Psalm 68:5-19

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 68:10

Thy congregation hath dwelt therein - In the land of promise; for the connection requires us to understand it in this manner. The idea of the writer all along pertains to that land, and to the mercy which God had shown to it. After showing by an historical reference what God had done for the people in the wilderness, he returns here, though without expressly mentioning it, to the land of promise, and to what God had done there for his people. The word tendered “congregation” - חיה châyâh -... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 68:11

The Lord gave the word - The command, or the order. It is not certain to what the psalmist here refers; whether to some particular occasion then fresh in the recollection of the people, when a great victory had been gained, which it was the design of the psalm to celebrate; or whether it is a general statement in regard to the doings of God, having reference to all his victories and triumphs, and meaning that in all cases the command came from him. The subsequent verses make it evident that... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 68:12

Kings of armies did flee apace - Margin, as in Hebrew, did flee, did flee. This is the Hebrew mode of expressing that which is emphatic or superlative. It is by simply repeating the word. The idea is, that they fled speedily; they fled at once, and in alarm. Psalms 68:12-13 are marked by DeWette as a quotation, and the language is supposed by him to be the substance of the song that was sung by the women as referred to in Psalms 68:11. This supposition is not improbable. The reference is,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 68:13

Though ye have lien among the pots - There are few passages in the Bible more difficult of interpretation than this verse and the following. Our translators seem to have supposed that the whole refers to the ark, considered as having been neglected, or as having been suffered to remain among the common vessels of the tabernacle, until it became like those vessels in appearance - that is, until its brilliancy had become tarnished by neglect, or by want of being cleaned and furbished - yet that... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 68:14

When the Almighty scattered kings in it - The Hebrew here is, “In the scattering of (that is, by) the Almighty of kings.” The reference is to the act of God in causing kings to abandon their purposes of invasion, or to flee when their own countries were invaded. Compare Psalms 48:5-6. The language here is so general that it might be applied to any such acts in the history of the Hebrew people; to any wars of defense or offence which they waged. It may have reference to the scattering of kings... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 68:15

The hill of God - The phrase “the hill of God,” or the mountain of God, is elsewhere applied in the Scriptures only to Mount Horeb or Sinai Exodus 3:1; Exodus 18:5; Exo 24:13; 1 Kings 19:8, and to Mount Zion, Psalms 24:3; Isaiah 30:29. There is no reason for supposing that there is a reference here to Mount Horeb or Sinai, as the psalm does not particularly relate to that mountain, and as there is nothing in the psalm to bring that mountain into comparison with other mountains. The allusion is,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 68:16

Why leap ye, ye high hills? - That is, with exultation; with pride; with conscious superiority. Why do you seem to regard yourselves as so superior to Mount Zion, in strength, in beauty, in grandeur? The Hebrew, however - רצד râtsad - rather means, “Why do ye watch insidiously? why do ye look askance at?” The word occurs only in this place. In Arabic it means to watch closely; to lie in wait for. This is the idea here. The mountains around Palestine - the mountains of the pagan world - the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 68:17

The chariots of God - The meaning of this verse is, that God is abundantly able to maintain his position on Mount Zion; to defend the place which he had selected as his abode. Though it has less natural strength than many other places have - though other hills and mountains, on account of their natural grandeur, may be represented as looking on this with contempt, as incapable of defense, yet he who has selected it is fully able to defend it. He is himself encompassed with armies and chariots... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 68:18

Thou hast ascended on high - That is, Thou hast gone up to the high place; to thy throne; to thine abode. The idea is, that God had descended or come down from his dwelling-place in the case referred to in the psalm, and that having now secured a victory by vanquishing his foes, and having given deliverance to his people, he had now returned, or reascended to his seat. This may either mean his throne on earth, or his abode in heaven. It would seem most probable that the latter is the idea.Thou... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 68:19

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits ... - literally, “day, day;” that is, day by day; or, constantly. The words “with benefits” are not in the original, and they do not convey the true idea of the passage. The word rendered “loadeth” means to take up; to lift, as a stone, Zechariah 12:3; to bear, to carry, Isaiah 46:3. Then it means “to take up and place upon a beast of burden;” to load, Isaiah 46:1; Genesis 44:13. Hence, it means to impose or lay a burden or a load on one;... read more

Grupo de marcas