Psalm 68 (or Psalm 67 in Septuagint and Vulgate numbering) is "the most difficult and obscure of all the psalms." In the English of the King James Version it begins "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered". In the Latin Vulgate version it begins "Exsurgat Deus et dissipentur inimici eius". It has 35 verses (36 according to Hebrew numbering). Methodist writer Arno C. Gaebelein calls it "The Great Redemption Accomplished" and describes it as "one of the greatest Psalms". Psalm 68 is used in both Jewish and Christian liturgies, and also in that of Ethiopianist new religious movements such as Rastafari. It has often been set to music, such as Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Exurgat Deus (H.215) in Latin around 1690, for soloists, chorus, two treble instruments and continuo. Handel used verses 11 and 18 in his 1742 oratorio Messiah (HWV 56).

Response

Difficulty

Writers like Pettinato in "Ebla" and Dahood in "Psalms II" say the psalm is one of the most difficult in the canon.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

Name of God

According to Gaebelein, the name of God is found in this psalm in seven different forms: Jehovah (or YHWH), Adonai, El, Shaddai, Jah (or Yah), Jehovah-Adonai and Jah-Elohim.

Uses

In Judaism

According to the "Complete ArtScroll Siddur" as edited by Nosson Scherman in 1984, isolated verses from the psalm are part of contemporary Jewish liturgy: According to "The ArtScroll Tehillim" by Hillel Danziger (1989, p. 329), in some traditions, the entire psalm is recited on Shavuot.

New Testament

Verse 18 of Psalm 68 is referenced in the New Testament in Ephesians 4:8: The passage in the psalm makes reference to the Ark of the Covenant ascending to Mount Zion, and Paul is here drawing a comparison to the Ascension of Jesus.

Roman Catholic liturgy

In the monastic tradition dating from the Early Middle Ages, this psalm was traditionally recited at the Matins office on Wednesday, according to the distribution of the rule of St. Benedict fixed at 530. In the current Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 68 is recited or sung at the Reading Office on Tuesday of the third week in the four weekly cycle. It is also read on the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time in year C in the triennial cycle of the Sunday masses.

Eastern Orthodox tradition

The first two verses of the psalm's Church Slavonic version form the beginning of the "Prayer of the Cross" or Молитва Кресту in the Russian tradition part of the daily evening prayers: But, the more important use of this psalm in Eastern Orthodox tradition is in Easter Liturgy. Namely, all services on the Easter day and during the first week after Easter begin with chanting of this psalm, ie. an archpriest or a priest pronounces it, and all Church answers. Also, during saints' feasts, very often is used the last verse (Дивенъ Богъ въ свѧтыхъ своихъ...).

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this is the sole psalm appointed to be read on the morning of the 13th day of the month, and is one of the psalms proper for Mattins on Whitsunday.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 68 in a metred version in German, "Es steh Gott auf, daß seine Feind", SWV 165, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628. Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed Exurgat Deus (H.215) around 1690, set for soloists, chorus, 2 treble instruments and continuo. Philipp Heinrich Erlebach composed Gelobet sei der Herr täglich around 1710, a church cantata for the First Sunday after Trinity beginning with Psalm 68:20. Handel's 1742 oratorio Messiah (HWV 56) cites verses 1 and 18 according to the King James Version. British composer Havergal Brian incorporated the psalm in his Symphony No. 4 "Das Siegeslied", using the original Lutheran version in German, and translated into English.

Secular allussions

The second part of verse 31, "Ethiopia shall soon stretch her hands unto God" (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ታበድ አደዊሃ ሃበ አግዚአብሐር, Itiyopia tabetsih edewiha habe Igziabiher) was used in the coat of arms of Emperor Haile Selassie, and was also formerly used as the national motto of Ethiopia. (The original Hebrew refers to Cush (כוש).) John Buchan's collection of short stories The Runagates Club (1928) derives its title from verse 6, which in the Book of Common Prayer reads "but letteth the runagates continue in scarceness", where the King James Version has "but the rebellious dwell in a dry land"; runagate is an obsolete spelling of renegade.