Psalm 68:34

Psalm 68:34

Proclaim the power of God

Verses like this one, passed me by as a younger man, they didn’t seem to be saying anything very profound. Now I read these words and realise that they are rich with meaning and truth and a whole book could be written about this one! The first thing to note is that this is an order, those who read and believe in the Lord God are being ordered to proclaim Him. The best way to do this is not to walk around the streets shouting His virtues but to ascribe to Him the praise and glory that He is due. This can be done privately and publicly, alone or corporately. Whatever the circumstances, the reality of our faith is best expressed when we proclaim the power of God.

There follows, two reasons for our proclamations. The first is that the excellence of the majesty of the Lord God is to be seen over Israel. There was a time when this nation and its history held little fascination for me, the Hebrew Scriptures and the life and times of this ancient people were transcended in my thinking by the coming of Christ and the emergence of the church. Now I realise that everything that I need to know about God, and His dealings with believers over the last 2,000 years, is revealed in His dealings with Israel. David wrote this Psalm when that nation had peaked in its relationship with the Lord God and its possession of the land of promise. Everywhere that David looked he could see only the excellence and majesty of the Lord and his heart overflowed with praise. Modern Israel is a wake-up call to Jews and Gentiles that God’s majesty is still being revealed to His ancient people. Let us proclaim the power of God whose majesty is over Israel. 

There is another reason for us to proclaim the power of God and it is that His power may be seen in the heavens. The Psalms are rich in their portrayal of God’s heavenly power and glory. “You have set Your glory above the heavens.” Psalm 8:1. “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?” Psalm 8:3-4. You see, God made man to rule the earth, but He continues to rule the heavens. The ancient religions all placed most of their gods above the earth, their deities ruled from the heavens and over the heavens. The power of our God, the one true God, is in the heavens, His throne is above the earth. Just this week a ten-billion-dollar spaceship was launched, with sophisticated equipment designed to unlock the secrets of the beginning of the universe! We could have saved them the money! Hallelujah!

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