father · noun, common masculine singular construct
fatherless
יְ֭תוֹמִיםYe.to.mim
H3490
a bereaved person · noun, common masculine plural absolute
judge
וְדַיַּ֣ןve.dai.Yan
H1781
a judge or advocate · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
widows
אַלְמָנ֑וֹת'al.ma.Not
H490
a widow · noun, common feminine plural absolute
God
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים'E.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
holy
קָדְשֽׁוֹka.de.Sho
H6944
a sacred place or thing · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
habitation
בִּמְע֥וֹןbim.'on
H4583
an abode · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 10:14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the h…
Jeremiah 49:11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
Deuteronomy 10:18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
Psalms 82:3-4 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Psalms 146:9 The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
Psalms 72:4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
Jeremiah 5:28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they…
Luke 18:2-7 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 68:1-6
In these verses,
I. David prays that God would appear in his glory,
1. For the confusion of his enemies (Psa 68:1, Psa 68:2): "Let God arise, as a judge to pass sentence upon them, as a general to take the field and do execution upon them; and let them be scattered, and flee before him, as unable to keep their ground, much less to make head against him. Let God arise, as the sun when he goes forth in his strength; and the children of darkness shall be scattered, as the shadows of the evening flee before the rising sun. Let them be driven away as smoke by the wind, which ascends as if it would eclipse the sun, but is presently dispelled, and there appears to remainder of it. Let them melt as…
are illustrated by the protection to the helpless, vindication of the innocent, and punishment of rebels, ascribed to Him.
John Gill on Psalms 68:5
A father of the fatherless,.... In a literal sense, so as to show mercy to them, take care of then), and protect them; and this is a character which the great God often assumes, partly to express his power and providence over such, and partly to signify his tenderness, mercy, and goodness to them; and in which he should be imitated by civil magistrates, and by all good men: for it was not only a law in Israel to show regard to such, and take care not to afflict them, but it is also a branch of pure undefiled Christian religion, James 1:27, in attending to which we resemble the great Author of it, who is here intended. Moreover, this may be understood in a spiritual sense of such who are dese…
Psalm 68:1-6
1. God shall arise: his enemies shall be scattered; and they who hate him shall flee before him. 2. As smoke is driven away, thou shalt drive them away; as wax melteth before the fire, the wicked shall perish from the presence of God. 3. But the righteous shall be glad; they shall rejoice before God, and leap for exultation. 4. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: exalt him that rideth upon the clouds in Jah [7] his name, [or, in his name Jah,] and rejoice before him. 5. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in the habitation of his holiness. 6. God who setteth the solitary in families, who bringeth, out those who are bound with chains; [8] but the r…
The Church Fathers
God is in his holy place. God always dwells in his holy ones: wherever holiness is, there is the dwelling-place of God.
What do I mean? If you ever wish to associate with someone, make sure that you do not give your attention to those who enjoy health and wealth and fame as the world sees it, but take care of those in affliction, those in critical circumstances, those in prison, those who are utterly deserted and enjoy no consolation. Put a high value on associating with these; for from them you shall receive much profit, you will be a better lover of the true wisdom, and you will do all for the glory of God. And if you must visit someone, prefer to pay this honor to orphans, widows and those in want rather than to those who enjoy reputation and fame. God has said, "I am the father of orphans and the protector of widows." And again, "Judge for the fatherless, defend the widow. Then come and let us talk, says the Lord."
"Exult ye in the sight of Him," O ye to whom hath been said, "Sing ye to God, psalm ye to the name of Him, a way make ye to Him that hath ascended above the setting," also "exult in the sight of Him:" as if "sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing." For while ye make a way to Him, while ye prepare a way whereby He may come and possess the nations, ye are to suffer in the sight of men many sorrowful things. But not only faint not, but even exult, not in the sight of men, but in the sight of God. "In hope rejoicing, in tribulation enduring:" "exult ye in the sight of Him." For they that in the sight of men trouble you, "shall be troubled by the face of Him, the Father of orphans and Judge of widows" (ver. 5). For desolate they suppose them to be, from whom ofttimes by the sword of the Word of God both parents from sons, and husbands from wives, are severed: but persons destitute and widowed have the consolation "of the Father of orphans and Judge of widows:" they have the consolation of Him that say to Him, "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord hath taken up me:" and they that have hoped in the Lord, continuing in prayers by night and by day: by whose face those men shall be troubled when they shall have seen themselves prevail nothing, for that the whole world hath gone away after Him. For out of those orphans and widows, that is, persons destitute of partnership in this world's hope, the Lord for Himself doth build a Temple: whereof in continuation he saith, "The Lord is in His holy place."
Dictionary and topics
Fatherless · God will: Be a father of — God will: Be a father of
Orphan · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The Psalm begins with the expression of a wish that the victory of God over all His foes and the triumphant exultation of the righteous were near at hand. Ewald and Hitzig take יקום אלהים hypothetically: If God arise, He enemies will be scattered. This rendering is possible in itself so far as the syntax is concerned, but here everything conspires against it; for the futures in Psa 68:2-4 form an unbroken chain; then a glance at the course of the Psalm from Psa 68:20 onwards shows that the circumstances of Israel, under which the poet writes, urged forth the wish: let God arise and humble His foes; and finally the primary passage, Num 10:35, makes it clear that the futures are the language o…
God, the Father of all marginalized and needy people, shows them compassion and protects their rights (see 10:14, 18; 69:33; 82:3). • Like his dwelling, the Lord is holy. The supreme example of the holy God coming down to rescue humanity is Jesus Christ.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 68:5
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. In the wilderness the people were like an orphan nation, but God was more than a father to them. As the generation which came out of Egypt gradually died away, there were many widows and fatherless ones in the camp, but they suffered no want or wrong, for the righteous laws and the just administrators whom God had appointed, looked well to the interests of the needy. The tabernacle was the Palace of Justice; the ark was the seat of the great King. This was a great cause for joy to Israel, that they were ruled by the One w…
