Psalm 68:25-36
New Catholic Bible
25 [a]Your procession, O God, comes into view,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
26 The singers enter first,
with musicians trailing behind them,
while in their midst are the maidens playing tambourines.[b]
27 Bless God in the assembly;
the Lord, the source of Israel.
28 In the lead is Benjamin, the smallest in number,
with the princes of Judah in a council,
as well as the princes of Zebulun and Naphtali.
29 [c]Marshal your power once again, O God,
the power of God that you have often wielded for us.
30 For to your temple in Jerusalem
kings will come to you bearing gifts.[d]
31 Rebuke those wild beasts of the reeds,[e]
the herd of mighty bulls, the calves of nations,
who bring bars of silver and prostrate themselves;
rout the nations that delight in war.
32 Envoys will come from Egypt;
Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God.[f]
33 [g]Sing to God, all you kingdoms of the earth;
sing the praises of the Lord, Selah
34 who rides the ancient heavens above[h]
and speaks with his voice of thunder.
35 Acknowledge the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel
and whose power is in the skies.
36 Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel, who gives power and strength to his people.[i]
Blessed be God!
Footnotes
- Psalm 68:25 This seventh part describes the procession as it approaches the temple and renews God’s taking up residence there (see Pss 24; 47) in the presence of all Israel, both north and south. It also alludes to the Passover of Hezekiah in which all the tribes participated (see Ps 80:2f; 2 Chr 30:1ff; Isa 9:1).
- Psalm 68:26 Tambourines: instruments played especially after a victory in battle (see Ex 15:20; 1 Sam 10:5; 18:6; 2 Sam 6:5; Jer 31:4).
- Psalm 68:29 This eighth part gives the prayer that God may continue to rule over the enemies of his people and exact tribute from them.
- Psalm 68:30 The defeated nations, led by their kings, will bring tribute to the Lord who has established his majesty in his temple at Jerusalem (see Ps 76:12; Isa 18:7; 60:3-7; 66:20; Hag 2:7; Zec 2:11-13; 6:15; 8:21f; Rev 21:24).
- Psalm 68:31 The prayer contains a petition to strike the nations that will not submit to the Lord. Wild beasts of the reeds: the reference is to the crocodile, a symbol for Egypt (see Ezek 29:3), which in turn stands for all the hostile nations. Herd of mighty bulls: the “lords of nations” who oppress and seduce their peoples. Bars of silver: tribute from the foreign nations brought to Zion.
- Psalm 68:32 Egypt will submit, as will Ethiopia (i.e., the upper Nile region) who usually formed an alliance with Egypt (see Isa 18:1—19:15; 20:1-6).
- Psalm 68:33 This ninth part calls upon all nations to praise the God of Israel who dwells in the temple and acclaim him as the God of all nations (see Ps 47).
- Psalm 68:34 The words who rides the ancient heavens above indicate the Lord’s majesty, for he rules the highest heavens (see Deut 10:14; 1 Ki 8:27). The thunder symbolizes the power and majesty of his rule (see Pss 18:14; 29:3) on behalf of his people (see Deut 33:26).
- Psalm 68:36 Although the Lord is awesome in his deeds (see Pss 47:3; 65:6; Ex 15:11; Deut 10:17; Rev 15:3f), he condescends to be present to his people in the sanctuary in order to aid them.
