Psalm 68 – God Arise
In Psalm 68 – God Arise, the psalmist issues a call to action. He wants God to arise to the occasion, to defeat the enemies of Israel. It is both an appeal to God and statement of confidence in what God is doing.
Psalm 68
Psalm 68, another psalm attributed to David, begins with David calling on God to arise, scatter his enemies, blow them away like smoke.
“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.” (1-3)
As part of this plea, he praises God, appealing to God the father of the fatherless who sets the lonely in families:
“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.” (4-6)
He praises God’s power and care for God’s people as shown by how God provides rain and bounty:
“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.” (7-10)
Again, he praises God, who saves, and is insistent that God will crush his enemies.
“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.” (19-20)
Summon God’s Power
David closes with another call to action. He tells God to summon power and show strength.
“Summon your power, God; show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.” (28)
And a call to the people to proclaim God’s power.
“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.” (34-35)
Many commentators consider this psalm a compilation of segments of ancient poems. Most likely used as a processional during the Feast of Tabernacles, each of the nine stanzas relate a different theme. 1. Confidence that God will destroy Israel’s enemies; 2. Call to praise God as savior; 3. God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; 4. The defeat of the Canaanite kings; 5. The taking of Jerusalem; 6. Praise for God’s past help and for future interventions; 7. Procession at Feast of Tabernacle; 8. Prayer that defeated enemies bring tribute to the Temple; 9. Invitation for all kingdoms to praise Isreal’s God (commentary, Psalm 68, NAB).
Confident Dependence on God
Psalm 68 – God arise, speaks of confident dependence on God. It borders on triumphalism. As one commentator states: “This psalm has been much loved by generals and soldiers: “To the Crusaders, setting out for the recovery of the Holy Land; to Savonarola and his monks, as they marched to the ‘Trial of Fire’ in the Piazza at Florence; to the Huguenots, who called it ‘The song of battles’; to Cromwell, at Dunbar, as the sun rose on the mists of the morning and he charged Leslie’s army.” (Kirkpatrick, cited in Morgan) Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 68
Triumphalism can be problematic, leading to violence in God’s name. Still there is something to be said about confidently calling upon God.
While some are comfortable with making demands on God, I’ve never been comfortable with it. Maybe it’s because I’m afraid of disappointment when I don’t get the response I demand. So, I hedge my bets and temper my prayer with, if it be your will. That way I’m covered. If I don’t get what I ask for, then it must not have been God’s will. I think I’m also concerned about appearing foolish and opening myself to taunts like those Jesus heard on the cross (Matthew 27:39-44).
And yet, Jesus walked on the water to come to the apostles’ assistance. Why would he not rescue me?
Psalm 68 – God Arise
David has no such reluctance. He is willing to put it all on the line, asking God to crush God’s enemies. There is no waffling. Some may spiritualize this psalm. Certainly, God will crush God’s enemies, and the greatest enemy is sin. They may say the psalm refers to our sins being taking away. But I don’t believe David was thinking in the abstract at all. David thought of his enemies as God’s enemies and had no problem with calling for their destruction.
How comfortable are you with calling God to account? Telling God to stand up and do something? With all of the problems in the world, now would be a good time for God to take action, wouldn’t it?
So call out to the heavens, like David in Psalm 68 – God Arise. God arise, stand up, your people are suffering. Do something!
If nothing else, it feels good to call upon God. And then we leave it in God’s hands.
Has God disappointed you? I would love to hear from you.
(For another take on this psalm, see Psalm 68: Will the Real God Please Stand Up! – Patricia M Robertson)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and receive a free copy of Still Dancing the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
(Please note – in order to help ensure you receive email with link to new book, please add my email, patricia@patriciamrobertson.com to your contact list. Some servers are quick to send newsletters to spam or other boxes.)
Leave a Reply