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 68:32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah Psalm 68:33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. Psalm 68:34 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. Psalm 68:35 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!
Our final portion of this fantastic psalm speaks of the God who in David’s sight has risen, not only in the lifting up of the ark, glorious as that must have been, but even greater in the realization that all the kingdoms of the earth will acknowledge the greatness of God, even to sing of God, sing praises to Him.
For David, he may have saw this in a physical realm, thinking that the theocracy of Israel would be the eternal dominating nation over the kings of the world.
For those of us who have met the Savior and are learning of Him, we have such a greater hope, such a stronger salvation, such a more personal connection through a suffering Savior. As Israel triumphed over their neighbors through the power of God, much could be ascribed to the God of Israel. David spoke of His greatness of God in the wars that Israel entered into, and how the Lord delivered the nation of Israel in His faithfulness.
Yet, in the final act, when the Living God willingly laid down His life for the sake of His enemies, all the physical victories paled in estimation.
We have such a great salvation, a salvation that could not be understood, imagined or comprehended in the days of old, when David was seeing God rise up. He didn’t see the whole of it!
And dare I say, we also are very weak in comprehending God’s glories in the saving work of Jesus.
May His name be praised, though we grasp so little of His mercy and grace found in the Only One!
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 68:28 Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us. Psalm 68:29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings shall bear gifts to you. Psalm 68:30 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. Psalm 68:31 Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
Lets continue in Psalm 68, where David is describing the God of Israel as rising up, bringing power to the nation, and delivering the tiny nation surrounded by enemies. His methods are unconventional to say the least, but David only concerned with God’s faithfulness, and Israel’s continued resting under His blessings.
David continues with his prayers in seeking God to continue His work in and for the nation of Israel. Think about it. It is one thing to begin strong, and by this time in the history of the nation, God had proved Himself over and over. David isn’t resting on his laurels, presuming that past victories secures future success. David is looking to God for His continuation of His power over Israel’s enemies.
Interestingly, David sees this power to be related to the temple, and rightly so, for he understood that the military success of Israel was not by human wisdom or strategy, but by the Spirit of God directing and empowering His people. This direction was hard linked to the temple, and David, of all the kings of Israel, knew of this connection well.
Centuries pass and the truth remains, that the source of strength and power of the people of God is God Himself. This never changes!
Zechariah 4:6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
As success follows success for the Israelites, and the enemies realize they are fighting much more than a small nation of slaves who came out of Egypt, the enemies come to their senses. David speaks of the humbling of the nations surrounding him. Mortal kings are generally known for their pride and arrogance, but for kings to bear gifts to Israel speaks of a humility and an admittance that they have come to the end of their rope, that they have no resources available to defeat Israel, their god is so weak, weaker than the God of Israel!
But to get to this humility, God is called upon by the warrior king David to
Rebuke the beasts
David describes beasts that dwell among the reeds, herds of bulls with the calves of the people. God is to speak correction to these bulls, these enemies of Israel.
Now we must remember when God speaks, it is not merely the compression of air from a voice box to produce sound. For God to speak is for God to expect and have results occur.
Consider Isaiah 17:13
The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away…
Notice that upon the rebuke of God, they (the enemies) will flee away. It is not that the enemies will consider God’s rebuke and then decide if they will accept it. Actually, for God’s rebuke to be directed to a nation will result in the nation fleeing.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute
This is a difficult portion to understand, as this psalm has presented many difficult portions. Nevertheless, God’s next action requested by King David is to trample, or to stamp down. In some passages, it is translated as hasten, or humble thyself
Proverbs 6:3 then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. ESV
Proverbs 6:3 Do this, then, my son, and free yourself, for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power: Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor. CSB
Proverbs 6:3 Do this now, my son, and be delivered, For thou hast come into the hand of thy friend. Go, trample on thyself, and strengthen thy friend, YLT
How this works out in this verse is a mystery to me, other than the truth that those who seek the high life through money very often are humbled by the very thing they chase after. No matter how it works out, or how this passage is understood, the action of God trampling those who are against Israel is being requested by King David. No mincing of words for David is escalating the requests for God’s actions on the enemy!
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
To be scattered is a judgement that was left to the very end for the nation of Israel herself, as if that was the worst punishment that could be inflicted on a nation. Babylon came to scatter the people of Israel for 70 years, only to be restored under the mercy of God, and for the future provision of salvation through the Messiah. The second scattering of the nation, under the mighty Roman empire ended up without the same mercy, being permanent.
David was seeking this type of action by God on the enemies of Israel. This type of action seems irreversible for a nation, for only under the hand of God has any nation ever returned, and that only once after the Babylonian captivity!
There was no recovery for any nation if scattered. Absorption of the nation into other cultures would be inevitable, and the unified personality, dreams, and nature of any nation scattered would come to an end. This is David’s way of asking for the complete domination of any and all of Israel’s enemies.
Poetic? Yes!
Graphic? Yes!
Eventual? Yes!
In the end, all the enemies of God will be dominated by the Living God. Through pain, sorrow, humiliation, and death, the Living God, Jesus Christ, has become the King of Kings. The time will come when all mortal kings will acknowledge this truth. For Jesus has suffered pain, experienced sorrow, faced humiliation, and passed through death in order to draw all men to Him.
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 68:24 Your procession is seen, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary– Psalm 68:25 the singers in front, the musicians last, between them virgins playing tambourines: Psalm 68:26 “Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!” Psalm 68:27 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.
Let’s remember the general topic of this psalm. David is writing to describe the entrance of the ark into the city of David. But more significantly, it is not simply the delivery of the ark that David has envisioned in this psalm, but the rising up of God in this action. His very first verse speaks of God arising, and His enemies scattering.
Throughout this psalm, David is describing God as One who helps the helpless (v5-6), produces results with the unlikely (vs (11-12) acts selflessly in His victory march (vs 18) and bears His people up (vs 19), instead of being supported by them.
He is altogether different than those who rule over us by the ways of men! For this we must be so thankful.
This particular passage is describing the procession of God into the sanctuary. Taken alone, we might look at verses 24 – 27 as a fairly sanitary, well rehearsed, orderly procession, and for the most part, from David’s standpoint, I am sure those bringing the ark are of such a reverent stance.
Yet the procession is spoken of immediately after the psalmist speaks of God’s foot “wading in blood” and dogs (scavengers, not pets as we commonly think of them as) lapping up their share of blood.
This is such a gruesome picture, a picture of violence sometimes described in the psalms. This particular occurrence of a warring King with bloody feet speaks of complete and utter domination over the enemy. This picture describes an imagery the Hebrew people would understand.
This image reminds me of a number of other times in the Word that speaks of the Lord being associated with blood and judgement.
Consider Isaiah 63:1
Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.”
Isaiah continues in verse 3
“I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained
and again in verse 6
I trampled the nations in My anger; in My wrath I made them drunk and poured out their blood on the ground.”
The typical Hebrew saw the God of all creation as their Savior in physical battles, providing them strength, wisdom and power over their national enemies. Of course, there were those of the remnant who understood the spiritual salvation that we as New Testament believers understand, even though dimly.
When my thoughts think of bloody feet, one verse comes to mind.
Revelation 19:13
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God.
The King of Kings is arriving from heaven, and the picture John provides is that of the victorious One, with His robe dipped (or sprinkled) with blood. Note also that He is on a white horse, (typical of a Victorious General leading a procession after defeating His enemies) being described in such a way, before He enters battle. You see, after the King is described as having blood on His robe, it is then that the King slays the enemies with the sword coming from His mouth.
Revelation 19:21
And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Okay – so whose blood is on his robe/feet? The enemies have not been slain. Is it not surely His blood, speaking of His victory over death, signaling to the enemies that He is no longer subject to their threats or attacks.
He is even now in procession, leading His church, those who have been captured, and willingly follow after Him. He is victorious and the blood is the witness! No better verse to close than the verse the psalmist provides us!
Psalm 68:26 “Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
Israel’s fountain is a fountain of blood, drawn from Emmanuel’s veins! Take a moment and enjoy this old old hymn. Be still and listen carefully, enter into the message.
What great truth’s were provided in the old hymns.
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day And there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away
May you be blessed in the Lord today, as you consider how great He is!
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 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah Psalm 68:20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death. Psalm 68:21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways. Psalm 68:22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, Psalm 68:23 that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
Our God is a God who bears us up. He supports us, provides strength, motivation and energy, direction and guidance.
He bears us up daily.
In our text, the psalmist uses a term that describes a burden, a load to be carried, and for the Lord, the load is Israel, and by extension ourselves. Each day He carries us, bearing us as the burden that He has taken on as His task.
Each day, He carries us through our trials, through our victories and through our heartbreaks. The picture is of a mighty One with a load on His back, moving the burden, His people, from point A to point B.
He speaks of His people being His burden later in Isaiah, when He reminds them of the duration of His lifting His people, even from birth.
Isaiah 46:3-4 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.
There is much that can be spoken of regarding the goodness and kindness of God toward His people in our verse in Psalm 68. The psalmist speaks of God being the Blessed One, Our Salvation, and the deliverer from death! He is the deliverer from death! So great is our God that He is the deliverer from death. May His Name be praised.
The link between Psalm 68 and Isaiah 46 begs me to consider the duration of His carrying us in both passages. Isaiah makes it clear that He will carry His people, even to gray hairs, or to the end of life. God is faithful to His people.
Take note of the psalm, where he again speaks of time passing.
striking the heads of His enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways
Let me explain my thoughts.
God bears us as a burden, yet He strikes the head of the guilty, those who are the enemy of His people. The author speaks of the hairy crown of the guilty being struck.
So which is it? Does He carry His people even to gray hair (old age) or does He strike those who walk in guilty ways? As His people, we must confess that we have not obeyed His will perfectly! At times we fall into sin and incur guilt in our lives before Him. And with guilt comes the striking!
Let us not fool ourselves to think “strike” may mean a glancing blow, or a simple nudge to correct the guilty. The word used is מָחַץ mâchats, and Strong’s dictionary provides synonyms such as “to crush, smash or violently plunge; figuratively, to subdue or destroy”
He carries His people, but the guilty He crushes. To refine the message better, it is the one “who walks in his guilty ways” that is struck.
Now as I continue in this post, I need to reiterate that I have no training in the ancient languages, and I rely only on the skimpiest understanding of verbs. With that said, the term “walk” in relation to the guilty in this verse refers to a continuous action. The NASB catches this thought somewhat clearer.
Psalm 68:21 Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies, The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds. NASB
The NET captures the thought without any chance of misunderstanding
Psalm 68:21 Indeed God strikes the heads of his enemies, the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion.
For the believer, we are to bless the Lord for His many mercies, for the constant carrying of His people. We are without hope without Him.
Yet the Word speaks of those who persist in rebellion as being the ones who will be struck!
How important is it for us as His people to trust and obey. To be in persistent rebellion against the One who carries us is to fall into great danger. Are not our lives are to be of a constant learning of the Holy One and a recurring, continual repentance of our known rebellion against Him. He carries us as a burden, and as He carries, we have the privilege of learning of Him.
I can’t help but think of the Lord as He spoke to His disciples (and us) when He voiced these words of His burden.
Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (or manageable). This is the God who carries His people, and He continues to invite those who are heavy laden (with burdens) to find rest in Him. And as we find rest in Him, we are provided a yoke and burden to join in with Him.
He carries us. We need to learn from Him. As we learn of how great of a God we have come to know, we are to follow after Him, changing our minds (repentance) and actions (obedience) to reflect what we know of Him. As we learn we find a different burden, a manageable burden that He shares with us.
And yet in all of our lives, He carries us! He is the God to be blessed by a thankful people, for all His mercies. Praise His name for His many mercies.
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 68:15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! Psalm 68:16 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? Psalm 68:17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary. Psalm 68:18 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.
As we are venturing through this difficult psalm, let’s remember the general topic of the psalm. David set the tone as he spoke of God rising up, of God leading in battle, and of God establishing His rule over others.
One other guiding principle I need to call to memory is that I am reading poetry. Poetry that employs word pictures, imagery and symbols to communicate a message for the people of Israel in ancient days. One word picture is that of mountains. This thinking came back to me as I researched for the location of the mount of Bashan. I can find the land of Bashan, which is to the north east of the Jordan River, where half the tribe of Manasseh settled, but I can’t find a physical mountain called Bashan.
Let’s get with the intent of the psalmist and consider mountains to represent governments, and proceed. The passage speaks of the mount of Bashan fuming with jealousy, for the Lord has chosen to dwell in Mount Zion, Sinai the holy place.
Two governments are discussed in this passage, being compared, and God’s choice is declared. The mighty mountain of Bashan does not have God dwelling in it, the government is that of men alone, without God. The government of God, His kingdom is that which is found in the Holy Place, in God Himself.
At this point, we come across a set of verses that should remind the believer of a passage in Ephesians.
Psalm 68:18
Ephesians 4:8
You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men
Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
David is watching God ascend into Jerusalem, if my understanding is correct. He is ascending to His rightful place of honor, victorious with those He conquered following in submission into the city of David. Yet a thousand years later Paul sees a completely different, much, much more expanded application of this passage.
Ascending to the heavens having conquered death, and leading a host of captives, Paul can only see Jesus as the God who is victorious. Jesus, in His resurrection and ascension is the Lord who is in the Holy place, and has conquered His enemies by dying for them.
How incredible is the King, that His plan was to conquer us by winning us over to His love. In my mind, this is something that is completely from left field, a fully unimaginable turn of events as I have been reading through this passage. And yet Paul tweaks this passage to emphasize the character of our God.
Can you identify the difference?
Heck – I can’t wait for your response. In the Old Testament, the King received gifts from men, even those He conquered. Not so under King Jesus, for as He led His captives, He gave gifts to men. Completely without precedent, for what King gives gifts to those He conquers?
He is not of this world and the more I understand of Him and His ways, the more I am mystified by His ways, shocked by His grace and stumped by the completely sacrificial love He exhibited, He endured, He suffered through, to conquer us.
I often close with “God is good and He is good all the time”, and that is so true, yet this morning as I dwell on this one aspect of our God, and the plans He has designed and completed for an ol’ fool like me, and for other sinners that have bowed the knee, I stand simply amazed at His grace.
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 68:11-14
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.
This Psalm continues the theme of the Lord as the conquering One, leading His people through to victory. He gives the word to advance with plans of victory and upon the victory, we find women announcing the good news.
From a patriarchal society as Israel was, this may have been surprising to hear, yet there are numerous examples of this very thing occurring in the Old Testament.
Miriam
Exodus 15:20-21
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
Deborah
Judges 5:1-2
Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD!
Multiple Women
1 Samuel 18:6-7
As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
To make things worse, verse 13 intimates that the men of the nation were not in the midst of the battle, that they may have been asleep in the sheepfolds, lying down, not interacting in the battle.
For this passage, it seems typical roles are upended, or at least denied, and the one constant is that God is still leading in victory. The Lord, in the battle, scatters kings, and the psalmist refers to snow falling on Zalmon. There is one instance in the book of Judges that speaks of Zalmon that may provide some context for this passage
Judges 9:48-49
And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.
It is known that the snow falls on Mount Zalmon, and it covers the mount for a period of time each year. The fact that the Lord scattering kings is associated with the snow of Zalmon may be referring to the mount being covered completely, as the Lord completely gains victory over the Kings.
One possible thought, and it is mine alone, so please take it with a grain of salt, but as Abimelech torched the tower, with over 1,000 perishing, the result of the fire would produce ash. The ash of his enemies. Gruesome thought, yet the ash would disperse and cover the vicinity, appearing as a snow fall.
This would definitely bring to the ancient reader a word picture of the utter judgement of God on His enemies.
Let me know your thoughts on this difficult passage. Or better yet, share a time when the Lord caused victory in your life, especially through non-conventional means.
By the way, regarding women announcing good news, was it not the penultimate good news of the resurrection that a few women, lost in their mourning for their Master, was granted the privilege to share with all the world?
He is risen, and even the first heralds, be they women were not expected!
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 68:7 O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah Psalm 68:8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. Psalm 68:9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished; Psalm 68:10 your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
In our earlier verses, David speaks of God riding through the desert. In this short passage, God is marching through the wilderness. The Old Testament uses a Hebrew word translated as march when referring to the ark coming from Obed-edom’s house toward the City of David. See verse 13, translated as steps below.
2 Samuel 6:12 And it was told King David, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 2 Samuel 6:13 ESV – And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.
Of course, David is speaking of the original marching through the desert as after the Red Sea crossing, but I found that the approach into Jerusalem may be connected with this passage through the marching reference. Interesting?
Back to the verses for this morning. These verses identify the blessing and goodness of God with rain. We saw earlier the reference of a parched land as the result of rebellion, and in this set of verses, we see the alternate response of God on a national level.
I do want to remember that this portion speaks of God going out before His people. David began this psalm, referring to God rising up as He did in the days of Moses. Each time the camp broke to begin their journey to the promised land Moses speak of God rising up, to lead His people. David is continuing this call for action, for the ark is on the move. David describes this movement with terms like quaking, marching and a resultant rain that drenched the inheritance of Israel, implying the previous times were times of languishing.
God is a God of restoration, for though the land languished, God restored. He provided a dwelling for the people and safety for the vulnerable.
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.
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 68:1-3
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 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!
I must admit to my readers that, though I have read through the Word many times this psalm is not familiar to me. I am coming to this psalm, almost as one who has never read it, never considered what it’s message is. It is somewhat like a buried treasure for me to find. Let’s consider Psalm 68 together.
As I am researching the reason for the writing of this psalm by David, I find that most historians place this writing of the psalm with the entrance of the ark coming into Jerusalem. The specific passage where the ark is prepared and brought into the City of David is 2 Samuel 6
Right out of the block, David reaches back in history, when Moses and the fledgling nation were travelling through the Sinai. Moses spoke of the Lord rising when the ark was to be moved to the next resting place, as the nation journeys to the promised land.
Numbers 10:35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.”
David is taking this passage and continuing the advancement of the ark in history, and in the nation of Israel. The Ark will reside in the sanctuary and the procession of the ark will be addressed later in this psalm. At this time and in the first three verses, David opens with the passage out of Numbers, speaking of God’s advancement, and of God’s enemies scattering, and fleeing from Him.
David, ever the poet, brings the mind picture of smoke and wax before the reader
Smoke
Typically, smoke refers to the gaseous products of materials being burnt, including the presence of very tiny particles of carbon or such. It may include a fume or vapor that is lighter than air, hotter than the surrounding atmosphere, as is obvious by its rising in the air. But note that as smoke rises in the air, the air is still. Any motion in the atmosphere is immediately felt by the smoke, and is helpless against the motion. The smoke offers no resistance to any slight wind, has no strength to oppose any minor breath of a breeze. Smoke is without any strength.
David refers to smoke as a picture of the strength of God’s enemies, the strength of those who hate God. He likens the strength of smoke as to their ability to withstand in God’s presence.
It is interesting that David speaks only of God rising as an action, not of His advancement against the enemies. It is simply that He is lifted up. The enemies have no strength. They flee as smoke in the wind.
Wax
Wax before fire.
David continues with the picture of wax being too close to a fire. As wind speaks to the smoke, so heat (or fire) speaks to the wax. And yet during the time of David, wax was plentiful in one application. Candles. As a candle is used for the production of light, the wax is consumed by the fire. It not only cannot stand in the presence of fire, it is actually consumed by the fire. Whatever you may think consumption implies in this verse, I will leave to the reader. The wicked will perish as the candle is consumed.
Not so with the righteous. Where as the wicked flee as smoke in a breeze and are consumed as wax before a fire, the righteous exult before God.
Is there a greater difference that can be expressed? No running away, no escaping, no terror and fright. Gladness, exultation and joy. As David speaks of exultation, he uses a word that speaks of one jumping for joy, of entering into a triumph or victory.
How very different two types of souls are when God rises up. Avoidance or sheer joy. Running away or gladness.
David is bringing in the Ark into Jerusalem and is recounting to us what this represents, who is coming into town! He is the One who rises up. His description is beautiful, poetic, but somewhat less than the reality we know of.
For when we think of the One rising up, we see Jesus, the One who was lifted up (onto a cross), rose up from the grave, and rises up in our hearts and lives as we seek Him.
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 67:6-7
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!
The psalmist comes to the end of his ruminations on the praiseworthiness of our God, and with these last two verses, he speaks of the abundance creation provides for His people. Our God is a God who blesses His people.
As the uncaused Cause, as the One who was from before any of all creation, it is simply logical that He is the source of all blessing. Yet as the psalmist writes, He speaks of riches, abundance and produce from the earth. He reiterates that God is the source, but the psalmist ensures the reader of the type of provider God is. God is not One who supplies “just enough”, acting as a miser or a skinflint, reluctant in providing His creation the supplies they need. He provides increase!
Whether directly by the hand of God or indirectly through His creation, God is the source of blessing. All past experience of the blessing of God into the saints life, as described by the psalmist previously is the basis for his declaration that God shall bless us.
He repeats it twice in case I didn’t notice.
God shall bless us
God shall bless us.
Our God is the One who provides abundantly, and as it is evident to all the lands the blessing God has for His people, the result will be that the ends of the earth will fear Him.
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 67:4-5
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
Can you hear the Psalmist? If only the nations understood the judgement and guidance the Lord provides. The psalmist rightly speaks of the nations being glad and singing for joy if they understood His judgement and guidance!
But, alas, the nations are blinded, and the people are deceived. Out of this deception comes misunderstanding, confusion and bickering. No joy, but jealousy of His power. No gladness, but grievances of His ways. No praise but only put downs and complaints of His Person!
Now I do not want to forget that this deception is accepted by a fallen people, a people who seek to find fault with God, who want to turn away from God and to follow their own way. But these are two different topics. The truth of God’s judgements and guidance, as compared to our ability/desire to accept this truth. I do not think the Psalmist is communicating the ability/desire of the nations/peoples, but simply that if they understood, the outcome would be praise, joy and gladness!
Before we follow God (and if we are honest with ourselves after we commit to Him), we are a people that tends to look the other way, to avoid the truth, to seek our own ways. We have an old man’s heart that surely likes to say no to God and His truth.
The psalmist is speaking of the judgement and guidance of God, and not necessarily how it is accepted by those of us below. It is as if the psalmist moans that the peoples/nations would open their eyes to the truth, to see how righteous and good God is in His judgements, in His guidance of the nations. Patience and mercy exude from the Father in all His ways, and a correct understanding of God’s judgements and guidance, to those who correctly understand it, perceive it, receive it and take it in, will produce a response of gladness, praise, and joy, even singing.
A correct understanding of God’s judgements and guidance will produce a response of gladness, praise and joy, even singing.
On a personal note, it must be understood that even in church, as I try to sing, my voice is such that it perturbs me. I can’t image the poor folks who may hear me! An exercise of mercy towards me for them!
I mess up, muddle through and am off tune, out of tune and without any talent. Yet as I grow into the Lord, and understand His holiness towards us, His mercy and patience, His many gifts of blessing to us, I find I cannot help but sing, even to the detriment of those around me.
Occasionally a tear will fall down my cheek, simply because He loves me, and somehow, in song, that reality hits me harder than during the day to day grind we all experience. And yet He loves us each and every day, whether we feel it or not. It is a truth we can settle into, lean upon and run to in times of trial.
He loves the nations. He loves people. He loves me, and for the life of me I don’t understand why – but He does and it simply pulls me in!
If only the deceptions could be pulled away from our minds, and if only our souls would seek the truth. May God have mercy on us, and reveal the Son of God in all His grace, in His resurrection, and in His patience to us, a people that are very slow to learn.
Praise Him for His judgements and guidance toward each of us each day. May we seek to understand Him and His ways more everyday!
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 67:1-3
1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
One of my grandbabies came over to visit us for few moments a couple days back. He is a little two year old that, along with his brother, my wife watches a couple times a month. He is an energetic youngin’ and we always, with all our children and grandchildren, need a hug when the come and when they leave. I am tending to become a huggy guy!
Nevertheless, this little buckaroo gave us our hugs, but while in Gramma’s arms, turned his head and started having an attitude. He turned his face away from Gramma. He was expressing a natural reaction to some issue he was upset with Gramma about. I think it was candy related! It didn’t last long for my wife let him know it wasn’t acceptable to act like that. No candy was wrestled out of my wife’s pantry by that behavior!
But I digress. When we see a phrase in our first verse about making God’s face shine upon us, this indicates His face is not shining upon the author. There was anger being expressed, and the author knew it.
He is requesting that God turn His face to him. Now I am not in any way trying to portray God as a demanding little child, that wants something we have, but I seek only to communicate that the act of having a face turned away speaks of loss of relationship. My wifey and Theo have a great relationship, but at this time, he had his eyes on something else.
God is not turning away for some selfish desire, but because of our sin against Him. We have offended Him.
Yet notice the Psalmist speaks of God making His face turn to us. With Theo, Gramma had to explain the situation, and require Theo to “face” her. For the Psalmist, all of this action is passive, the only active participant is God Himself.
God makes His face turn to us. Does this not scream of the crucifixion, of the free will offering of the Savior, of His work to satisfy the Father and to make the wall of partition fall down between us, of His making peace between us?
Even the purpose of this “making God’s face shine upon us” is not simply for our benefit but consistent with the Great commission, that God’s ways would be practiced by all on the earth.
Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
And what is the natural response to this observing of God’s ways? Praise. All the people to praise the goodness of God, in that He made His face to turn to us. He did not wait for us to be good enough, or to bring more and more sacrifices, but He took action, and is waiting for the natural response of His people to praise Him and thank Him.
Take a few minutes this morning to praise Him for His many acts of mercy, for His face to shine upon us in the person of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Truly it is impossible to not be thankful, and to praise Him when we sit before Him and think on His love and mercy towards us in Christ Jesus!
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 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. Psalm 66:17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Psalm 66:19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Psalm 66:20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!
In our last post, we looked at the vow the psalmist was to keep and of the commitment he had towards God. In this final portion of Psalm 66, the psalmist speaks of his inner condition, of his prayer to God., and of God’s work in the psalmist’s soul.
It appears the psalmist was in the midst of a trial, for he cried out to God, and as he has encouraged us, spoke high praise to the Lord. Immediately after declaring his prayer, he spoke of cherishing iniquity in his heart, and that if he did God would not listen. This is a common teaching that we believers understand.
But notice the “but”.
The psalmist was teaching a truth on the heart condition requirements of the believer, and immediately made an exception for the fact. A believers heart is to be clean, but in my circumstance, God listened. God truly had listened.
Verse 20 is far richer than I initially considered as I glibly read through it. Consider the psalmist, having a “not pure” heart, crying to God in the midst of a trial, and yet God listened, He noticed, He gave heed to the prayer, not rejecting the prayer, as the psalmist surely may have expected.
The psalmist can not explain this reaction from God but for one reason.
God had not removed His steadfast love from him. Dwell on this blessing today, as you venture out for Him.
He is a merciful God!
Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. KJV
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me. NLT
Blessed be God! He has not turned away my prayer or turned his faithful love from me. CSB
Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me. LSB
Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His favor from me. NASB
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 66:13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, Psalm 66:14 that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. Psalm 66:15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
In our last post, we spoke of the reality of God testing the believer, and of God bringing us through some trouble or trial. The psalmist experienced his own personal trial, and spoke a vow before the Lord. The next few verses speak of him completing his vow.
Vows are serious. A vow is a verbal contract. A promise, usually a bilateral type of agreement that the offerer makes to get something out of the other party.
Now there are vows that are unilateral, that is, the offerer makes the vow without expecting any type of action on the part of the recipient, but that doesn’t happen often, and I can’t think of a time when it wasn’t God making the offer. He is like that, in that He makes a vow for our good, and that costs Him, for our sake. Doesn’t seen fair, but that isn’t the way God works. He is full of mercy, and grace. Fairness doesn’t factor into His dealings with us! (Righteousness does of course, but I fear I am getting a bit off track!)
Nevertheless, the psalmist made a vow. A promise to God for His intervention in a trial he was going through. Obviously, God pulled him though to an abundant place, and he was mow focused on performing the vow.
Did God need the sacrifice? Was God hungry, in that He needed the sacrificed meat? This idea speaks of our seeking to understand God in our terms. God did not require a sacrifice, but the psalmist needed to provide the sacrifice. He needed to complete the vow, FOR HIS OWN SAKE. .
For one to make a vow and to break it (not perform it) remains in a persons conscience. When all is quiet and there are no distractions, the truth is still there of a broken promise, of a vow incomplete, made to the One who is faithful.
For a psalm that speaks of all the earth to praise God, this particular last portion of the psalm becomes very personal, focused on the psalmist himself. Its as if the psalmist couldn’t help but to take his own counsel and to speak of the awesome deeds God had performed in his own life, and the resultant obedience that grows out of this awesome deed. I assume it was an awesome deed for the vow is quite extensive. Not only are there multiple types of sacrifice (bull and goat) but there seems to be multiple animals for each sacrifice.
Not only is the quantity high, but the quality is high also. These animals are fattened (vs 15), speaking of the health and worth of each sacrifice.
The psalmist offered burnt offerings, which were a voluntary sacrifice, a sacrifice that spoke of devotion to God. Although his vow may have been given in the heat of the moment, his devotion was long term, deep and according the the instructions provided by God.
Yet in all of this vow keeping, the psalmist does not forget that it is God that is the greater One in the relationship. In our next post, the psalmist will speak of some of the deeper, internal actions the psalmist went through, and the work of God related to his heart.
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 66:8 Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, Psalm 66:9 who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. Psalm 66:10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. Psalm 66:11 You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; Psalm 66:12 you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
Up to this point in the psalm, some may think that the believers life is described as all rosey, full of cotton candy, chocolate balls and sweet gummies.
Yet to praise God for His awesome deeds is not to imply that the believer has no problems, no trials, no troubles. His deeds are awesome on their own merits, and His awesome deeds are performed for us in the midst of our pain, our suffering, our self inflicted trials and rebellion.
He rescues us from our own foolishness at times, and sometimes He allows the consequences of our foolishness to work a better life into us. The psalmist states in verse 10 that God tests us. This should not surprise any believer, for it is in the testing that we come to know of His faithfulness and of our weakness, for if we do not trust in His power, we ultimately fail, and continue to suffer through our foolish decisions. If we trust Him in the midst of the trial, in the midst of His test for us, we grow as a believer, we can confidence in His power and love, we leave behind a good witness to others, and eventually, we find ourselves in an abundant place, a place of expansion and wonder, a place of freedom to obey and a desire to follow.
His test for you may be very difficult, may be crushing you, bring tears to your eyes and a pain in your heart. The test may be through the fire or through the water, but the psalmist wants to remind us that
…He brought us out to a place of abundance.
He is a delivering God, One who seeks to bring us to a place of abundance, though through pain, and suffering at times. We must remember He is the One with wisdom, He is the One who has all knowledge.
Notice the psalmist returns to the “we/us”. As the ancients followed and suffered, us moderns are also called to follow, and possibly suffer. But the end is the same for us as it was for them.
We will come to a place of abundance. Or better said, we will come to have life abundantly and with the One who knows us best.
May His name be praised, even in our trials. May we speak out loud of His awesome deeds, even in the midst of hard lessons!
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 66:5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man. Psalm 66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him, Psalm 66:7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations– let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
How is it that the psalmist invites his current audience to come and see the awesome deeds of God and then refer to actions the Lord performed hundreds of years before they were born? Psalm 66:6 goes so far as to say “There did we rejoice in him”.
Is the psalmist merely speaking in the editorial we, as referring to the entire nation of Israel? If so, this still does not address the time difference from the psalmists audience and the work being referred to.
Is the psalmist describing the ability of the group he is addressing with a past deed of God? He refers to “them” going through the river on foot, and us, his current audience rejoicing.
Why the difference in pronouns?
In my opinion (only my opinion) the psalmist is wanting to connect the existing audience with those who experienced the deed of God, and remind all that though an act of God may be performed at a particular point in time, it’s benefits extend throughout time immemorial. It is for those who follow behind to enter into this benefit, though they may not have seen, heard, felt, touched, sensed or got caught up in the experience.
The psalmist speaks of the deliverance of the children of Israel through both the Red Sean and the Jordan River, immediately changing the topic to how God rules over the nations. God saves and God guides, God delivers and God directs.
Again, the psalmist caps off his short message with a reference to the rebellious, that they do not exalt themselves. Though some may consider this a command, and it may be, and should be obeyed, I sense the psalmist is giving counsel for the sake of helping the rebellious. Not so much as threatening, but for the rebellious to consider the great deed of God and to compare themselves in reality, to live in truth.
Consider the awesome deeds of God, and in doing so, the self exaltation we crave will evaporate before His throne.
May we experience a humility that keeps us from the self appointed exaltation we so often seek. Please God – help your people to know your awesome deeds, to enter into the benefit of your work on our behalf, though we fought you all the way!
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 66:3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. Psalm 66:4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah
In our previous post we dwelled on the awesome deeds of God, and of our privilege to speak of the deeds of God to God out loud. I got a bit caught up in the theme of praise to God of His awesome deeds, that I missed a small point in the passage that I feel needs to be addressed.
Verse 3 speaks of the enemies coming to God cringing to Him, even as he then says in the very next breathe that all the earth worships God.
How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
Is this a reluctant approach to God by the enemies? It certainly feels that way when the translators speak of cringing. And rightly so, for those who fight against God must surely find at one point in their existence the utter futility of fighting against the All-powerful God. Upon seeing their mistake, their sin, cringing is a natural response. But is it a continual cringing, reluctant and grudging response to God, to whom all praise belongs?
The Hebrew word used in this verse can speak of cringing or of submitting. Many commentators make a point of stating this term refers to a continual forced subjection, a submission that is against the will of the enemy. That may be true, yet this entire psalm speaks of all the earth giving praise, of joy being experienced throughout the earth.
Have you ever been forced to praise God? Would you consider those times as times you lived in the truth, in real joy and provided heartfelt praise? There may be an effort by some to make the enemies of God continual enemies, that they cringingly crawl to God and never repent, never find joy, never love Him.
I don’t know about you, but there was a time I cringed, I was an enemy, a hater, a lowlife, a fighter against God. Out of His mercy, He rescued me, and because of that I want others to be rescued.
When I come across a passage as above, speaking of those who “have to” praise God, I recall Philippians 2:10-11
Philippians 2:10-11
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Could the message Paul gives here allow for cringing submission, a submission that is exterior only, and not an internal willing submission? Maybe. Maybe not.
As I have mentioned in an earlier posting, the term in Philippians for confessing doesn’t seem to have the cringing, reluctant and grudging component as suggested in an earlier post. If this is of any interest to my reader I would suggest reading Book Look – Jesus Undefeated – Passage 6.
There may yet be a time when His victory over death is complete, not only in His authority but also in the experience of all the world.
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 66:1 To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm. Shout for joy to God, all the earth; Psalm 66:2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Psalm 66:3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. Psalm 66:4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah
This psalm is anonymous and no particular time is referenced in the passage. It is a psalm of praise for all the earth to enter into.
Note that right from the very first verse, the message is joy, loud joy, and that it is expected from all the earth. Joy and praise to the God of all creation.
The psalmist even gives us practical guidance on how we are to praise the Lord. Say to God, that is speak out to God the contents of verse 3 & 4.
“How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.”
At the risk of analyzing this expression of joy to the point of dryness and mere facts, let us nevertheless consider the psalmist’s direction.
Awesome Deeds
To speak of the awesomeness of His deeds, means we need to rehearse in our hearts the very deeds He has performed. The many personal acts of rescue He has performed in your life, the many ways He has provided for you and your loved ones, the protection He has provided. In the midst of this exercise, be specific.
Beyond the personal ministry the Lord has performed in you own life, think beyond your own world and consider the many awesome deeds He has performed recently in your church, at your work, amongst your friends.
Let us not forget the many ways God has moved amongst the nations, how He has delivered many from difficult circumstances of national crisis, or weather related catastrophes. His hand is in the mess!
Even greater deeds are worthy to praise Him for, as we remember the history of the church, of the many ways He has brought about growth and continuity through the years, especially through persecution, trials and tribulations. The church is still marching on, in the midst of a rising hatred of the true God.
One awesome deed that I cannot ignore is the Word of God, it’s existence for our guidance and life giving message. Many are the attacks on the Word, yet it stands against all foes!
The awesome deed that takes the cake? For us in the modern era, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus shines forth, is the capstone of all awesome deeds, representing the tremendous love of God for fallen humans, the glory of God hanging on a cross, suffering for lost men and women. A death that is to be remembered, not only due the depth of injustice performed on an innocent – no a righteous man – but also by the willingness of the Savior to take the death, to suffer the torture, to lay His own life down. This mighty deed is most mighty! And yet three days later, He rose from the dead.
When we as believer’s think of the awesome deeds of God, we are not a poverty stricken people. We are rich in the knowledge of the many many mighty and awesome deeds of the Lord.
As the Psalmist teaches us, speak out of the mighty and awesome deeds of God. He is not a God who is far away, distant from His people, and away from the heartbeat of each of us. Say to God, whether we feel like it or not, of the mighty deeds He has performed. Though our inner man may praise God through out the day, we as believers are the only ones who will speak of the mighty awesome deeds of God to God, and those within earshot!
One thing the psalmist does not direct us to do in this passage is to argue for the truth. Simply speak it out. There is power, and great joy in the speaking of the truth. There are times when we are to defend the truth, to exercise an “apologetic” a robust argument for the truth of the gospel! The psalmist is directing us to simply speak it out, to say it to God with our voice, to offer the sacrifice of our lips unto God
In the next passage, the psalmist continues to speaks of the awesome deeds God has done, and refers back to the crossing of the Red Sea, and the Jordan river. He makes much of the deeds that were in the past for the nation.
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 65
9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
In our last post we considered the previous 4 verses and arrived at the conclusion Paul provided in Romans 1, where those outside of the covenant with Israel has information in creation regarding the nature of God and of His might. Yet David does not stop with the general revelation, that God is mighty, but ventures into the care and abundance of God in relation to the created world. He did not simply create the world we live in and then abandon it, but visits the earth.
He is the creator and sustainer of the created world, as He is with each of us.
Verse 9 – 11 speak of God’s provision to all, through His overabundant care of the earth. His provision of life giving water throughout the world is not with a grudging attitude, or sparingly, but He makes it overflow, He greatly enriches it, the river is full. David repeatedly describes the abundance provided by the Lord of the life giving supply of water. Out of this supply of water, grain is provided, and the seasons produce much produce, more than enough.
Beyond the picture of the domesticated picture of a harvest, David then proceeds to describe four additional areas that receive the abundance of God, as sheer grace to those occupying the area.
Pastures of Wilderness
The term for pastures speaks of a dwelling place, an abode, a home for the animals who are not domesticated, who are of the wilderness. God cares for them, providing them a place to belong to, an environment to dwell in.
Hills
David speaks of the hills as one that would put on a belt, ready for the day, but not a standard belt but a belt of joy. With the blessing of God provided, the hills are personified and exhibit joy. What a great concept to consider.
Meadows
David returns to the domesticated environment, when he refers to the meadow here, also personifying the area, being clothed with flocks. Given the modest environment David wrote from (and not our 20th century bent to skimpy clothing), to be clothed speaks of being covered, of an abundance of flocks.
Valleys
Of course, as the water is provided, the valleys recieve and with the water, the soils are ready to produce food stuffs, such as grain. But David isn’t through with his descriptions bearing human characteristics. The combination of the valleys and the grain, rejoice and shout, and sing!
The whole “system” of this abundant blessing from God only results in a positive, good and fruitful response from His creation.
As my wife and I are entering a slowing down of our lives, we have recently purchased a little hideaway, a place where we go to get away from the stress and strain of modern life, away from the bustle and hurry of cosmopolitan life.
From the outside, it is a little shack, and has nothing about it that may appeal to some, but when the quiet is available and nature cant be avoided, and you listen real hard to the silence, there is a symphony playing, an orchestrated existence that many, if not most, ignore or are bothered by. The city life is required for many – I understand – yet we look so forward to experiencing the blessing of God’s nature when we can. This morning, with the sun just breaking, I look forward to hearing the symphony of nature once more.
Be blessed my friends, and consider the gift God has provided in the world we inhabit. It is a gift for all, even to those at the ends of the earth, and as I have mentioned in previous posts, (Montana, The Quiet) the quiet of our created world simply screams the glory of God.
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 65
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; 6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, 8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
In our last post, we spoke of the One who was chosen and brought near to dwell in the Father’s courts, and suggested this makes most sense, (from our perspective – knowing what we know) that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this verse. We also suggested that this psalm is not restricted to Israel only, but with the development of the first four verses discussing “all flesh”, we suggested it may be to a greater audience.
With this set of verses this morning, this suggestion gains additional traction in my opinion, since David refers to “hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas” David is making a point, looking beyond Israel’s boundaries, beyond the kingdoms he knows of, and declaring God is speaking – answering us with righteousness.
With the entire creation being referenced, and David bringing in the concept of answering us, my natural response is – What was the question? What question was on all of creations lips, that God is answering in righteousness?
This entire portion speaks of the power of God being exhibited in creation and of God’s ability to manage creations “natural” processes. I say “natural” for I believe God is involved in all the processes of nature, as I understand David speaks also
In David’s writing, he speaks not only of the physical creation and it’s seeming upheaval, but also of the restlessness of the people, of those who are unsettled like the seas. They will be answered with the signs provided.
But again, what was the question?
David speaks of the way (or method) God provides an answer in verse 5-7 (by awesome deeds), and speaks of the anticipated response of awe by those who dwell at the ends of the earth in verse 8. This anticipated response speaks of astonishment, reverence or godly fear.
This entire psalm, referring to the ends of the earth often within its verses, is speaking of the nations who at the time of writing, did not have the special revelation of the Law and the privilege of the prophets. The only communication provided to the creation is of the created world. For those without Israel’s elevated status of special revelation, God provided the display of nature to talk to all. The message is that the power and might of the Lord is clearly revealed. Paul speaks of the message and helps to define the question, in Romans 1
Romans 1:20 – For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Creation shows His power and divine nature, so any questions that those outside of Israel had regarding God in relation to our responsibility to Him is addressed by the very existence of our surroundings. God has provided enough evidence, nay more than enough evidence for all to understand the power and nature of God. He is mighty, yet the psalm continues with additional characteristics beyond shear power and might of God.
Please join me as we venture into the next portion of Psalm 65, seeing further evidence of the God we serve.
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 65
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. 2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. 4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
Our first verse is hanging me out to dry. I am not sure what the message is, and I hope it isn’t because I am daft!
The passage states that “Praise is due to you”, with a footnote, in the ESV, that suggests it may be understood as “Praise waits for you in silence”. When I first read out passage, I was thinking it was a matter of debt to God, that is praise is due to God, as in a natural reaction to all the blessings He provides. This is certainly true, for we shall never express all the praise owed to Him for His many mercies! Yet this passage seems to communicate the idea of silence, and waiting. Consider a few other translations.
Now I don’t want you to think that all translations use the term “wait” instead of due, but a number do, and with the thought of waiting, an occasional translation will also include the thought of “waiting in silence”.
What to make of this? Is this a none issue, a point that makes no difference in our final understanding? Maybe, but I tend to see these minor tweaks or differences to be of interest, to consider what an alternate thought may be communicated.
Hold the thought of praise waiting in Zion, and lets consider verse 2.
Psalm 65:2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.
To God shall all flesh come. That phrase is huge! How do you understand that phrase? Is it that every man will meet his Maker, and then judgement? Maybe, and we know this general truth is found throughout the Scripture.
Is it that all flesh will come, and that the praise spoken of in verse 1, is waiting for all flesh to come? Is verse 1 speaking of the delay of praise due to the fact that not all flesh has not yet come to God? It is a possible thought that David may be communicating.
Verse 3 continues with David expressing his weight of sin, and that God atones for our transgressions. Is David speaking of our in the singular, that is his transgressions, or is he referring to Israel’s transgressions? Might he be referring to the transgression of all flesh?
Come on Carl, David clears up all ambiguity of who the subject of this psalm is concerning in verse four, where He states that only a few are chosen and brought near to dwell in His courts.
4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
Oh – I think I may be reading into the passage the idea of a limited number being chosen. David is expressing the blessedness of one who is chosen and brought near, not the quantity of persons brought near, to dwell in His courts.
As a matter of fact, as I read this passage, it seems to lend itself to understanding the one who is brought near as being the Savior Himself. After all, we can only approach the Father by being in the Son, and the Son certainly is One who was chosen and brought near.
Those in Christ shall certainly be satisfied with His goodness, and He will become, out of shear grace and mercy, the entrance, as it were a narrow gate, a door even, into the holiness of His temple.
In closing I have two questions for my dear reader.
Do you see many or few giving praise unto the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit?
Is Zion, the City of the Great King waiting in silence (as verse 1 speaks of) for the praise of all flesh?
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 64:7-10
7 But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly. 8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads. 9 Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done. 10 Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!
David has just spent the better part of this psalm, describing what he can’t control, the tongue lashing and murderous lips, the evil thoughts and plans of his enemies. He is, in the first few verses, declaring his utter helplessness over controlling his enemies thoughts and plans. We noted earlier that he sought the Lord in finding strength, in seeking relief from the fear of his enemies. He couldn’t control his enemies, but he knows where to find strength to control that which he can control.
In these few remaining verses, David speaks in similar terms regarding God’s protection over him. He refers to the arrows of God wounding the enemies suddenly, and that their evil tongues are turned back on them. How often those who seek evil have the very same evil turned on them!
He speaks of the fear coming upon all mankind, once they see the enemies of David being turned upon. It will be obvious of the judgement of God falling on David’s enemies, as it is obvious of God’s judgement falling on Jesus’ enemies in our current day.
Back in verse 5, the enemies were bold in their endeavors, steadfast in accomplishing their evil plans, since no one could see them!
Psalm 64:5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?“
It turns out, the enemies of the upright will not only have their plans folded back onto their lives, but all mankind will see their plans backfire and their lives impacted with judgement. The end of David’s enemies, as with the end of Jesus’ enemies, will become an example of God’s justice for all men to reflect on, to consider, and to take as a warning!
In all of this psalm, as David seeks God’s will, the conclusion is clear. The righteous have a refuge in God, and have every right and privilege to rejoice in their circumstances. Even as the Apostle Paul wrote.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
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 64:1-6
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, 3 who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, 4 shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. 5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?” 6 They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
How dare David complain to God. He is addressing God, bringing a complaint to Him. Does he not have faith? Does He not understand that to submit to God means no complaining or whining? Ok – I may have been a bit sarcastic with “whining”, but I think you get my point.
I would suggest that David has strong faith, a faith that has developed an understanding of the Living God allowing for this freedom to express his concern (complaint?) before the King.
I remember the first time I came across a saint complaining before God in the book of Jeremiah. It was shocking to think Scripture would allow a complaint to God be recorded!
Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
Even though it appears that David is bringing a complaint before the Lord, the word is more akin to meditation or musings. He is, as it follows in the psalm, in dire need of protection, and that against the intangible enemy of others thoughts and plans. David’s enemies have secret plots (vs 2), tongues like swords (vs 3), words like arrows (v3), they hold fast to (won’t give up on) evil purposes, (vs 5), talk of laying snares (vs 5), and searches out injustice (vs 6). He can’t use a sword against his enemy to defeat this situation.
All of David’s concerns are of his enemies thoughts, words and plans. That which he has no power of and has no real specific knowledge of, other than that they are malicious!
And yet let us reconsider the original plea from the king. He is requesting God to “preserve my life from his enemy” correct? Not quite. His plea to God is to “preserve my life from dread of the enemy” (emphasis mine)
As a victim of the fear monster myself, I can relate to David’s plea. At times I am frozen with fear over what actually is a minor problem, and which actually resolves itself most times. It is truly ridiculous the things that paralyze me, but not so with David, for he has serious men seeking his life and he needs boldness to think straight, a clear mind to make wise decisions and a willingness to take action instead of simply feeling a victim! He needs to be delivered from the dread of the enemy! It is not a garden variety fear that David speaks of, for he speaks of a heightened sense of fear, that of terror, dread, or of a sudden alarm. This is no simple Carl-style fear situation going on here! He is in serious lock down and he isn’t afraid to admit it to God! (no pun intended!)
An old preacher by the name of G Campbell Morgan once spoke the truth of David’s focal plea of this psalm.
“We need to pray as the psalmist does, not so much for the deliverance from enemies as for deliverance from fear of them.”
At the end of this section David provides a summation of the mind and heart of a man, which is the very thing he dreads through the previous verses!
For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
To be deep does not necessarily carry a moral distinction with it – although in this instance it surely does, but to be deep simply describes a relative amount or “volume” the mind and heart has to contain something. It also carries with it the implication of mysterious, or unknown, unsearchable.
May the Lord help us to somewhat understand our own mind and heart as we walk with Him, seeking cleansing and forgiveness as He reveals the depths of our heart and mind!
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 64:7-10
Psalm 64:7 But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly. Psalm 64:8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads. Psalm 64:9 Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done. Psalm 64:10 Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!
David has just spent the better part of this psalm, describing what he can’t control, the tongue lashing and murderous lips, the evil thoughts and plans of his enemies. He is, in the first few verses, declaring his utter helplessness over controlling his enemies thoughts and plans. We noted that he sought the Lord in finding strength, in seeking relief from the fear of his enemies. He couldn’t control his enemies, but he knows where to find strength to control that which he can control.
In these few remaining verses, David speaks in similar terms regarding God’s protection over him. He refers to the arrows of God wounding the enemies suddenly, and that their evil tongues are turned back on them. How often those who seek evil have the very same evil turned on them!
He speaks of the fear coming upon all mankind, once they see the enemies of David being turned upon. It will be obvious of the judgement of God falling on David’s enemies, as it is obvious of God’s judgement falling on Jesus’ enemies in our current day.
Back in verse 5, the enemies were bold in their endeavors, steadfast in accomplishing their evil plans, since no one could see them!
Psalm 64:5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?“
It turns out, the enemies of the upright will not only have their plans folded back onto their lives, but all mankind will see their plans backfire and their lives impacted with judgement. The end of David’s enemies, as with the end of Jesus’ enemies will become an example of God’s justice for all men to reflect on, to consider, and to take as a warning!
In all of this psalm, as David seeks God’s will, the conclusion is clear. The righteous have a refuge in God, and have every right and privilege to rejoice in their circumstances. Even as the Apostle Paul wrote.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
Considering the Bible 