January 9
Reading: Psalm 68
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the LORD; exult before him!
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
Selah
8 the earth quaked,
the heavens poured down rain, before God,
the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10 your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
11 The Lord gives the word;
the women who announce the news are a great host:
12 “The kings of the armies– they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—
13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on Zalmon.
15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may strike your feet in their blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
24 Your procession is seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them virgins playing tambourines:
26 “Bless God in the great congregation,
the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 Summon your power, O God,
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall bear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 Nobles shall come from Egypt;
Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
32 O kingdoms of the earth,
sing to God; sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
the God of Israel– he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
Let God arise, in Egypt, at Sinai, in the wilderness, and in His holy sanctuary. This is the path that David’s imagination takes in this lengthy psalm. The psalm is a journey. It is a journey of rejoicing in the power and works of God.
We discover in this psalm that David does not see himself and God in isolation, but he is part of the people of God extending back five-hundred years. His God is the God who has been his God that entire time and has led His special people through many dangers, toils, and fears.
David’s God is the God who scatters His enemies, which are David’s enemies too. David’s God is the one who rides through the deserts with His people, one of whom is David. David’s God is a father to the fatherless, whoever they may be, who makes a home for the homeless and frees the prisoners. David’s God gives rain and goodness for His people and causes armies to flee. God is on the mountains surrounded by angels.
In verse 18 we read of the Lord ascending, leading captive a host of captives. This passage is quoted by Paul in Ephesians 4:8-10.
Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
What Paul is doing here might seem, at first, confusing. But in this psalm, God leading captive a host of captives is a picture of the Lord leading His people out of Egypt. God is saving His people. This is exactly what Paul wants us to understand about ourselves. The Lord saves us from captivity to sin and makes us His servants! And the plunder that He has taken for Himself, that He gives to His people to serve Him. So the Holy Spirit gives gifts to men and women to serve Him. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
And David’s God bears our burdens, as Jesus will do. And God delivers and leads us into worship so that he (David) can cause all the kingdoms of earth to praise Him. This is a psalm to “Him who rides upon the highest heavens, from ancient times.” (vs. 33)