Psalm 68 ~ O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah

Psalm 68

God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell 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,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10 your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

11 The Lord gives the word;
the women who announce the news are a great host:
12 “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—
13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on Zalmon.

15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.

19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may strike your feet in their blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

24 Your procession is seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them virgins playing tambourines:
26 “Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel's fountain!”
27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28 Summon your power, O God,
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall bear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 Nobles shall come from Egypt;
Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.

32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, 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 from his sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!

It has always seemed to me, as vacation ends, something happens to bring us back to our regular life. Usually something not very endearing. And a loved one commented sourly, God has a terrible sense of humor. Look what He did to Job. 

I doubt Job still complains. 

Deuteronomy 1:33
who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

We always tend to think of God as removed. Yet the Scriptures tell us again and again - GOD Almighty goes before us. Existing before us. Creating before us. Writing the Book of Life. Loving us before we were created, seeing us grow, fall back, trying again in His Strength. Remembering Jesus' first sign - He cared for a mere woman who wanted Him to change His mind and help. Not something the Roman Empire saw a lot of!

John 2:4
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

Some days it is an effort to struggle forward. Yet is is God who gives one power and strength to His People.  Blessed be GOD!!  It is only in the power of HIS Love we claim Psalm 68 is for us. 

Read it, claim it, love it. His promises are for us. His beloved. 

Deuteronomy 31:8

It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Proverbs 16:18

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

John 10:4

When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

So we know God goes before us. Outside of time, yet the nature of God is to be everywhere.

Luke 17:20,21
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

It would be the modern equivalent of God saying, He's got us covered.

Psalm 77:19
Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.

Isaiah 43:16
This is what the LORD says--he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters

Daniel 5:23b
God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

It is up to us to Honor the LORD. To be grateful, to be mindful, to be reverent. To seize the day, by remembering we work for the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.


Job 12:10
In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.

Isaiah 49:16
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

2 Corinthians 1:3 
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort



<><