Dom Dada

[Howard Morrison set out on a journey through the book of Psalms, and invited us to enjoy the highlights of what he's seen and heard and learned about God and himself along the way.]

Ok.  So the other day I’m slogging through Psalm 68. I’m feeling into it, but this particular day Psalm 68 is giving me fits.

I have a method I follow as I approach a psalm. This may give you a little insight into how I work.

I read it. I make a list on a yellow pad of all the times God is mentioned. I note all the times the author is mentioned. If others are a subject of the psalm I list them. I list all the references to the circumstances the author is facing. I list all of the author’s requests of God. I note all the references to God’s character. Then I start looking for things that are unique to this particular psalm. I look for what is repeated, the use of quotes, questions, etc. I look for where the psalm seems to fit into my life or vice versa. Finally, I will often end with a list of questions that I have about the psalm.

I know that sounds very mechanical. It doesn’t really work that way because I’m constantly interrupted with amazing statements of truth, insights, things that stop me dead in my tracks, promptings to pray, etc. Actually, it is a very fulfilling process even though it can be pretty messy at times.

I guess part of what I’m saying is that I try to make it devotional and do original “research.” Sometimes I look up references in a concordance to see where a word or phrase is used elsewhere in the psalms, but rarely do I consult a commentary.

But, again, Psalm 68. Oh, my gosh.

First of all, it is fairly long…35 verses. Second, there are eighty references to God in one form or another. That is a bit overwhelming. The author only makes reference to himself once when he says “my God, my King.”

When I got “done” with this psalm I start listing questions that I had. Like,

• What does it mean for rain to drop at God’s presence in verse 8?
• Who are the women of verse 11?
• Why does he mention it was snowing in Zalmon when the Almighty scattered the kings?
• What is this about a hairy crown in verse 21?

….well, you get the idea.

When I counted them all up I had 19 questions. I had more questions than answers after my study!

Then I tried to tackle the flow of the chapter. I just couldn’t make sense of it all. It seems to jump from one topic to another with no thread to hold it together particularly.

So, I decided to consult a commentary and found great comfort from Adam Clarke. Read what he has written:

I know not how to undertake a comment on this Psalm: it is the most difficult in the whole Psalter; and I cannot help adopting the opinion of Simon De Muis: ‘In this Psalm there are as many precipices and labyrinths as there are verses or words. It may not be improperly termed, the torture of critics, and the reproach of commentators.’ To attempt anything new on it would be dangerous; and to say what has been so often said would be unsatisfactory. I am truly afraid to fall over one of those precipices, or be endlessly entangled and lost in one of these labyrinths. There are customs here referred to which I do not fully understand; there are words whose meaning I cannot, to my own satisfaction, ascertain; and allusions which are to me inexplicable. — Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, Volume III, page 217 (emphasis mine)

Whew. At least I wasn’t alone. “It is the most difficult in the whole Psalter.”

I hope you, too, might be comforted to hear that digging into the Scriptures can be both simple (face value) and extremely challenging. The challenges are worth it, I’m finding.

The Bible declares that God gives us exactly what we need. Maybe more importantly, it also tells us what it IS that we need.

I think I know what I need, but an honest evaluation shows that those things are more likely wants.

Matthew 7:11 says, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” Gof is in the business of giving good gifts. He is also the definer of what is good.

In Psalm 68 David has a request. “Show Thyself strong, O God, who hast acted on our behalf.”

David knows that God has acted on their behalf before. In this psalm he has made several references to the Israelites being sustained through their exodus from Egypt. In other words, God knows how to do this and He has done it for this people before. David is reminding God of this and asking Him, desperately, to show Himself strong….once again.

Strength. That is exactly what we need in days like these. Therefore it is a very appropriate request. It doesn’t fall into the category of merely a want. We desperately need God’s strength.

So what does God do?

Psalm 68:25 says, “The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God.”

An answered prayer. God doesn’t pawn this request off to the angels. He doesn’t dismiss it as beneath Him. He doesn’t point out our unworthiness. He answers….with strength and power.

And in a declaration that isn’t even an answer to a spoken prayer, David states, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden…” (Psalm 68:19).

Strength/power and bearing our burdens. Exactly what we need.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; And let those who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish before God. But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God; Yes, let them rejoice with gladness. Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts, Whose name is the LORD, and exult before Him.

A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation. God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

O God, when Thou didst go forth before Thy people, When Thou didst march through the wilderness, Selah. The earth quaked; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Thou didst shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God; Thou didst confirm Thine inheritance, when it was parched. Thy creatures settled in it; Thou didst provide in Thy goodness for the poor, O God.

The Lord gives the command; The women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host: “Kings of armies flee, they flee, And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!” When you lie down among the sheepfolds, You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And its pinions with glistening gold. When the Almighty scattered the kings there, It was snowing in Zalmon.

A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan. Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks, At the mountain which God has desired for His abode? Surely, the LORD will dwell there forever. The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands; The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness. Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captive Thy captives; Thou hast received gifts among men, Even among the rebellious also, that the LORD God may dwell there.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation. Selah. God is to us a God of deliverances; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies, The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds. The Lord said,  “I will bring them back from Bashan. I will bring them back from the depths of the sea; That your foot may shatter them in blood, The tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”

They have seen Thy procession, O God, The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary. The singers went on, the musicians after them, In the midst of the maidens beating tambourines. Bless God in the congregations, Even the LORD, you who are of the fountain of Israel. There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them, The princes of Judah in their throng, The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

Your God has commanded your strength; Show Thyself strong, O God, who hast acted on our behalf. Because of Thy temple at Jerusalem Kings will bring gifts to Thee. Rebuke the beasts in the reeds, The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, Trampling under foot the pieces of silver; He has scattered the peoples who delight in war. Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; Sing praises to the Lord, Selah. To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times; Behold, He speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice. Ascribe strength to God; His majesty is over Israel, And His strength is in the skies. O God, Thou art awesome from Thy sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!
— Psalm 68 NASB

Howard Morrison is a partner in Arizona’s Morrison Ranch. He resides with his family in Austin, Texas.