Psalms 68:17
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The chariots of God are tens of thousands— thousands of thousands are they; the Lord is in His sanctuary as He was at Sinai.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
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. I. He begins with prayer, both against God's enemies (Psa 68:1, Psa 68:2) and for his people (Psa 68:3). II. He proceeds to praise, which takes up the rest of the psalm, calling upon all to praise God (Psa 68:4, Psa 68:26, Psa 68:32) and suggesting many things as matter for praise. 1. The greatness and goodness of God (Psa 68:4-6). 2. The wonderful works God had wrought for his people formerly, bringing them through the wilderness (Psa 68:7, Psa 68:8), settling them in Canaan (Psa 68:9, Psa 68:10), giving them victory over their enemies (Psa 68:11, Psa 68:12), and delivering them out of the hands of their oppressors (Psa 68:13, Psa 68:14). 3. The special presence of God in his church (Psa 68:15-17). 4. The ascension of Christ (Psa 68:18) and the salvation of his people by him (Psa 68:19, Psa 68:20). 5. The victories which Christ would obtain over his enemies, and the favours he would bestow upon his church (Psa 68:21-28). 6. The enlargement of the church by the accession of the Gentiles to it (Psa 68:29-31). An…
Open source ↗68:17 Chariots, the ultimate weapon of the armed forces in the psalmist’s day, are an image of the Lord’s power to grant victory (20:7; 44:3).
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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He said: “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned upon us from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and came with myriads of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand.
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands attended Him, and myriads upon myriads stood before Him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.
And the number of mounted troops was two hundred million; I heard their number.
Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD? Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode on Your horses, on Your chariots of salvation?
Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.