Psalm 68

Psalm Category: Community Song of Gratitude

Central Thought: God is to be praised for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do as He brings people throughout the world to Himself.

Psalm 68 is a collage of historical allusions and vivid memories of God’s works, cemented together with joyous exclamations of praise.

It begins with the words that always announced the procession of the ark: “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered” (see Num. 10:25). The scene that unfolds in verse 7 is the Exodus march and the revelation at Sinai. It quickly coalesces with a vista from the Song of Deborah, which describes the great rainstorm theophany when Israel marched into the wilderness (see. Ps. 68:8; Judg. 5:4ff.).

Psalm 68:12 takes us to the defeat of Sisera, with its reference to kings fleeing and women at home dividing the spoils. When Sisera did not return from battle, his mother and her servants attributed his delay to the great amount of spoil they had to carry—spoil that they covetously imagined in great detail not knowing that Sisera was dead and his army defeated (Judg. 5:28-30).

Such historical victories may be seen against the background of the grand redemptive promise of Genesis 3:15, which is seemingly alluded to in the language of Psalm 69:21: “God will wound the head of His enemies.” This divine victory is ultimately fulfilled by the triumph of Christ over the enemies of the church and Satan himself. The defeat of Sisera, and every other historical instance of God defending His people, is a link in the chain of redemptive history that finds its fruition in the victory of King Jesus our Savior.

There are many psalms like this one that focus on the historic acts of God and reveal His grace and mercy to His people. Psalms are much more than history lessons; they praise and confess the works of God in a worshipful act of remembrance. Ours is a historic faith, and psalms such as this remind us that we are to praise God not only for who He is but also for what He has done. Redemptive history is part of our confession.

Psalm 68 traces the historical progression of the ark from Sinai to its resting place in Jerusalem. As we have seen, verse 1 pictures the ark striking out on its journey; verses 16-19 show the ark’s victorious ascent up Mt. Zion and the accompanying blessings of victory on Israel; verses 24-27 display the celebration of this procession (see. 1 Chron. 13:8). As the visible sign of God’s presence among His people, the ark ultimately reflected the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Immanuel, “God with us.” Thus, the victorious ascent of the ark anticipates the ascension of Christ and His blessings of victory on His people. Paul used the words of verse 18 to make this point in Ephesians 4:8: “When He ascended on high He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.”

The conclusion of Psalm 68 portrays the result of God’s victorious ascension—the spread of His glory throughout the world, and distant nations coming to faith (vv. 29-35). Enemies will be subdued in the process. The “beast of the reeds” is evidently Egypt, while “the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples” probably refers to the leaders and the led (v. 30). All of these will submit, either in faith or in judgment, but the hope of God’s mercy conspicuously dominates the beautiful prophecy of verse 31, “Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.”

With the spread of the gospel since the coming of Christ, the vision of this Psalm has already begun to materialize. Although what is pictured is the work of God’s grace on a vast scale throughout the centuries of world history, we can truly see it unfold when people around us come to faith as God uses our witness. When the hearts of men and women are subdued by God’s grace and brought to faith in Christ, the victorious ascension of our Lord is made manifest again and again.

—C. J. Williams