John Gill Commentary Psalms 80:10

"The mountains were covered with the shadow of it, And the boughs thereof were [like] cedars of God." — Psalms 80:10 (ASV)

The hills were covered with the shadow of it Alluding to the land of Canaan, which was a mountainous and hilly country, at least some part of it; hence we read of the hill country of Judea, (Luke 1:39) and to the nature of vines, which delight to grow on hills and mountains ^F16 : in a figurative sense this may denote the subjection of kings and kingdoms, comparable to hills, to the Israelites in the times of David and Solomon, (2 Samuel 8:1) (1 Kings 4:21 1 Kings 4:24) and the exaltation of the church of Christ, in the latter day, over the hills and mountains, (Isaiah 2:2) . The Targum is, ``the mountains of Jerusalem were covered with the shadow of the house of the sanctuary, and of the houses of the schools:''

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and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars ; to these the righteous are compared, (Psalms 92:13) , the Targum is, ``the doctors, the mighty preachers, who are like to the strong cedars:'' the words may be rendered, "the boughs thereof cover the goodly cedars", or "cedars of God" ^F17 ; that is, overrun and overtop the goodly cedars; alluding to vines running and growing upon high and goodly trees; and so may denote, as before, the power of Israel over the princes and potentates of the earth, comparable to cedars, the most excellent; as things most excellent have often the name of God added to them; see (Psalms 104:16) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F16: "Bacchus amat colles----" Virgil Georgic. l. 2. v. 113.
• F17: (la yzra hypne) "rami ejus cedros Dei", Tigurine version; so Sept. "et ramia ejus cedri Dei", Musculus, Cocceius; "palmitibus ejus cedri altissimae operiebantur", Piscator, De Dieu; "ramis ejus opertae sunt cedri Dei", Michaelis.