8 The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God, yon Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
And the whole of mount Sinai smoked, because Jehovah descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended as the smoke of a furnace; and the whole mountain shook greatly.
And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings and a heavy cloud on the mountain, and the sound of the trumpet exceeding loud; and the whole people that was in the camp trembled.
And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, and the mountain burned with fire, that ye came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; and ye said, Behold, Jehovah our God has shewn us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God talks with man, and he lives. And now, why should we die? for this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more, we shall die.
The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind, lightnings lit up the world; the earth was troubled and it quaked.
Terrible art thou, O God, out of thy sanctuaries, -- the ùGod of Israel! He it is that giveth strength and might unto the people. Blessed be God!
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the +God of Jacob,
Oh, that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, -- that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
When thou didst terrible things [which] we looked not for, thou camest down, and the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
whose voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, saying, Yet once will *I* shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 68
Commentary on Psalms 68 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 68
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 brought the ark (which was both the token of God's presence and a type of Christ's mediation) from the house of Obed-edom to the tent he had pitched for it in Zion; for the first words are the prayer which Moses used at the removing of the ark, Num. 10:35. From this he is led, by the Spirit of prophecy, to speak glorious things concerning the Messiah, his ascension into heaven, and the setting up of his kingdom in the world.
With all these great things we should endeavour to be duly affected in singing this psalm.
To the chief musician. A psalm or song of David.
Psa 68:1-6
In these verses,
Psa 68:7-14
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,
Psa 68:15-21
David, having given God praise for what he had done for Israel in general, as the God of Israel (v. 8), here comes to give him praise as Zion's God in a special manner; compare Ps. 9:11. Sing praises to the Lord who dwelleth in Zion, for which reason Zion is called the hill of God.
Psa 68:22-31
In these verses we have three things:-
Psa 68:32-35
The psalmist, having prayed for and prophesied of the conversion of the Gentiles, here invites them to come in and join with the devout Israelites in praising God, intimating that their accession to the church would be the matter of their joy and praise (v. 32): Let the kingdoms of the earth sing praises to the Lord; they all ought to do it, and, when they become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ, they will do it. God is here proposed to them as the proper object of praise upon several accounts: