Continued-Psalm 68

"They have seen thy goings,
O God, Even the goings of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
The singers went before, the minstrels followed after,
In the midst of the damsels playing with timbrels.
Bless ye God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, ye that are of the fountain of Israel.
There is little Benjamin their ruler,
The princes of Judah and their council,
The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali (vss 24-27).

With verse 23 the last war that will ever be fought upon this earth is brought to a close. In verses 24-27 we see a triumphal procession, going to the sanctuary to return praise and thanks to God for the deliverance which He works in behalf of the nation and the world. The din of the battle has quieted; the smoke has rolled away; the skies are clear; the curse is lifted; and Jerusalem is a city set upon the glorious holy mountain. King Messiah, Israel's Deliver, is attended by enthusiastic followers as He goes forth into the sanctuary where the proper services will be held. Thus in verse 24 King David declared "They have seen thy goings, O God, Even the goings of my God, my King, into the sanctuary." In this verse the prophet sees the procession on its way, doubtless from the ivory palaces of King Messiah mentioned in Psalm 45:8, as it goes to the sanctuary in which the divine services will be held. The ones referred to by the pronoun "they" doubtless are the peoples of the earth. There can be little doubt that such a marvelous exhibition of praise, glory, and thanksgiving will be broadcast and sent forth by television to the entire world. Thus the psalmist declared that they, the people of the world, will see with their own eyes this marvelous demonstration of gratitude and praise. Before King Messiah there march forth the singers, whereas the minstrels follow after. But in the middle of the procession, surrounding King Messiah, are the virgins who are playing with their timbrels. I have seen mighty and wonderful parades. So has everyone of my readers. But there never has been held such a procession as this one will be. This will be the climax of all such occasions. Everyone in this procession will be a born-again, redeemed person. Purity and serenity, together with majesty, will fill the air.

In verse 26 King David calls upon those who will be in the congregation to bless God, who is the Lord. There have been and are many great international gatherings for various purposes. Many of them are for religious purposes and others for secular. The gatherings that are mentioned in verse 26 are purely religious and those who are exhorted to praise God and to enter into this worship are "of the fountain of Israel." This language is familiar to the Bible student. In Isaiah 48:1 as well as in Deuteronomy 33:28 this same figure appears. Jacob, the great progenitor of the Hebrew race, is thought of in terms of a fountain or spring from which flows a stream of crystal water. Thus the descendants of Jacob are compared to this stream. They are therefore urged to come and join in this great service of worship to the God of Israel, her Messiah and Savior.

According to verse 27 two of the tribes of Israel from the southern part of the country are leading the procession, whereas two in the north are seen as following up the company. There is "little Benjamin," their ruler and leader. Along with him is the powerful tribe of Judah and the princes of Judah. The tribe of Judah was of course the royal one. David, the great progenitor of the dynasty which flowed from him, was of this tribe. The Lord Jesus Christ likewise is of this tribe, being a descendant of David. The mention of the two southern tribes and the two northern ones as being in this procession implies that all of the tribes will be there. The Bible reader is familiar with the expression, "from Dan to Beersheba." Dan was in the extreme north and Beersheba in the very south of the land. Thus all between those extreme points are included in such an expression. The mention of the most southern and the most northern tribes likewise implies that the other tribes will be represented in that glorious triumphal procession.

"Thy God hath commanded thy strength:
Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
Because of thy temple at Jerusalem Kings shall bring presents unto thee.
Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds,
The multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling under foot the pieces of silver:
He hath scattered the peoples that delight in war.
Princes shall come out of Egypt;
Ethiopia shall hasten to stretch Out her hands unto God (vss. 8-31).

After David gave a vision of this great triumphal procession in the worship that will be conducted in Jerusalem when King Messiah returns and establishes His reign upon the earth, King David spoke to his nation, making the revelation that, "thy God hath commanded thy strength." God has never abandoned Israel and never will. He has commanded, given orders, that Israel shall be strengthened. She can receive this divine strength and support whenever she turns to Him with all her heart and requests it. Upon the basis of this revelation, the king prayed: "Strengthen O God, that which thou hast wrought for us." Another rendering of this passage is: "Be strong, O God, thou that hast wrought for us." Both of these translations are grammatically correct. The translators of the American Revised Version preferred the former one, thinking that it fits into the flow of thought of the context. Though we may not be able to decide which is the exact one that was intended, both are true. Since God has given the command that Israel shall be strengthened, David prayed that the Lord would strengthened Israel and her case. It is He who has wrought for her.

It is God who has wrought for us. The Lord Jesus Christ left glory, laying aside His riches with the Father and became poor in order that we through His poverty might become rich. He championed our cause, won the victory, and offers salvation full and free to all who will accept. All one has to do is to accept Him as the champion of His liberty by faith. Whenever one thus penitently trusts the Lord, the Holy Spirit regenerates the heart, comes into the soul in order to give strength to such a saved one. Truly, the born-again Christian can say as Israel will yet declare, "Thou hast wrought for us."

Jerusalem has is yet to be the joy spot of the world. This is seen in Psalm 48:1,2; 50:1,2. On the mountain of the height of Israel (Ezek. 20:40) will be the city of Jerusalem in the southern portion, whereas the Temple will be in the northern section. For proof of this position see Ezekiel chapters 47 and 48. According to Psalm 72 the kings of the world will yet, during the great millennial reign of our Lord, come to Jerusalem and will bring their gifts. This is also set forth in Psalm 132. Thus we see the same prophecy found in verse 2 of Psalm 68, the present subject of our study. This prediction will of course be fulfilled when the Lord Jesus returns to earth.

In verse 30 the psalmist prayed that the Lord would rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples. It is clear from the language that the writer is not speaking of literal animals but is using them symbolically. Because the reed was one of the native plants of Egypt, it is thought by some interpreters that the wild beast of the reeds is none other than Egypt. Egypt was a great and a mighty power in the ancient Orient. She was a menace to the people of Israel at various times. She always was this when she assumed a hostile attitude toward the Jews. The multitude of the bulls, together with the calves of the peoples, could refer to nothing other than that of the nations of the world, all of whom are represented as being hostile toward Israel. According to our psalmist God will thus deal with the nations of the world and bring them to the point that they will in penitence come, acknowledging the divine authority.

The phrase, "Trampling under foot the pieces of silver," is a rather difficult one. There are a number of obscure elements in connection with this special phrase. When all the facts, however, are taken into consideration, it is quite likely that the thought is this: O Lord, crush the pride of these hostile nations and bring them to the point that they will come in genuine submission, bringing their wealth  (the bars of silver) as offerings to thee. They will have in pride using their wealth for their own purposes and desires; but Lord, in mercy deal with them to the extent that they will be humbled and will come thus in true worship to Thee. Such seems to be the thought conveyed by this passage.

In the last clause of 68:30 "He hath scattered the peoples that delight in war," the psalmist saw his prayer answered. The nations will be conquered, as we have already seen, and will have their power broken to the extent that they can never again attempt any war against Israel or against anyone else. It is God who, according to Psalm 46, brings wars to an end. It is the Lord who in this verse does the same thing. Thus the warless world will be brought into existence by the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, who will cause the nations to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, neither shall they learn war anymore (Isa. 2:1-4).

At that time, according to 68:31, princes will come out of Egypt to worship God. At the same time the Ethiopians will hasten to God with outstretched arms in accepting the Messiah and His salvation. This statement should be read in connection with the prophecy concerning Ethiopia and her ultimate conversion, as is seen in Isaiah 18:7.

"Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth;
O sing praises unto the Lord; [Selah]
To him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which are of old;
Lo, he uttereth his voice, a mighty voice.
Ascribe ye strength unto to God:
His excellency is over Israel,
And his strength is in the skies.
O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places:
The God of Israel, he giveth strength and power unto his people.
Blessed be God, (vss. 32-35).

In the last section, verses 28-31, we saw predictions that the nations of the world will submit to and accept Jehovah and His salvation. In the present section the psalmist, in view of what will certainly transpire in the future, calls upon the nations of earth to render praise an homage to God. Thus in verse 32 the kingdoms of the world are urged to sing to God. Men praise their fellow men for what they do. But God is the one who does everything for us. It is proper and fitting, therefore, that men should praise God. The exhortation to sing praises to God is followed by these words: "To him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which are of old..." In other words the phrase, "him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens" is in apposition with the word "Lord" in verse 32. These verse should be studied in the light of Deuteronomy 33:26:

"There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun,
Who rideth upon the heavens for thy help,
And in his excellency on the skies."

One should study them in the light of Psalm 18:10-19. In both of these passages the Lord is represented as riding upon the heavens and upon a cherub and coming for the deliverance of Israel. Thus in Psalm 18 we see a theophany described. When we study the entire context we know that this has never been fulfilled but must be yet carried out in the future. When all the facts are studied, one comes to the conclusion that the theophany of Psalm 18 is a prediction of the second coming of our Lord when He, in answer to Israel's plea for assistance, will come and fight against her enemies and bring the longed-for deliverance. When He thus comes as a champion of Israel's cause, "Lo, he uttereth his voice, a mighty voice." This is the same uttering of His voice which we see in Joel 3:16: "And Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but Jehovah will be a refuge unto his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel." Amos also spoke of the same thing (Amos 1:2).

In verse 34 of our psalm the people of Israel are urged to ascribe unto God great strength. The one of whom the psalmist is speaking is doubtless the Messiah, the God of Israel, who will thus come for the relief of His people. His excellency, His glory, will be over His people, and His strength will extend to the skies. In other words, this one who is Israel's Redeemer is omnipotent.

When this future was presented in panoramic form to King David and he saw the terrible acts of King Messiah and the glories that will follow, He was led to exclaim, "O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: The God of Israel, he giveth strength and power unto his people." When the Lord comes, as we learn in Psalm 45, He will perform terrible acts against His enemies. He will go into the earthly sanctuary at Jerusalem and in His holy palaces, as we see from this last verse of Psalm 68. In His performing terrible acts against His enemies, He will at that time give strength and power to His people Israel and deliver them.

The psalm concludes with a familiar petition: "Blessed be God." The psalmist wishes all people of the world to pronounce God's name as blessed. This will be accomplished when the prayer which our Lord taught His disciples to pray is fulfilled: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..."