30 Rebuke a beast of the reeds, a company of bulls, With calves of the peoples, Each humbling himself with pieces of silver, Scatter Thou peoples delighting in conflicts.
Many bulls have surrounded me, Mighty ones of Bashan have compassed me, They have opened against me their mouth, A lion tearing and roaring.
And it cometh to pass, at the king Hezekiah's hearing, that he rendeth his garments, and covereth himself with sackcloth, and entereth the house of Jehovah, and sendeth Eliakim, who `is' over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covering themselves with sackcloth, unto Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet, and they say unto him, `Thus said Hezekiah, A day of distress, and rebuke, and despising, `is' this day; for come have sons unto the birth, and power there is not to bear. `It may be Jehovah thy God doth hear the words of Rabshakeh with which the king of Asshur his lord hath sent him to reproach the living God, and hath decided concerning the words that Jehovah thy God hath heard, and thou hast lifted up prayer for the remnant that is found.' And the servants of king Hezekiah come in unto Isaiah, and Isaiah saith unto them, `Thus do ye say unto your lord, Thus said Jehovah, Be not afraid because of the words that thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Asshur have reviled Me. Lo, I am giving in him a spirit, and he hath heard a report, and hath turned back unto his land, and I have caused him to fall by the sword in his land.' And Rabshakeh turneth back and findeth the king of Asshur fighting against Libnah, for he hath heard that he hath journeyed from Lachish. And he heareth concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, saying, `He hath come out to fight with thee;' and he heareth, and sendeth messengers unto Hezekiah, saying, `Thus do ye speak unto Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God lift thee up in whom thou art trusting, saying, Jerusalem is not given into the hand of the king of Asshur. Lo, thou hast heard that which the kings of Asshur have done to all the lands -- to devote them -- and thou art delivered! Did the gods of the nations deliver them whom my fathers destroyed -- Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who `are' in Telassar? Where `is' the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?' And Hezekiah taketh the letters out of the hand of the messengers, and readeth them, and Hezekiah goeth up to the house of Jehovah, and Hezekiah spreadeth it before Jehovah. And Hezekiah prayeth unto Jehovah, saying, `Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, inhabiting the cherubs, Thou `art' God Himself -- Thyself alone -- to all kingdoms of the earth, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth. Incline, O Jehovah, Thine ear, and hear; open, O Jehovah, Thine eyes and see; and hear Thou all the words of Sennacherib that he hath sent to reproach the living God. `Truly, O Jehovah, kings of Asshur have laid waste all the lands and their land, so as to put their gods into fire -- for they `are' no gods, but work of the hands of man, wood and stone -- and they destroy them. And now, Jehovah our God, save us from his hand, and all kingdoms of the earth do know that Thou `art' Jehovah, Thyself alone.' And Isaiah son of Amoz sendeth unto Hezekiah, saying, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed unto me concerning Sennacherib king of Asshur -- this `is' the word that Jehovah spake concerning him: Trampled on thee, laughed at thee, Hath the virgin daughter of Zion, Behind thee shaken the head hath the daughter of Jerusalem. Whom hast thou reproached and reviled? And against whom lifted up the voice? Yea, thou dost lift up on high thine eyes Against the Holy One of Israel. By the hand of thy servants Thou hast reviled the Lord, and sayest: In the multitude of my chariots I have come up to a high place of hills, The sides of Lebanon, And I cut down the height of its cedars, The choice of its firs, And I enter the high place of its extremity, The forest of its Carmel. I -- I have dug and drunk waters, And I dry up with the sole of my steps All floods of a bulwark. Hast thou not heard from afar? -- it I did, From days of old -- that I formed it. Now, I have brought it in, And it is to make desolate, Ruinous heaps -- fenced cities, And their inhabitants are feeble-handed, They were broken down, and are dried up. They have been the herb of the field, And the greenness of the tender grass, Grass of the roofs, And blasted corn, before it hath risen up. And thy sitting down, and thy going out, And thy coming in, I have known, And thy anger towards Me. Because of thy anger towards Me, And thy noise -- it came up into Mine ears, I have put My hook in thy nose, And My bridle in thy lips, And I have caused thee to turn back In the way in which thou camest. -- And this to thee `is' the sign, Food of the year `is' self-sown grain, And in the second year the spontaneous growth, And in the third year, sow ye and reap, And plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. And it hath continued -- the escaped Of the house of Judah that hath been left -- To take root beneath, And it hath made fruit upward. For from Jerusalem goeth forth a remnant, And an escape from mount Zion, The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts doth this. Therefore, thus said Jehovah, Concerning the king of Asshur: He doth not come in unto this city, Nor doth he shoot there an arrow, Nor doth he come before it `with' shield, Nor doth he pour out against it a mount. In the way that he came, in it he turneth back, And unto this city he doth not come in, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have covered over this city, To save it, for Mine own sake, And for the sake of David My servant.' And a messenger of Jehovah goeth out, and smiteth in the camp of Asshur a hundred and eighty and five thousand; and `men' rise early in the morning, and lo, all of them `are' dead corpses. And journey, and go, and turn back doth Sennacherib king of Asshur, and dwelleth in Nineveh. And it cometh to pass, he is bowing himself in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons have smitten him with the sword, and they have escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-Haddon his son reigneth in his stead.
And it cometh to pass after this, the sons of Moab have come in, and the sons of Ammon, and with them of the peoples, against Jehoshaphat to battle. And they come in and declare to Jehoshaphat, saying, `Come against thee hath a great multitude from beyond the sea, from Aram, and lo, they `are' in Hazezon-Tamar -- it `is' En-Gedi.' And Jehoshaphat feareth, and setteth his face to seek to Jehovah, and proclaimeth a fast over all Judah; and Judah is gathered to inquire of Jehovah; also, from all the cities of Judah they have come in to seek Jehovah. And Jehoshaphat standeth in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Jehovah, at the front of the new court, and saith, `O Jehovah, God of our fathers, art not Thou -- God in the heavens? yea, Thou art ruling over all kingdoms of the nations, and in Thy hand `is' power and might, and there is none with Thee to station himself. `Art not Thou our God? Thou hast dispossessed the inhabitants of this land from before Thy people Israel, and dost give it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend to the age, and they dwell in it, and build to Thee in it a sanctuary for Thy name, saying, If evil doth come upon us -- sword, judgment, and pestilence, and famine -- we stand before this house, and before Thee, for Thy name `is' in this house, and cry unto Thee out of our distress, and Thou dost hear and save. `And now, lo, sons of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, whom Thou didst not grant to Israel to go in against in their coming out of the land of Egypt, for they turned aside from off them and destroyed them not, and lo, they are recompensing to us -- to come in to drive us out of Thy possession, that Thou hast caused us to possess. `O our God, dost Thou not execute judgment upon them? for there is no power in us before this great multitude that hath come against us, and we know not what we do, but on Thee `are' our eyes.' And all Judah are standing before Jehovah, also their infants, their wives, and their sons. And upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, hath the Spirit of Jehovah been, in the midst of the assembly, and he saith, `Attend, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and O king Jehoshaphat, Thus said Jehovah to you, Ye fear not, nor are afraid of the face of this great multitude, for not for you `is' the battle, but for God. To-morrow, go ye down against them, lo, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and ye have found them in the end of the valley, the front of the wilderness of Jeruel. Not for you to fight in this; station yourselves, stand, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem -- be not afraid nor fear ye -- to-morrow go out before them, and Jehovah `is' with you.' And Jehoshaphat boweth -- face to the earth -- and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem have fallen before Jehovah, to bow themselves to Jehovah. And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites, and of the sons of the Korhites, rise to give praise to Jehovah, God of Israel, with a loud voice on high. And they rise early in the morning, and go out to the wilderness of Tekoa, and in their going out Jehoshaphat hath stood and saith, `Hear me, O Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, remain stedfast in Jehovah your God, and be stedfast; remain stedfast in His prophets, and prosper.' And he taketh counsel with the people, and appointeth singers to Jehovah, and those giving praise to the honour of holiness, in the going out before the armed `men', and saying, `Give ye thanks to Jehovah, for to the age `is' His kindness.' And at the time they have begun with singing and praise, Jehovah hath put ambushments against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who are coming in to Judah, and they are smitten, and the sons of Ammon stand up, and Moab, against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to devote and to destroy, and at their finishing with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped, a man against his neighbour, to destroy. And Judah hath come in unto the watch-tower, to the wilderness, and they look unto the multitude, and lo, they `are' carcases fallen to the earth, and there is none escaped, and Jehoshaphat cometh in, and his people, to seize their spoil, and they find among them, in abundance, both goods and carcases, and desirable vessels, and they take spoil to themselves without prohibition, and they are three days seizing the spoil, for it `is' abundant. And on the fourth day they have been assembled at the valley of Blessing, for there they blessed Jehovah: therefore they have called the name of that place, `Valley of Blessing,' unto this day. And they turn back, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, to go back unto Jerusalem with joy, for Jehovah hath made them rejoice over their enemies. And they come in to Jerusalem with psalteries, and with harps, and with trumpets, unto the house of Jehovah. And there is a fear of God on all kingdoms of the lands in their hearing that Jehovah hath fought with the enemies of Israel, and the kingdom of Jehoshaphat is quiet, and his God giveth rest to him round about. And Jehoshaphat reigneth over Judah, a son of thirty and five years in his reigning, and twenty and five years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother `is' Azubah daughter of Shilhi. And he walketh in the way of his father Asa, and hath not turned aside from it, to do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah. Only, the high places have not turned aside, and still the people have not prepared their heart for the God of their fathers. And the rest of the matters of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, lo, they are written among the matters of Jehu son of Hanani, who hath been mentioned on the book of the kings of Israel. And after this hath Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, (he did wickedly in `so' doing), and he joineth him with himself to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they make ships in Ezion-Geber, and prophesy doth Eliezer son of Dodavah, of Mareshah, against Jehoshaphat, saying, `For thy joining thyself with Ahaziah, Jehovah hath broken up thy works;' and the ships are broken, and have not retained `power' to go unto Tarshish.
And Abijah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David, and reign doth Asa his son in his stead: in his days was the land quiet ten years. And Asa doth that which is good, and that which is right, in the eyes of Jehovah his God, and turneth aside the altars of the stranger, and the high places, and breaketh the standing-pillars, and cutteth down the shrines, and saith to Judah to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, and to do the law and the command; and he turneth aside out of all cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom is quiet before him. And he buildeth cities of bulwarks in Judah, for the land hath quiet, and there is no war with him in these years, because Jehovah hath given rest to him. And he saith to Judah, `Let us build these cities, and compass `them' with wall, and towers, two-leaved doors, and bars, while the land `is' before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God, we have sought, and He giveth rest to us round about;' and they build and prosper. And there is to Asa a force bearing target and spear, out of Judah three hundred thousand, and out of Benjamin, bearing shield and treading bow, two hundred and eighty thousand: all these `are' mighty of valour. And come out unto them doth Zerah the Cushite with a force of a thousand thousand, and chariots three hundred, and he cometh in unto Mareshah, and Asa goeth out before him, and they set battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa calleth unto Jehovah his God, and saith, `Jehovah! it is nothing with Thee to help, between the mighty and those who have no power; help us, O Jehovah, our God, for on Thee we have leant, and in Thy name we have come against this multitude; O Jehovah, our God thou `art'; let him not prevail with Thee -- mortal man! And Jehovah smiteth the Cushim before Asa, and before Judah, and the Cushim flee, and Asa and the people who `are' with him pursue them even to Gerar, and there fall of the Cushim, for they have no preserving, because they have been broken before Jehovah, and before His camp; and they bear away very much spoil, and smite all the cities round about Gerar, for a fear of Jehovah hath been upon them, and they spoil all the cities, for abundant spoil hath been in them; and also tents of cattle they have smitten, and they capture sheep in abundance, and camels, and turn back to Jerusalem.
And it cometh to pass afterwards, that the king of the Bene-Ammon dieth, and Hanun his son reigneth in his stead, and David saith, `I do kindness with Hanun son of Nahash, as his father did with me kindness;' and David sendeth to comfort him by the hand of his servants concerning his father, and the servants of David come in to the land of the Bene-Ammon. And the heads of the Bene-Ammon say unto Hanun their lord, `Is David honouring thy father in thine eyes because he hath sent to thee comforters? for to search the city, and to spy it, and to overthrow it, hath not David sent his servants unto thee?' And Hanun taketh the servants of David, and shaveth off the half of their beard, and cutteth off their long robes in the midst -- unto their buttocks, and sendeth them away; and they declare `it' to David, and he sendeth to meet them, for the men have been greatly ashamed, and the king saith, `Abide in Jericho till your beard doth spring up -- then ye have returned.' And the Bene-Ammon see that they have been abhorred by David, and the Bene-Ammon send and hire Aram of Beth-Rehob, and Aram of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah `with' a thousand men, and Ish-Tob `with' twelve thousand men; and David heareth, and sendeth Joab, and all the host -- the mighty men. And the Bene-Ammon come out, and set battle in array, at the opening of the gate, and Aram of Zoba, and Rehob, and Ish-Tob, and Maacah, `are' by themselves in the field; and Joab seeth that the front of the battle hath been unto him before and behind, and he chooseth of all the chosen in Israel, and setteth in array to meet Aram, and the rest of the people he hath given into the hand of Abishai his brother, and setteth in array to meet the Bene-Ammon. And he saith, `If Aram be stronger than I, then thou hast been to me for salvation, and if the Bene-Ammon be stronger than thou, then I have come to give salvation to thee; be strong and strengthen thyself for our people, and for the cities of our God, and Jehovah doth that which is good in His eyes.' And Joab draweth nigh, and the people who `are' with him, to battle against Aram, and they flee from his presence; and the Bene-Ammon have seen that Aram hath fled, and they flee from the presence of Abishai, and go in to the city; and Joab turneth back from the Bene-Ammon, and cometh in to Jerusalem. And Aram seeth that it is smitten before Israel, and they are gathered together; and Hadadezer sendeth, and bringeth out Aram which `is' beyond the River, and they come in to Helam, and Shobach head of the host of Hadadezer `is' before them. And it is declared to David, and he gathereth all Israel, and passeth over the Jordan, and cometh in to Helam, and Aram setteth itself in array to meet David, and they fight with him; and Aram fleeth from the presence of Israel, and David slayeth of Aram seven hundred charioteers, and forty thousand horsemen, and Shobach head of its host he hath smitten, and he dieth there. And all the kings -- servants of Hadadezer -- see that they have been smitten before Israel, and make peace with Israel, and serve them; and Aram is afraid to help any more the Bene-Ammon.
And it cometh to pass afterwards that David smiteth the Philistines, and humbleth them, and David taketh the bridle of the metropolis out of the hand of the Philistines. And he smiteth Moab, and measureth them with a line, causing them to lie down on the earth, and he measureth two lines to put to death, and the fulness of the line to keep alive, and the Moabites are to David for servants, bearers of a present. And David smiteth Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, in his going to bring back his power by the River `Euphrates;' and David captureth from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and David destroyeth utterly the whole of the charioteers, only he leaveth of them a hundred charioteers. And Aram of Damascus cometh to give help to Hadadezer king of Zobah, and David smiteth of Aram twenty and two thousand men; and David putteth garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and Aram is to David for a servant, bearing a present; and Jehovah saveth David whithersoever he hath gone; and David taketh the shields of gold which were on the servants of Hadadezer, and bringeth them to Jerusalem; and from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, hath king David taken very much brass. And Toi king of Hamath heareth that David hath smitten all the force of Hadadezer, and Toi sendeth Joram his son unto king David to ask of him of welfare, and to bless him, (because that he hath fought against Hadadezer, and smiteth him, for a man of wars `with' Toi had Hadadezer been), and in his hand have been vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass, also them did king David sanctify to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold which he sanctified of all the nations which he subdued: of Aram, and of Moab, and of the Bene-Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob king of Zobah. And David maketh a name in his turning back from his smiting Aram in the valley of Salt -- eighteen thousand; and he putteth in Edom garrisons -- in all Edom he hath put garrisons, and all Edom are servants to David; and Jehovah saveth David whithersoever he hath gone. And David reigneth over all Israel, and David is doing judgment and righteousness to all his people, and Joab son of Zeruiah `is' over the host, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud `is' remembrancer, and Zadok son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech son of Abiathar, `are' priests, and Seraiah `is' scribe, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada `is over' both the Cherethite and the Pelethite, and the sons of David have been ministers.
And the passages have been captured, And the reeds they have burnt with fire, And the men of war have been troubled. For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, The daughter of Babylon `is' as a threshing-floor, The time of her threshing -- yet a little, And come hath the time of her harvest.
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: