan, the ark ascended Zion's
hill amid triumphant shouts, so Jesus mounts on high. The heaven of heavens
receives him. The Father welcomes the all conquering Saviour. Angelic hosts adore
the glorious God man. The Rising Prayer has full accomplishments, "Rise up, Lord,
and let thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee before thee." And
now, from glory's throne, he cheers his humble followers in their desert march.
Their toils, their conflicts, and their fears are many. They ofttimes seem as a poor
worm beneath the crushing feet. But they survive, they prosper, they lift up their
head. As of old the ark was victory, so Jesus is victory now. Yes, every child of faith
shall surely set a conquering foot upon the host of foes. Hear this, ye mad opposers,
and desist. Where are the nations who resisted Israel? Where are the Pharaohs, the
beleaguered kings, the Herods, the chief priests, the Pilates? Share not their malice,
lest you share their end. Read in this word your near destruction, "Rise up, Lord,
and let thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee before thee."
And, as the Rising Prayer has never failed, so, too, the Resting Prayer now teems
with life. "Return, O Lord." Jesus is ready to fly back. Israel's many thousands
wait, but wait not in vain. "Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and
will not tarry, "Hebrews 10:37. O joyful day, triumphant sight! What ecstasy, what
shouts, what glory! Salvation's Lord returns. Welcome, welcome to him! Henry
Law, in "`Christ is All.' The Gospel of the Old Testament, " 1858.
Ver. 1. Arise. The mercifulness of God is seen in his patience toward the wicked,
implied in the word arise, for he seemeth, as it were, to sleep (Psalms 44:23), and not
to mark what is done amiss. The Lord is patient, and would have none to perish, but
would have all men to come to repentance. He was longer in destroying one city
(Jericho, Joshua 6:4), than in building the whole world; slow to wrath, and ready to
forgive, desiring not the death of a sinner, but rather he should amend. He doth not
arise to particular punishments, much less to the general judgement, but after long
suffering and great goodness. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I, "said

our Lord, "have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings, and ye would not." Matthew 23:37. John Boys.
Ver. 1. Let his enemies be scattered. You may, if you please, take the words either as
a prayer, or as a prophecy: as a prayer that they may; or as a prophecy, that they
shall be scattered. Or, you may read it, Surgente Domino, As soon as the Lord shall
arise, his enemies shall be scattered, and so make it a theological axiom: and so it is
a proposition aeternae veritatis, everlastingly true, true in the first age of the world,
and true in the last age of the world, and will be true to the world's end. We may
make it our prayer, that they may be destroyed; and we may prophesy, that they
shall be destroyed. Summa votorum est, non ex incerto poscentis, sed ex cognitione
scientiaque sperantis, saith Hilary. It is a prayer not proceeding from a doubting
and wavering heart, as if God did at sometimes deliver his church, and at others fail
and leave her to the will of her enemies; but grounded upon certain knowledge and
infallible assurance that he will "arise, and not keep silence, " and avenge himself of
his enemy. For there is a kind of presage and prophecy in prayer: if we pray as we
should, he hath promised to grant our request; which is a fairer assurance than any
prophet can give us. Let God arise, and God will arise, is but the difference of a
tense, and the Hebrews commonly use the one for the other...
In this prayer or prophecy, or conclusion, you may, as in a glass, behold the
providence of God over his people, and the destiny and fatal destruction of wicked
men. Or, you may conceive God sitting in heaven, and looking down upon the
children of men, and laughing to scorn all the designs of his enemies; his exsurgat,
his rising, as a tempest to scatter them, and as a fire to melt them. And these two,
exsurgat and dissipabuntur, the rising of God and the destruction of his enemies,
divide the text, and present before our eyes two parties or sides, as it were, in main
opposition. ow, though the exsurgat be before the dissipabuntur, God's rising
before the scattering, yet there must be some persons to rouse God up and awake
him before he will arise to destroy. We will, therefore, as the very order of nature
required, consider first the persons which are noted out unto us by three several
appellations, as by so many marks and brands in their forehead. They are,
1. Enemies;
2. Haters of God;
3. Wicked men.
But God, rising in this manner, is more especially against the fact than the person,
and against the person only for the fact. We must, therefore, search and inquire
after that; and we find it wrapped up and secretly lurking in the dissipabuntur, in
their punishment; for scattering supposes a gathering together, as corruption doth
generation. That, then, which moved God to rise is this: his enemies, they that hated
him, the wicked, were gathered together, and consulted against God and his church,
as we see it this day; and, seeing it, are here met together to fall down before God in
all humility, that he may arise and scatter them. This is nunc opportunitatis, the
very time and appointed time for God to arise. In which phrase is implied a kind of
pause and deliberation, as if God were not always up, and ready to execute
judgment. And, hereby, he manifests--
1. His patience to the wicked: he is not always up, as it were, to destroy his enemies;
2. His justice, which cometh at length, though it come not so soon as men in misery
expect;

3. His mercy to his children: though for a while he seem to sleep, and not to hearken
to the voice of their complaints, yet, at last, he rises up and helps them.
Lastly, we shall take notice of the effects, or end, of this rising; and that is the
destruction of his enemies, here drawn out to our view, in four several expressions,
as in so many colours: --
1. Dissipabuntur, they shall be scattered;
2. Fugient, they shall fly;
3. Deficient, they shall vanish like smoke;
4. Liquefient, they shall be melted as wax; which all meet and are concentrated in
peribunt, they shall perish at the presence of God. Anthony Farindon.
ote continued on See Psalms on "Job 42:10".
COFFMA , "GOD'S TRIUMPHAL PROCESSIO
SUPERSCRIPTIO : FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIA ;
A PSALM OF DAVID; A SO G.
Many scholars have commented on the difficulty of this psalm; many of the passages
have apparently been damaged in transition; and practically all versions rely
somewhat heavily on emendations in order to provide a readable translation in
English. A number of passages may be understood in several different ways.
Despite these difficulties, however, the psalm is often extolled in superlative terms:
"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."[1]
"This is one of the grandest of the Psalms."[2]
"This rushing cataract of a psalm is one of the most boisterous and exhilarating in
the Psalter."[3]
"This psalm is one of triumphant praise and jubilation, the crown and gem of the
Second Book."[4]
"The Psalm is worthy of David, `the sweet singer of Israel.' The language, the
impressive descriptions, the fresh powerful tone of the poetry, the lyric emotion that
pervades the ode, are all worthy of David, and of him alone among known Hebrew
composers of hymns."[5]
Some question the Davidic authorship; but in the absence of any authoritative word
to the contrary, we are content with the assignment in the superscription.

Regarding the occasion, although this is considered uncertain by some, the comment
of Kidner makes sense to us.
David's procession with the ark, "from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David
with rejoicing" (2 Samuel 6:12), may have been the occasion for which this psalm
was composed. It opens with an echo of the words with which the ark set out on all
its journeys ( umbers 10:35), and finds its climax in God's ascent of the "high
mount" which he has chosen for his dwelling.[6]
In addition to the facts Kidner cited, we shall observe other portions of the psalm
which also fit into the idea of a procession to Jerusalem. However, far more is
intended by this "procession" than the bringing of the ark into the city of David. In
this psalm it seems to have epitomized in some significant manner the procession of
God through history; and, for this reason, we have entitled the psalm "God's
Triumphal Procession," as did Baigent.[7]
Several different proposals for divisions of this psalm have been made, but we like
the one by Anthony Ash, which paragraphs only a few verses at a time, giving us
eleven divisions in all.[8]
Psalms 68:1-3
PRAYER FOR GOD TO SCATTER HIS E EMIES WHICH WILL CAUSE THE
RIGHTEOUS TO REJOICE
"Let God arise; let his enemies be scattered;
Let them also that hate him flee before him.
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.
But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God:
Yea, let them rejoice with gladness."
"As smoke ... as wax ..." (Psalms 68:2). 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.
There is also in these verses the inherent principle that the ultimate happiness of the
righteous depends upon God's triumph over his enemies

COKE, "Psalms 68:1. Let God arise, &c.— When the Levites first took up the ark
on their shoulders, the singers began, Let God arise, &c. These are the words which
Moses made use of whenever the ark was taken up for the several marches of the
Hebrews through the wilderness, umbers 10:35. As God was in a peculiar manner
present in it, and as his presence was their great security from the dangers of the
wilderness and the power of their enemies, when the ark was lifted up Moses prays,
that God would arise up along with it, that his enemies may be scattered, and those
who hate him flee before him. God's enemies were those of his people; and those
who hated him the nations who hated them, who envied and opposed that prosperity
which God was determined to procure them. David with great propriety applies
these words to the translation of the ark, to Jerusalem, since God was still equally
present with it, and his aid necessary to the protection of that city, and to the success
which David hoped for over the enemies of his religion and people. See 1 Samuel
6:14. 1 Chronicles 15:27.
ELLICOTT, "(1) Let God arise.—A reminiscence of the battlecry raised as the ark
was advanced at the head of the tribes ( umbers 10:35). For interesting historical
associations with this verse, see Gibbon (chap. 58), and Carlyle, Cromwell’s Letters
and Speeches (Vol. II, 185).
BE SO , "Verses 1-3
Psalms 68:1-3. Let God arise, &c. — As God was in a peculiar manner present in
the ark, and as his presence was the great security of the Israelitish nation from the
dangers of the wilderness, and the power of their enemies, Moses addressed his
prayer to him in these words whenever the ark was taken up for their several
marches: see umbers 10:35. And in these same words the singers began, when, at
the command of David, the Levites first took up the ark on their shoulders to carry
it from the house of Obed-edom to Zion. There is, indeed, this little difference
between the passage in umbers and this of the Psalm, that the first word of the
former in the Hebrew is in the imperative mood, ‫,קומה‬ kumah, Let God arise,
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; his
enemies shall be scattered — those that hate him shall flee, &c. — God’s enemies, it
must be observed, are also the enemies of his people, and they are therefore said to
hate him, because they hate them, and because they hate his laws and government,
and his holy image and nature; the carnal mind which is in them, being enmity
against him, and not subject to his law, neither, indeed, can it be subject thereto. As
smoke is driven away — Which, though it rises from the earth in black and
tremendous clouds, is soon scattered and dispersed by the wind; so drive them away
— Or, so they shall be driven away, shall be dispersed by a force which,
notwithstanding their threatening aspect, they are utterly unable to resist. And as
wax melteth before the fire — Which, though to appearance it be of a firm and solid
consistence, yet, when brought to the fire, is soon dissolved, and makes no
resistance; so let the wicked perish, &c. — And so they shall perish when the Lord is
revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire. But let the righteous
be glad, &c. — For God’s gracious appearance in their behalf, and for his settled

presence with them.
WHEDO , "1. Let God arise—The form of words pronounced by Moses upon the
breaking up of the camp of Israel. umbers 10:35. The previous psalm began with
the form of blessing which Aaron and his sons were to use. See on Psalms 67:1. Thus
the judgment upon Jehovah’s enemies and his benediction upon his people stand in
contrast. The future of the verb denotes the scattering of God’s enemies to be an
event yet to come, but we are not to suppose a state of war now existing, or a battle
impending, but to construe the prayer, or prediction, as general. The Church is
always surrounded by enemies, and her march should be always victorious. It was
for chanting this psalm by the noble Christian matron, Publia, with her virgins, in
the city of Antioch in Syria, in the summer of A.D. 362, during the apostate
Emperor Julian’s stay there and while he was passing her door, that the enraged
monarch ordered her to be buffeted on either side of her face. Julian was engaged in
restoring the heathen rites, but unsuccessfully, in that early seat of Christianity.
Acts 11:22-26.(Theod., book iii, chap. xix, quoted by Milner.)
EBC, "THIS superb hymn is unsurpassed, if not unequalled, in grandeur, lyric fire,
and sustained rush of triumphant praise. It celebrates a victory; but it is the victory
of the God who enters as a conqueror into His sanctuary. To that entrance (Psalms
68:15-18) all the preceding part of the psalm leads up; and from it all the
subsequent part flows down. The Exodus is recalled as the progress of a king at the
head of his hosts, and old paeans re-echo. That dwelling of God in the sanctuary is
"forever." Therefore in the second part of the psalm (Psalms 68:19-35) its
consequences for the psalmist’s generation and for the future are developed-Israel’s
deliverance, the conquest of the nations, and finally the universal recognition of
God’s sovereignty and ringing songs sent up to Him.
The Davidic authorship is set aside as impossible by most recent commentators, and
there is much in the psalm which goes against it; but, on the other hand, the Syro-
Ammonite war, [2 Samuel 11:1-27] in which the ark was taken into the field, is not
unnaturally supposed by Delitzsch and others to explain the special reference to the
entrance of God into the sanctuary. The numerous quotations and allusions are
urged as evidence of late date, especially the undeniable resemblance with Isaiah
11:1-16. But the difficulty of settling which of two similar passages is original and
which copy is great; and if by one critical canon such allusions are marks of
lateness, by another, rugged obscurities, such as those with which this psalm
bristles, are evidences of an early date.
The mention of only four tribes in Psalms 68:27 is claimed as showing that the
psalm was written when Judaea and Galilee were the only orthodox districts, and
central Palestine was in the hands of the Samaritans. But could there be any talk of
"princes of Zebulun and aphtali" then? The exultant tone of the psalm makes its
ascription to such a date as the age of the Ptolemies unlikely, when "Israel is too
feeble, too depressed, to dream of self-defence; and if God does not soon interpose,
will be torn to pieces" (Cheyne, "Aids to the Devout Study," etc., 335).

To the present writer it does not appear that the understanding and enjoyment of
this grand psalm depend so much on success in dating it as is supposed. It may be
post-exilic. Whoever fused its reminiscences of ancient triumph into such a glowing
outburst of exultant faith, his vision of the throned God and his conviction that
ancient facts reveal eternal truths remain for all generations as an encouragement of
trust and a prophecy of God’s universal dominion.
The main division at Psalms 68:18 parts the psalm into two equal halves, which are
again easily subdivided into strophes.
The first strophe (Psalms 68:1-6) may be regarded as introductory to the chief
theme of the first half-namely, the triumphant march of the conquering God to His
sanctuary. It consists of invocation to Him to arise, and of summons to His people to
prepare His way and to meet Him with ringing gladness. The ground of both
invocation and summons is laid in an expansion of the meaning of His name as
Helper of the helpless, Deliverer of the captive, righteous, and plentifully rewarding
the proud doer. The invocation echoes the Mosaic prayer "when the ark set
forward," [ umbers 10:35] with the alteration of the tense of the verb from a simple
imperative into a precative future, and of "Jehovah" into God. This is the first of
the quotations characteristic of the psalm, which is penetrated throughout with the
idea that the deeds of the past are revelations of permanent relations and activities.
The ancient history grows with present life. Whatever God has done He is doing
still. o age of the Church needs to look back wistfully to any former, and say,
"Where be all His wondrous works which our fathers have told us of?" The twofold
conditions of God’s intervention are, as this strophe teaches, Israel’s cry to Him to
arise, and expectant diligence in preparing His way. The invocation, which is half of
Israel’s means of insuring His coming, being a quotation, the summons to perform
the other half is naturally regarded by the defenders of the post-exilic authorship as
borrowed from Isaiah 11:1-16., {e.g., Psalms 40:3;, Psalms 62:10} while the
supporters of an earlier date regard the psalm as the primary passage from which
the prophet has drawn.
God "arises" when He displays by some signal act His care for His people. That
strong anthropomorphism sets forth the plain truth that there come crises in
history, when causes, long silently working, suddenly produce their world-shaking
effects. God has seemed to sit passive; but the heavens open, and all but blind eyes
can see Him, standing ready to smite that He may deliver. When He rises to His feet,
the enemy scatters in panic. His presence revealed is enough. The emphatic
repetition of "before" in these verses is striking, especially when fully rendered, -
from His face (Psalms 68:1); from the face of the fire (Psalms 68:2); from the face of
God (Psalms 68:2); before His face (Psalms 68:3-4). To His foes that face is dreadful,
and they would fain cower away from its light; His friends sun themselves in its
brightness. The same fire consumes and vivifies. All depends on the character of the
recipients. In the psalm "the righteous" are Israel, the ideal nation; the "wicked"
are its heathen foes; but the principle underlying the fervid words demands a real
assimilation of moral character to the Divine, as a condition of being at ease in the
Light.

The "deserts" are, in consonance with the immediately following reminiscences,
those of the Exodus. Hupfeld and those who discover in the psalm the hopes of the
captives in Babylon, take them to be the waste wilderness stretching between
Babylon and Palestine. But it is better to see in them simply a type drawn from the
past, of guidance through any needs or miseries. Psalms 68:5-6, draw out at length
the blessed significance of the name Jah, in order to hearten to earnest desire and
expectance of Him. They are best taken as in apposition with "Him" in Psalms 68:4.
Well may we exult before Him who is the orphans’ father, the widows’ advocate.
There may be significance in the contrast between what He is "in His holy
habitation" and when He arises to ride through the deserts. Even in the times when
he seems to be far above, dwelling in the separation of His unapproachable holiness,
He is still caring and acting for the sad and helpless, But when He comes forth, it is
to make the solitary to dwell in a home, to bring out prisoners into prosperity. Are
these simply expressions for God’s general care of the afflicted, like the former
clauses, or do they point back to the Exodus? A very slight change in the text gives
the reading, "Makes the solitary to return home"; but even without that alteration,
the last clause of the verse is so obviously an allusion to the disobedient, "whose
carcasses fell in the wilderness," that the whole verse is best regarded as pointing
back to that time. The "home" to which the people were led is the same as the
"prosperity" into which the prisoners are brought-namely, the rest and well-being
of Canaan; while the fate of the "rebellious" is, as it ever is, to live and die amidst
the drought-stricken barrenness which they have chosen.
K&D 1-6, "The Psalm begins with the expression of a wish that the victory of God
over all His foes and the triumphant exultation of the righteous were near at hand.
Ewald and Hitzig take ‫אלהים‬ ‫יקום‬ hypothetically: If God arise, He enemies will be
scattered. This rendering is possible in itself so far as the syntax is concerned, but here
everything conspires against it; for the futures in Psa_68:2-4 form an unbroken chain;
then a glance at the course of the Psalm from Psa_68:20 onwards shows that the
circumstances of Israel, under which the poet writes, urged forth the wish: let God arise
and humble His foes; and finally the primary passage, Num_10:35, makes it clear that
the futures are the language of prayer transformed into the form of the wish. In Psa_
68:3 the wish is addressed directly to God Himself, and therefore becomes petition. ‫ּן‬ ְ‫נ‬ ִ‫ה‬
is inflected (as vice versâ ‫ּף‬‫ד‬ ֲ‫ֽר‬ִ‫,י‬ Psa_7:6, from ‫ּף‬ ְ‫ר‬ִ‫)י‬ from ‫ּף‬‫ד‬ָ ִ‫ה‬ (like ‫ּן‬‫ת‬ָ ִ‫,ה‬ Jer_32:4); it is a
violation of all rule in favour of the conformity of sound (cf. ‫ּות‬‫צ‬ ְ‫ק‬ ִ‫ה‬ for ‫ּות‬‫צ‬ ְ‫ק‬ ַ‫,ה‬ Lev_14:43,
and supra on Psa_51:6) with ‫ּף‬ ְ‫נ‬ ִ , the object of which is easily supplied (dispellas, sc.
hostes tuos), and is purposely omitted in order to direct attention more stedfastly to the
omnipotence which to every creature is so irresistible. Like smoke, wax (‫ג‬ָ‫ּונ‬ , root ‫,דג‬ τηκ,
Sanscrit tak, to shoot past, to run, Zend taᐟ, whence vitaᐟina, dissolving, Neo-Persic
gudâchten; causative: to cause to run in different directions = to melt or smelt) is an
emblem of human feebleness. As Bakiuds observes, Si creatura creaturam non fert,
quomodo creatura creatoris indignantis faciem ferre possit? The wish expressed in
Psa_68:4 forms the obverse of the preceding. The expressions for joy are heaped up in

order to describe the transcendency of the joy that will follow the release from the yoke
of the enemy. ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ‫פ‬ ִ‫ל‬ is expressively used in alternation with ‫מפני‬ in Psa_68:2, Psa_68:3 : by
the wrathful action, so to speak, that proceeds from His countenance just as the heat
radiating from the fire melts the wax the foes are dispersed, whereas the righteous
rejoice before His gracious countenance.
As the result of the challenge that has been now expressed in Psa_68:2-4, Elohim,
going before His people, begins His march; and in Psa_68:5 an appeal is made to praise
Him with song, His name with the music of stringed instrument, and to make a way
along which He may ride ‫ּות‬‫ב‬ ָ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ֽע‬ ָ . In view of Psa_68:34 we cannot take ‫,צרבות‬ as do the
Targum and Talmud (B. Chagiga 12b), as a name of one of the seven heavens, a meaning
to which, apart from other considerations, the verb ‫ב‬ ַ‫ר‬ ָ‫,ע‬ to be effaced, confused, dark, is
not an appropriate stem-word; but it must be explained according to Isa_40:3. There
Jahve calls in the aid of His people, here He goes forth at the head of His people; He
rides through the steppes in order to right against the enemies of His people. Not merely
the historical reference assigned to the Psalm by Hitzig, but also the one adopted by
ourselves, admits of allusion being made to the “steppes of Moab;” for the way to
Mêdebâ, where the Syrian mercenaries of the Ammonites had encamped (1Ch_19:7), lay
through these steppes, and also the way to Rabbath Ammon (2Sa_10:7.). ‫וּ‬ ּ‫ס‬ calls upon
them to make a way for Him, the glorious, invincible King (cf. Isa_57:14; Isa_62:10); ‫ל‬ ַ‫ל‬ ָ‫ס‬
signifies to cast up, heap up or pave, viz., a raised and suitable street or highway,
Symmachus katastroo'sate. He who thus rides along makes the salvation of His people
His aim: “ä is His name, therefore shout with joy before Him.” The Beth in ָ‫י‬ ְ
(Symmachus, Quinta: ᅺα) is the Beth essentiae, which here, as in Isa_26:4, stands beside
the subject: His name is (exists) in ‫,יה‬ i.e., His essential name is yh, His self-attestation,
by which He makes Himself capable of being known and named, consists in His being
the God of salvation, who, in the might of free grace, pervades all history. This Name is a
fountain of exultant rejoicing to His people.
This Name is exemplificatively unfolded in Psa_68:6. The highly exalted One, who sits
enthroned in the heaven of glory, rules in all history here below and takes an interest in
the lowliest more especially, in all circumstances of their lives following after His own to
succour them. He takes the place of a father to the orphan. He takes up the cause of the
widow and contests it to a successful issue. Elohim is one who makes the solitary or
isolated to dwell in the house; ‫ה‬ ָ‫ת‬ְ‫י‬ ַ with He locale, which just as well answers the
question where? as whither? ‫ת‬ִ‫י‬ ַ , a house = family bond, is the opposite of ‫יד‬ ִ‫ה‬ָ‫,י‬
solitarius, recluse, Psa_25:16. Dachselt correctly renders it, in domum, h.e. familiam
numerosam durabilemque eos ut patres-familias plantabit. He is further One who
brings forth (out of the dungeon and out of captivity) those who are chained into
abundance of prosperity. ‫ּות‬‫ר‬ ָ‫ּושׁ‬ⅴ, occurring only here, is a pluralet. from ‫ר‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬ ָⅴ morf .tela,
synonym ‫ר‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬ ֲ‫,א‬ to be straight, fortunate. Psa_68:7 briefly and sharply expresses the
reverse side of this His humanely condescending rule among mankind. ְ‫ך‬ፍ is here (cf.
Gen_9:4; Lev_11:4) restrictive or adversative (as is more frequently the case with ‫ן‬ ֵ‫כ‬ፎ);
and the preterite is the preterite of that which is an actual matter of experience. The
‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ֽור‬ּ‫ס‬, i.e., (not from ‫,סוּר‬ the apostate ones, Aquila afista'menoi, but as in Psa_66:7,

from ‫ר‬ ַ‫ר‬ ָ‫)ס‬ the rebellious, Symmachus ᅊπειθεሏς, who were not willing to submit to the rule
of so gracious a God, had ever been excluded from these proofs of favour. These must
inhabit ‫ה‬ ָ‫יח‬ ִ‫ח‬ ְ‫צ‬ (accusative of the object), a sun-scorched land; from ‫ח‬ ַ‫ח‬ ָ‫,צ‬ to be dazzlingly
bright, sunny, dried or parched up. They remain in the desert without coming into the
land, which, fertilized by the waters of grace, is resplendent with a fresh verdure and
with rich fruits. If the poet has before his mind in connection with this the bulk of the
people delivered out of Egypt, ᆤν τᆭ κራλα ᅞπεσαν ᅚν τሀ ᅚρήµω (Heb_3:17), then the
transition to what follows is much more easily effected. There is, however, no necessity
for any such intermediation. The poet had the march through the desert to Canaan
under the guidance of Jahve, the irresistible Conqueror, in his mind even from the
beginning, and now he expressly calls to mind that marvellous divine leading in order
that the present age may take heart thereat.
BI 1-6, "Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered: let them alone that hate Him flee
before Him.
A good prayer
This was what was always said by Moses, when the ark set forward afresh in the
wilderness. Enemies were in the path of its progress, and if the ark was to advance, God
must scatter them Advance of all kinds is accompanied with the scattering of enemies.
The reformer, the teacher, the pioneer emigrant have all to fight. The very sun, as he
scatters the darkness, seems to rise in a sea of blood. And God’s cause in the world and
the hearts of men must fight its way through enemies.
I. This prayer is to be urged in reference to the enemies of the progress of the Gospel in
the world. Selfishness in all its forms, tyranny, hate, worldliness, and unbelief, must be
scattered by God’s power.
II. This prayer is to be urged in reference to the enemies of the peace and sanctification
of God’s people, and of the sinner’s salvation. The Old Testament speaks much about
enemies; the New far more about enmity. God’s avenging sword of old cut off His
enemies; the Sword of the Spirit slays enmity. The reason of the difference is found in
the different stages of God’s work in the world. God in the old dispensation had to carve
out a little space for His garden and vineyard on the earth; now the whole earth is His
garden, and He must root out every plant that He has not planted. It is not human
beings that are God’s enemies; it is sin in man that is the enemy against which God
fights. God’s enemies and man’s real enemies are the same. We do not conquer our
enemies, because we do not sufficiently feel that they are God’s too. (Homiletic
Magazine.)
God’s interposition invoked, worship enforced, and character portrayed
I. The interposition of God invoked (Psa_67:1-2).
1. An impression of God somewhat general. “Let God arise.” The suppliant seemed to
regard the Almighty as quiescent, as either unconscious or indifferent to what was
occurring in the affairs of mankind. This view of God is unphilosophic, pernicious.
God is all consciousness and all motion. He sees all, and is never at rest.
2. A conception of sinners always true. “His enemies.” They “hate Him.” What is sin?

Practical antagonism to what God is.
3. A feeling towards man that is wrong. “Let His enemies be scattered,” etc.
II. The worship of God enforced (verses 8, 4).
1. Worship is the prerogative of the righteous—i.e. those whose spirit is ruled in
everything by the only righteous law, supreme love to God. Such only can worship.
Their hearts alone overflow with those sentiments of gratitude, filial reverence, and
adoration which enter into the essence of all worship.
2. It is the outflow of the highest happiness. “Let them rejoice before God: yea, let
them exceedingly rejoice,” etc. Worship is not a task, it is a gratification; it is not an
effort, it is an effluence; it is not a service, it is a spirit; and it is a spirit radiant and
jubilant in the conscious presence of the all-loving One. It is the spirit pouring itself
out to Him as freely and naturally as the healthy tree pours out its fruit and its
blossoms to the sun, or as the overflowing fountain pours forth its waters to the
ocean.
III. The character of God portrayed.
1. His majesty. “Him that rideth upon the heavens,” etc.
2. His mercy. “A father of the fatherless,” etc. (Homilist.)
2 May you blow them away like smoke—
as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God.
BAR ES, "As smoke is driven away - To wit, by the wind. Smoke - vapor - easily
disturbed and moved by the slightest breath of air - represents an object of no stability,
or having no power of resistance, and would thus represent the real weakness of the
most mighty armies of men as opposed to God.
So drive them away - With the same ease with which smoke is driven by the
slightest breeze, so do the enemies of God disappear before his power. Compare the
notes at Psa_1:4.
As wax melteth before the fire - Compare Psa_22:14. The meaning here is plain.
As wax is melted down by fire - losing all its hardness, its firmness, its power of
resistance, so must the most mighty armies melt away before God.
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God - That is, those who rise up

against him; his enemies. It will be as easy for God to destroy wicked men as it is for fire
to melt down wax.
GILL, "As smoke is driven away, so drive them away,.... This both describes the
character of wicked men, Christ's enemies; as their darkness and ignorance, their will
worship and superstition, and their detestableness to God, Rev_9:2; and the manner of
their destruction; which is as easily brought about as smoke is driven by the wind, and is
as irretrievable, like smoke that vanisheth into air (o); see Psa_37:20;
as wax melteth before fire; whereby its consistency, form, and strength, are lost.
Respect may be had, both in this and the foregoing metaphor, to the fire of, divine
wrath, and the smoke of eternal torments; since it follows:
so let the wicked perish at the presence of God; the appearance of Christ, either
in his awful dispensation against the Jews, or in the last judgment; when the wicked
shall not be able to stand before his face, but shall call to the rocks and mountains to
hide them from him; and when they shall be bid to depart from him, and shall be
punished with everlasting destruction in soul and body, from the presence of the Lord,
and the glory of his power.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 2. As smoke is driven away. Easily the wind chases the smoke,
completely it removes it, no trace is left; so, Lord, do thou to the foes of thy people.
They fume in pride, they darken the sky with their malice, they mount higher and
higher in arrogance, they defile wherever they prevail. Lord, let they breath, thy
Spirit, thy Providence, make them to vanish for ever from the march of thy people.
Philosophic scepticism is as flimsy and as foul as smoke; may the Lord deliver his
Church from the reek of it.
As wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. Wax
is hard when by itself, but put it to the fire, how soft it is. Wicked men are haughty
till they come into contact with the Lord, and then they faint for fear; their hearts
melt like wax when they feel the power of his anger. Wax, also, burns and passes
away; the taper is utterly consumed by the flame: so shall all the boastful power of
the opposers of the gospel be as a thing of nought. Rome, like the candles on her
altars, shall dissolve, and with equal certainty shall infidelity disappear. Israel saw,
in the ark, God on the mercyseat--power in connection with propitiation --and they
rejoiced in the omnipotence of such a manifestation; this is even more clearly the
confidence of the ew Testament church, for we see Jesus, the appointed atonement,
clothed with glory and majesty, and before his advance all opposition melts like
snow in the sun; the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands. When he comes
by his Holy Spirit, conquest is the result; but when he arises in person, his foes shall
utterly perish.
Ver. 1-3. See Psalms on "Psalms 68:1" for further information.
Ver. 2. As smoke is driven away, etc. The psalmist adds a striking figure to illustrate
how easily God can overthrow the machinations of our enemies, comparing them to

smoke which vanishes away when blown upon by the wind, or wax which melts
before the fire. We consider it utterly incredible that such a formidable array of
opposition should be made to disappear in a moment. But the Spirit takes this
method of chiding the fearfulness of our carnal minds, and teaching us that there is
no such strength in our enemies as we suppose--that we allow the smoke of them to
blind our eyes, and the solid mass of resistance which they present to deceive us into
a forgetfulness of the truth, that the mountains themselves flow down at the
presence of the Lord. John Calvin.
Ver. 2. As smoke is driven away, etc. "Their end was bitter as the smoke, "said an
aged teacher. What meanest thou, O Master? asked his young disciple. "I was
thinking of the end of the unrighteous, " replied the old man, "and of how too often
I, like the psalmist, have been envious when they were in prosperity. Their lives
have seemed so bright and glowing that I have thought they resembled the blaze of a
cheerful fire on a winter's night. But, as I have watched them, they have suddenly
vanished like the flame that fades into black and bitter smoke; and I have ceased to
envy them. Trust not, O my scholar, only to that which appears brilliant; but watch
also for its ending, lest thou be deceived." Hubert Bower, in "Parables and
Similitudes of the Christian Life, " 1871.
HI TS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Ver. 1-2.
First. The church of God ever had, and will have, enemies
and haters; for against these doth the psalmist arm
himself and the church with this prayer.
Secondly. The church's enemies are God's enemies; they
that hate the church, hate God. Thine
enemies, them that hate thee.
Thirdly. God sometimes seems to sleep or lie still, and
let these enemies and haters do what they will
for a season, This, also, is implied: he to whom
we say, Arise is either asleep or lies still.
Fourthly. There is a time when God will arise.
Fifthly. God's rising time is the enemies'
scattering time, his hater's flying time.
Sixthly. It is the duty of God's people to pray
him up when he seems to be down, and to exalt him
in their praises when he doth arise to their
rescue and redemption; for these words are both a
prayer and a triumph as they are used both by
Moses and David.
Thomas Case, in a Fast Sermon, preached before the House of Commons, entitled,
"God's Rising, his Enemies' Scattering." 1644.
Ver. 1-3. Prayer for the Second Advent. A. Macaul.

3 But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.
BAR ES, "But let the righteous be glad - That is, Let them be prosperous and
happy; let them be under thy protecting care, and partake of thy favor. While the wicked
are driven away like smoke, let the righteous live, and flourish, and be safe. Compare
Psa_32:11.
Let them rejoice beore God - In the presence of God; or as admitted to his
presence. The wicked will be driven far off; the righteous will be admitted to his
presence, and will rejoice before him.
Yea, let them exceedingly rejoice - Margin, as in Hebrew, rejoice with gladness.
The expression is designed to express great joy; joy that is multiplied and prolonged. It is
joy of heart accompanied with all the outward expressions of joy.
GILL, "But let the righteous be glad,.... At the incarnation of Christ, which is
matter of joy to all people that believe in him; as did Zacharias and Elisabeth, who were
both righteous, and also Simeon; and at his resurrection from the dead, since it is for
their justification, by which they are denominated righteous; as did the disciples of
Christ, and as do saints in all ages; who know the power of his resurrection, and the
influence it has on the regeneration of their souls, the justification of their persons now,
and the resurrection of their bodies hereafter; and at the destruction of the enemies of
Christ and theirs;
let them rejoice before God; in the presence of him; enjoying communion with him;
having views of interest in him; as they do when this is the case, and as they will when
they shall appear before him, and stand at his right hand at the last day, clothed with his
righteousness, and having palms in their hands;
yea, let them exceedingly rejoice; as they have just reason to do, in his person,
grace, righteousness, and salvation. All these expressions denote the greatness,
frequency, fervency, fulness, and continuance of their joy. They may be rendered in the
future, "but the righteous shall be glad" (p), &c. so the Targum.
HE RY, "2. For the comfort and joy of his own people (Psa_68:3): “Let the
righteous be glad, that are now in sorrow; let them rejoice before God in his favourable
presence. God is the joy of his people; let them rejoice whenever they come before God,
yea, let them exceedingly rejoice, let them rejoice with gladness.” Note, Those who
rejoice in God have reason to rejoice with exceeding joy; and this joy we ought to wish to
all the saints, for it belongs to them. Light is sown for the righteous.

JAMISO , "the righteous — all truly pious, whether of Israel or not.
CALVI , "3But the righteous shall be glad It is here intimated by David, that when
God shows himself formidable to the wicked, this is with the design of securing the
deliverance of his Church. He would seem indirectly to contrast the joy of which he
now speaks with the depression and grief felt by well affected men under the reign
of Saul — suggesting, that God succeeds a season of temporary trouble with returns
of comfort, to prevent his people from being overwhelmed by despondency. He
leaves us also to infer, that one reason of that joy which they experience is derived
from knowing that God is propitious to them, and interests himself in their safety.
The Hebrew words, ‫,מפני‬ mipne, and ‫,לפני‬ liphne, admit of the same meaning; but I
think that the Psalmist intended to note a distinction. The wicked flee from the
presence of God, as what inspires them with terror; the righteous again rejoice in it,
because nothing delights them more than to think that God is near them. When
commenting upon the passage, Psalms 18:26, we saw why the Divine presence
terrifies some and comforts others; for “with the pure he will show himself pure,
and with the froward he will show himself froward.” One expression is heaped by
the Psalmist upon another, to show how great the joy of the Lord’s people is, and
how entirely it possesses and occupies their affections.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 3. But let the righteous be glad. The presence of God on the
throne of grace is an overflowing source of delight to the godly; and let them not fail
to drink of the streams which are meant to make them glad.
Let them rejoice before God. The courtiers of the happy God should wear the
garments of gladness, for in his presence is fulness of joy. That presence, which is
the dread and death of the wicked, is the desire and delight of the saints.
Yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Let them dance with all their might, as David did,
for very joy. o bounds should be set to joy in the Lord. "Again, I say, rejoice, "says
the apostle, as if he would have us add joy to joy without measure or pause. When
God is seen to shine propitious from above the mercyseat in the person of our
Immanuel, our hearts must needs leap within us with exultation, if we are indeed
among those made righteous in his righteousness, and sanctified by his Spirit. Move
on, O army of the living God, with shouts of abounding triumph, for Jesus leads the
van.
Ver. 1-3. See Psalms on "Psalms 68:1" for further information.
Ver. 3. But let the righteous be glad. The wicked flee from the presence of God, since
it inspires them with terror; the righteous on the other hand rejoice in it, because
nothing delights them more than to think that God is near them. John Calvin.

4 Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds[b];
rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.
BAR ES, "Sing unto God, sing praises to his name - That is, to him; the name
being often put for the person himself. The repetition denotes intensity of desire; a wish
that God might be praised with the highest praises.
Extol him - The word here rendered “extol” - ‫סלל‬ sâlal - means to lift up, to raise, to
raise up, as into a heap or mound; and especially to cast up and prepare a way, or to
make a way level before an army by casting up earth; that is, to prepare a way for an
army. See the notes at Isa_40:3. Compare also Isa_57:14; Isa_62:10; Job_19:12; Job_
30:12, Pro_15:19 (margin); Jer_18:15. This is evidently the idea here. It is not to “extol”
God in the sense of praising him; it is to prepare the way before him, as of one marching
at the head of his armies, or as a leader of his hosts. The allusion is to God as passing
before his people in the march to the promised land; and the call is to make ready the
way before him - that is, to remove all obstructions out of his path and to make the road
smooth and level.
That rideth - Rather,” that marcheth.” There is, indeed, the idea of riding, yet it is
not that of “riding upon the heavens,” which is the meaning, but of riding at the head of
his hosts on their march.
Upon the heavens - The word used here - ‫ערבה‬ ‛ărābâh - never means either heaven,
or the clouds. It properly denotes an arid tract, a sterile region, a desert; and then, a
plain. It is rendered desert in Isa_35:1, Isa_35:6; Isa_40:3; Isa_41:19; Isa_51:3; Jer_
2:6; Jer_17:6; Jer_50:12; Eze_47:8; and should have been so rendered here. So it is
translated by DeWette, Prof. Alexander, and others. The Septuagint renders it, “Make
way for him who is riding westward.” So the Latin Vulgate. The Chaldee renders it,
“Extol him who is seated upon the throne of his glory in the north heaven.” The
reference, doubtless, is to the passage through the desert over which the Hebrews
wandered for forty years. The Hebrew word which is employed here is still applied by
the Arabs to that region. The idea is that of Yahweh marching over those deserts at the
head of his armies, and the call is to prepare a way for him on his march, compare Psa_
68:7-8.
By his name JAH - This refers to his riding or marching at the head of his forces
through the desert, in the character described by that name - or, as ‫יה‬ Yâhh; that is, ‫יהוה‬
Yahweh. Yah (Jah) is an abbreviation of the word Yahweh (Jehovah), which was
assumed by God as His special name, Exo_6:3. The word Yahweh is usually rendered, in
our version, Lord, printed in small capitals to denote that the original is ‫יהוה‬ Yahweh; the

word itself is retained, however, in Exo_6:3; Psa_83:18; Isa_12:2 (see the notes); and
Isa_26:4. The word “Jah” occurs in this place only, in our English translation. It is found
in combination, or in certain formulas - as in the phrase Hallelujah, Psa_104:35; Psa_
105:45; Psa_106:1. The meaning here is, that God went thus before His people in the
character of the true God, or as Yahweh.
And rejoice before him - Or, in His presence. Let there be joy when He thus
manifests Himself as the true God. The presence of God is suited to give joy to all the
worlds that He has made, or wherever He manifests Himself to His creatures.
CLARKE, "Extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah - “Extol
him who sitteth on the throne of glory, in the ninth heaven; Yah is his name; and rejoice
before him.” - Targum.
‫בערבות‬ baaraboth, which we render in the high heavens, is here of doubtful
signification. As it comes from the root ‫ערב‬ arab, to mingle, (hence ereb the evening or
twilight, because it appears to be formed of an equal mixture of light and darkness; the
Septuagint translate it dusmwn, the west, or setting of the sun; so does the Vulgate and
others); probably it may mean the gloomy desert, through which God, in the chariot of
his glory, led the Israelites. If this interpretation do not please, then let it be referred to
the darkness in which God is said to dwell, through which the rays of his power and love,
in the various dispensations of his power and mercy, shine forth for the comfort and
instruction of mankind.
By his name Jah - ‫יה‬ Yah, probably a contraction of the word ‫יהוה‬ Yehovah; at least
so the ancient Versions understood it. It is used but in a few places in the sacred
writings. It might be translated The Self existent.
GILL, "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 Deu_33:26. Some choose to render the words,
"prepare the way" (q), as John the Baptist is said to do before him, Isa_11:3; "for him
that rideth through the deserts", or "fields" (r); 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 Psa_68:3.
HE RY, " He praises God for his glorious appearances, and calls upon us to praise
him, to sing to his name, and extol him,
1. As a great God, infinitely great (Psa_68:4): He rides upon the heavens, by his name
JAH. He is the spring of all the motions of the heavenly bodies, directs and manages
them, as he that rides in the chariot sets it a-going, has a supreme command of the
influences of heaven; he rides upon the heavens for the help of his people (Deu_33:26),
so swiftly, so strongly, and so much above the reach of opposition. He rules these by his
name Jah, or Jehovah, a self-existent self-sufficient being; the fountain of all being,
power, motion, and perfection; this is his name for ever. When we thus extol God we
must rejoice before him. Holy joy in God will very well consist with that reverence and
godly fear wherewith we ought to worship him.
JAMISO , "extol him ... heavens — literally, “cast up for Him who rideth in the
deserts,” or “wilderness” (compare Psa_68:7), alluding to the poetical representation of
His leading His people in the wilderness as a conqueror, before whom a way is to be
prepared, or “cast up” (compare Isa_40:3; Isa_62:10).
by his name JAH — or, “Jehovah,” of which it is a contraction (Exo_15:3; Isa_12:2)
(Hebrew).
name — or, “perfections” (Psa_9:10; Psa_20:1), which -
CALVI , "4Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: exalt him (12) that rideth, etc.
He now proceeds to call upon the Lord’s people to praise God. And he begins by
pointing out the grounds in general, as I have already hinted, which they have for
this exercise, because he comprehends the whole world under his power and
government, adding, that he condescends to take the poorest and the most wretched
of our family under his protection. His infinite power is commended, when it is said
that he rides upon the clouds, or the heavens, (13) for this proves that he sits
superior over all things. The Holy Spirit may signify by the expression, that we
should exclude from our minds every thing gross and earthly in the conceptions we
form of him; but he would, doubtless, impress us chiefly with an idea of his great
power, to produce in us a due reverence, and make us feel how far short all our
praises must come of his glory. We would attempt in vain to comprehend heaven
and earth; but his glory is greater than both. As to the expression which follows, in

Jah, his name, there has been some difference of opinion. The Hebrew preposition ‫,ב‬
beth, may here, as sometimes it is, be a mere expletive, and we may read, Jah is his
name (14) Others read, in Jah is his name; (15) and I have no objection to this,
though I prefer the translation which I have adopted. It is of less consequence how
we construe the words, as the meaning of the Psalmist is obvious. The whole world
was at that time filled with the vain idols of superstition, and he would assert the
claim of God, and set them aside when he brought forward the God of Israel. But it
is not enough that the Lord’s people should bow before him with suppliant spirits.
Even the wicked, while they fear and tremble before him, are forced to yield him
reverence. David would have them draw near to him with cheerfulness and alacrity;
and, accordingly, proceeds to insist upon his transcendent goodness shown in
condescending to the orphans and widows. The incomprehensible glory of God does
not induce him to remove himself to a distance from us, or prevent him from
stooping to us in our lowest depths of wretchedness. There can be no doubt that
orphans and widows are named to indicate in general all such as the world are
disposed to overlook as unworthy of their regard. Generally we distribute our
attentions where we expect some return. We give the preference to rank and
splendor, and despise or neglect the poor. When it is said, God is in the habitation of
his holiness, this may refer either to heaven or to the temple, for either sense will
suit the connection. God does not dwell in heaven to indulge his own ease, but
heaven is, as it were, his throne, from which he judges the world. On the other hand,
the fact of his having chosen to take up his residence with men, and inviting them
familiarly to himself there, is one well fitted to encourage the poor, who are cheered
to think that he is not far off from them. In the next verse, other instances of the
Divine goodness are mentioned — that he gives the bereaved and solitary a
numerous offspring, and releases the bonds of the captive. In the last clause of the
verse, he denounces the judgment of God against those who impiously despise him,
and this that he might show the Lord’s people the folly of envying their lot as well as
strike terror into their minds. The sense of the words is, That we ought to comfort
ourselves under the worst afflictions, by reflecting that we are in God’s hand, who
can mitigate all our griefs and remove all our burdens. The wicked, on the other
hand, may congratulate themselves for a time upon their prosperity, but eventually
it will fare ill with them. By dwelling in a dry land, is meant being banished, as it
were, to a wilderness, and deprived of the benefits of that fatherly kindness which
they had so criminally abused.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 4. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name. To time and tune,
with order and care, celebrate the character and deeds of God, the God of his
people. Do it again and again; and let the praise, with resolution of heart, be all
directed to him. Sing not for ostentation, but devotion; not to be heard of men, but
of the Lord himself. Sing not to the congregation, but "unto God, "
Extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH. Remember his most great,
incomprehensible, and awful name; reflect upon his self existence and absolute
dominion, rise to the highest pitch of joyful reverence in adoring him. Heaven
beholds him riding on the clouds in storm, and earth has seen him marching over its
plains with majesty. The Hebrew seems to be: "Cast up a highway for him who
marches through the wilderness, "in allusion to the wanderings of the tribes in the

desert. The marches of God were in the waste howling wilderness. His eternal power
and Godhead were there displayed in his feeding, ruling, and protecting the vast
hosts which he had brought out of Egypt. The ark brought all this to remembrance,
and suggested it as a theme for song. The name JAH is an abbreviation of the name
Jehovah; it is not a diminution of that name, but an intensified word, containing in
it the essence of the longer, august title. It only occurs here in our version of
Scripture, except in connection with other words such as Hallelujah.
And rejoice before him. In the presence of him who marched so gloriously at the
head of the elect nation, it is most fitting that all his people should display a holy
delight. We ought to avoid dulness in our worship. Our songs should be weighty
with solemnity, but not heavy with sadness. Angels are nearer the throne than we,
but their deepest awe is consonant with the purest bliss; our sense of divine
greatness must not minister terror but gladness to our souls; we should rejoice
before him. It should be our wish and prayer, that in this wilderness world, a
highway may be prepared for the God of grace. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God, "is the cry of gospel heralds, and
we must all zealously aim at obedience thereto; for where the God of the mercyseat
comes, blessings innumerable are given to the sons of men.
Ver. 4. Extol him that rideth upon the heavens. Or, as Symmachus, Jerome, Bishop
Lowth, Merrick, and others render, "Prepare the way for him who rideth through
the deserts": twbre aravoth; i.e., who rode through the wilderness on the cherubim;
alluding to the passage of the ark. "Comprehensive Bible."
Ver. 4. Rideth. Said, perhaps, with allusion to the cherubim on which Jehovah was
borne (Psalms 18:10), God himself being the Leader and Captain of his people,
riding as it were at their head as an earthly captain might lead his army, riding on a
war horse. J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Ver. 4. Upon the heavens. The ancient versions in general render the word twkrek
super occasus, or occasum. The desert or solitude is the proper and general meaning
of it, and there is no authority to render it by the heavens, but that of the Rabbins,
which, indeed, is little or none; and of the Chaldee paraphrase which gives it twbrek
hyrqy hyorwk super thronam gloriae ejus in nono caelo who sits upon the throne of
his glory in the ninth heaven. The psalmist here alludes, as I apprehend, to the
passage of the Israelites through the deserts in their way to the promised land, and
describes it in many of the principal circumstances of it in the following verses; and
God is said to ride, or be carried through the deserts, as the ark of his presence was
carried through them, and accompanied the Israelites in all their various stages
during their continuance and pilgrimage in them. Samuel Chandler.
Ver. 4. God always goes at the head of his people through the deserts of suffering
and need; in the deserts of trouble they find in him a true leader. E. W.
Hengstenberg.
Ver. 4. His name JAH. JAH, as the concentration of Jehovah, is the more emphatic
term (Stier). It occurs for the first time in Exodus 15:2. Frederic Fysh, in "A Lyrical
Literary Version of the Psalms, " 1850.
COFFMA , "Verse 4
GOD EXTOLLED AS THE HELPER OF THE HELPLESS

"Sing unto God, sing praises to his name:
Cast up a highway for him that rideth through the deserts;
His name is Jehovah; and exult ye before him.
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows,
Is God in his holy habitation.
God setteth the solitary in families:
He bringeth out the prisoners into prosperity;
But the rebellious dwell in a parched land."
"For him that rideth though the deserts" (Psalms 68:4). This mighty one who rides
through the deserts is God. "The Canaanite pagans called their deity Baal, `the
rider of the clouds'; and the psalmist here may have borrowed the term and purged
it to show that Yahweh and not Baal rules."[9]
"His name is Jehovah" (Psalms 68:4). As the marginal reading indicates, the word
here is an abbreviated form of the name Jehovah, [~Yah]. It is repeated here in
Psalms 68:18 and also occurs in Exodus 15:2 and Isaiah 26:4.
"In his holy habitation" (Psalms 68:5). This expression is a reference to Jerusalem
toward which dwelling place of God the procession bearing the ark from Obed-
Edom was moving. En route, this song extolling the help of God for prisoners,
widows and orphans emphasizes that Jerusalem is to be the center from which this
marvelous benefit will radiate.
"He setteth the solitary in families" (Psalms 68:6). The current translations make
this remarkable assertion declare that God "puts the lonely single people in
houses"; but we strongly prefer the text before us.
one of the scholars whose works we have had the privilege of consulting seems to
have caught on to the magnificent proportions of what is declared here.
When a great diamond is found, it is always surrounded by a number of other large
diamonds somewhat smaller; and this phenomenal fact in nature also recurs in
God's creation of great men. Shakespeare was surrounded by men like John Milton,
Christopher Marlow and others; George Washington was surrounded by Alexander
Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and others. Jesus Christ
was surrounded by Peter, James and John, John the Baptist, and the Apostle Paul.
It is one of the most remarkable facts that, "God setteth the solitary in families"!

Other examples of this same principle is seen in Mount Everest and its surrounding
peaks, and in the mighty family of the giant Redwoods of northern California.
COKE, "Psalms 68:4. Sing unto God, &c.— Sing unto God; celebrate his name in
songs: prepare the way for Him who rideth through the deserts; his name is JAH,
and exult ye before him. Chandler. See Isaiah 40:2. The Psalmist here alludes to the
passage of the Israelites through the desart, in their way to the Promised Land; and
describes it in many of its principal circumstances in the following verses. God is
said to ride, or be carried through the desarts, as the ark of his presence was carried
through them, and accompanied the Israelites in all their various stages, during
their continuance and pilgrimage in them. As to the derivation and proper sense of
this name of God, Jah, learned interpreters differ greatly. Some derive it from ‫היה‬
haiah, he was, he existed, abbreviated from the future ‫יהיה‬ ieheieh: others take it to
be a contraction from ‫יהוה‬ iehovah, Jehovah: But Dr. Chandler thinks with
Schultens, that it comes from a word used in the Arabic dialect to denote a religious
fear and reverence; according to which, Jah will denote the awful Deity, worthy of
all reverence and fear. I cannot, however, help thinking myself, that it signifies more
properly, He that is, simply and absolutely. See John 8:58 and Parkhurst on the
word.
ELLICOTT, “(4) Sing praises . . .—Better, play on the harp.
Extol him that rideth upon the heavens.—Rather, cast up a highway for him that
rideth on the steppes. (Comp. Isaiah 40:3, of which this is apparently an echo.) The
poet’s voice is the herald’s who precedes the army of God to order the removal of all
obstructions, and the formation of cairns to mark the road. Isaiah 57:14; Isaiah
62:10, are passages alluding to the same custom.
The translation, “upon the heavens,” rests on a rabbinical interpretation of
‘arabôth.
By derivation it means “a dry sandy region,” a “steppe.” The singular of the noun
forms with the article a proper name designating the Jordan valley. (In the poetical
books, however, any wild tract of country is called ‘Arabah—Isaiah 35:1; Isaiah
35:6.) The plural often designates particular parts of this region, as the plains of
Moab or Jericho (2 Kings 25:4-5). Such a restricted sense is quite in keeping with
the allusions to the early history which make up so much of the psalm.
By his name JAH.—Better, his name is Jah. This abbreviated form of Jehovah is
first found in Exodus 15:2. o doubt the verse is a fragment of a song as old as the
Exodus.
It may be noticed here that the dependence of this psalm on older songs is nowhere
more conspicuous than in the very various use of the Divine names, Elohim, Adonai,
El, Shaddai, Jehovah, Jah.
BE SO , "Psalms 68:4. Sing unto God, &c. — “The prophet here exhorts the

people of God to magnify with Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, the eternal
and incommunicable name of Him who was, and is, and is to come; who, deriving
being from none, gives it to all, and who, as Redeemer of his people, is exalted above
the heavens, and all the powers therein, above the gods of the nations; is
acknowledged and glorified by saints and angels; feared and trembled at by ungodly
men and evil spirits.” — Horne. Extol him, &c. — Hebrew, cast up, or prepare the
way, for him that rideth through the deserts, or, that did ride in the desert, namely,
manifested his presence between the cherubim upon the mercy-seat of the ark, when
it was carried through the wilderness; or marched along with it in the cloudy pillar.
Or, that now rideth, as in the desert, that is, whose ark, with which he is present, is
now carried from place to place, as it was in the desert. This construction is most
agreeable to the common usage of the original words here employed, ‫,סלו‬ sollu,
rendered extol, properly meaning, to cast up, or prepare a way; and ‫,ערבות‬
gnaraboth, translated heavens, generally signifying the deserts, or plain fields. By
his name Jah — Whereby he is known and distinguished from all false gods, Jah
being, no doubt, an abbreviation of the name Jehovah, which the heathen
pronounced Jao. And rejoice before him — Before the ark, with which he is present.
Thus David is said to have danced before the Lord on this occasion.
WHEDO , "4. Extol him—Hebrew, Cast up to him. The same word is used Isaiah
57:14; Isaiah 62:10, and elsewhere, for the levelling and smoothing (grading, as we
would say) of public royal and military highways. The sense of “extol”—exalt by
praises—is admissible, but the figure requires the sense of prepare, cast up, as of a
highway for Jehovah.
Rideth upon the heavens—Hebrew, Rideth ( ‫,בערבות‬ ba-Araboth) along the desert
plains. The word is in the plural; the singular, Arabah, is the name anciently given
to the great valley extending from the sources of the Jordan to the Gulf of Akaba, in
Arabia, called modernly el-Ghor in its northern and Arabah in its southern half,
(BURCKHARDT, Travels in Syria, pp. 441-443,) but may apply to any desert plain
or steppe. It often occurs in Scripture, and is almost always translated plain, never
“heaven,” except in this place. Desert plain is the idea, which here literally applies
not only to the Arabah just mentioned, through the entire length of which the
Israelites marched, (Deuteronomy 2:1-3,) but to the valleys and plains of Arabia as
well. The imagery is military. Jehovah, the sovereign, marches through the lands
where of old he led his people, and a suitable way should be prepared. A herald goes
before and calls upon the tribes and nations to cast up a highway along the desert
steppes. The figure is resumed in Psalms 68:7 . The spiritual sense, without which
the language is simply turgid, is found in Isaiah 40:3; Luke 3:4-5.
Jah—A poetical form for Jehovah. Read—Cast up [the way to] him who rides in the
desert plains by his name Jah. This is his essential name.

5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
BAR ES, "A father of the fatherless - Or, of orphans. Compare Psa_10:14, Psa_
10:18. That is, God takes the place of the parent. See Jer_49:11 : “Leave thy fatherless
children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.” This is one of the
most tender appellations that could be given to God, and conveys one of the most
striking descriptions that can be given of his character. We see his greatness, his
majesty, his power, in the worlds that he has made - in the storm, the tempest, the
rolling ocean; but it is in such expressions as this that we learn, what we most desire to
know, and what we cannot elsewhere learn, that he is a Father; that he is to be loved as
well as feared. Nothing suggests more strikingly a state of helplessness and dependence
than the condition of orphan children and widows; nothing, therefore, conveys a more
affecting description of the character of God - of his condescension and kindness - than
to say that he will take the place of the parent in the one case, and be a protector in the
other.
And a judge of the widows - That is, He will see justice done them; he will save
them from oppression and wrong. No persons are more liable to be oppressed and
wronged than widows. They are regarded as incapable of defending or vindicating their
own rights, and are likely to be deceived and betrayed by those to whom their property
and rights may be entrusted. Hence, the care which God manifests for them; hence, his
solemn charges, so often made to those who are in authority, and who are entrusted with
power, to respect their rights; hence, his frequent and solemn rebukes to those who
violate their rights. See the notes at Isa_1:17. Compare Deu_10:18; Deu_14:29; Deu_
24:17; Exo_22:22; Job_24:3, Job_24:21; Jer_7:6; Mal_3:5; Jam_1:27.
Is God in his holy habitation - Where he dwells; to wit, in heaven. The design of
the psalmist seems to be to take us at once up to God; to let us see what he is in his holy
home; to conduct us into his very presence, that we may see him as he is. What a man is
we see in his own home - when we get near to him; when we look upon him, not on great
or state occasions, when he is abroad, and assumes appearances befitting his rank and
office, but in his own house; as he is constantly. This is the idea here, that if we approach
God most nearly, if we look upon him, not merely in the splendor and magnificence in
which he appears in governing the worlds, in his judgments, in storm and tempest,
riding on the clouds and controlling the ocean, but, as it were, in his own dwelling, his
quiet heavens - if we look most closely at his character, we shall find that character best
represented by the kind and benignant traits of a father - in his care for widows and
orphans. In other words, the more we see of God - the more we become intimately
acquainted with his real nature - the more evidence we shall find that he is benevolent
and kind.

Psalm 68 commentary

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Psalm 68 commentary