Psalms 68:35

O God, [thou art] terrible,.... In his judgments and acts of vengeance, on antichrist and the antichristian states; being the Lion of the tribe of Judah, that will break them to pieces as a potter's

Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah: -All the kingdoms of the earth are exhorted to praise the God of Israel (Psalms 66:1). Verse 32,33.

Terrible; or, venerable; deservedly to be both reverenced and feared. Holy places; or, sanctuaries. He useth the plural number; either, 1. Of the sanctuary in Zion, because the tabernacle and temple consisted of three parts; the court, the holy place, and the holy of holies. Or rather, 2. With respect to that twofold sanctuary here mentioned, one in Zion, and the other in heaven. And out of both these holy places God appeared, and put forth such acts of his power as might justly terrify his enemies. God giveth strength and power unto his people; the strength which the kingdom of Israel now hath, is not to be ascribed to my valour or conduct, nor to the courage or numbers of the people, nor to that happy union now made, and established among all the tribes, but only to the might and grace of God.

Psalms 68:35 O God, [thou art] terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel [is] he that giveth strength and power unto [his] people. Blessed [be] God.Ver. 35. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places] So the sanctuary is called, because divided into three parts; and here hence God was terrible in his manifestations to his people, and in his operations to his enemies. See Psalms 67:2-3. Blessed be God] Hereupon, saith one, God was called in Israel, Baruc-hu, the Blessed, as Mark 14:61, with Matthew 26:63. See Luke 1:68.

(35) Out of thy holy places—i.e., out of Zion. The plural “places” occurs also in Ps. lxxiii, 17 (Heb.).

Verse 35. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places] The sanctuary and heaven. Out of the former he had often shone forth with consuming splendour; see the case of Korah and his company: out of the latter he had often appeared in terrible majesty in storms, thunder, lightning, c. He that giveth strength and power unto his people.] Therefore that people must be invincible who have this strong and irresistible God for their support. Blessed be God.] He alone is worthy to be worshipped. Without him nothing is wise, nothing holy, nothing strong and from him, as the inexhaustible Fountain, all good must be derived. His mercy over his creatures is equal to his majesty in the universe, and as he has all good in his possession, so is he willing to deal it out, to supply the utmost necessities of his creatures. Blessed be God! The Arabic adds, Alleluiah! The best analysis I find of this Psalm is that by Bishop Nicholson. I shall give it at large; begging the reader to refer particularly to those passages on which the preceding notes are written, as in some of them the analysis gives a different view of the subject. The old Psalter gives the whole Psalm a spiritual and mystical interpretation. And this is commonly the case in the commentaries of the fathers. ANALYSIS OF THE SIXTY-EIGHTH PSALM There are many conjectures as to the occasion of the composing of this Psalm; but the most probable is, that it was composed by David when he brought up the ark of God, which was the type of the Church and symbol of God's presence, to Jerusalem. After the ark was sent home by the Philistines, it rested first in the obscure lodge of Aminadab; it then for a time stayed with Obed-edom, nearly sixty years in both places. It was David's care to provide a fit room for it in the head of the tribes, even in his own city; and to express his joy, and honour the solemnity, David led the way, dancing with all his might in a linen ephod; and all the house of Israel followed with shouts and instruments of music in a triumphant manner. Now, that the choir might not want to know how to express their joyful affections, the sweet singer of Israel made this anthem, beginning the verse himself, as was commanded at the removal of the ark, Numbers 10:35. The Psalm has six parts:- I. The entrance, or exordium, Psalms 68:1-4. II. The invitation to praise God, Psalms 68:4. III. The confirmation of it by many arguments, Psalms 68:4-24. IV. A lively description of triumph, or pomp of the ark's deportation, Psalms 68:24-28. V. A petition, which has three parts, Psalms 68:28-31. VI. An exhortation to all nations to praise God, Psalms 68:31-35. I. "Let God arise" is either a prayer or acclamation; a prayer that he would, or an acclamation that he does, show his power and presence. Of which the consequence would be double:- 1.

35. O God, thou art terrible &c.] This rendering is retained in R.V., but grammar requires us to render (cp. R.V. marg.); Terrible is God out of thy sanctuary. Israel is addressed: and the verse is the answer of the nations to the summons of Psa 68:34, acknowledging the awful might (Exodus 15:11; Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalms 47:2) which God displays from His sanctuary in the midst of Israel (cp. Psalms 68:29 note), recognising Him as the source of Israel’s preeminence, and in conclusion reechoing Israel’s watchword of praise, Blessed be God. Simpler but less forcible is the reading of LXX and Jer., out of his sanctuary, making the verse the Psalmist’s own conclusion. thy holy places] Better, thy sanctuary, as the word is generally rendered (Exodus 15:17; Psalms 78:69; Psalms 96:6, &c.). The plural is an idiomatic plural of ‘extension’ or ‘amplification,’ denoting the various parts of the Temple, or its dignity. the God of Israel is he that giveth] Better as R.V., the God of Israel, he giveth &c. power] Or, mightiness. The subst. is found here only, but the adj. is common, cp. Deuteronomy 4:38; Isaiah 60:22. unto his people] Cp. Psalms 29:11; Isaiah 40:29. Lit., the people, which stands out among the nations of the world as the people of His choice. Thus the Psalmist’s outlook reaches forward to the final triumph celebrated in the Apocalyptic song, Revelation 15:3 f.

O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places - The places where thou dwellest, and from which thou dost manifest thyself.

35. Holy places—Or sanctuaries. The plural is used either for heaven and earth, as places of his abode and worship, or to denote that his earthly sanctuary, where he may be statedly found, is manifold.