This song by David is believed by scholars to have been composed during the return of the Ark of God (2 Samuel 6). Initially, the people of God attributed their defeat to the absence of the Ark in battle. Consequently, they brought the Ark with them the next time, but they were still defeated, and the Ark was captured by the Philistines. God then afflicted the Philistines with plagues, prompting them to summon the elders of Israel and request them to reclaim the Ark.
The Philistines retained the Ark of God for only seven months before returning it to Israel with a sin offering. They placed the Ark on a cart driven by cows without human guidance. When the Ark reached the territory of the Israelites, God struck down seventy inhabitants of Beth Shemesh for looking into the Ark of the Lord. The people mourned the heavy blow dealt by the Lord and asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the Ark go up from here?” (1 Samuel 6:19-20).
The Israelites feared bringing the Ark of God back to Jerusalem, so they placed it in the house of Abinadab, the son of King Saul, where it remained for twenty years. After this period, David finally decided to bring the Ark of God back to Jerusalem.
The Prayer Of Moses
May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.
May you blow them away like smoke—
as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God.
But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful. – Psalms 68:1-3 (NIV)
David was filled with joy at the sight of the Ark of God and wanted to seize this opportunity. Therefore, he repeated the prayer that Moses offered in front of the Ark of God (Numbers 10:35). David knew the Ark had never failed Moses and attributed its safe handling to Moses’ prayer. Often, we fail to interact with God personally and rely on the liturgies and hymns written by our ancestors to approach Him. By uttering Moses’ prayer, David was confident that God’s presence would drive away His enemies.
When we have such confidence in God, we often overlook the possibility that we too can become His enemies for various reasons. It’s not just about God leading our forefathers, but also about how He wants to lead us now. “May the righteous be glad” is a truth, but the critical question is how we measure righteousness within ourselves. Do we claim righteousness for ourselves, or do we attribute it to Jesus, in whose righteousness we are made righteous?
His Name Is The LORD
Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds ;
rejoice before him—his name is the LORD.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,
he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. – Psalms 68:4-6 (NIV)
David, not wanting to take any risks, harkened back to the days of the Exodus when Jehovah nurtured the Israelites like a father who cares for his children. During the Exodus, God revealed His name to Moses as “I Am Who I Am,” but by David’s time, the people understood Him as the LORD. The Israelites sang praises to God from personal experience: He had divided the Red Sea and destroyed their enemies, displayed His fatherhood in the wilderness, and brought special joy to widows. God established them into families and dwelled among them in the Tabernacle, moving with them in a cloud by day.
Aware of this marvellous history, David urged his people to praise God in the same manner as those who had personally witnessed His wonders, even if they only knew Him through the Ark of God. After being liberated from Pharaoh, the Israelites sang with joy, recalling how God delivered them and how the rebellious suffered in a sun-scorched land.
The Bounty Of God
When you, God, went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
You gave abundant showers, O God;
you refreshed your weary inheritance.
Your people settled in it,
and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor. – Psalms 68:7-10 (NIV)
The verses above beautifully illustrate God’s presence with the people in the wilderness, showing how He humbled them to bless them with His Living Word. God continually seeks opportunities to bless us, and humility is the gateway to these blessings. The same God who led the Israelites out of Egypt was able to guide and sustain them with His provisions. Among these provisions, the greatest is His Living Word. The author of Deuteronomy captures this powerfully,
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD – Deuteronomy 8:3
God allows us to experience need so He can provide His riches and makes us weak so He can fill us with His strength. Have we ever felt a need for Him and His Words?
The Plunder Is For All
The Lord announces the word,
and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:
“Kings and armies flee in haste;
the women at home divide the plunder.
Even while you sleep among the sheep pens,
the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
its feathers with shining gold.”
When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land,
it was like snow fallen on Mount Zalmon. – Psalms 68:11-14 (NIV)
This reflection centres on the song and dance of Miriam. “Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a hand-drum in her hand; and all the women went out after her with hand-drums and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea’” (Exodus 15:20-21).
Who will listen to what you say? “The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this (1 Samuel 30:24-25). David, with God’s grace, made wise and just decisions even when misguided by evil people. Despite this, God chose women to spread the news of His Son’s resurrection.
This Psalm highlights the core of the Gospel: Jesus died and rose again for all people, whether they were actively involved in Jesus’ battle with evil or not. God conquered the devil and invites us all to share in the victory.
“Even while you sleep among the sheep pens” reflects David’s own life story. The dove symbolizes the innocent women who were afraid of the governing authorities, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, and because of their fear, they were unable to recognize the Messiah. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a perfect example; she initially thought Jesus was out of His mind because He was hated by the church leaders. Yet, she was clothed with God’s silver and shining glory by Jesus, who included her in His spiritual family. God made the kings to spread His word across the world, and for the Psalmist, this appeared like snow falling on Mount Zalmon.
The Battle Of Calvary
Mount Bashan, majestic mountain,
Mount Bashan, rugged mountain,
why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain,
at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
where the LORD himself will dwell forever?
The chariots of God are tens of thousands
and thousands of thousands;
the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.
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. – Psalms 68:15-18 (NIV)
As usual, David focused on the victory that God won for him, which also has a deeper meaning related to the battle of Calvary. Initially, the devil rejoiced, thinking he had defeated the Son of God, but he soon realized he had been ambushed and was nailed to the cross by God. “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).
Notice that it says “He ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended into our lowly world. The same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with Himself (Ephesians 4:9-10). This Psalm is a prophetic Psalm that foretold the victory of God on the cross. Moreover, Jesus’ ascension to heaven with His captives denotes that these captives are not prisoners of war but captives of His enduring love. As written in the book of Isaiah: “Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand” (Isaiah 53:10).
God Who Saves
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.
Our God is a God who saves;
from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.
Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan;
I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes,
while the tongues of your dogs have their share.” – Psalms 68:19-23 (NIV)
The Psalmist, in his difficult situation, clung to God and experienced the invitation of Jesus recorded in Matthew 11:28. Having witnessed God’s great protection during warfare, the Psalmist understood that only the Sovereign God can save from death. The Holy Spirit, through their life situation, conveys the universal truth that God saves us from eternal death. Witnessing many wars and gruesome scenes of bloodshed, the Psalmist longed for such divine intervention in every war, attributing it to the deeds of God.
There are no other gods who can save us; our God is our Creator. The Creator loves His creation and rejuvenates it. He made us in His image, with eternal life as He lives forever. However, when sin entered, eternal death crept in. Yet, in His mercy, God sent His Son, Jesus, to bleed on the cross, and that stream of blood cleanses all the sins of the world.
Procession of the Ark of the God
Your procession, God, has come into view,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
Praise God in the great congregation;
praise the LORD in the assembly of Israel.
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. – Psalms 68:24-27
After twenty years, God showed grace to David, allowing him to retrieve the Ark. The procession was majestic, with a new cart specifically made to carry the Ark of God, driven by Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab. In David’s victorious moments, women always played a vital role by singing and dancing. However, it’s worth pondering whether their praise was directed towards God or David. When the women praised David in front of King Saul, it sparked envy in Saul’s heart, leading to difficult times for David. If their praises had been directed to God, the outcome might have been different.
The Ark of God was kept in the house of Abinadab, the son of King Saul for twenty years. Instead of blaming Saul and his tribe for holding the Ark far away from the temple of Jerusalem, David honoured the tribe of Benjamin by giving them a significant role in the Ark’s procession. This demonstrated David’s respect for God’s plans over his own desires and challenges. We often blame others for not carrying out God’s will, but if God Himself remains silent on the matter, why should we place blame?
The procession is reminiscent of the Israelites’ journey through the Red Sea and also recalls the song of Deborah and Barak, son of Abinoam, praising God for the deliverance provided through Deborah. The song encouraged and motivated Deborah to continue her work for God, and it mentioned how the people of Zebulun risked their lives, as did Naphtali on the terraced fields (Judges 5:18).
Confidence in God’s Sovereignty and Protection
Summon your power, God;
show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings will bring you gifts.
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.
Envoys will come from Egypt;
Cush will submit herself to God. – Psalms 68:28-31
When God pours out His grace and we acknowledge it with praise, it energizes us to communicate with Him and claim His promises. If we fail to attribute our success to God, we risk becoming disconnected from Him, allowing fear and doubt to fill our hearts. David, enabled by God to retrieve the Ark, believed he would bring it back to Jerusalem. This Psalm likely records events before God struck Uzzah, as the procession did not reach Jerusalem.
The death of Uzzah was an internal issue, which is why David trusted that God would protect him from his enemies. David did not confuse God’s judgment with His mercy and protection. We often mistake God’s correction for His wrath, fearing His anger is upon us. Despite this, David believed that all of God’s enemies would eventually come to Him with humble hearts. Reeds, symbolizing threats to any kingdom, prompted David to ask God to rebuke those who tried to invade his provinces. In today’s context, sin is a great threat to our holiness, and we must sincerely ask God to cleanse our sins.
Likewise, the more we reflect on God’s love, shown by giving us His Son, the quicker we connect with our Father, and our faith grows stronger, empowering us to reach for eternity. The author of Hebrews encourages us to approach God with confidence to receive His grace and mercy (Hebrews 4:16). Similarly, John writes in his first letter about the confidence we have in approaching God, knowing that eternal life awaits us (1 John 5:14).
The Giver Of Power And Strength
Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
who thunders with mighty voice.
Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the heavens.
You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God! – Psalms 68:32-35
Although David understood God’s power and strength, he called on all nations to adore and praise Him, freely sharing his privilege with others. Today, many believers tend to keep this privilege to themselves, closing the doors for others to come to God. The Psalmist conveyed that God is not limited to one nation but is the God of all nations. Aware of God’s mighty power, the Psalmist described Him as riding across the ancient heavens, indicating His sovereignty over the past, present, and future. This Psalm highlights God’s mighty works in His heavenly realm, attributing the strength given to the people of Israel to retrieve the Ark of God directly to Him.
This Psalm gives us a glimpse of God’s work in heaven, demonstrating that He can fulfil His will on earth, particularly among His people. It also reveals the truth that the privilege of having the Sovereign God near is not exclusive to us but extends to the entire world.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
The Jordan Valley 
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