Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 68:4
Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
4. to his name ] Praising Him for all that He has revealed Himself to be. Cp. Psa 44:8; Exo 3:15.
extol &c.] Render,
Cast up a high way for him that rideth through the deserts;
His name is JAH; and exult ye at his presence.
God’s advent is described under the figure of the progress of an Oriental monarch, for whose chariot pioneers prepare the road. In almost identical words the prophet calls to the exiles in Babylon (Isa 40:3),
“Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord,
Make straight in the desert a high way for our God:”
and in Isa 57:14; Isa 62:10 the same word cast up a high way is used of preparing for the return of Israel from Babylon. God’s people must prepare a way for Him by the removal of the obstacles of unbelief and faintheartedness and ungodliness which hinder Him from coming to deliver them.
The renderings of A.V. Extol upon the heavens are derived from Jewish sources. The Targ. renders “Extol him that sitteth upon the throne of his glory in Arbth,” which is explained by comparison of Psa 68:33 to mean the seventh or uppermost heaven. See Talm. Chagigah 12 b (Streane’s transl. p. 65). The curious addition as it were upon an horse in P.B.V. (Great Bible, but not Coverdale) appears to come from Mnster’s Latin Version (1534 5) veluti equo insidet.
JAH is a shortened form of Jehovah (Jahveh), chosen here perhaps with allusion to its use in Exo 15:2 (upon which are based Isa 12:2, Psa 118:4), to recall the memories of the Exodus. It is peculiar to poetry, and outside the book of Psalms, where it occurs most frequently in the familiar Hallelujah = ‘Praise ye Jah,’ it is found only in Exo 15:2; Exo 17:16; Isa 12:2; Isa 26:4; Isa 38:11.
A curious mistake is to be found in the older editions of the Prayer Book, until about 1750: “Praise him in his name: yea, and rejoice before him.” The Great Bible of 1539 has, “Prayse ye him in his name la and reioyse before hym”; but the edition of Nov. 1540 and others have: “Prayse hym in hys name: yea, and reioyce before hym.” It appears to be simply a typographical error.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
4 6. God’s people are summoned to welcome Him and prepare the way for His coming: He is the champion of the weak and defenceless, the liberator of the captive.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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 – salal – 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 – arabah – 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 Yahh; that is, 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 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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 68:4
Sing unto God.
The service of song
The spirit of holy song is not confined to any denomination. It is given as a precious boon to kings and shepherds, rich and poor, bond and free, men and women, Catholic and Protestant, Moravian, Quaker and Baptist. We are growing in the charity of Christ. There was a time when our hymnology was intensely sectarian. We put our creeds into song, and we would sing only our own poets. We actually argued on disputed doctrines in our sacred songs. Controversy made discord in the songs of Zion. But we see happier days. So then if we have the gift of song consecrate it to the service of God. And let all sing, and sing heartily, in the public assembly. Every heart for God, every life for God, every song for God! This is the sublime sight we long to see, and for which the watching angels wait. (G. W. McCree.)
Joyfulness a Christian duty
It is necessary for some people to remember that cheerfulness, good spirits, lightheartedness, merriment, are not unchristian or unsaintly. We do not please God more by eating bitter aloes than by eating honey. A cloudy, foggy, rainy day is not more heavenly than a day of sunshine. A funeral march is not so much like the music of angels as the songs of birds on a May morning. There is no more religion in the gaunt, naked forest in winter than in the laughing blossoms of the spring and the rich, ripe fruits of autumn. It was not the pleasant things in the world that came from the devil and the dreary things from God; it was sin brought death into the world and all its woe; as the sin vanishes the woe will vanish too. God Himself is the ever blessed God. He dwells in the light of joy as well as of purity, and instead of becoming more like Him as we become more miserable, and as all the brightness and glory of life are extinguished, we become more like God as our blessedness becomes more complete. (R. W. Dale, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. 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.
baaraboth, which we render in the high heavens, is here of doubtful signification. As it comes from the root 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 , 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] Yah, probably a contraction of the word 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Extol him, by praising him; of which this verb is used, Pro 4:8. Or rather, raise up or prepare the way for him; for so this word is commonly used, as Isa 57:14; 57:10, and elsewhere. And this doubtless they did for this solemnity of bringing the ark to Zion. Compare Isa 40:3. That rideth upon the heavens; which phrase is used below, Psa 68:33, though in differing words. Or, that did ride in the desert, where the ark was carried, and God marched along with it in the cloudy pillar. Or, that now rideth as (which particle is frequently understood) in the desert, i.e. that is now carried from place to place as it was in the desert. The word here rendered heavens doth generally signify the desert or plain fields, as Num 33:48,50; 36:13; Jos 5:10; 2Sa 4:7; Isa 40:3, compared with Luk 3:4.
By his name Jah; whereby he is known and distinguished from all false gods; for Jah is generally conceived to be an abbreviature of the name Jehovah, which the heathens pronounced Jao.
Before him; before the ark, where he is present, as David himself is said, to dance before the Lord upon this occasion, 2Sa 6:14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. extol him . . .heavensliterally, “cast up for Him who rideth in thedeserts,” or “wilderness” (compare Ps68:7), alluding to the poetical representation of His leading Hispeople in the wilderness as a conqueror, before whom a way is to beprepared, or “cast up” (compare Isa 40:3;Isa 62:10).
by his name JAHor,”Jehovah,” of which it is a contraction (Exo 15:3;Isa 12:2) (Hebrew).
nameor, “perfections”(Psa 9:10; Psa 20:1),which
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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 De 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 comments on Ps 68:3].
q “elevate viam lapidibus”, Vatablus; “parata viam”, Gejerus; “make an highway”, Ainsworth. r “per deserta”, Hieron. Theodoret. Bugenhagius, aliique in Michaelis; “in campestribus”, Piscator, Cocceius; “in campis, vel per campos”, Gussetius, p. 641. “in the deserts”, Ainsworth.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4 Sing 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.
(12) The reading of the Septuagint is, ‘ Οδοποιήσατε, “Make way.” The Hebrew word סלו, sollu, has this sense, as well as that of exalt In two passages in Isaiah, the forms of expression are very like the present passage, (Isa 57:14,) “Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way;” and (Isa 62:10,) “Cast up, cast up the highway.” Jerome has, “ Praeparate viam,” “Prepare yea way.” Walford adopts the same translation, — “Prepare a way for him who rideth through the deserts,” — which he explains in the following note: “The imagery is borrowed from the custom of Eastern princes, who sent pioneers before their armies, to reduce the hills, and carry raised roads through the valleys, to facilitate their progress. God is described as riding through the deserts, from his having accompanied Israel through the wilderness, to conduct them to Canaan.”
(13) The word בערבות, baaraboth, here rendered the clouds, or the heavens, is by the LXX. translated the west, as if it were derived from ערב, ereb, evening; and by the Vulgate, “ Super occasum,” “Upon the going down of the sun.” Others translate it “deserts.” Thus, Jerome reads, “ ascendenti per deserta,” “for him that rideth through the deserts.” In this he is followed by Dr Boothroyd, Bishops Lowth and Horsley, Drs Kennicott and Chandler, Fry, and others; but critics of no less note read heavens, as Paginus, Buxtorf, and Hammond. “The feminine ערבה,” says this last critic, “is frequently taken for a plain, and so for the desert; but ערבות, in the plural, is acknowledged by the Hebrews to signify the heavens. ” The idea is altogether fanciful which has been put forth by some, that this word, which frequently signifies a plain or desert, is applied to the highest heavens, “either as being plain and void of stars, and so a kind of superior desert, without anything in it, or (as the learned Grotius piously conjectures from 1Ti 6:16) because, as a desert, it is ἀπρόσοιτον, not approached or approachable by any.”
(14) This is the rendering in all the ancient versions, as the Septuagint, Chaldee, Syriac, Vulgate, etc. Many instances might be produced in which ב it is redundant; as, for example, Exo 32:22, Pro 3:26
(15) This is the translation given by Horsley, who applies the passage to Christ; and his criticism upon it is excellent. “Upon mature consideration,” says he, “I am inclined to take the text as it stands, and render it literally with Jerome, ‘In Jah is his name;’ i e. , his name, who is riding through the wilderness, is in Jehovah, in the Self-existent One. He who led the armies of Israel through the wilderness, when they first came up from Egypt, was Christ. He who brought the captives home from Babylon was Christ. He who shall finally bring the revolted Jews home to his Church, and, in a literal sense, bring the nation home to its ancient seat, is Christ. Christ, therefore, is intended here, under the image of one riding through the wilderness, (‘ ascendenti per deserta,’ Jerome,) not upon the heavens, at the head of the returning captives. ‘ His name is in Jah: ’ Christ’s name is in Jehovah. שם, ‘the Name,’ is used, in the Hebrew language, for the thing imperfectly apprehended, to which, however, a name belongs. Thus, for God all languages have a name; and all men have an idea of the Being intended by that name, as the First Cause, the Maker, and Governor of the universe. Yet the human intellect, — we may say, more generally, the created intellect, — comprehends not the nature of this Great Being, nor can it enumerate his attributes. ‘The name of God’ is the incomprehensible Being who is all that the name imports, more than is expressed; more, at least, than any name can express to the finite understanding. Thus, when we are commanded to fear the name of God, the injunction is, that we carry in our minds a constant fear of the Being to whom that name belongs. The name, therefore, of Christ is Christ himself, considered as known by a name, but yet imperfectly understood, or rather incomprehensible in his nature. The sentence, ‘His name is in Jehovah,’ is an emphatical assertion of his divinity, introduced here to justify and enforce the worship enjoined. ‘Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: cast up a way for him that is riding through the wilderness.’ Who is he that is riding through the wilderness, that we should pay him this respect? ‘He,’ says the Psalmist, ‘who cannot be described.’ ‘His name is in Jah.’ His name and his nature are involved in the name and nature of the Godhead. Name him: you name the All-glorious One. Name the All-glorious One: you name him. Name him as distinct from the All-Good and Glorious: you name him not aright.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(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. Isa. 40:3, of which this is apparently an echo.) The poets voice is the heralds who precedes the army of God to order the removal of all obstructions, and the formation of cairns to mark the road. Isa. 57:14; Isa. 62:10, are passages alluding to the same custom.
The translation, upon the heavens, rests on a rabbinical interpretation of arabth.
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 ArabahIsa. 35:1; Isa. 35:6.) The plural often designates particular parts of this region, as the plains of Moab or Jericho (2Ki. 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 Exo. 15:2. No 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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Extol him Hebrew, Cast up to him. The same word is used Isa 57:14; Isa 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 ( , 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, (Deu 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 Psa 68:7. The spiritual sense, without which the language is simply turgid, is found in Isa 40:3; Luk 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.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 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 Isa 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 haiah, he was, he existed, abbreviated from the future ieheieh: others take it to be a contraction from 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 Joh 8:58 and Parkhurst on the word.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Reader, do not fail to observe in what an endearing point of view the church is called upon to triumph in her covenant God. First, in his glorious incommunicable name JAH, self existent, and in himself the Author and Source of all the covenant-blessings he hath given and promised. Secondly, in his covenant character, as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named; by which he stands engaged to be the Father of our fatherless and ruined state in Adam. And thirdly, in the fulfillment of what he hath promised to our glorious Head; of which every poor sinner brought out of darkness and the shadow of death is a confirmation. The Lord Jehovah doth in effect say to the person of the great Head of the church, whenever he quickens a sinner, By the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water; Zec 9:11 . Well may every redeemed soul sing praises to God; yea, sing praises to his name! And still more when contemplating the distinguishing nature of the mercy. Is it not the name-sake of Jehovah which is made the cause and motive of every covenant mercy? Eze 36:22 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 68:4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
Ver. 4. Sing unto God, sing praises ] Cantate, Psallite, do it daily and duly, not in a customary, formal, bedulling way. For a help hereunto was this psalm penned, quo nihil ornatius, magnificentius, divinius denique scribi a quoquam possit, saith learned Beza, in a lofty and lively style.
Extol him that rideth upon the heavens
By his name Jah
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
JAH. See App-4. Compare Exo 15:2. The Divine Titles enrich this Psalm: Elohim occurs twenty-six times, because the Psalm has to do with the scattering of His enemies. The first occurrence of JAH is in Exo 15:2, and in the Psalms this first occurrence is in the second, or Exodus book.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 68:4-6
Psa 68:4-6
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” (Psa 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.
“His name is Jehovah” (Psa 68:4). As the marginal reading indicates, the word here is an abbreviated form of the name Jehovah, [~Yah]. It is repeated here in Psa 68:18 and also occurs in Exo 15:2 and Isa 26:4.
“In his holy habitation” (Psa 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. In 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” (Psa 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.
None 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.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 68:4. Rideth upon the heavens indicates that God is above all things in the universe. Jah is a short form of Jehovah and means the “self-Existent or Eternal.” Having never had a beginning he is logically the ruler of everything in creation.
Psa 68:5. God’s care for all unfortunate persons is as good as that of a father or a husband. The Lord executes his watchful care for the needy from his holy habitation beyond the skies.
Psa 68:6. Solitary is from YACHYD and “lonely” is a leading word in Strong’s definition. In the King James version it has been translated by darling 2 times, desolate 1, only 6, only child 1, only Song of Solomon 1, solitary 1. The word primarily has reference to what is commonly called an orphan. Families is from BAYITH and Strong’s definition is, “a house (in the greatest variety of applications, especially family).” In the King James version it has been translated by family 5 times, home 25, house 1790, household 52. The idea is that God intended the family home as the proper place in which to care for orphans. The same thought is indicated in 1Ti 5:10. The rest of the verse of this paragraph has to do with the subject of liberty. There are no harder chains than those of sin. God will deliver all from them who will obey him.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Sing unto God: Psa 66:4, Psa 67:4, Isa 12:4-6
rideth: Psa 68:33, Psa 18:10, Psa 104:3, Deu 33:26, Isa 19:1
his name: Exo 3:14, Exo 6:3, Exo 6:8
JAH: , JAH, is an abbreviation of , JEHOVAH and signifies self-existence. – He who derives his being from none, but gives being to all.
Reciprocal: 2Ch 6:4 – Blessed Psa 8:1 – thy Psa 18:9 – He bowed Psa 28:7 – therefore Psa 115:3 – But our Psa 145:1 – extol thee Isa 40:3 – make Isa 57:15 – I dwell Hab 3:8 – ride
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 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, , sollu, rendered extol, properly meaning, to cast up, or prepare a way; and , 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.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
68:4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name {c} JAH, and rejoice before him.
(c) Jah and Jehovah are the names of God, signifying his incomprehensible essence and majesty, so that by this it is declared that all idols are vanity and that the God of Israel is the only true God.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The psalmist pictured Yahweh as a majestic warrior riding His chariot through the desert wilderness. The native Canaanites described Baal as riding a chariot through the sky. David may have intended his description of the Lord to be a polemic against Baal.
God’s special care for the weak and vulnerable is praiseworthy. He led Israel, a nation of prisoners, into the prosperity of the Promised Land. Those who failed to follow His lead ended up dying in the wilderness. This group included Israel’s enemies who opposed the nation during the wilderness march and the unbelieving Israelites who refused to follow Caleb and Joshua into the land.