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Psalm 68:26

Psalm 68:26 Praise God in the great congregation We have to have low points in our lives to help us to appreciate the high ones! In following David’s experiences through the Psalms, we have delved into the pit of absolute despair, when death seemed to be loitering just outside the door. Here, in Psalm 68, we might say that David has reached the pinnacle of his earthly experiences, as he dances before the Lord on Mount Zion and watches the Ark of the Covenant being placed inside the sacred tent that had been erected for the purpose. Thank God that this man, who was not afraid to express his feelings, was able to create words and music to convey the highs and lows of his spiritual and earthly journeys.  Here we are exhorted to praise God with the righteous who assemble at the sanctuary. Let us join with all those godly ones who ascend Zion with joy in their hearts and songs on their lips. No, we don’t have to go to Jerusalem to do this, we can sing and praise wherever the righteous gathe
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Psalm 68:24-25

Psalm 68:24-25 The procession of my God and King This verse brings to mind the liturgical processions that we sometimes see in cathedrals and high places where a choir walks steadily forward followed by clerics and priests in their colourful robes. I suspect that David is describing something similar here. The Levite choirs and musicians would certainly be involved and thus there was singing accompanied by harps and lyres and possibly shofars. Behind the musicians came young women playing timbrels or tambourines so this was not a quiet affair! It would have been a joyful spectacle and the crowds would have, no doubt, joined in. They almost certainly sang some of the very psalms we have studied, including this one. The singing and music were followed by the more dignified procession of the priests in their robes led by the man who was High Priest at the time.  David is describing here the moment when the Ark of the Covenant was first brought up to Zion and in 2 Samuel 6 we read that he
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Psalm 68:22-23

Psalm 68:22-23 Wading in blood! These verses are as bloodthirsty as any in the Psalms. In verse 15 we discovered that the Mountains of Bashan represent the highlands of Israel to the north and east of the land, territory that is modern-day Syria. The “depths of the sea” can only be speaking of the Mediterranean Sea to the east, so that all areas of the land are embraced here. As the Israelites established their dominance of the land of Canaan, innumerable peoples were driven out and conquered, and the enemies of God were extinguished. So much so that the feet of the soldiers waded in blood and their dogs lapped it up! Some find this view of the Lord God to be unpalatable, especially as a similar pattern has unfolded in the land in modern times, with the driving back of the indigenous Palestinians. Listen, God is God, He created the world and its people. He gave life to every soul that was born on this planet and that gives Him the right to distinguish between those who love and acknowl
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Psalm 68:21

Psalm 68:21 Hairy crowns crushed! We are all familiar with the pronouncement by God, to the serpent, in the garden of Eden,  “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”  Genesis 3:15. Quite clearly, while Satan would be able to inflict a minor injury on the offspring of the woman (in other words -  Yeshua), he would suffer far more severely as a consequence. His power, his headship, his authority and his life would be taken, and he would be destroyed by the woman’s child.  Balaam, the prophet who was in it for the money, foretold the coming of,  “a star out of Jacob; a sceptre that will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the people of Sheth.”  Numbers 24:17. Balaam too was speaking of judgement and destruction and the devastation of God’s enemies.  David uses the same picture here, of heads being crushed, to describe the annihilation of the wicked a
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Psalm 68:20

Psalm 68:20 Escape from death! Sin brings death! The ultimate consequence of all sin is death. The wages of sin is death. People pursue sinful practices hoping for a pay-out, they will get one – death. All have sinned, so all will die. What a miserable state we human beings are in for, so far as I am aware, no one has cheated death, no one has been able to buy or create life, everyone ends up with a gravestone. And death hurtles towards us all at a pace that quickens as we grow older, and there is no way to avoid that terminal appointment. That is why there is such a note of joy and anticipation in this verse,  “Our God,  (as opposed to all the others)  is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.”  David is anticipating a form of existence beyond this life, death was not the end, he hoped for life even though resurrection had not yet been invented! This conviction about a future existence is described by him in Psalm 16:9-11.  “ Therefore, my heart is glad and
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There will be no further posts until we return from holiday in 1 week.

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Psalm 68:19

Psalm 68:19 He daily bears our burdens It’s time to sing another song of praise, to open our mouths and acclaim the God who is our Father and who loves and sustains us. He is the only true God and He is our Saviour. In ancient times that salvation was primarily in the context of deliverance from Egypt and from Israel’s physical enemies. So, what forms of salvation from burdens do we praise God for today? Firstly, we too have been delivered from slavery, the slavery to sin. That dark, brooding taskmaster that commanded our rebellion and disobedience against God, and that sent its cancerous tentacles into every part of our being. We were helpless and hopeless until Christ came and set us free. The burden was lifted at Calvary and there is no need to be weighed down by it any longer. Hallelujah! Secondly, our Heavenly Father has equipped us to be free from the burdensome oppression of our spiritual enemies. In Christ Jesus, by the power of His Holy Spirit, we can fight back and be victori
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