PSALMS LESSON 66
We will begin this lesson by giving the 68th Psalm in metre.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 68
Verse 1 "Let God arise, and scattered far Let all his en'mies be; And
let all those who do him hate Before his presence flee."
Verse 2 "As smoke is driv'n, so drive thou them; As fire melts wax
away, Before God's face let wicked men So perish and decay."
Verse 3 "But let the righteous all be glad; Rejoice before God's
sight; Let them exult exceedingly And joy with all their
might."
Verse 4 "O sing to God and praise his name; Extol him with your
voice, That rides on heav'n by his name JAH; Before his face
rejoice."
Verse 5 "Because the Lord a father is To children fatherless; He is
the widows judge, within His place of holiness."
Verse 6 "God doth the solitary set In families; and from lands The
chained he frees, but rebels dwell In dry and desert lands."
Verse 7 "O God, when thou wast going forth Before thy people's face,
And when thy glorious marching was within the wilderness;
Verse 8 "Then at God's presence shook the earth, then drops from
heaven fell; This Sinai shook before the Lord, The God of
Israel."
Verse 9 "O God, thou to thy heritage Didst send a plenteous rain, By
which thou when it weary was, Didst it refresh again.
Verse 10 "Thy congregation then did make Their habitation there: Of
thy own goodness for the poor, O God, thou didst prepare."
Verse 11 "The Lord himself did give the word, The mighty word of God;
Great was the company of him Who published it abroad."
Verse 12 "Kings of great armies vanquished were, And forced to flee
away; And women, who remained at home, Distributed the prey.
Verse 13 "Though ye have lain among the pots, Like doves ye shall
appear, Whose wings with silver, and with gold Whose
feathers covered are.
Verse 14 "When there th' Almighty scattered Like Salmon's snow' twas
white [kings, God's hill is like to Bashan hill, Like Bashan
hill for height."
Verse 15 "Why do ye leap, ye mountains high? This is the hill of God;
He here desires to dwell, and here Will ever make abode.
Verse 16 "God's chariots twenty thousand are, of angels thousands
strong; As once on Sinai's holy mount, The Lord is them
among."
Verse 17 "Thou hast, O Lord, most gloriously Ascended up on high, And
captive thou triumphantly Hast led captivity."
Verse 18 "And gifts thou hast received for men, For such as did rebel;
Yea, even for them, that God the Lord In midst of them might
dwell.
Verse 19 "Blest be the Lord, who is to us Of our salvation God, Who
daily with his benefits Us plenteously doth load."
Verse 20 "He of salvation is the God, Who is our God most strong; And
unto God the Lord from death The issues do belong."
Verse 21 "But surely God shall wound the head of those that are his
foes, The hairy scalp of him that on In his transgression
goes."
Verse 22 "God said, My people I will bring Again from Bashan hill;
Yea, from the sea's devouring depths Them bring again I
will;
Verse 23 "That in the blood of enemies Thy foot imbrued may be, And of
thy dogs dipped in the same The tongues thou mayest see."
Verse 24 "O God, thy goings they have seen, The goings of my God, The
stately steppings of my King In his divine abode."
Verse 25 "Before went singers, next to them The players took their
way; Among them also damsels were Who did on timbrels play."
Verse 26 "Within the congregations great bless God with one accord,
From Isr'el's fountain do ye bless, And praise the mighty
Lord."
Verse 27 "Their prince, young Benjamin, is there, And Judah's rulers
high, The chiefs of Zebulon are there, And those of
Naphtali."
Verse 28 "Thy God commands thy strength; for us Make strong thy work,
O Lord. For thy house at Jerusalem Kings shall thee gifts
afford."
Verse 29 "The spearmen's host, the multitude Of bulls which fiercely
look, Those calves which people have sent forth, O Lord our
God, rebuke,"
Verse 30 "Till every one submit himself, And silver pieces bring: The
people that delight in war Disperse, O God and King."
Verse 31 "They who are princes great shall then come out of Egypt
lands; And Ethiopia to God Shall soon stretch out her
hands."
Verse 32 "O all ye kingdoms of the earth, Sing praises to this King;
To him who is the Lord of all, O do ye praises sing."
Verse 33 "To him that rides on heav'ns of heav'ns, Which he of old did
found; Lo, he sends out his voice, a voice In might that
doth abound."
Verse 34 "All strength to God do ye ascribe; His glorious majesty Is
over Isr'el, and his strength Is in the clouds most high."
Verse 35 "How dreadful from thy temple, Lord! Isr'el's own God is he,
Who gives his people strength and power; O let God blessed
be."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 68th chapter of
Psalms. Psalms 68:1 "{To the chief Musician, A Psalm [or] Song of
David.} Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also
that hate him flee before him."
God, in verse one above, is Elohim. Some noted scholars believe
that this was sung when the ark was moved to mount Zion. This is about
the same thing that happened when the cloud by day, and the fire by
night, moved to lead the children of Israel in the wilderness. As long
as the presence of God was stationary over the camp, the Israelites
stayed camped, but when the presence of God moved, by the fire, or the
smoke, the people followed. In a sense, it was God arising and moving.
We do know that when God sent them into battle with the ark with them,
they won the battle. In a sense, again, the enemy was scattered. I
believe we would be more successful in our endeavors for God now, if
we would let Him lead the way. Many times we get ahead of God and that
is when we fail. We, also, know that the fame of what happened to the
pharaoh of Egypt spread, and the people before the company of
Israelites were afraid of Israel's God and they fled.
Psalms 68:2 "As smoke is driven away, [so] drive [them] away: as
wax melteth before the fire, [so] let the wicked perish at the
presence of God."
Smoke is of no permanent nature. When the wind blows, it moves
with the wind. Perhaps, that is what is intended here. The enemy is
like a puff of smoke, blown away. Everyone who has ever lit a candle
knows what happens to wax when the heat comes in contact with it. It
is very much like the smoke, it is gone. The wicked will perish at the
presence of God. If God looks upon sin, He burns it up. This is the
case here.
Psalms 68:3 "But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice
before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice."
We have spoken, over and over, about the righteous being those
who are in right standing with God. When God arises, it would do
nothing but bring ovewrwhelming joy to those who are in right standing
with Him. Only those who have not been washed in the blood of the
Lamb, and taken on the righteousness of Christ, would have fear, or
dread. These next Scriptures say it better than I ever could. I Peter
1:5 "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time." I Peter 1:6 "Wherein ye
greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in
heaviness through manifold temptations:" I Peter 1:7 "That the trial
of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,
though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" I Peter 1:8 "Whom having
not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet
believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:" I Peter
1:9 "Receiving the end of your faith, [even] the salvation of [your]
souls."
Psalms 68:4 "Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him
that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him."
JAH is the same name as Jehovah. He is LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. When we
sing praises to God, it should be worshipful. The praises we sing
should not be for entertainment, or even for the people around us to
hear, but for the ears of God. II Chronicles 2:6 "But who is able to
build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot
contain him? who [am] I then, that I should build him an house, save
only to burn sacrifice before him?" Really, we should praise Him,
when we think of why the Son of God would suffer the humiliation of
the cross for us.
Psalms 68:5 "A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the
widows, [is] God in his holy habitation."
You may not have a father on this earth, but if you are a
Christian, you have a heavenly Father that you can call by His special
name, Abba. Only His children are allowed to call Him by this name.
God has always taken care of His family. Widows will not be widows in
heaven, if they are believers in Christ. They will be the bride of
Christ. Where is the holy habitation of God? God is omnipresent. Jesus
is seated at the right hand of the Father, but He is also in the
believer. Christ in us the hope of glory. Where two or three or
gathered, He is in the midst.
Psalms 68:6 "God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth
out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a
dry [land]."
This was so true of those who came across the wilderness to the
promised land. Those rebellious children, who had no faith, died in
the wilderness. Sometimes, only one in a family believes and follows
God. To be in a family of non-believers, is truly to be bound.
Psalms 68:7 "O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people,
when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:"
God did go before them in the wilderness. His presence led them.
The amazing thing, to me, is that He would still call these rebellious
people His. Selah, of course, means pause at this point and think on
this.
Psalms 68:8 "The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the
presence of God: [even] Sinai itself [was moved] at the presence of
God, the God of Israel."
We know that the earth, and the mountains, and the heavens are
all subject to the God that made them. The presence of God was so
great at mount Sinai, that the people were frightened greatly. Look
with me, in the next few verses, at the effect the presence of God had
on the people and on the mountain. Look, also, and see that God
appeared as a fire and smoke, the same as the way He led them in the
wilderness. Exodus 19:16 " And it came to pass on the third day in
the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick
cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so
that all the people that [was] in the camp trembled." Exodus 19:17
"And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God;
and they stood at the nether part of the mount." Exodus 19:18 "And
mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon
it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace,
and the whole mount quaked greatly." At this time, the Israelites were
the only people known as God's people.
Psalms 68:9 "Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby
thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary."
Each time the children of Isreal sinned against God, He forgave
them, and blessed them. It rained Manna from heaven to feed them when
they were hungry. God led them to water to drink even where there
seemed to be no water. The Rock provided water for them. They wore the
same shoes for 40 years, and they did not wear out. This is miraculous
provision for His children. All the nations around them never doubted
their inheritance,because of the miraculous provision God made for
them.
Psalms 68:10 "Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God,
hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor."
The children of Israel were the congregation of God. These people
had been in bondage to the Egyptians, yet God kept them, without them
working, for these 40 years.
Psalms 68:11 "The Lord gave the word: great [was] the company of
those that published [it]."
This company, that published it, was approximately 3 million
people. The Word of God is still alive and being published today by
His true followers.
Psalms 68:12 "Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that
tarried at home divided the spoil."
As we said earlier in this lesson, the nations, that Israel
passed on the way to the promised land, had heard of how God fought
their battles for them, and they were afraid, and fled before them.
This is saying, that the women, who were not actually in the battle,
shared in the spoil they got in battle.
Psalms 68:13 "Though ye have lien among the pots, [yet shall ye
be as] the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with
yellow gold."
The thing to do with this, I suppose, is to look at the symbols.
The dove speaks of the Holy Spirit. The silver speaks of redemption
and the gold speaks of God. It appears that the women {symbolic of the
church} has been in a lowered condition, among the pots. This, to me,
is symbolic of the church filled with the spirit of God being redeemed
by God. Enough said.
Psalms 68:14 "When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was
[white] as snow in Salmon."
God, Himself fought their battles. White symbolizes
righteousness. When God scattered His enemies, righteousness reigned.
Psalms 68:15 "The hill of God [is as] the hill of Bashan; an high
hill [as] the hill of Bashan."
Bashan was a very tall mountain physically. This is saying, then,
that the hill of God was high and lifted up. The hill of God, even
though not physically as high, was spiritually higher.
Questions 66
1. God, in verse one, is ________.
2. Most noted scholars believe this was associated with what event?
3. What prior event does, the fact that God arises, remind us of?
4. When God sent the Israelites into battle with the ark leading the
battle, what happened?
5. We would be more successful in our endeavors today, if we did
what?
6. The fame of what God had done to Pharaoh spread, and had what
effect on the nations Israel passed by?
7. What is the nature of smoke?
8. What happens to a candle, when a flame gets too close?
9. What does God do when He looks upon sin?
10. Who are the righteous?
11. Quote 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 7.
12. What is the end of your faith?
13. What unusual name is God called, in verse 4?
14. When we sing praises, it should be _________.
15. Whose ears should the praise be for?
16. Quote 2 Chronicles chapter 2 verse 6.
17. You may not have a father on this earth, but if you are a
Christian, you have a heavenly _______.
18. Who will be the bride of Christ?
19. Where is the holy habitation of God?
20. Those rebellious children that had no faith, died in the ________.
21. What effect did the presence of God on mount Sinai have on the
people?
22. What effect did the presence of God on mount Sinai have on the
mountain?
23. The Lord descended on the mountain in what?
24. Who were the only people known as God's people at this time?
25. How did God confirm their inheritance?
26. What kind of provision did God make for the children of Israel on
the way to the promised land?
27. Who were the congregation of God at the time of the wilderness
experience?
28. Who publishes the Word of God today?
29. Did the women, who were not in the heat of battle, share in the
spoil?
30. What does the dove symbolize?
31. What does silver symbolize?
32. What does gold symbolize?
33. Who are the women symbolic of?
34. When God scattered His enemies, _____________ reigned.
35. What is Bashan, in verse 15?
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