For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psalm 68:1-10

1 May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
    may his foes flee before him.
2 May you blow them away like smoke –
    as wax melts before the fire,
    may the wicked perish before God.
3 But may the righteous be glad
    and rejoice before God;
    may they be happy and joyful.

4 Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
    extol him who rides on the clouds;
    rejoice before him – his name is the Lord.
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
    is God in his holy dwelling.
6 God sets the lonely in families,
    he leads out the prisoners with singing;
    but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

7 When you, God, went out before your people,
    when you marched through the wilderness,
8 the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God, the God of Israel.
9 You gave abundant showers, O God;
    you refreshed your weary inheritance.
10 Your people settled in it,
    and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor.

A. Find Out:  

1. What does David want & what 2 illustrations does he give? v.1,2
2. But what does he want for the righteous? v.3,4
3. How does he describe the Lord and what He does? v.5,6
4. Where had the Lord gone? v.7
5. What had happened? v.8,9
6. What further has occurred? v.10

B. Think:

1. How is the Lord portrayed in verses 1 – 4?
2. How is He portrayed in verses 5 & 6
3. How is He portrayed in verses 7 – 10?

C. Comment:

As we have noted in the questions above, David picks up three aspects of the Lord in these first ten verses of this psalm. First he speaks of the Lord in terms of a mighty, all-powerful warrior who will deal with His enemies (v.1). He sees the Lord wafting His enemies away as easily as smoke is wafted away. He sees them melting away as easily as a candle melts away before the heat of a fire (v.2). This is a God who deals powerfully with His enemies (who are evil – implied), but blesses the righteous (v.3). But then, almost to set right any wrong thinking that might come into our minds when thinking of God being all powerful, he reminds himself that the Lord looks after and cares for the poor – orphans and widows, those who have been left alone, perhaps made prisoners by the enemy (v.5,6). God is their God! This is a God of care and compassion who tenderly protects and provides for the weak.

Then, as so often in the Old Testament, there come oblique references to the Exodus and the entry to the Promised Land (v.7,9). The Lord led His people, led them from Sinai, led this family of Israel, and led them into a spiritually barren land and poured out His blessing on them in it and transformed it. This is the God of transformation who took a slave people put them into a foreign land and transformed them and it under His hand of blessing.

D. Application:

1. Do we know the Lord as the powerful but compassionate One?
2. Do we know the Lord as the One who brings transformation?

Passage: Psalm 68:11-23

11 The Lord announces the word,
    and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:
12 ‘Kings and armies flee in haste;
    the women at home divide the plunder.
13 Even while you sleep among the sheepfolds,
    the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
    its feathers with shining gold.’
14 When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land,
    it was like snow fallen on Mount Zalmon.

15 Mount Bashan, majestic mountain,
    Mount Bashan, rugged mountain,
16 why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain,
    at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
    where the Lord himself will dwell for ever?
17 The chariots of God are tens of thousands
    and thousands of thousands;
    the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.
18 When you ascended on high,
    you took many captives;
    you received gifts from people,
even from the rebellious –
    that you, Lord God, might dwell there.

19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour,
    who daily bears our burdens.
20 Our God is a God who saves;
    from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.
21 Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
    the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
22 The Lord says, ‘I will bring them from Bashan;
    I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23 that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes,
    while the tongues of your dogs have their share.’

A. Find Out:

1. What had the Lord declared to whom? v.11
2. What phase of the Exodus is shown in v.12-14?
3. What gazes in envy at what? v.15,16
4. How did the psalmist see God arriving there? v.17,18
5. What does he next celebrate? v.19,20
6. What assurance does God bring? v.21-23

B. Think:

1. What historical activity does verses 11-14 focus upon?
2. What does verses 15-18 focus upon?
3. What do verses 19-23 celebrate?

C. Comment:

Verses 4 to 6 celebrated God who led His people out of Egypt, and verses 7 to 10 Him leading His people into Canaan. Verses 11 to 14 now celebrate His taking of the land from His enemies there. He announced it before it happened to the company of Israel (v.11) and as they entered the area of Canaan kings and armies fled before Him (v.12). The dove that is Israel (see Psa 74:19 and Hos 7:11) rests between battles enriched with the gold and silver taken from her enemies (v.13) and the kings in the land were scattered by God (v.14).

Having cleared the land it was time for God to take His place in the midst of His people in the Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Zion. The mountains of Bashan (v.15) might have been bigger, but God chose to reign from Mount Zion (v.16). He came with His angelic hosts (v.17) having cleared the land and taken captives (v.18).

The result of all this is praise to God who saves and carries their burdens (v.19), who delivers them from death (v.20). They rest confident in that God who has delivered them in the past will deliver them in the future from their enemies (v.21) who come from afar (v.22) and bring them at the feet of Israel (v.23).

It is a celebration of God’s triumph in taking the Land, occupying Jerusalem and bringing security to Israel.

D. Application:

1. God’s ongoing purposes cannot be held back.
2. God is there for His people. Rest secure

Passage: Psalm 68:24-35

24 Your procession, God, has come into view,
    the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
25 In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
    with them are the young women playing the tambourines.
26 Praise God in the great congregation;
    praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel.
27 There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,
    there the great throng of Judah’s princes,
    and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

28 Summon your power, God;
    show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
    kings will bring you gifts.
30 Rebuke the beast among the reeds,
    the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.
Humbled, may the beast bring bars of silver.
    Scatter the nations who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come from Egypt;
    Cush will submit herself to God.

32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth,
    sing praise to the Lord,
33 to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
    who thunders with mighty voice.
34 Proclaim the power of God,
    whose majesty is over Israel,
    whose power is in the heavens.
35 You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
    the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

A. Find Out:

1. Who form part of what? v.24,25,27
2. Why have they come? v.26
3. What does the Psalmist ask God to do? v.28,30
4. With what result? v.29,31
5. What does the Psalmist call the nations to do? v.32
6. Why? v.33-35

B. Think:

1. What is the picture being conveyed in v.24-27?
2. What does the Psalmist want to happen in v.28-31?
3. What does he want to happen in v.32-35?

C. Comment:

The psalm has exalted the Lord as a warrior (v.1-3), as a deliverer (v.4-6), as an occupier (v.7-10), as a clearer of the Land (v.11-14) as the occupier of Jerusalem (v.15-18), and as a saviour and triumphant Lord (v.19-23). Now the Psalmist sees the people of God coming to the Temple (v.24) to worship the Lord. There are singers and musicians (v.25) and representatives from all Israel (v.27) come to praise God (v.26). This is the result of all that has gone before – worship flowing out of relationship.

But the Psalmist is mindful of the enemies of the people of God and his desire is for those enemies to be subject to God’s power (v.28) so that the might of Egypt will be humbled (v.30,31) and all nations will come to Jerusalem to bring offerings to the Lord (v.29). The Psalmist wants more than Israel to worship God; he wants all the world to.

So, in his concluding verses he calls all people to sing praises to God (v.32) to acknowledge Him for who He is, the One who is high above all else (v.33), the all-powerful One, Lord of Israel (v.34) who resides in their midst (v.35) and blesses His people with power and strength.

Thus the psalm starts and finishes with praise to God who is all powerful, and shows how that power was there for His people.

D. Application:

1. God is The Lord. There is no other like Him. Worship Him.
2. The Lord fights for His people; rest in that knowledge. Praise Him