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Psalm 68 Commentary

The Victoriuos God Gives Out Gifts

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KEY THOUGHT: A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation. [Psalm 68:5 NKJV]

Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!

Psalm 68 NKJV

The Glory of God in His Goodness to Israel

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.

68 Let God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.
2 As smoke is driven away,
So drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God;
Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Extol[a] Him who rides on the [b]clouds,
By His name [c]Yah,
And rejoice before Him.

5 A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
6 God sets the solitary in families;
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

7 O God, when You went out before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 The earth shook;
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,
Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance,
When it was weary.
10 Your congregation dwelt in it;
You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.

11 The Lord gave the word;
Great was the [d]company of those who proclaimed it:
12 “Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home divides the [e]spoil.
13 Though you lie down among the [f]sheepfolds,
You will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And her feathers with yellow gold.”
14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
It was white as snow in Zalmon.

15 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you [g]fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks?
This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in;
Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.

17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
Even thousands of thousands;
The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.
18 You have ascended on high,
You have led captivity captive;
You have received gifts among men,
Even from the rebellious,
That the Lord God might dwell there.

19 Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation! Selah
20 Our God is the God of salvation;
And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.

21 But God will wound the head of His enemies,
The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 That [h]your foot may crush them in blood,
And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.”

24 They have seen Your [i]procession, O God,
The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after;
Among them were the maidens playing timbrels.
26 Bless God in the congregations,
The Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
27 There is little Benjamin, their leader,
The princes of Judah and their [j]company,
The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.

28 [k]Your God has commanded your strength;
Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us.
29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
Kings will bring presents to You.
30 Rebuke the beasts of the reeds,
The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Till everyone submits himself with pieces of silver.
Scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come out of Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old!
Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice.
34 Ascribe strength to God;
His excellence is over Israel,
And His strength is in the clouds.
35 O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places.
The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.

Blessed be God!

Footnotes

a. Psalm 68:4 Praise
b. Psalm 68:4 MT deserts; Tg. heavens (cf. v. 34 and Is. 19:1)
c. Psalm 68:4 Lit. LORD, a shortened Heb. form
d. Psalm 68:11 host
e. Psalm 68:12 plunder
f. Psalm 68:13 Or saddlebags
g. Psalm 68:16 Lit. stare
h. Psalm 68:23 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. you may dip your foot
i. Psalm 68:24 Lit. goings
j. Psalm 68:27 throng
k. Psalm 68:28 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Command, O God

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm 68 Commentary

This psalm, among many other things, celebrates the victory of the “fatherless, widows, prisoners, and the lonely”. Not the strong. Not the well-to-do of the earth, but the lowly placed soul.

The LORD does it!

“When you ascended on high, you took many captives; you received gifts from people, even from the rebellious — that you, Lord God, might dwell there.” The Apostle Paul references this verse in his letter to the Ephesians. He is talking about God’s special gift to the Church.

In the original context, the scripture probably celebrates Israel’s triumph – a triumph for the LORD. The LORD goes up Mount Zion and takes captives. These captives bring gifts. They pay tribute. This is the LORD’s promise to Abraham.

The conquered mountain becomes the LORD’s dwelling place. The LORD gives it to Israel as a gift. Jacob’s children get pieces of land as gifts from the LORD.

The LORD doesn’t take residence without first conquering His enemies. Greediness, pride, immorality, hatred, drunkenness, and many others. May God arise, and may these enemies be scattered. Then the LORD might dwell there.

Stop and consider the difference between the New and the Old Testaments. Who is the enemy in the Old Testament? Who is the enemy in the New Testament?

What kind of gifts are given in the Old Testament? What is the gift in the New Testament? This Psalm links the two. The Book of Ephesians explains it, the gifts, and the definition of the New Testament enemy.

The psalmist uses several graphics to display Israel’s elevated status. Mount Bashan gazes in envy as Mount Zion stands tall in triumph. The tens of thousands of chariots are a direct reference to Israel’s military prowess. But this military strength is actually God’s strength. He daily bears the burdens of His people.

The procession has the colors of a victorious military parade. But again, it is simply a praise team with musical instruments. The two are one and the same in Christendom. Ironically, it is the least, low, down, and out who are in the lead during this procession. The little tribe of Benjamin in the lead may represent the thought that the least in the kingdom of God may be the greatest.

In the immediate context, the psalmist envisions a prosperous Israel receiving tributes from the powers of the day: Egypt and Cush. The powers of the day may represent greediness, pride, vanity, oppression, and arrogance (and their relatives). The LORD will bring about a time when these earthly powers are bowed down in submission to the righteousness of the LORD Jesus Christ. And Christ’s ambassadors of righteousness will sit with their master in full joy and strength.

Praise the LORD! What a psalm!

Loving Scripture….

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25 thoughts on “Home”

  1. It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

    God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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  11. Profound. My life needs a new introduction to God. Not that I have been right, but because God desires to help me… I see an amazing Grace here. Having broken the first commandment, still God looks for me and helps me to build up with him… And live for him. A littles knowledge of the Lord will ignite my passion and desire to serve him. This morning I pledge to seek, live and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His purposes everyday of my life.
    Beautiful lesson

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  12. The Lord reintroduces himself and shows Israel, He is all they need. Some boast in horses and others in chariots but we’ll boast in the Lord. He is able and the only one worthy of our trust. Lord teach me how to always look up to you at all times and not focus on my strength or capabilities. This is my prayer

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  14. This far too common today. Just do something that seems like true worship yet it’s intent and actual practice is not even close to the set standard by the Lord. I personally feel challenged of some things we do in our personal lives, the focus of many churches and ministries today. We’ll need to realize the Lord must be worship as he has personally guided. Provides a good start of my reflection today

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  15. In those days when there was no King everyone did as they pleased. This is a good reminder to us that we are on own when the King of Kings isn’t leading our lives we’ll be doing what is not right and the results will show clearly how life without Christ looks like. We thank God that even when it looks like he’s not there, he’s behind the scenes working. I have learnt to trust in the Lord always.

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  16. Iam seeing this being stressed… There was no King in Israel… So lawlessness is the order of the day. This shows how heartless and wicked man can be with out the right King in his life. He can do anything. May the Lord help us to allow Christ in our lives that every aspect of our lives is changed and we yield ourselves to him alone.

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  17. I’m sure as the two daughters in-law stayed in Naomi’s home they learned about the God of Israel and appreciated His works among his people. Ruth’s determination and what she says moves my heart. She’s convinced she must go with Naomi and wants to spend her life with her, this relationship was strong especially between a mother inlaw and a daughter in-law. Yet Ruth stays and how she puts it shows the depth of her heart, I’ll go with with you, your people will be my people, your God will be my God…

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