Psalm 68--God Shall Scatter His Enemies

Psalm 68
English Standard Version

God Shall Scatter His Enemies
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
    and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
    as wax melts before fire,
    so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But the righteous shall be glad;
    they shall exult before God;
    they shall be jubilant with joy!

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the LORD;
    exult before him!
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
    is God in his holy habitation.
6 God settles the solitary in a home;
    he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7 O God, when you went out before your people,
    when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
    you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10 your flock found a dwelling in it;
    in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

11 The Lord gives the word;
    the women who announce the news are a great host:
12     “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil--
13     though you men lie among the sheepfolds--
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
    its pinions with shimmering gold.
14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
    let snow fall on Zalmon.

15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
    O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
    at the mount that God desired for his abode,
    yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
    thousands upon thousands;
    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 You ascended on high,
    leading a host of captives in your train
    and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.

19 Blessed be the Lord,
    who daily bears us up;
    God is our salvation. Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
    and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
    the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
    “I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may strike your feet in their blood,
    that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

24 Your procession is seen, O God,
    the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary--
25 the singers in front, the musicians last,
    between them virgins playing tambourines:
26 “Bless God in the great congregation,
    the LORD, O you who are of Israel's fountain!”
27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
    the princes of Judah in their throng,
    the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28 Summon your power, O God,
    the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
    kings shall bear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
    the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
    scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 Nobles shall come from Egypt;
    Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.

​32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
    sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
    behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God,
    whose majesty is over Israel,
    and whose power is in the skies.
35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
    the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!

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This psalm starts off focusing on the wrath of God and how He will destroy those who are His enemies.  It will be as simple for Him to accomplish as driving smoke away or melting wax.  Revelation tells us that Jesus will simply speak and all those who have come together to make war with Him will be killed.  This will be a time of great rejoicing for those of us who are in Christ and are dressed in our wedding garments, white and clean (we are dressed in the purity and righteousness of Christ).  His robe is the only one that will be dipped in blood, and He is the one who will fight for us and save us once again.  The battle belongs to the Lord.

The Lord's kingdom will reach to all the dry and thirsty places like the wilderness bringing life where there appears to be no life and bringing hope and justice to those who have been forgotten by society--the orphans, widows, and even the prisoners (probably speaking of those who have been imprisoned--maybe speaking of physical prison as some may have been arrested for their faith in Him and need their prison or jail cells opened, or maybe speaking of our spiritual imprisonment and slavery to sin.  Either way, we will be set free by Christ.  No one will be without a place that has been prepared for them in His kingdom--there will be no homelessness.

Just like in the past, the LORD will make sure that His people are provided for.  In the past He gave them manna from heaven.  The dew and the rain were enough to give them crops to eat and to sustain all their livestock.  The LORD marched on before His people and the earth shook and the mountains split apart and were consumed by fire by His presence.  He led them in a pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, and all the nations whom He made war against trembled because of His awesome power, yet many still refused to submit to Him.

One day there will be a cry of the people that all the kings of the world are marching against Jerusalem, and the next news they will hear just a little later is that Jesus has arrived, and all their enemies are dead and those that are left are in retreat (no one will stand before Him, and no one will escape).  The imagery is of the LORD leading a vast army throughout the land, marching through every place, making sure that all His enemies are defeated, and all of His people are safe, secure, freed, and a part of His kingdom.  They are now under His care and protection.

Though this is something future, this is something we somewhat experience now as the Lord hears our prayers every day and answers them.  He fights for us and cares for us right now.  He saves us from sin, delivers us from death, and keeps us safe from our enemies that wish to do harm to us.  Even death will not separate God's people from the blessings He has in store for them.  Jesus will bring all those who belong to Him back from the faraway places and even from the grave.  The procession will end at that sanctuary of the LORD as the Messiah leads us all in worship together.  All the people of the LORD will be there together--even from the smallest of tribes like Benjamin.  They will all be gathered together in worship being led by the singers and the musicians.

​David asks the LORD to defend the land from man and beast.  This Law promises this if the people will keep His covenant, but David has something specific in mind here asking the LORD to protect the Temple which bears His Name.  While David participated in gathering items for the construction of the Temple, David didn't get to build it--Solomon, David's son did.  So, was David talking about the Temple that Solomon was going to build, the future Temple that would be built before the end times, or was he speaking prophetically of the heavenly Temple that would come down as the New Jerusalem?  The answer may be "yes" to all of these.  Jerusalem is a special place where God ordained for the king to reign and for His people to gather together to worship Him.  Just as in the days of Solomon, people will come from the ends of the earth to visit Jerusalem and make peace with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and pay homage and tribute to Him.  There will be no one else on earth that will be able to gather tribute, because no one else can be His rival or equal.

David ends the psalm by calling on the nations to realize the mighty power of God and to sing of it.  He is the one worthy of worship and the one who gives strength and power to His people--without Him they are nothing.  Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised!