Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

Psalm 68

Let God rise up, 

let his enemies be scattered; 

let those who hate him flee before him. 

2 As smoke is driven away, 

so drive them away; 

as wax melts before the fire, 

let the wicked perish before God. 

3 But let the righteous be joyful; 

let them exult before God; 

let them be jubilant with joy. 

4 Sing to God, 

sing praises to his name; 

lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—

his name is the LORD—

be exultant before him. 

5 Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. 

6 God gives the desolate a home to live in; 

he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, 

but the rebellious live 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 at the presence of God, 

the God of Sinai, 

at the presence of God, 

the God of Israel. 

9 Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; 

you restored your heritage when it languished; 

10 your flock found a dwelling in it; 

in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

…

³² Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
    sing praises to the Lord, Selah
³³ O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
    listen, 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 in his^[j] sanctuary,
    the God of Israel;
    he gives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God!

Psalm 68 is a hymn of thanksgiving that covers the stages of history of the people of God. A Jewish poet of the Middle Ages imagined all commentators on the psalms gathered before David in Paradise to compete for a prize.  When Psalm 68 was assigned for the test, "what a thick vapor arose!"  Variously ascribed to periods covering a thousand years, even as early as the time of Solomon, dismissed as a medley of quotations and fragments from well‑known war poems yet also described as "magnificent," this poem's use of words (some archaic, some very late), uncertainties of text, and difficulty of translation (as widely differing modern versions illustrate) make all opinions tentative, every interpretation debatable. Military imagery abounds.  This would suggest the psalm's usage in victory celebrations following warfare.  The procession of God depicts God as coming from Mt. Sinai to take up residence in Zion. The psalm is part of the Elohistic psalter. The theme is that of an upbeat, exultant praise of God for what God has given Israel in the way of providence, salvation, and deliverance.[1] It describes the victory of God over the enemies of God and the choice of Jerusalem as the place of divine dominion. It drawas upon ancient tradition, as does Judges 5, of the origin of Israel’s God in the south on Mount Sinai. Its themes are the exodus and the conquest. 

The superscription reads:  

Psalm 68:1-10, part of a segment that extends to verse 18, contain references of the triumphal march of God from Mount Sinai with Moses to Mount Zion with David. Psalm 68:1-3 are the first stanza, human-to-human address. God is described as One who has delivered the people of God from their enemies or perhaps God’s enemies. ¹Let God (Elohim) rise up, or ascend, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee before him. The wording here is very close to Numbers 10:35. This suggests the Ark, which led soldiers into battle in I Samuel 4. ² As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God. The enemies of God will no longer exist, like a puff of smoke disappears or wax melts in fire. In Psalm 37:20 the wicked will disappear like smoke. ³ But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy, for they are ritually in the presence of God. Verses 4-6, the second stanza, reflect upon the benevolence of the rule of God. ⁴ Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song, let the song ascend, to him who rides upon the clouds (a phrase found in Ugarit literature as well, see verse 33—his name is the LORD (Yah)—be exultant before him. They are to sing because of the victory in verses 1-3. Verses 5-6 emphasizes the care, support, and responsibility God has for the powerless and dispossessed in Israel, which may also be cause for the singing in verse 4. ⁵ Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. ⁶ God gives the desolate a home to live in (restores the lonely to their homes or sets individuals who are not part of a family into households). Here is a difficult verse to translate. He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land. Verses 7-10, the third stanza, suggests the procession from Sinai to the Promised Land, are human to divine address, with an epiphany of God as the subject. The writer returns to the accomplishments of God who provides for the needy. ⁷ O God, shifting to addressing God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah ⁸ the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, one of the few references outside the Torah to Sinai, but not here directly connected to the giving of the Law, at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Verses 7-8 are very similar to Judges 5:4-5. ⁹ Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; ¹⁰ your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided by manna, quail, and entry into the Promised Land for the needy, the community viewing itself as needy.

Verses 32-35, the ninth stanza, is a concluding benediction. They offer the imperative to sing praises to the rider in the clouds, who in the sanctuary gives power and strength to the people. the power of God was the focus of the first stanza, and the same theme concludes the psalm. Psalm 29:1-3, 11 has a similar theme. The international praise of God is also a theme of Psalm 65, 66, and 67. Verses 28-35 envision a scene similar to that of Isaiah 2:2-4 and Micah 4:1-3, where the nations come to Zion, God dispenses justice, and weapons of war become instruments of peace. ³² Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord, Selah We see again the exhortation to sing as we did in verse 4. Why do we sing? Where do songs come from? What causes the singing voice to become silent? Of what do we sing? Clearly, we sing for the hope expressed in this psalm for the defeat of evil, the care of the poor, the provision of God in life, and so on. ³³ O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens; listen, 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 in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people. one could ponder the psalm to this point and consider the ways in which the writer thinks of God as awesome. Blessed be God!

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[1] (R.E.O. White, A Christian Handbook to the Psalms, Eerdmanns)