No matter what’s going on in the world right now, our one and only HOPE is KING JESUS! That’s what we have to keep in mind every day. Many of the psalms are prophetic. That is, they tell of Jesus’ coming Kingdom to give us that confident hope. Pastor Sandy Adams has a great introduction to this psalm…
Today we live in “the day of man” – rebellious men are having their say on planet Earth. But the day is coming, when God will arise and have the final word! The Bible calls this time, yet future, “the day of the Lord”. Jesus will return to Earth, and take control of all that belongs to Him. A new day will dawn. Psalm 68 describes God’s takeover of the planet…
Pastor Sandy Adams
Psalm 68
For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.
1 Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies.
Let those who hate God run for their lives.
2 Blow them away like smoke.
Melt them like wax in a fire.
Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
3 But let the godly rejoice.
Let them be glad in God’s presence.
Let them be filled with joy.
4 Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the Lord—
rejoice in his presence!5 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
6 God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.7 O God, when you led your people out from Egypt,
when you marched through the dry wasteland, (Interlude Selah, pause and reflect)
8 the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain
before you, the God of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 You sent abundant rain, O God,
to refresh the weary land.
10 There your people finally settled,
and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
you provided for your needy people.11 The Lord gives the word,
and a great army brings the good news.
12 Enemy kings and their armies flee,
while the women of Israel divide the plunder.
13 Even those who lived among the sheepfolds found treasures—
doves with wings of silver
and feathers of gold.
14 The Almighty scattered the enemy kings
like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.15 The mountains of Bashan are majestic,
with many peaks stretching high into the sky.
16 Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains,
at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live,
where the Lord himself will live forever?17 Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots,
the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.
18 When you ascended to the heights,
you led a crowd of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
even from those who rebelled against you.
Now the Lord God will live among us there.19 Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
For each day he carries us in his arms. (Interlude Selah, pause and reflect)
20 Our God is a God who saves!
The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death.21 But God will smash the heads of his enemies,
crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring my enemies down from Bashan;
I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.
23 You, my people, will wash your feet in their blood,
and even your dogs will get their share!”24 Your procession has come into view, O God—
the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary.
25 Singers are in front, musicians behind;
between them are young women playing tambourines.
26 Praise God, all you people of Israel;
praise the Lord, the source of Israel’s life.
27 Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way.
Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah
and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.28 Summon your might, O God.
Display your power, O God, as you have in the past.
29 The kings of the earth are bringing tribute
to your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 Rebuke these enemy nations—
these wild animals lurking in the reeds,
this herd of bulls among the weaker calves.
Make them bring bars of silver in humble tribute.
Scatter the nations that delight in war.
31 Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals;
let Ethiopia bring tribute to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
Sing praises to the Lord. Interlude
33 Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens,
his mighty voice thundering from the sky.
34 Tell everyone about God’s power.
His majesty shines down on Israel;
his strength is mighty in the heavens.
35 God is awesome in his sanctuary.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.Praise be to God!
Psalm 68 NLT
Points to Ponder
Here are some highlights …
- Back in David’s day, Israel was surrounded by enemies who meant do them harm. You can say that about the majority of the countries in the Middle East today. Though most are trying to make peace accords with Israel. Nevertheless, our enemy today is Satan, his demons and his cronies (evil, wicked people). David opens by asking God to scatter anyone who hates God. We can pray that today about anyone who hates Christians. “Let the wicked perish in the presences of God!”
- Next, the godly — the righteous people are called to rejoice and be filled with joy. We’re to sing praises to God — sing LOUD praises!
- He is Father to the fatherless, the defender of widows, and the lonely. He sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. You might think, wait! What about those Christians in prison just for being Christian in Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Communist countries? Amazingly enough, when you read the stories from folks like VOM, there are many imprisoned for Christ who sing in their jail cells even after being beaten.
- If God could guide thousands of Israelites out of Egypt, part the Red Sea, feed them manna daily, He can do anything!
- Even Israel, which was a barren land for centuries, came back to life in 1948. That was prophesied in Ezekiel 37.
- Verses 11-12 refer to the Book of Judges 4 when the women fought the enemies.
- Read the study on the Book of Revelation and you’ll get an idea of what happens to God’s enemies.
Born-Again Christians have the Power of King Jesus
As born-again Christians, we have the Power of the Holy Spirit inside ourselves. We are never alone!
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline (or a sound mind).
2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
In other words, DON’T PANIC! Subsequently, He also gave us the Armor of God. In this psalm, we are also told to, “Tell everyone about God’s power.” That’s what I’m doing! Furthermore, you can help by sharing this post or the podcast with your friends!
Pray, Praise God and Read the Bible!
Growing up Roman Catholic, I was never encouraged to read the Bible, prayers were repetitive and worshiping dead people and saints was useless. We also didn’t sing praise songs. Once I became born-again, I didn’t want to listen to secular music anymore. Now, I sing praise songs as I walk down the halls of my apartment building. Starting the day praying — just talking to God — is the best, possible thing you can do. Tack on reading a devotional and studying the Bible verse(s) — pause and ponder what you just read — like the psalmist asks us to do with the Interludes. Don’t be in a rush. We’re always in a rush these days.
Ask, “God, what are you trying to tell me?” In fact, before you open the Bible, pray, “Holy Spirit, open my heart, my mind and my eyes to what you want to tell me today.”
One thing I’ve learned to do is to commit each day to the Lord and He will make my paths straight.
3 Commit your actions to the Lord,
Proverbs 16:3 NLT
and your plans will succeed.
Take time to pause and listen for a response. Sometimes it’s a still small voice and sometimes a Bible verse will hit you upside the head. That happened to me a few times.
Ending the day with prayer and the Bible is not a bad idea either. When you give the day’s worries to God, you sleep much better.
10 My child, listen to me and do as I say,
Proverbs 4:10-11 NLT
and you will have a long, good life.
11 I will teach you wisdom’s ways
and lead you in straight paths.
Pretty good, huh? Undoubtedly, you can’t go wrong by giving everything to God.
All in all, King Jesus is our one and only HOPE! Therefore, our confident hope is not in a church or a pope or a priest. No! It’s in King Jesus!
You know, Jesus didn’t suffer torture and die taking all our sins away forever and defeating death by rising three days later so we could have RELIGION! No! He died so we could have a RELATIONSHIP with HIM.
Isn’t it about time you let Him in?
