Psalm 68:33

To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

68:32-35 God is to be admired and adored with reverence and godly fear, by all that attend in his holy places. The God of Israel gives strength and power unto his people. Through Christ strengthening us we can do all things, not otherwise; therefore he must have the glory of all we do, with our humble thanks for enabling us to do it, and for accepting the work of his hands in us.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens - The highest heavens. The heaven of heaven would properly mean the heaven above that which is heaven to us; that is, the heaven above the sky. This is represented as the special dwelling-place of God. The Jews were accustomed to speak of three heavens:

(a) The aerial heaven, or the region above us, where the birds fly, and the winds blow;

(b) the starry heavens, or the firmament in which the stars are fixed; and

(c) the heaven above all, the abode of God and of angels.

The word "rideth" here means that he appears there as a conqueror, or that he moves in majesty and glory. See the notes at Psalm 18:10.

Which were of old - The words "of old" refer here to the heavens, and denote their antiquity. He rides upon those ancient heavens. He occupies a position above those ancient works of his power.

Lo, he doth send out his voice - Margin, as in Hebrew, "give." The reference is to thunder. The design of this is to increase the impression of his majesty and power.

And that a mighty voice - See the notes at Psalm 29:3.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

32-36. To Him who is presented as riding in triumph through His ancient heavens and proclaiming His presence—to Him who, in nature, and still more in the wonders of His spiritual government, out of His holy place (Ps 43:3), is terrible, who rules His Church, and, by His Church, rules the world in righteousness—let all nations and kingdoms give honor and power and dominion evermore.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Upon the heavens; upon the highest heavens, as Deu 10:14, his truest and best sanctuary; by which expressions he prevents all mean and carnal conceptions of God, as if he were confined to the ark or tabernacle, and lifteth up the minds, both of Jews and Gentiles, to heaven, and representeth God as dwelling there in infinite glory and majesty, and from thence looking down upon all the inhabitants of the earth, and ruling them by his almighty power, and therefore most fit to be owned and received by all kings and kingdoms, as their Lord and Governor.

Of old, i.e. from the very beginning of the world; whereas the ark was only some hundred years old. Or,

which are everlasting; for this Hebrew word answers to olam, which looks not only backward to time past; but forward to the future, of which this word is by divers understood, Deu 33:15. This is also opposed to the condition of the ark, and tabernacle, and temple; all which, as David by the Spirit of prophecy well knew, would be abolished and dissolved.

A mighty voice; by which he understands, either,

1. The thunder, called God’s voice, Psalm 29:3, and elsewhere. Or rather,

2. His word, to wit, the gospel, published by Christ and by his apostles, assisted by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven; which might well be called God’s voice, and that a mighty voice, because it produced such great and wonderful effects, as are here above mentioned, in converting all the kings and kingdoms of the earth.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

To him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which were of old,.... Or "eastward" (q); the first, second, and third heavens, which were created from the beginning of time by Christ himself, Psalm 102:25 compared with Hebrews 1:10. These he rode upon when he ascended on high, even far above all heavens, as the apostle says, Ephesians 4:10; and so above the heaven of heavens, when he was made higher than they, and both Lord and Christ; and placed his throne in them, and from thence exercises his government over the whole world: and it may be observed, that it was from Mount Olivet, which was to the east of Jerusalem, that Christ ascended, and so to the eastern part of the heavens, Acts 1:12; see Revelation 7:2;

lo, he doth send out his voice; which is his Gospel, for that is the voice of Christ; which he utters by his ministers, and which his sheep, his people, hearken unto, and can distinguish from the voice of a stranger. This is a voice of love, grace, and mercy; it speaks of righteousness, peace, pardon, and salvation by him, and is very joyful and comfortable to hear. This he sent out by his apostles into all the earth, after his ascension to heaven; and which he has been, more or less, sending out in one place or another, by his ministers, ever since; and in the latter day will send it out more clearly, fully, and largely, by a set of ministers he will raise up for that purpose;

and that a mighty voice; or, "a voice of strength" (r); a strong and powerful voice, such as the Gospel is, when accompanied with the power and Spirit of God. It is a soul shaking and awakening voice; it is an heartmelting and an heartbreaking one; it is a quickening and an enlightening voice; it quickens dead sinners, gives life unto them, and the entrance of it gives light to dark minds: it is a soul charming and alluring one; it draws to Christ, engages the affections to him, and fills with unspeakable delight and pleasure. The Targum interprets this of the voice of the spirit of prophecy; Aben Ezra understands this voice as saying what follows.

(q) "ab oriente", Pagninus; "ad orientem", V. L. so Sept. Eth. Syr. Arab. (r) "vocem fortitudinis", Pagninus, Montanus.

Geneva Study Bible

To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his {c} voice, and that a mighty voice.

(c) By his terrible thunders he will make himself be known as the God of all the world.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

33. To him that rideth &c.] The same God who “rides through the deserts” (Psalm 68:4) when He intervenes in human affairs is supremely exalted in the highest heavens (Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Nehemiah 9:6), which like the mountains (Deuteronomy 33:15) are of primeval antiquity.

which were of old] Better, with R.V., which are of old. Cp. Wordsworth’s “the most ancient heavens.”

he doth send out his voice] R.V., he uttereth his voice, as Psalm 46:6. Cp. Psalm 29:3 ff.; Isaiah 30:30.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 33. - To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens (comp. ver. 4; and for the expression "heavens of heavens," see Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27). Which were of old. In which God dwelt from all eternity - long before he created the "heavens" of Genesis 1:1. Lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. A voice that is heard and obeyed in every part of creation. Psalm 68:33

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The poet stands so completely in the midst of this glory of the end, that soaring onwards in faith over all the kingdoms of the world, he calls upon them to render praise to the God of Israel. לרכב attaches itself to the dominating notion of שׁירוּ in Psalm 68:33. The heavens of heavens (Deuteronomy 10:14) are by קדם described as primeval (perhaps, following the order of their coming into existence, as extending back beyond the heavens that belong to our globe, of the second and fourth day of Creation). God is said to ride along in the primeval heavens of the heavens (Deuteronomy 33:26), when by means of the cherub (Psalm 18:11) He extends His operations to all parts of these infinite distances and heights. The epithet "who rideth along in the heavens of heavens of the first beginning" denotes the exalted majesty of the superterrestrial One, who on account of His immanency in history is called "He who rideth along through the steppes" (רכב בּערבות, Psalm 68:5). In יתּן בּקולו we have a repetition of the thought expressed above in Psalm 68:12 by יתּן אמר; what is intended is God's voice of power, which thunders down everything that contends against Him. Since in the expression נתן בּקול (Psalm 46:7; Jeremiah 12:8) the voice, according to Ges. 138, rem. 3, note, is conceived of as the medium of the giving, i.e., of the giving forth from one's self, of the making one's self heard, we must take קול עז not as the object (as in the Latin phrase sonitum dare), but as an apposition:

(Note: The accentuation does not decide; it admits of our taking it in both ways. Cf. Psalm 14:5; Psalm 41:2; Psalm 58:7; Psalm 68:28; Proverbs 13:22; Proverbs 27:1.)

behold, He maketh Himself heard with His voice, a powerful voice. Thus let them then give God עז, i.e., render back to Him in praise that acknowledges His omnipotence, the omnipotence which He hath, and of which He gives abundant proof. His glory (גּאוה) rules over Israel, more particularly as its guard and defence; His power (עז), however, embraces all created things, not the earth merely, but also the loftiest regions of the sky. The kingdom of grace reveals the majesty and glory of His redemptive work (cf. Ephesians 1:6), the kingdom of nature the universal dominion of His omnipotence. To this call to the kingdoms of the earth they respond in v. 36: "Awful is Elohim out of thy sanctuaries." The words are addressed to Israel, consequently מקדּשׁים is not the heavenly and earthly sanctuary (Hitzig), but the one sanctuary in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 21:72) in the manifold character of its holy places (Jeremiah 51:51, cf. Amos 7:9). Commanding reverence - such is the confession of the Gentile world - doth Elohim rule from thy most holy places, O Israel, the God who hath chosen thee as His mediatorial people. The second part of the confession runs: the God of Israel giveth power and abundant strength to the people, viz., whose God He is, equivalent to לעמּו, Psalm 29:11. Israel's might in the omnipotence of God it is which the Gentile world has experienced, and from which it has deduced the universal fact of experience, v. 36b. All peoples with their gods succumb at last to Israel and its God. This confession of the Gentile world closes with בּרוּך אלהים (which is preceded by Mugrash transformed out of Athnach). That which the psalmist said in the name of Israel in Psalm 68:20, "Blessed be the Lord," now re-echoes from all the world, "Blessed be Elohim." The world is overcome by the church of Jahve, and that not merely in outward form, but spiritually. The taking up of all the kingdoms of the world into the kingdom of God, this the great theme of the Apocalypse, is also after all the theme of this Psalm. The first half closed with Jahve's triumphant ascension, the second closes with the results of His victory and triumph, which embrace the world of peoples.