54 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Psalms 68 To the chief Musician, A Psalm [or] Song of David. The Targum makes the argument of this psalm to be the coming of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; in which it is followed by many of the Jewish interpreters: but Aben Ezra rejects such an interpretation of it, and thinks that...
John Gill - Exposition - John 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...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
This is a most excellent psalm, but in many places the genuine sense is not easy to come at; for in this, as in some other scriptures, there are things dark and hard to be understood. It does not appear when, or upon what occasion, David penned this psalm; but probably it was when, God having given him rest from all his enemies round about, he...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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...
Spurgeon - Treasury of David - Charles H. Spurgeon
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...
John Gill - Exposition - John 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, Revelation 9:2; and the manner of their destruction; which is as easily brought about as smoke is driven by the wind, and is as...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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 rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. The courtiers of God ought to be clad in the silks of joy, and to be bright with the jewelry of rejoicing.
John Gill - Exposition - John 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...
John Gill - Exposition - John 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...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. In the wilderness, the Israelites were like a company of fatherless people: but God was their Protector, and in all their trials and dangers...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
A father of the fatherless,.... In a literal sense, so as to show mercy to them, take care of then), and protect them; and this is a character which the great God often assumes, partly to express his power and providence over such, and partly to signify his tenderness, mercy, and goodness to them; and in which he should be imitated by civil...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
God setteth the solitary in families,.... Which the Jewish writers generally understand of an increase of families, with children in lawful marriage; see Psalms 113:9; an instance of which we have in Abraham and Sarah; from which single or solitary ones, when joined in marriage, sprung a numerous offspring, Isaiah 51:2. And to this sense the...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
God setteth the solitary in families he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. They had been in a sad condition in Egypt, scattered and driven hither and thither. God promised to bring them all together, in great families, and richly to bless them.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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,...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah: 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. If the translators had given us the original words, we should have valued this Psalm much more, for it...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The earth shook,.... Not only about Sinai, but in other places; see Psalms 114:1. It may also design the dread and trembling of the inhabitants of the earth, when they heard of the wonderful things God did for his people, Exodus 15:14; the heavens also dropped at the presence of God; the Targum supplies, dew; to which may be added, quails and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain,.... Not of water literally taken, as when the Israelites passed through the sea, Psalms 77:17; or when the thunderings and lightnings were on Mount Sinai, at the giving of the law, which are commonly attended with rain, Exodus 19:16; or in the land of Canaan, which was the land that drank in the water of...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. It rained manna, and it rained quails. There are no difficulties about the commissariat of an army when God is the Commander-in-chief. All shall be...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thy congregation hath dwelt therein,.... That is, in the Lord's inheritance, in the midst of his church and people. The word for "congregation" signifies "beasts" or "living creatures" (w): some understand them of the Gentiles, who, before the Gospel came among them, were comparable to such; but, under the Gospel dispensation, being called and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The Lord gave the word,.... The word of the Gospel to his apostles. He committed the word of reconciliation to them; he intrusted them with it, as a sacred depositum; he gave gifts unto them, qualifying them for the ministration of it; he gave them a commission to preach it; and he gave them a door of utterance to speak it as it should be, and an...