Psalms 68:26
in Psalms 68Bless God in the great congregation; bless the LORD from the fountain of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Bless ye God in the congregations, Even the Lord, ye that are of the fountain of Israel.
KJV
Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
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This verse in Psalms 68
Commentary
12 notes on this verseIn the churches bless God. O you who glory in abstinence, do this in the churches, and do not defend heresy for your own selves. These things can be said to Tatian, who is the chief of the Encratites. The Lord from the fountains of Israel. The Manichaean cannot bless the Lord, because he does not bless from the fountains of Israel: that is, because he does not receive the Old Testament.
This site's exposition
They have seen Your procession
on Psalms 68:24-27
The order of the procession is given: singers first, then musicians, then the maidens with tambourines. Verse 27 puts Benjamin at the head of the tribes, the youngest of them, and Gill names Benjamin as the tribe of Saul, Israel's first king. Judah, Zebulun and Naphtali follow.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Therefore, that no one should take these words in a carnal sense, and by these words should conceive in his mind certain choral bands of wantonness, he continueth and saith, "In the Churches bless ye the Lord": as though he were saying, wherefore, when ye hear of damsels, players on timbrels, do ye think of wanton pleasures? "In the Churches bless ye the Lord." For the Churches are pointed out to you by this mystic intimation: the Churches are the damsels, with new grace decked: the Churches are the players on the timbrels, with chastened flesh being spiritually tuneful. "In the Churches," then, "bless ye the Lord God from the wells of Israel." For from thence He first chose those whom He made wells. For from thence were chosen the Apostles; and they first heard, "He that shall have drunk of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst, but there shall be made in him a well of water springing unto life everlasting."
Then the people of Israel came to the twelve springs after Marah. We read in the prophet, "Bless the Lord from the springs of Israel." It is the Christ, who is blessed in no other way than the mouths of the apostles and the teaching …
I think that here none but the apostles can be meant by the rulers of Naphtali. For thence our Lord and Savior called them according to the quotation from Matthew. The Scripture is prophesying the coming of the Word of God to human beings and his incarnate sojourn here, when it says, "Your goings [solemn processions], O God, have been seen," and that which follows. And the prophets of old were like heralds of his epiphany and arrived before him with proclamation and chant, with music of psaltery and choir and all kinds of spiritual instruments, in the midst of maidens playing on timbrels. For the inspired prophets going in every way into the midst of the Jewish synagogues heralded the coming of the Christ, and by the Holy Spirit they addressed the apostles of our Savior, saying, "Praise the Lord God in the congregations from the fountains of Israel." And the "fountains of Israel" must be the words delivered to Israel. "For they [the inspired prophets] first trusted the oracles of God," whence it will be necessary for us to draw and water the churches of Christ. By "maidens playing on timbrels" he suggested the souls that lived in the past by the more external law of Moses, calling them "maidens" because of their youth and imperfectly developed minds and "timbrel players" because of their devotion to external worship.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
As a sweet chant results from a great number of voices united in a certain proportion and harmony, so also a spiritual harmony pleasing to the Most High comes forth from the harmony of the love of many. Hence the Psalm: "Bless the Lord, you …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Bless ye God in the congregations,....
5 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
Bless ye God in the congregations. Let the assembled company magnify the God whose ark they followed. United praise is like the mingled perfume which Aaron made, it should all be presented unto God. He blesses us; let him be blessed. Even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. A parallel passage to that in Deborah's song: "They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord."
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
from--or literally, "of" the fountain of Israel--that is, lineal descendants of Jacob, are invited to unite in the doxology. Then by one of the nearest tribes, one of the most eminent, and two of the most remote, are represented the whole nation of Israel, passing forward (Nu 7:1-89).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The triumphal procession, after the deliverance, is depicted. They have seen--impersonally, "There have been seen." the goings of my God--as leading the procession; the ark, the symbol of His presence, being in front. The various bands of music (Ps 68:25) follow, and all who are--
Bless ye God in the congregations. Let the assembled company magnify the God whose ark they followed. United praise is like the mingled perfume which Aaron made, it should all be presented unto God. He blesses us; let him be blessed. Even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. A parallel passage to that in Deborah's song: "They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord." The seat of the ark would be the fountain of refreshing for all the tribes, and there they were to celebrate his praises. "Drink, "says the old inscription, "drink, weary traveller; drink and pray." We may alter one word, and read it, drink and praise. If the Lord overflows with grace, we should overflow with gratitude. Ezekiel saw an ever growing stream flow from under the altar, and issue out from under the threshold of the sanctuary, and wherever it flowed it gave life: let as many as have quaffed this life giving stream glorify "the fountain of Israel."
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Bless ye God in the congregations - In the assemblages of the people; not only as individuals, but in solemn precessions; in triumphal marches; when the people are assembled together. In this public manner acknowledge God as the true God, and render him praise. Even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel - Margin, “Ye that are of;” that is, “of the fountain of Israel.” The margin has undoubtedly expressed the correct idea. The appeal is to the Hebrew people represented as descending from a common stock or ancestor - Jacob or Israel - as a stream or river flows from a fountain. Compare the notes at Isa 48:1; see also Isa 51:1; Deu 33:28. All the descendants of Jacob or Israel are thus called on to unite in solemnly praising the Lord their God.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּֽ֭מַקְהֵלוֹת | bemakhelot | in assemblies | H4721 → | |
| בָּרְכ֣וּ | barekhu | bless | H1288 → | 330 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֑ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִמְּק֥וֹר | mimekor | from [the] fountain of | H4726 → | |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
בְּֽ֭מַקְהֵלוֹתin assemblies
bemakhelotH4721 →
בָּרְכ֣וּbless
barekhuH1288 →330 times
אֱלֹהִ֑יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
יְ֝הוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִמְּק֥וֹרfrom [the] fountain of
mimekorH4726 →
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 111:1Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
it leads to
- Psalms 138:1
I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises.
- Psalms 149:1
Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song— His praise in the assembly of the godly.
- Psalms 106:1
Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
- Psalms 109:30
With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely; I will praise Him in the presence of many.
- Psalms 35:18
Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.
- Psalms 138:1
Through
Deuteronomy 33:28So Israel dwells securely; the fountain of Jacob lives untroubled in a land of grain and new wine, where even the heavens drip with dew.
it leads to
- Numbers 23:9
For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations.
- Numbers 23:9
Through
Psalms 26:12My feet stand on level ground; in the congregations I will bless the LORD.
it leads to
- Psalms 27:11
Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path, because of my oppressors.
- Psalms 27:11
Through
Proverbs 5:16Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
it leads to
- Psalms 128:3
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.
- Psalms 128:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 68; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Eusebius of Caesarea, PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 9:9; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Homily 7, on Psalm 67; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Maximus of Turin, SERMON 68:4.