Today, Thursday June 22
“O God, You Are More Awesome…”
Psalm 68:28-35
“Your God has commanded your strength; Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us. Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, Kings will bring presents to You. Rebuke the beasts of the reeds, The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, Till everyone submits himself with pieces of silver. Scatter the peoples who delight in war. Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God. Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah
To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old! Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice. Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, And His strength is in the clouds. O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!”
Today, we will finish our meditations and chats on Psalm 68. We need to remember that this Psalm is a great celebration and praise song written by David to be sung by the “Chief Musician” as he leads the people in worship at the temple in Jerusalem! It is also has powerful Messianic overtones, looking forward to the day that Jesus Christ will set up His kingdom and rule over all the kings and peoples of the earth.
It begins with “Let God arise” and ends with “Blessed be God!” God has risen in victory over death, hell and the grave! In a beautiful sense, God arose from His throne in heaven and came down in the person of Jesus Christ to live in human body to complete His awesome work of salvation for His people. Through Christ’s life, His death and His resurrection He defeated the enemy! Hebrews 2:14-15 clearly states this: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
Psalm 68 also describes how “God arose” and came down and dwelt in the midst of the His people, the nation of Israel, and “marched” before them as He led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness (vv. 7-18). God not only marches before His people, but He also dwells with them as they come together in unity and worship Him (vv. 19-27).
This closing section of Psalm 68:28-35 definitely has prophetic overtones as it describes the Gentile nations submitting to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and bringing Him their worship. Isaiah also clearly prophesied of this time in Isaiah 2:2-4: “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD'S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people…”
I also couldn’t help but think of Revelation 19:11-16 that prophetically describes the event when Jesus comes back to the earth at the end of the Tribulation. “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Until the Lord reigns in Jerusalem, there can be no peace on earth (Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1-9). God will defeat Israel's old enemy Egypt, along with her allies (see Ezek. 29), and they will send envoys to Jerusalem with tribute. The Gentile nations will join Israel in singing praises to the Lord and extolling His majesty and power.
The chapter ends reminding us that we should worship God alone and be careful not to worship the rituals, the objects, the places and the people involved in our worship. We are not to worship the wonderful things that God has done for us. Be thankful and praise Him for all these things, sure! But God alone is worthy of our worship!
“O God, You are more awesome….”. “Blessed be God!” (v. 35)
Today, worship Him!
God bless!