Psalms 68:18

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, Ephesians 4:8. 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 Numbers 21:1 Deuteronomy 21:10 Judges 5:12, &c. So poverty is put for the poor, 2 Kings 24:14. 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, Colossians 2:15. 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, Colossians 2:9; 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, Ephesians 4:8, 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 Exodus 25:2 Judges 14:2 1 Kings 3:24, 1 Kings 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, Psalms 2:3; and would not have thee to reign over them, Luke 19:14; 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, Ac 2, and elsewhere. That the Lord God might dwell among them; that having received such gifts, and thereby being made fit habitations for God, he who as man is ascended into the highest heavens, might as God come down to them, and dwell with them, not only in and by his ordinances, in which he is present, but also by his Spirit dwelling in their hearts by faith. Or, that they might dwell with the Lord God; the particle with being either understood, as it is in many places, or being contained in the Hebrew verb shacan, which, as some Hebrew critics observe, signifies not only to dwell, but to dwell with another; of which the learned may see many instances in Forsterus's Hebrew Lexicon. So the sense is, that they who were estranged and at a distance from God, and enemies to him, might draw near to him, and dwell with him both here and in heaven.