My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 68:4 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!
Psalm 68:5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
Psalm 68:6 God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
As mentioned in my earlier post this psalm is likely a response to the ark coming into Jerusalem, a description of David when the Lord of glory come to reside in the City of David. The first three verses spoke of two reactions when God arises, when He makes moves. Either the wicked scatter of the righteous exult, even jump for joy.
David continues with the righteous, and how they are reacting to the ark of the covenant arriving from the deserts. Might David be referring to the 40 years, where God was leading the rebellious nation, that first generation that fell in the wilderness? Even as those who refused to listen to God fell, the nation continued, leading to the desired land God had planned for the nation. Even during apparent failure, God led the people, accomplishing His will. God will accomplish His will! When He arises, nations are established.
Yet, though He established the nation of Israel, leading her through the deserts, He does not forget those who are forgotten by everyone else.
David continues the thought of God’s arising in relation to orphans and widows. I have recently wrote on this verse in the Names of God series for your reference. See Names of God – FATHER OF THE FATHERLESS – 141.
God is the same God yesterday, today and forever, and these last two verses in our passage today refer to orphans and widows. Back in the time of David, God was associated with caring for widows and orphans. Nowadays, the apostle James command for believers to care for widows and orphans rings through the church.
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Is David being repeated here by James? It is very interesting that in David’s very same verse, God is spoken of as being in His holy habitation.
David is speaking of God arising in this psalm, of widows and orphans being taken care of, and of the holiness of God. James provides these same three characteristics of pure religion but as of the duty of believers.
David continues in this psalm speaking of God reversing the condition of those in the nation. First, He speaks of the solitary, possibly referring to the orphan or widow, being in a home, amongst others and protected. Those who had fallen into crime of some sort, possibly due to circumstances beyond their control, now find themselves led into prosperity. Those who were in the midst of trials, that were without support or experiencing some restrictions in their lives were provided for.
In a consistent manner, the rebellious were also provided for in relation to their condition, receiving a parched land. Let it be known, that the rebellious David speaks of here are amongst the widows, the fatherless, and the prisoner. While those who are helpless find relief, those who are of rebellion live in a parched land.
How may that be? Though there be blessing for those who are helpless, for the widow, orphan and prisoner, the rebellious experience dryness, a parched land, for they see not the grace of God, the mercy of the Holy One.
This is a difficult truth, for those who rebel against the God of Israel, against the God who rises up, see no joy, experience no hope and can not experience any blessing, having rejected it wholesale by rejecting God Himself. In a very real way, they create their own parched land!
How sad to give up the fount of living waters to resort to broken cisterns that hold no water! Jeremiah speaks of this same outcome for those who forsake God, rebelling against Him.
Don’t rebel and live in a parched land!
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Considering the Bible 