Psalms 68:18

Thou hast ascended on high,.... Which is to be understood, not of Moses ascending up to the firmament, as the Targum and Jarchi interpret it, of which we nowhere read; nor of David's going up to the

The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan. -God has chosen Zion whereon to dwell forever, with His countless chariots, in spite of all the resistance of the pagan.

Thou hast ascended on high; having spoken of the Lord, and of his presence upon earth, he now turneth his speech to him, as is most usual in this book. And the contents of this verse do not agree to the present occasion of carrying the ark to Zion, but have a manifest reference to Christ, and to his ascension into heaven, in whom, and in whom alone, they are literally and fully accomplished, and to whom therefore they are ascribed, . Although the expressions here used are borrowed from the ancient custom of princes, or generals of armies, who, after some glorious achievements and victories, used to go up into their royal cities in triumphant chariots, being attended by their captive enemies, and afterward to distribute divers gifts to their soldiers and subjects, and sometimes to do some acts of grace and clemency even to their rebels and enemies, and to receive them into the number of his own people. Captivity; either, 1. Those who did formerly take thy people captives. Or rather, 2. Those whom thou hast taken captive, as this word is most commonly used, as , &c. So poverty is put for the poor, . This is meant of death, and sin, and the devil, and all the enemies of Christ and of his people, whom Christ led in triumph, having spoiled them, and making a show of them openly, as it is expressed, . Thou hast received gifts; though as thou art God thou art uncapable of receiving any thing more than thou hast, yet according to thy manhood thou hast received from God all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and all those gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit which are necessary either to the perfection of thy nature, or to the discharge of thine office, or to the service and good of thy church and people. For men: not for thyself, for thou didst not need them, having the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in thee bodily, ; but for the sons of men, or which thou mightest give unto men; whence for receiving for men, the apostle justly saith gave unto men, , because he received them for no other end but to give them, and in such cases receiving or taking is oft put for giving, or for taking and giving, as 17:10, &c. For the rebellious also: nor didst thou only receive gifts for and give them to thy friends and people, as the manner of other conquerors is, but also to thy most stubborn and rebellious enemies, whether Jews or Gentiles, who resolved to break thy bands asunder, and to cast away thy cords from them as is said, ; and would not have thee to reign over them, ; who crucified him, and put him to open shame; and yet to these, as well as others, thou didst give those saving gifts and graces, as we read, Acts 2, and elsewhere.

Psalms 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, [for] the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell [among them].Ver. 18. Thou hast ascended on high] As a conqueror doth on his triumphal chariot; the Romans ascended up to the Capitol, leading their captives bound behind them, and giving gifts unto the people (Plut. in Æmyl.). They might have this custom from David, and these words might be the people’ s acclamation to David, or, as some think, both the kings and people’ s acclamation to the ark, that notable type of Christ, to whom St Paul applieth it, Ephesians 4:8-9, and teacheth us to understand it of his wonderful ascension. Thou hast led captivity captive] i.e. Thou hast captivated those that once held us in captivity; for so God’ s justice required, Isaiah 33:1, so he had forepromised, Isaiah 24:22 Revelation 13:10, and so Christ hath fulfilled, Colossians 2:15, saving his people to the uttermost, from sin, death, hell, and the devil, who had taken them alive captive at his pleasure, 2 Timothy 2:26. Thou hast received gifts for men] Heb, in man; some render it in Adam, Qualia erant in Adamo, tails dat Christus, saith Eugubinus, Christ gave such gifts to his people (for if he received with one hand, he gave with the other, and the fruits of his victories are all for his subjects) as were in Adam, Sed Beth servilis non praeponitur proprio nomini. True it is, that he repaireth God’ s once lost image in them, but the gifts here meant are mentioned by the apostle, Ephesians 4:11, viz. apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, &c. Lo, these were those gifts that Christ bestowed upon his Church at the day of his coronation, and solemn inauguration into his throne, at the time of his trimnphant ascension. These he received that he might give; and he held it more blessed to give than to receive. A like expression we have Hosea 14:2. "Receive us graciously," Heb. Take good, sc. to bestow it upon us, as Acts 2:23. Yea, for the rebellious also] Rebellion at first, till thou hast given them a better heart. See Romans 4:5; Romans 5:6, or, if they continue so, yet they may share in common gifts and external privileges. That the Lord God might dwell among them] viz. In his religion and true worshippers, for which end he giveth restraining grace to the very rebellions.

(18) Thou hast ascended on high.—Or, to the height, i.e., Mount Zion, as in Psalms 24 (Comp. Jeremiah 31:12; Ezekiel 20:40.) Captivity captive.—Or, captives into captivity. (See Judges 5:12, Note.) For men.—This rendering is inadmissible. Literally, in man, which is equivalent to our of men. Gifts of men are therefore captives or hostages, viz., the rebellious in the next clause, i.e., the heathen, whom the poet describes as subjected to Jehovah, and their land made His dweiling-place. (For St. Paul’s citation of this verse, or its original, see Note, Ephesians 4:8, New Testament Commentary.)

Verse 18. Thou hast ascended on high] When the ark had reached the top of Sion, and was deposited in the place assigned for it, the singers joined in the following chorus. This seems to be an allusion to a military triumph. The conqueror was placed on a very elevated chariot. Led captivity captive] The conquered kings and generals were usually tied behind the chariot of the conqueror-bound to it, bound together, and walked after it, to grace the triumph of the victor. Thou hast received gifts for men] "And gave gifts unto men;" Ephesians 4:8. At such times the conqueror threw money among the crowd. Thou hast received gifts among men, באדם baadam, IN MAN, in human nature; and God manifest in the flesh dwells among mortals! Thanks be to God for his unspeakable GIFT! By establishing his abode among the rebellious, the prophet may refer to the conquest of the land of Canaan, and the country beyond Jordan. Yea, for the rebellious also] Even to the rebellious. Those who were his enemies, who traduced his character and operations, and those who fought against him now submit to him, and share his munificence; for it is the property of a hero to be generous. That the Lord God might dwell among them.] יה אלהים yah Elohim, the self-existing God; see on Psalms 68:4. The conqueror now coming to fix his abode among the conquered people to organize them under his laws, to govern and dispense justice among them. The whole of this is very properly applied by St. Paul, Ephesians 4:5, to the resurrection and glory of Christ; where the reader is requested to consult the note.

18. Thou hast ascended on high] Lit. thou hast gone up to the height. Cp. Psalms 147:5. ‘The height’ elsewhere means heaven, though we find such a phrase as ‘the height of Zion’ (Jeremiah 31:12).Probably the poet did not make any sharp distinction between the triumphant return of Jehovah to heaven (as we speak), and the triumphant procession to His earthly abode which was the symbol of it. thou hast led captivity captive] For the phrase cp. Judges 5:12. ‘Captivity’ is not, as the English reader might suppose, a personification of the hostile powers which had led Israel captive, but the abstract for the concrete, equivalent to a body of captives. To obviate misunderstanding, R.V. gives ‘thy captivity.’ The captive enemies of Israel are meant, not, as some modern commentators suppose, referring to Isaiah 24:21 ff., rebellious heavenly powers, nor, as Kay thinks, the Israelites themselves, though 2 Corinthians 2:14 (R.V.) would give a good parallel for this meaning. thou hast received gifts for men] An impossible rendering, influenced probably by the quotation in Ephesians 4:8. R.V. rightly, among men. The ‘gifts’ offered to the king as Jehovah’s representative and appropriated to the service of the Temple (2 Samuel 8:2; 2 Samuel 8:6; 2 Samuel 8:11; 1 Kings 4:21), are regarded as offered to Him as the real Conqueror. yea, for the rebellious also] R.V., Yea, (among) the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell (with them): marg., there. ‘The rebellious’ are commonly understood to be the heathen, who pay homage to Jehovah, and dwell under His protection. But (see note on Psalms 68:6) the term is generally applied to the Israelites; and the line may be rendered, Yea, even the stubborn (are content) to dwell with Jah Elohim. Even the successors (in spirit) of the stubborn and rebellious generation of the wilderness are subdued when they see Jehovah’s triumphs, and are content to become His obedient subjects. For construction and thought cp. Psalms 5:4; Isaiah 33:14. Another alternative is to take Jah as the subject of the infin., Yea, even the stubborn (are content) that Jah Elohim should dwell (among them). Cp. Psalms 78:60; Exodus 25:8; &c. So apparently the LXX. St Paul quotes this verse in Ephesians 4:8 in the form, “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men,” applying it to the spiritual gifts showered upon the Church by the risen and ascended Christ. How came he to substitute “gave gifts unto men” for “received gifts among men”? The Targum paraphrases the verse thus; “Thou didst ascend to the firmament, O prophet Moses!

Thou hast ascended on high - That is, Thou hast gone up to the high place; to thy throne; to thine abode.

18. Thou hast ascended on high—Literally, Thou hast gone up to the height. That this has a typical application to the ascension of Christ is proved by Ephesians 4:8-9.