Psalms 68:30

_THY GOD HATH COMMANDED THY STRENGTH: STRENGTHEN, O GOD, THAT WHICH THOU HAST WROUGHT FOR US._ -The glorious deliverances vouchsafed to His people, by God dwelling in Zion, give an earnest of the future subjugation of the whole world under Him. Verse 28. THY GOD HATH COMMANDED THY STRENGTH - i:e., hath by His eternal decree, made known by Moses, appointed and given it (Psalms 42:8). STRENGTHEN, O GOD, THAT WHICH THOU HAST WROUGHT FOR US - let thy strength be manifested in working for us this (emphatic in the Hebrew) which we cannot work for ourselves (Isaiah 26:12; Psalms 138:8; Philippians 2:

30._Destroy the company of spearmen _Some read _rebuke, _but I approve of the distinction which has been noticed by those who are most skilled in the Hebrew language, that while the verb גער, _gear, _has this meaning when the letter ב _beth, _is interposed, it signifies without it _to destroy. _The word, חית, _chayath, _which I have rendered _company, _has been translated _beast, _(56) but no such sense can apply to it here. David evidently prays in this passage that God would deliver his chosen people by destroying their cruel and bloody enemies. In calling these _the company of the reed _or _cane, _(57) he does not mean to say that they are weak, but alludes to the kind of armor which they wore, and which were lances or spear

29-31 A powerful invitation is given to those that are without, to join the church. Some shall submit from fear; overcome by their consciences, and the checks of Providence, they are brought to make peace with the church. Others will submit willingly, ver. Psalms 68:29; Psalms 68:31. There is that beauty and benefit in the service of God, and in the gospel of Christ which went forth from Jerusalem, which is enough to invite sinners out of all nations....

Verse Psalms 68:30. _REBUKE THE COMPANY OF SPEARMEN_] חית קנה _chaiyath_ _kaneh, the wild beast of the reed_-the _crocodile_ or _hippopotamus_, the emblem of Pharaoh and the Egyptians; thus all the _Versions_. Our translators have mistaken the meaning; but they have put the true sense in the _margin_....

REBUKE THE COMPANY OF SPEARMEN - Margin, “the beasts of the reeds.” This is in the form of a prayer - “Rebuke;” but the idea is, that this “would” occur; and the meaning of the whole verse, though there is much difficulty in interpreting the particular expressions, is, that the most formidable enemies of the people of God, represented here by wild beasts, would be subdued, and would be made to show their submission by bringing presents - by “pieces of silver,” or, with tribute. Thus the idea corresponds with that in the previous verse, that “kings would bring presents.” The rendering in the margin here expresses the meaning of the Hebrew. It “might” perhaps be possible to make out from the Hebrew the sense in our common translation, but it is not the “obvious” meaning, and would not accord so well with the scope of the passage. On the word rendered “company,” which primarily means an ani...

EXPOSITION THIS psalm is one of triumphant praise and jubilation, the crown and gem of the Second Book. Professor Cheyne calls it "a patriotic and religious ode of wondrous range and compass, and in the grandest style." He also notes that it was a favourite with the Huguenots, who called it "The Song of Battles," and that it was chanted by Savanarola and his brother monks as they marched to the trial of fire in the Piazza of Florence. While some critics assign it to the post-Captivity period (Ewald, Cheyne), the greater number, and the most acute (Botticher, Hitzig, Hengstenberg, Kay, Dean Johnson, etc.)see in it one of the earliest, as well as the most beautiful, specimens of Hebrew poetry. The ascription to David, which we find in the "title," is by these critics accepted as fully borne out by the contents. The antique language, the impressive descriptions, the fresh powerful tone of t...

REBUKE THE COMPANY OF SPEARMEN,.... Or, "of the reed" d; that is, men that use and fight with spears, like to reeds, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it. Aben Ezra says, that spears are so called in the Kedarene or Arabian language; and the Arabians use a sort of reed for a spear, as Mr. Castel out of Avicenna observes e, and Pliny f says they are used spears: or rather the words should be rendered, "rebuke", restrain, destroy "the wild beast", or "beasts of the reed" g; as the Syriac, Septuagint, and Vulgate Latin versions, and others, render it: the allusion is to such kind of creatures as lions in the thickets of Jordan; Jeremiah 49:19; and the behemoth, that lies under the covert of reeds, Job 40:21; or as the crocodile in the river Nile, and other rivers of Egypt, which abounded with flags and reeds, i

This was a Psalm sung, at the removing of the ark, when it was taken up to its resting-place on Mount Zion. All the tribes were gathered together, and, in full pomp, they marched along, bearing the sacred chest. As they tramped forward, the trumpets sounded, and this Psalm rose up to God. Psalms 68:1. _Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him._ That is the way to move, God first, and his people following closely after him. That is the true order of revival, the Lord in the lead, then all his children, quick of step, to follow where he leads. The psalmist seems to take it for granted that there would be no fighting if God should arise, for all his enemies would be put to flight by his presence. Psalms 68:2. As smoke is driven

Psalms 68 The Great Redemption Accomplished _ 1. The introduction (Psalms 68:1)_ 2. The proclamation of His Name and of ‘His acts (Psalms 68:4) 3. A historic review (Psalms 68:7) 4. Israel's place of blessing and the Redeemer (Psalms 68:13) 5. His victory over the enemies (Psalms 68:20) 6. The great procession (Psalms 68:24) 7.

LXVIII. A SONG OF TRIUMPH. The most difficult of all the Pss. In some places the text is so corrupt that it defies any attempt at emendation, and the VSS give little, if any, help. The historical allusions are obscure. The poet makes use of older works, especially of Deborah's Song in Judges 5. PSALMS 68:1. Praise of God for His power and lovingkindness. This section begins with a quotation from Numbers 10:35, the words used when the Ark moved forward in the forty years-' wandering through the wilderness. PSALMS 68:4. RIDETH THROUGH THE DESERTS OR RATHER STEPPES (_cf._ Isaiah 40:3)....