“O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.”
This concluding verse of the psalm affirms that God's awesome majesty emanates from the sanctuary and establishes divine strength as the source of blessing for all who approach God with reverence and trust. The connection between the sanctuary and God's majesty establishes that the place of worship becomes a conduit through which transcendent power becomes present and accessible to the faithful, making God's cosmic authority tangible within human experience. The blessing of strength flowing from God suggests that encounter with divine majesty results not in paralyzing fear but in empowerment and renewal, as believers who acknowledge God's supremacy become participants in His strength. By concluding the psalm with this affirmation of blessing, the psalmist establishes that recognition of God's awesome power and majesty leads not to despair but to the gift of renewed strength to persist in faith and fulfill God's purposes within creation.
Church Fathers on Psalms 68:35
1. Of this Psalm, the title seems not to need operose discussion: for simple and easy it appears. For thus it stands: “For the end, for David himself a Psalm of a Song.” But in many Psalms already we have reminded you what is “at the end: for the end of the Law is Christ for righteousness to every man believing:” Romans 10:4 He is the end which makes perfect, not that which consumes or destroys. Nevertheless, if any one endeavours to inquire, what means, “a Psalm of a Song:”…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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