Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 68:7
O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
7, 8. These verses are borrowed, with some omissions and alterations, from the Song of Deborah (Jdg 5:4-5):
“Jehovah, when thou wentest forth out of Seir,
When thou didst march out of the field of Edom,
The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped,
Yea, the clouds dropped water;
The mountains quaked at the presence of God,
Even yon Sinai at the presence of Jehovah, the God of Israel.”
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He “went before them to lead them in the way” (Exo 13:21 f.; cp. Mic 2:13), and in the great Theophany of Sinai the mystery and marvel of His self-revelation were concentrated. Earthquake and storm are the symbols of His Presence and Power. See Exo 19:16 ff., and cp. Psa 18:7 ff.; Hab 3:3 ff.
Three times in this Psalm (7, 19, 32) Selah occurs not at the close of a stanza, but after the first verse of a stanza. If the text is right, it would seem that a musical interlude was employed to enforce the thought with which the stanza begins.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
7 10. The Exodus from Egypt and the Entry into Canaan.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
7 18. After this general introduction the Psalmist proceeds to review the past history of Israel in proof of God’s victorious power and of His gracious love towards His people.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people … – That is, in conducting them through the desert to the promised land. The statement in regard to the paternal character of God in the previous verses is here illustrated by his guiding his own people, when fleeing from a land of oppression, through the barren desert – and his interpositions there in their behalf. All that had been said of him in the previous verses is here confirmed by the provision which he made for their needs in their perilous journey through the wilderness.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 68:7-18
O God, when Thou wentest forth before Thy people, when Thou didst march through the wilderness.
The progress of humanity
I. It commences with the Divinely terrible (Psa 68:7-8). As a rule, if not always, the very first step of the soul on its moral march is preceded by visions of God that startle and alarm. God seems to enwrap the soul in blackness and darkness and tempests, to roll thunders and flash lightnings on the conscience, as on Sinai of old; so that the soul cries out, Lord, what shall I do to be saved? (Isaiah; St. Paul; people on day of Pentecost.)
II. It proceeds under the leadership of God Himself.
1. He supplied Israels needs (Psa 68:9).
2. He conquered their enemies (Psa 68:11-12). And this is what God is always doing for His people. No moral progress can we make unless He leads us on, supplying our needs and striking down our foes.
III. Every stage conducts to higher privileges. Three stages in the march of the Hebrews are indicated here. From Egypt they advanced to the wilderness, and the wilderness, with all its trials and inconveniences, was better than the land of despotism. From the wilderness they entered Canaan. Every stage that a man reaches in moral progress is better than the preceding. He moves on from strength to strength, from glory to glory. The glories reached are nothing to be compared to the glories yet to be enjoyed. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. O God, when thou wentest forth] This and the following verse most manifestly refer to the passage of the Israelites through the wilderness.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the cloudy pillar, as their Captain leading them out of Egypt.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7, 8. (Compare Ex19:16-18).
thou wentestin thepillar of fire.
thou didst marchliterally,”in Thy tread,” Thy majestic movement.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people,…. In the pillar of cloud, and in the pillar of fire, as the Targum adds; and this divine Person was the Son of God, the Angel of his presence, in whom his name was, even his name JAH or Jehovah before mentioned;
when thou didst march through the wilderness; at the head of the Israelites, leading, guiding, and directing them; providing for them all things necessary, and protecting them against their enemies. And so Christ goes before his people, as they pass through the wilderness of this world; and does the like good offices for them, until he, as the great Captain of their salvation, brings them safe to glory: for what is here said is taken notice of as a resemblance of what he now does, or has done, under the Gospel dispensation, to which this psalm belongs; particularly of his marching through the wilderness of the Gentile world, in the ministry of the word by his apostles, wherein he went forth conquering and to conquer.
Selah; on this word, [See comments on Ps 3:2].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In Psa 68:7. the poet repeats the words of Deborah (Jdg 5:4.), and her words again go back to Deu 33:2, cf. Exo 19:15.; on the other hand, our Psalm is the original to Hab. 3. The martial verb represents Elohim as, coming forth from His heavenly dwelling-place (Isa 26:21), He places Himself at the head of Israel. The stately verb represents Him as He accompanies the hosts of His people with the step of a hero confident of victory; and the terrible name for the wilderness, , is designedly chosen in order to express the contrast between the scene of action and that which they beheld at that time. The verb to is easily supplied; Dachselt’s rendering according to the accents is correct: hic mons Sinai (sc. in specie ita tremuit ). The description fixes our attention upon Sinai as the central point of all revelations of God during the period of deliverance by the hand of Moses, as being the scene of the most gloriously of them all (vid., on Hab. p. 136f.). The majestic phenomena which proclaimed the nearness of God are distributed over the whole journeying, but most gloriously concentrated themselves at the giving of the Law of Sinai. The earth trembled throughout the extended circuit of this vast granite range, and the heavens dropped, inasmuch as the darkness of thunder clouds rested upon Sinai, pierced by incessant lightnings (Ex. 19). There, as the original passages describe it, Jahve met His people; He came from the east, His people from the west; there they found themselves together, and shaking the earth, breaking through the heavens, He gave them a pledge of the omnipotence which should henceforth defend and guide them. The poet has a purpose in view in calling Elohim in this passage “the God of Israel;” the covenant relationship of God to Israel dates from Sinai, and from this period onwards, by reason of the Tra, He became Israel’s King (Deu 33:5). Since the statement of a fact of earlier history has preceded, and since the preterites alternate with them, the futures that follow in Psa 68:10, Psa 68:11 are to be understood as referring to the synchronous past; but hardly so that Psa 68:10 should refer to the miraculous supply of food, and more especially the rain of manna, during the journeyings through the wilderness. The giving of the Law from Sinai has a view to Israel being a settled, stationary people, and the deliverance out of the land of bondage only finds its completion in the taking and maintaining possession of the Land of Promise. Accordingly Psa 68:10, Psa 68:11 refer to the blessing and protection of the people who had taken up their abode there.
The of God ( genit. auctoris, as in 2 Macc. 2:4) is the land assigned by Him to Israel as an inheritance; and an emblem of the abundance of gifts which God has showered down upon the land since Israel took up its abode in it. is the name given to a deed and gift springing from an inward impulse, and in this instance the intensive idea of richness and superabundance is associated therewith by means of the plural; is a shower-like abundance of good gifts descending from above. The Hiphil here governs a double accusative, like the Kal in Pro 7:17, in so far, that is, as is drawn to Psa 68:10; for the accentuation, in opposition to the Targum, takes together: Thine inheritance and that the parched one ( Waw epexeget. as in 1Sa 28:3; Amo 3:11; Amo 4:10). But this “and that” is devoid of aim; why should it not at once be read ? The rendering of Bttcher, “Thy sickened and wearied,” is inadmissible, too, according to the present pointing; for it ought to be or . And with a suffix this Niphal becomes ambiguous, and more especially so in this connection, where the thought of , an inherited possession, a heritage, lies so naturally at hand. is therefore to be drawn to Psa 68:10, and Psa 68:10 must begin with , as in the lxx, . It is true is not a hypothetical preteriet equivalent to ; but, as is frequently the case with the anarthrous participle (Ew. 341, b), it has the value of a hypothetical clause: “and if it (Israel’s inheritance) were in a parched, exhausted condition (cf. the cognate root , Gen 47:13), then hast Thou always made it again firm” (Psa 8:4; Psa 15:1-5:17), i.e., strengthened, enlivened it. Even here the idea of the inhabitants is closely associated with the land itself; in Psa 68:11 they are more especially thought of: “They creatures dwelt therein.” Nearly all modern expositors take either according to 2Sa 23:11, 2Sa 23:13 (cf. 1Ch 11:15), in the signification tent-circle, ring-camp (root , Arab. hw , to move in a circle, to encircle, to compass), or in the signification of Arab. hayy (from Arab. hayiya = , ), a race or tribe, i.e., a collection of living beings (cf. , 1Sa 18:18). But the Asaphic character of this Psalm, which is also manifest in other points, is opposed to this rendering. This style of Psalm is fond of the comparison of Israel to a flock, so that also in Psa 74:19 signifies nothing else than “the creatures [ Getheir, collective] of Thy poor, Thy poor creatures.” This use of is certainly peculiar; but not so remarkable as if by the “creatures of God” we had to understand, with Hupfeld, the quails (Ex. 16). The avoiding of on account of the idea of brutum (Psa 73:22) which is inseparable from this word, is sufficient to account for it; in , , there is merely the notion of moving life. We therefore are to explain it according to Mic 7:14, where Israel is called a flock dwelling in a wood in the midst of Carmel: God brought it to pass, that the flock of Israel, although sorely persecuted, nevertheless continued to inhabit the land. , as in Mic 7:15, refers to Canaan. in Psa 68:11 is the ecclesia pressa surrounded by foes on every side: Thou didst prepare for Thy poor with Thy goodness, Elohim, i.e., Thou didst regale or entertain Thy poor people with Thy possessions and Thy blessings. , as in Gen 43:16; 1Ch 12:39, to make ready to eat, and therefore to entertain; as in Psa 65:12, , Jer 31:12. It would be quite inadmissible, because tautological, to refer to the land according to Psa 65:10 (Ewald), or even to the desert (Olshausen), which the description has now left far behind.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Thankful Praises to God; Mercies Recollected. | |
7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah: 8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. 10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. 11 The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. 12 Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil. 13 Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. 14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.
The psalmist here, having occasion to give God thanks for the great things he had done for him and his people of late, takes occasion thence to praise him for what he had done for their fathers in the days of old. Fresh mercies should put us in mind of former mercies and revive our grateful sense of them. Let it never be forgotten,
I. That God himself was the guide of Israel through the wilderness; when he had brought them out of their chains he did not leave them in the dry land, but he himself went before them in a march through the wilderness, v. 7. It was not a journey, but a march, for they went as soldiers, as an army with banners. The Egyptians promised themselves that the wilderness had shut them in, but they were deceived; God’s Israel, having him for their leader, marched through the wilderness and were not lost in it. Note, If God bring his people into a wilderness, he will be sure to go before them in it and bring them out of it. Cant. viii. 5.
II. That he manifested his glorious presence with them at Mount Sinai, v. 8. Never did any people see the glory of God, nor hear his voice, as Israel did, Deu 4:32; Deu 4:33. Never had any people such an excellent law given them, so expounded, so enforced. Then the earth shook, and the neighbouring countries, it is likely, felt the shock; terrible thunders there were, accompanied no doubt with thunder-showers, in which the heavens seemed to drop; while the divine doctrine dropped as the rain, Deut. xxxii. 2. Sinai itself, that vast mountain, that long ridge of mountains, was moved at the presence of God; see Jdg 5:4; Jdg 5:5; Deu 33:2; Hab 3:3. This terrible appearance of the Divine Majesty, as it would possess them with a fear and dread of him, so it would encourage their faith in him and dependence upon him. Whatever mountains of difficulty lay in the way of their happy settlement, he that could move Sinai itself could remove them, could get over them.
III. That he provided very comfortably for them both in the wilderness and in Canaan (Psa 68:9; Psa 68:10): Thou didst send a plentiful rain and hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. This may refer, 1. To the victualling of their camp with manna in the wilderness, which was rained upon them, as were also the quails (Psa 78:24; Psa 78:27), and it might be fitly called a rain of liberality or munificence, for it was a memorable instance of the divine bounty. This confirmed the camp of Israel (here called God’s inheritance, because he had chosen them to be a peculiar treasure to himself) when it was weary and ready to perish: this confirmed their faith, and was a standing proof of God’s power and goodness. Even in the wilderness God found a comfortable dwelling for Israel, which was his congregation. Or, 2. To the seasonable supplies granted them in Canaan, that land flowing with mild and honey, which is said to drink water of the rain of heaven, Deut. xi. 11. When sometimes that fruitful land was ready to be turned into barrenness, for the iniquity of those that dwelt therein, God, in judgment, remembered mercy, and sent them a plentiful rain, which refreshed it again, so that the congregation of Israel dwelt therein, and there was provision enough, even to satisfy their poor with bread. This looks further to the spiritual provision made for God’s Israel; the Spirit of grace and the gospel of grace are the plentiful rain with which God confirms his inheritance, and from which their fruit is found, Isa. xlv. 8. Christ himself is this rain, Ps. lxxii. 6. He shall come as showers that water the earth.
IV. That he often gave them victory over their enemies; armies, and kings of armies, appeared against them, from their first coming into Canaan, and all along in the times of the judges, till David’s days, but, first or last, they gained their point against them, Psa 68:11; Psa 68:12; Psa 68:14. Observe here, 1. That God was their commander-in-chief: The Lord gave the word, as general of their armies. He raised up judges for them, gave them their commissions and instructions, and assured them of success. God spoke in his holiness, and then Gilead is mine. 2. That they had prophets, as God’s messengers, to make known his mind to them. God gave them his word (the word of the Lord came unto them) and then great was the company of the preachers–prophets and prophetesses, for the word is feminine. When God has messages to send he will not want messengers. Or perhaps it may allude to the women’s joining in the triumph when the victory was obtained, as was usual (Exo 15:20; 1Sa 18:7), in which they took notice of the word of God, triumphing in that as much as in his works. 3. That their enemies were defeated, and put to confusion: Kings of armies did flee, did flee with the greatest terror and precipitation imaginable, did not fight and flee, but flee and flee, retired without striking a stroke; they fled apace, fled and never rallied again. 4. That they were enriched with the plunder of the field: She that tarried at home divided the spoil. Not only the men, the soldiers that abode by the stuff, who were, by a statute of distributions, to share the prey (1 Sam. xxx. 24), but even the women that tarried at home had a share, which intimates the abundance of spoil that should be taken. 5. That these great things which God did for them were sanctified to them and contributed to their reformation (v. 14): When the Almighty scattered kings for her (for the church) she was white as snow in Salmon, purified and refined by the mercies of God; when the host went forth against the enemy they kept themselves from every wicked thing, and so the host returned victorious, and Israel by the victory were confirmed in their purity and piety. This account of Israel’s victories is applicable to the victories obtained by the exalted Redeemer for those that are his, over death and hell. By the resurrection of Christ our spiritual enemies were made to flee, their power was broken, and they were for ever disabled to hurt any of God’s people. This victory was first notified by the women (the she-publishers) to the disciples (Matt. xxviii. 7) and by them it was preached to all the world, while believers that tarry at home, that did not themselves contribute any thing towards it, enjoy the benefit of it, and divide the spoil.
V. That from a low and despised condition they had been advanced to splendour and prosperity. When they were bond-slaves in Egypt, and afterwards when they were oppressed sometimes by one potent neighbour and sometimes by another, they did, as it were, lie among the pots or rubbish, as despised broken vessels, or as vessels in which there was no pleasure–they were black, and dirty, and discoloured. But God, at length, delivered them from the pots (Ps. lxxxi. 6), and in David’s time they were in a fair way to be one of the most prosperous kingdoms in the world, amiable in the eyes of all about them, like the wings of a dove covered with silver, v. 13. “And so,” says Dr. Hammond, “under Christ’s kingdom, the heathen idolaters that were brought to the basest and most despicable condition of any creatures, worshipping wood and stone, and given up to the vilest lusts, should from that detestable condition be advanced to the service of Christ, and the practice of all Christian virtues, the greatest inward beauties in the world.” It may be applied also to the deliverance of the church out of a suffering state and the comforts of particular believers after their despondencies.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
7 O God! when thou wentest forth before thy people, etc. The Psalmist now proceeds to show that the Divine goodness is principally displayed in the Church, which God has selected as the great theater where his fatherly care may be manifested. What follows is evidently added with the view of leading the posterity of Abraham, as the Lord’s chosen people, to apply the observations which had been just made to themselves. The deliverance from Egypt having been the chief and lasting pledge of the Divine favor, which practically ratified their adoption under the patriarch, he briefly adverts to that event. He would intimate that in that remarkable exodus, proof had been given to all succeeding ages of the love which God entertained for his Church. Why were so many miracles wrought? why were heaven and earth put into commotion? why were the mountains made to tremble? but that all might recognize the power of God as allied with the deliverance of his people. He represents God as having been their leader in conducting them forth. And this not merely in reference to their passage of the Red Sea, but their journeys so long as they wandered in the wilderness. When he speaks of the earth being moved, he would not seem to allude entirely to what occurred upon the promulgation of the law, but to the fact that, throughout all their progress, the course of nature was repeatedly altered, as if the very elements had trembled at the presence of the Lord. It was upon Mount Sinai, however, that God issued the chief displays of his awful power; it was there that thunders were heard in heaven, and the air was filled with lightnings; and, accordingly, it is mentioned here by name as having presented the most glorious spectacle of the Divine majesty which was ever beheld. Some read, This Sinai, etc., connecting the pronoun זה, zeh, with the mountain here named; but it is much more emphatical to join it with the preceding clause, and to read, the heavens dropped at the presence of This God; David meaning to commend the excellency of the God of Israel. The expression is one frequently used by the prophets to denote that the God worshipped by the posterity of Abraham was the true God, and the religion delivered in his law no delusion, as in Isa 25:9, “This, this is our God, and he will save us.” To establish the Lord’s people in their faith, David leads them, as it were, into the very presence of God; indicates that they were left to no such vague uncertainties as the heathen; and indirectly censures the folly of the world in forsaking the knowledge of the true God, and fashioning imaginary deities of its own, of wood and stone, of gold and silver.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
7. Wentest forth didst march Military phrases, specially denoting the going forth to battle, Psa 44:9; Hab 3:13; Num 27:17. The triumphal march of Psa 68:4 is resumed, and the proper theme of the psalm is here taken up, which is, to show that God, who has always acted as the captain and leader of his people, disposing every thing concerning them by his supreme command, has now directed the settlement of the ark at Zion. See Psa 68:15-16. Psa 68:7-9 are a quotation from Jdg 5:4-5.
Wilderness The desert of Sinai, which Moses calls “ the waste, howling wilderness.” Deu 32:10. In Jdg 5:4 the desert of Sinai and the Arabah south of the Dead Sea, (Psa 68:4,) are both mentioned.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Here is a magnificent description, though in few words, of that great event which the church in all ages desires to keep in remembrance, namely, God’s presence and movement in a pillar of cloud by day, when he went before Israel in the wilderness, together with the solemn and awful appearances at Mount Sinai. Never, surely, did the history of mankind furnish the like. Several of the sacred writers of the Old Testament refer to it, as denoting the love of Jehovah to his people: Such as Moses’ dying blessing, Deborah’s song, and Habakkuk’s prayer. Deu 33:2 ; Jdg 5:4-5 ; Hab 3:3 , etc. But while we admire and adore those tokens of divine love, let us not overlook the spiritual mercies which, in allusion to the times of the gospel, those manifestations shadowed. Is not Jesus now going forth, in the marches of divine grace, through the whole of the wilderness dispensation of his redeemed? Are not his people still coming up out of it, leaning upon Jesus? Hath Jesus brought them out of Egyptian bondage, and doth he bring them into wilderness dispensations? Still he is leading them by a right way to a city of habitation, and going before them through all the borders of it. The enemy may say of us, as the Egyptians did of our fathers, The wilderness hath shut them in; and our rebellious and unbelieving hearts may sometimes be discouraged, as our fathers were, by reason of the way: but Jesus will bring us through a new and living way, even his blood. We are not come indeed to the mount that burned with fire, and to blackness, and darkness, and tempest; but we are come to mount Zion; to God the judge of all; to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant; and to the blood of sprinkling! Blessed be God the Holy Ghost, for teaching his servant the apostle so to explain the superiority of the gospel state over the law. Reader! do not forget to look at those sweet scriptures, Son 8:5 ; Psa 107:7 ; Exo 14:3 ; Heb 12:18-24Heb 12:18-24 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 68:7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
Ver. 7. O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people ] Here the former benefits of God to his people are recited, et additis miris coloribus depicta potius quam descripta, and rather depainted out in lively colours than described. We must stir up ourselves to thankfulness for what God hath done for our forefathers; neither must the memory of his mercies ever grow stale with us.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 68:7-10
7O God, when You went forth before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah.
8The earth quaked;
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9You shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched.
10Your creatures settled in it;
You provided in Your goodness for the poor, O God.
Psa 68:7-10 The emphasis on the two ways continues. This strophe seems to merge
1. the Wilderness Wandering Period (i.e., Israel led by YHWH in the cloud, cf. Exo 13:21; Exo 14:19; Exo 14:24; Psa 78:14; Psa 105:39) and miraculously provided for (i.e., water, manna, quail)
2. the agricultural abundance of the Promised Land (i.e., the trans-Jordan and Canaan)
Psa 68:7 when You went forth before Your people This is an idiom of holy war. The battles were YHWH’s victory. He went before His people into battle (cf. Jdg 4:14; 2Sa 5:24). This was often symbolized as the ark of the covenant being carried by Levites at the head of the army.
When You marched through the wilderness This implies the Wilderness Wandering Period (cf. Jdg 5:4-5). YHWH protected, guided, provided all Israel needed as they wandered some forty years before entering Canaan because of their unbelief (cf. Numbers 13-14). YHWH was so attentive to Israel during this time that the later rabbis called it the honeymoon period between YHWH and Israel.
Selah See note at Psa 3:2 and Introduction to Psalms, VII.
Psa 68:8 The earth quaked This was both a metaphor for YHWH’s presence (cf. Joe 2:10; Mat 27:51) and a literal physical manifestation of His presence (cf. Exo 19:16-18; Jdg 5:4-5).
Notice that God of Sinai (i.e., the giving of the law, cf. Exodus 19-20) is parallel with the God of Israel. The author uses several different names for God (see Contextual Insights, B, 4). The uniqueness of Israel was the presence of YHWH (see Special Topic: Monotheism) and His revelation of Himself through deed, promise, and written revelation (the OT).
Psa 68:9 Your inheritance This term (BDB 635) could refer to
1. the covenant people (cf. Deu 32:9; 1Ki 8:51; Joe 3:2; Jer 10:16)
2. the land of Canaan (cf. Psa 79:1; Jer 2:7)
The term land (BDB 75, KB 90) is used of all the earth (cf. Exo 19:5) but especially of Canaan (cf. Lev 25:23; Deu 32:43; 2Ch 7:20; Isa 14:2; Isa 14:25; Eze 36:5). See SPECIAL TOPIC: LAND, COUNTRY, EARTH .
Psa 68:10
NASBcreatures settled in it
NKJVYour congregation dwelt in it
NRSVyour flock found a dwelling in it
TEVyour people made their home there
LXXyour animals live in it
NJBYour family found a home
JPSOAYour tribe dwells there
The LXX translated this as animals, but the feminine (BDB 312) means a related community (cf. 2Sa 23:13; 1Ch 11:15).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
when Thou wentest forth: i.e. from Egypt. The whole deliverance of Israel is here rehearsed. See the sub-scription. For use at the Passover.
Selah. Connecting the first going up of the Ark in the wilderness with its accompaniments. See App-66.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 68:7-10
Psa 68:7-10
GOD’S PROCESSION BEGAN WITH THE EXODUS
“O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people,
When thou didst march through the wilderness; (Selah)
The earth trembled,
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God:
Yet Sinai trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain,
Thou didst confirm thine inheritance when it was weary.
Thy congregation dwelt therein:
Thou, O God didst prepare of thy goodness for the poor.”
There seems to be an intention here of comparing this journey of “bringing to Jerusalem the ark of God,” with the procession of God leading his people out of Egypt, through the wilderness to Sinai, and onward through history. Thus quite early we have the singers of Israel shouting the praises of God for his mighty triumph in the Exodus.
“Thou didst march through the wilderness” (Psa 68:7). This refers to the period of forty years in the wilderness prior to the entry into Canaan.
“Rain … plentiful rain” (Psa 68:8-9). This may be a reference to the manna that literally `rained’ out of heaven to feed Israel during that forty years. Such an understanding makes the `rain’ a metaphor of the blessings that sustained Israel in the wilderness.
“The earth trembled … Sinai trembled” (Psa 68:8). This refers to the dreadful natural phenomena that attended the giving of the Law through Moses at Sinai.
“The psalmist here gives a brief resume of the exodus and its inerasable memories which was then, at that very moment being relived by the people.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 68:7-8. In this paragraph we have an interesting use of the word Selah. The comments at Psa 3:2 show the word to mean a pause for reflection. It is very fitting to pause in the midst of this passage and meditate on the mighty power of God. It was manifested at Sinai and at many other places.
Verse 9. By sending rain God did confirm the promise made in Gen 8:22.
Verse 10. Dwelt therein means the congregation lived within the blessings which God provided by rain for the country of his people.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
O God: Psa 114:1-8, Exo 13:21, Deu 4:34, Jdg 4:14, Hab 3:13
thou didst: Jdg 5:4, Mic 2:13, Hab 3:12
Reciprocal: Exo 19:18 – mount Sinai Deu 33:2 – ten thousands Job 37:22 – with Psa 126:3 – General Hab 3:3 – came Hab 3:10 – mountains
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 68:7-8. O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people In the cloudy pillar, as their captain, leading them out of Egypt; the earth shook Or, trembled, that is, either the inhabitants of those parts of the earth, according to Exo 15:14; or the earth itself, through an earthquake, as a token of Gods dreadful presence, as seems to be intimated, Psa 114:5-7. The heavens also dropped Dissolved into showers, as the consequence of those mighty thunders and lightnings, which also bespoke his presence, and of the thick cloud that covered the mount. Even Sinai itself, &c. Shook, or dropped, for either verb may be supplied from the former clause, there being no verb in the Hebrew text of this clause. Sinai was even melted, or dissolved with fear. It is a poetical representation of the terribleness of Gods appearance. Dr. Chandler supposes that this part of the Psalm, from Psa 68:7 to the 14th, was sung just as the procession began, and the Levites moved along with the ark, placed by its staves on their shoulders.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
68:7 {f} O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
(f) He teaches that God’s favour belongs specifically to his Church as appears by their wonderful deliverance out of Egypt.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. The record of God scattering His enemies 68:7-18
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The Canaanites also credited Baal with lightning, thunder, rain, and earthquakes. However, Yahweh sent these to confirm His presence among His people in their wilderness wanderings and to provide for them. In the Pentateuch, Moses did not record God sending rain in the desert. Nevertheless Deborah, as well as David, revealed that this was one way He met His people’s needs (cf. Jdg 5:4). The Lord’s inheritance (Psa 68:9) was His people (cf. Deu 4:20).