John Calvin Commentary Psalms 68:25

"The singers went before, the minstrels followed after, In the midst of the damsels playing with timbrels." — Psalms 68:25 (ASV)

The singers went before. It is evident that he is not now speaking of an army in battle array, but of a solemn assembly held for offering thanksgivings to God for victory. God had openly shown that he was their leader in war, and the song of triumph is appropriately addressed to him.

Mention is made of distinct choirs employed in his service, and particularly of those who played the timbrel; for, absurd as the practice may appear to us, it was then customary for women to play that instrument. Regarding the fountain from which they are called upon to bless God, some understand this to be the heart, as it is known that praises proceeding merely from the lips, and which are hypocritical, meet with divine condemnation.

But I understand the true meaning to be that all who could trace their origin to the patriarch Jacob are summoned to praise the Lord. Many might not have embodied the character that corresponded to their high calling; but, as the whole race had been chosen by God, the Psalmist rightly invites them to engage in this devotional exercise.

At the same time, I see no objection to the opinion, if some persist in preferring it, that the term is used here to distinguish the true saints of God from those who vainly boasted of being Abraham’s descendants, while they had degenerated from his spirit. Only those who walk in the footsteps of his faith are counted as his children.

It has caused some surprise that, in a general description of the people's sacred assemblies, precedence should have been given to the tribe of Benjamin. According to some interpreters, this is due to the position it occupied, as it was next to David; and honor is conferred upon the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, which, though they were situated far away, were particularly friendly and attached to him.

Others think that the whole nation is represented by the tribes specified, which were at once the nearest and the most distant. These conjectures are probable enough, but this is a point that can be left uncertain, as there may have been some other reason that is impossible for us to discover.

It has been suggested that Benjamin is called little because of its small numbers, as the tribe had been nearly exterminated for the crime of the men of Gibeah (Judges 19:20); but David would probably not have alluded to any reproach of this kind when calling them to take such a prominent part in the praises of God.

The inspired writers, in speaking of the tribes, often allude to the patriarchs from whom they respectively derived their origin. Nor is it surprising that the descendants of Benjamin, who was the youngest of Jacob’s children, should receive the designation given to them here. The truth is that even prior to the severe blow that befell them, they were not numerous.

Interpreters, by general consent, have considered that Benjamin is called ruler because Saul, who was first made king in Israel, belonged to this tribe. However, I do not find it probable that David would have made such an ill-timed allusion to Saul’s memory, whose government is everywhere represented in Scripture as fraught with disaster, and which was to be superseded by that of his successor, whose reign is featured so prominently in this psalm.

The more likely conjecture is that this title of dignity is applied to honor a tribe that some might despise for its smallness, and to indicate that the Benjamites, though few in number and not possessing great influence, formed a distinct part of Israel, just like the others.

Others may be inclined to think that there must have been some illustrious individual in this tribe and the two tribes mentioned with it, or that the whole tribe had distinguished itself in a recent battle.

Although honorable mention is made of these tribes, the chief place among those assembled at this time is assigned to the princes of Judah.

Some think that the copulative is understood, and read, the princes of Judah and their congregation. The Hebrew word that we translate as congregation is translated by others as stoning.

But it seems preferable to interpret the words as implying that this tribe presided over the assembly that marched under its leadership in war. The power of summoning the people is thus asserted as belonging to Judah, and it is represented as being honored with the government and primacy of the kingdom.