Scripture For Today: Psalm 68
“Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.”
Psalm 68:28
Strength is a funny thing. It is talked much about, claimed as a virtue, developed through exercise, thought to be common and easily obtained, tested often, and seldom sufficient for the need of the moment. The truth is every attempt to strengthen ourselves falls far short when the events of life come in waves that never seem to stop. There is a source of strength that will provide sufficient strength for every battle you ever face.
Dependence on God is really just living in His provision today, trusting in His promises for tomorrow.
This Psalm is a celebration of all God has done and a prayer for Him to be the strength of Israel in the days ahead. In the first two verses David prays for God to manifest His presence and by His presence scatter the enemies of God and His people. “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.”. David spends much of the rest of this Psalm rehearsing what God has done for Israel in the past from the exodus to the present day when David has the privilege to move the ark of God to Jerusalem. God is not only a God of the past and present but He is also the God of the future. He promises that He will continue to deliver Israel in the future and give them victory over their enemies. “The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:” Psalms 68:22.
The thing that is required of Israel is simple. First, they were to give Him praise and worship Him as the only God and their God. “They have seen thy goings, O God;
even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels. Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.” Psalms 68:24-27. They were to respond to His working by gathering together and blessing The Lord with their praise and worship. Those who had been more blessed are mentioned as leading in this rejoicing. Benjamin and Judah were the tribes of the first two kings of Israel, a great blessing for them. Zebulun and Naphtali were the first and constant recipients of God’s protection and deliverance from their enemies. These who were the most prominent observers of God’s strength operating in them and for them were to lead in the praise of His name. Second, they were to be completely dependent on God for all the strength they needed to follow Him in the present and the future. You can’t live on yesterdays strength, there is a need for new strength each day. Their dependence begins with the promise that God has given them the strength they have and will give them all they need for the days ahead if they will ask. Dependence on God is really just living in His provision today, trusting in His promises for tomorrow. God provided the strength they had by His sovereign command and promised that there was more than sufficient strength for them when they called unto Him in their weakness, “Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.” Psalms 68:28
God’s people have no excuse to be weak. When they are weak it is because they are not receiving from God the strength He has provided and promised. Oswald Chambers wrote: “You have to learn to break by the power of the Holy Spirit the fuss and the lethargy which alternate in your life, and remember that it is a crime to be weak in His strength.“. Praise God for the strength He has directed into your life by His sovereign command, and seek Him for strength sufficient for each day and for each battle. He has promised that His strength would be sufficient and present in your life. Believer, you have no excuse and no right to be weak if you will simply depend on His strength. “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Romans 8:37.