When It's Time to Move On

Psalm 68 is comforting, deep and prophetic. We’ll spend about a week looking at this Psalm, which was written by David, likely when he moved the ark of the covenant. How do we know that? Look at the first verse: To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David.  Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. (Psalms 68:1)

Hmm. Those are familiar words. David was repeating Moses’ words when Moses moved the ark. And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. (Numbers 10:35)

The moving of the ark was always a cause for celebration before the Lord, and David was famous for his jubilance when he moved the ark. The best example is 1 Chron. 15:25-29.

And so, that is the context for Psalm 68. There is a lot of praise in this Psalm as David rehearses the greatness of the God to whom the ark belonged and represented. This Psalm shows us how to praise and magnify God’s name. We’ll learn about that. Praise is a great tonic for a wilted, depressed soul. But first, let’s look at the first three verses, pushing off God’s enemies and turning God's people to Him.

Psa 68:1-3  To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.  (2)  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.  (3)  But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.

This is the beginning of the procession of the ark, which represents God (we’ve looked at that before in this blog) out of wherever it’s moving from to wherever it’s destined to go. We’re leaving enemy territory with God on our side. When God is moving, may the enemy clear a path. It’s really a good personal prayer. If you know God is moving you, pray against the enemy, because there are enemies all around. But they can’t have the victory. That belongs to God. So the balance is… Let the enemies flee, but let the righteous whom God is moving rejoice as they head out toward the goal.