Psalm 68a - Our Triumph is in the Lord

Most of the movies we watch have a central character or main characters that the overall story develops around. For Bond movies the central character is James Bond. After this you will have the Bond girl and the villain. The plot of the movie lays out the thoughts, actions, and results of what the central character has done or will do. As it is with movies, so it is with scripture.

For Scripture the central character is God. From Genesis to Revelation God is the main character and the story of scripture concerns God’s plans concerning God’s people for God’s glory. This is especially true in psalm 68. This psalm has and continues to present many challenges for OT scholars. The issues relate to the structure, classification, and various motif throughout this great theological work. Our outline below is but one an attempt to break the psalm up for systematic study. While the psalm describes historical events, there is not clear historical marker for its writing. One possibly is found () and (). These passages describe the moving of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem after David won the city as Israel’s new capital.[1] There is one thing we can know for certain, God is the central character. This psalm describes God’s sovereign rule and power, sketches the victory he won for His people, and anticipates the surrender and worship of all nations. There is another thing can say about psalm 68. Its first verse is very popular. It provides lyrics for a well-known chorus and has been used repeatedly by kings and commanders as they went into battle. One such example is found during the battle between the French Protestant Huguenots and the Catholic league in 1589. The french soldiers were trapped in the fortified town of Dieppe. King Henry of Navarre was the leader and his men were discouraged. The king called for this psalm to be sung and for the men to press on. They would have victory that day.

Believers today are in a battle. For most of us however, the battlefield is spiritual are not forces are not physically in front of us. They are principalities and powers, forces of spiritual darkness in heavenly places. These forces are arrayed against the Kingdom of God. Their enemy is God and we His people. We also have internal battles, things we must contend with along this walk with the Lord. These things must be overcome if we are to overcome. Therefore, we also pray “Let God arise and His enemies be scattered.” Indeed, a blueprint for victory. We often hear talk about living a life of victory. What we will see in this psalm victory is the Lord’s to give. We rejoice in His victories and the blessings he provides to us. Our role is faith and obedience. God fights the battles and blesses His people with the spoils.

We will take the next couple of weeks on this psalm. The great truths it delineates require careful study. In this first part we will cover the first 18 verses. We can break this portion of the psalm into 4 parts:

Our outline below is but one an attempt to break the psalm up for systematic study.

We can break this portion of the psalm into 4 parts:

Prayer for the defeat of God’s enemies (vs. 1 - 3)

Praise to God for His sovereignty and care for His people (vs. 4 - 6)

Praise to God for His past deliverance of Israel (vs. 7 - 10)

Praise to God for His triumph over His enemies (vs. 11 - 18)

Verses 1 - 3: The psalmist begins by asking for the God of Israel to rise up and defeat His enemies. In doing so he echoes the prayer of Moses when Israel set out from Sinai unto the promised land with the ark in front (). These are nations and peoples which oppose the people of God and seek to prevent the plan of God from coming to pass. The psalmist desires that they be turned away running from the awesome power of Yahweh. Even as wind drives away smoke and wax is reduced to nothing in the flames, so the psalmist desires the Lord bring an end to the wicked. In contrast, the people of God rejoice with gladness before their God who will bring victory, vindication, and righteousness judgment. The people of God have nothing to fear with God decides to act.

As the people of God, we long for the day when victory shall come. We wait to rejoice when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of the Lord and His Christ. Those who opposed God without repentance shall be cast away. As believers today, our prayer should be for God to bring those whom oppose Him via opposing us to repentance. If they refuse to repent, then we pray that God would bring their plots, plans, and desires to failure for His glory and our good. We can have hope that is day will soon come.

Verses 4 - 6: The psalmist calls for the people of God to sing praises to Him. He is the majestic Lord alone worthy of praise. The phrase “rides through the deserts” or “rides on the clouds” was often used of Baal. The psalmist deliberately uses the Divine name to make clear the God of Israel, in contrast to the Canaanite god, is the sole true, powerful, and all-sufficient God whom provides all things. He is the great ‘I AM’ who dwells in Heaven and cares for the oppressed and needy. He rules the universe with mighty power yet looks low upon us (). Those whom are mistreated, abandoned, left out, and pushed down find hope in Yahweh. The powerless are helped by Him. He set Israel free from captivity and sets us free from the prison of sin today. Those who refuse to submit will come to ruin.

Verses 7 - 10: The psalmist briefly recounts God’s mighty acts in the Exodus. The Lord came and delivered His people from bondage in Egypt. He went before them and preserved them in the wilderness. The psalmist recalls the Lord’s power and provision in the wilderness. These events are described in ;9 and . The earth shook, and storms came when the Lord descended on Mt. Sinai. He literally rained provision of bread and manna. He also provided Quail. The Lord brought his people into their inheritance and provided means for the poor to be care for.

Verses 11 - 14: By the hand of God the armies of Canaan fell before the nation of Israel. None could stand against the power of God. The women of the land joyfully spread the news as they heard it. Israel took possession of land and the women worked to divide among themselves. Kings fell as quickly and numerous as the fall of snow.

Verses 15 - 18: Mount Bashan was an impressively beautiful, multi-peak mountain. If there was ever a mountain, worthy of God, it was mount Bashan. Yet God did not choose Bashan, He chose Zion as his earthly dwelling place. It is Bashan that envies because God chose the lowly to use for His glory. God delights in such paradoxes.[2] God comes with the mighty heavenly hosts surrounding Him. He dwells with His people even as he did at Mt. Sinai. After delivering victory for His people, He returns to His heavenly throne. He brings captives to His people () and receives tribute and obedience from the subdues nations.

Verse 18 in the New Testament

Paul seems to quote this verse in the NT at . I say seems to because he makes an important change. Instead of receiving from men, he speaks of Christ giving gifts to men. What are we to make of this? I would suggest to you the Paul is arguing that Christ was victorious over sin and death, took away for sting of sin, and provides to His church what is needed for His kingdom to advance on the earth.

1. , (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2015), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "".

2. Kidner, D. (1973). : an introduction and commentary (Vol. 15, p. 260). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.