John Calvin Commentary Psalms 68:31

"Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall haste to stretch out her hands unto God." — Psalms 68:31 (ASV)

Princes shall come out of Egypt. He resumes the strain of thanksgiving and confirms what he had previously asserted: that kings would come and pay tribute to God. The examples he brings forward are those of the Egyptians and Ethiopians. This sufficiently proves that the prediction must be extended to Christ, by whom the Egyptians and Ethiopians were brought under the sway of God.

The Hebrew word תריף, tarits, translated, shall soon stretch out, might have been rendered, shall cause to run. However, it seemed necessary to soften the harshness of the figure. It is doubtful whether the allusion is to the promptness with which they should yield subjection, or whether he means that they would stretch out their hands to entreat pardon, this being an attitude common to suppliants. According to either interpretation, their submission is intended, and it is enough to know that David asserts that Ethiopia and Egypt would come under God's power, and not only them, but also the most distant parts of the world.

In the next verse he goes farther than before, and calls upon the kingdoms of the earth to praise God, language which implies that those who had once been distinguished by their hostility to him would be ranked among his willing worshippers. There must be the knowledge of God, as I have remarked elsewhere, before people can celebrate the praises of his name; and we have a proof of the calling of the Gentiles, in the fact that Moses and the prophets invite them to offer sacrifices of praise.

That it might not seem a strange and incredible thing to speak of the extension of the worship of God from one land, within which it had been until now confined, to the whole world, David insists upon God’s rightful dominion over all parts of the earth. He rideth upon the heaven of heavens; that is, as we have observed at the beginning of the psalm, he has supreme power over all creatures and governs the universe at his will.

This truth, even in its general application, is well suited to inspire a reverential consideration of God's majesty; but we must not overlook the more particular reason for which it is introduced here. Mention was made of the Gentiles, who still lay outside the bounds of the Church. He proves they are embraced in God's government by virtue of his sovereignty as Creator, and intimates that it is not surprising that he who sits upon the heavens should comprehend all the inhabitants of the earth under his sway.

By the heavens of ancient times, it is meant to suggest that the whole human family was under his power from the very beginning. We have a striking proof of God's glorious power: despite the immensity of the structure of the heavens, the swiftness of their motion, and the conflicting revolutions that occur in them, the most perfect subordination and harmony are preserved. Moreover, this beautiful order has been uninterruptedly maintained for ages.

It is apparent, then, how the antiquity of the heavens can demonstrate to us the unique excellence of God's handiwork. Having touched upon the work of creation, he specifies thunder, for this is what he intends by a mighty voice, as in Psalm 29:4. There are two ways we can interpret the words used: either that by his voice of command he calls forth the thunders that shake heaven and earth with the loudness of their sound, or that he sends forth his mighty voice in the thunder.

I have already shown, at some length, when commenting on the other passage just quoted, that there is a propriety in God’s being represented as thundering; for this phenomenon, more than any other, impresses awe upon people's spirits. And the words are introduced with the exclamation lo! or behold! to better capture our wandering thoughts, or rather, to rebuke our complacency.