Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

“But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God’s presence. Let them be filled with joy. Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the Lord, rejoice in his presence!” (3,4) The previous verses and these are connected; God arises when his people rejoice and sing before him. Delitzsch describes this so well: ‘ …make a way (through praise) along which he may ride… pave; (by our praises) a raised and suitable street or highway 2 .’ Our praise provides a path for the Lord to ar- rive on the scene; we join his parade of victory: “But thanks be to God, who made us his captives and leads us along in Christ’s triumphal procession.” (2 Cor. 2:14)

Although God arises as a mighty warrior he is ever mindful of the misfortunate: • The Fatherless- “Father to the fatherless…” (5) • The Widow- “defender of the widows–this is God, whose dwelling is holy.” (5) • The Homeless- “God places the lonely in families;” (6) • The Prisoners- “he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.” (6)

The rebellious find no favor with him; “But for rebels, these is only famine and distress.” (6)

2. Egypt to the Promised Land- “ O God, when you led your people from Egypt, when you marched through the wilderness, Interlude– the earth trembled, and the heavens poured rain before you, the God of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. You sent abundant rain, O God, to refresh the weary Promised Land. There your people finally settled, and with a bountiful harvest, O God, you provided for your needy people.” (7-10) This is a partial repeat of the triumphal song of Deborah as she celebrated God’s victory: “Lord, when you set out from Seir and marched across the fields of Edom, the earth trembled and the cloudy skies poured down rain. “(Judges 5:4) She defeated her enemies with a song of praise! “Wake up, wake up, and sing a song!” (5:12) God is marching before Israel ‘with the step of a hero confident of victory 3 .’ The rain is descriptive of the many blessings God pours out upon us as we journey through the life of faith. 3. Entering the Land of Canaan- “The Lord announces the victory, and throngs of women shout the happy news. Enemy kings and their armies flee, while the women of Israel divide the plunder. Though they lived among the sheepfolds, now they are covered with silver and gold, as a dove is covered by its wings. The Almighty scattered the enemy kings like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.” (11-14) The victory or defeat of an army in ancient times had enormous consequences for the women. They either were subject to horrendous abuse if their king lost the battle or shared in the spoils of war. In this scene, Adonai, the Lord has announced his victory and has elevated his people from oppression to great opportunity. They are proclaiming the good news, sharing in the gifts of the Spirit and being pro- moted from a menial existence to a place of great honor. The victory of Christ on the cross elevated the status of women in the spiritual community. His enemies flee as wildly as the snowflakes are driven by the winds of a blizzard. 4. Entering the Sanctuary of Zion- “The majestic mountains of Bashan stretch high into the sky. Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains, at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live, where the Lord himself will live forever? Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots, the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.”(15-17) The Bashan Mountains lie to the east of Israel and proudly rise thousands of feet into the air in columns of hard, volcanic lava and basalt rock. Mount Zion rises humbly but a few hundred feet above the plain surrounding Jerusalem and is made of softer, limestone, chalk and sandstone and yet God chose this accessible hill to be a prophetic picture of his church where he would live forever. Surround- ing his people are innumerable chariots of the angels of God accompanying Yahweh Adonai as he of- ficially moves his residence from Mount Sinai, representing the Law, to Mount Zion representing grace. “The Lord opened his (Elisha’s) servant’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” (2 Kgs. 6:17)

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