Psalm 68:32-35 - July 20, 2009

Ps 68:32-35 "Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to the Lord, Selah 33 to him who rides the ancient skies above, who thunders with mighty voice. 34 Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the skies. 35 You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!" NIV

This psalm is an exhortation to praise! It is a call to the nations of the earth to recognize and lift up praise to the God who rules over all nations. God has made every tribe and every tongue. He is the author of all peoples and therefore He is worthy of praise. Verse thirty-three calls us to reflect on the nature of God’s eternal presence. The boundaries of nations come and go. The power, wealth and strength of any particular people is a transient reality that fluctuates according to the times and seasons, and the rulers over each nation during those periods of time. All of this stands in contrast to the timeless creator of the universe. This passage celebrates the Lord’s timelessness by creating the image of God riding upon the skies above that know no time! The heavens are not conscious of time and their only ruler is God Himself who was and is and is to come. The language of God riding on those skies reflects the reality that it is the master who is the rider and it is God who rides upon the skies. This reality positions Him as the only being worthy of praise. The uncreated God stands eternal and unchallenged in every attribute that we could imagine as being worthy of praise.
Consider the voice that created all things. Genesis one informs us that God created all things through the power of this voice as He spoke the worlds into existence. This is the second attribute that is extolled by the writer of this psalm. The psalmist calls us to reflect on the thunderous sound of the voice of our creator God! The same thundering voice of God that commands all things to be has turned towards us, and called us to God Himself. When God speaks nations tremble. When God speaks the earth is silenced before the power
of His voice. God’s power is revealed by what He does throughout the earth and all that He does comes forth through the power of His voice. It is this mighty power that we are compelled to praise. Every act of God compels us to declare His greatness throughout the earth. The nations are waiting for a testimony of God to arise in the earth that will give Him the glory that He deserves. His power shows forth throughout the heavens and all men are held accountable
by that voice.
This vision of a God worthy of praise is enlarged by the psalmist as he turns our attention to the sanctuary. Our eyes are first lifted to the visible realms of the heavens where the Lord rides above all created things. He is not content to stop there as he considers the wonders of God however. He calls us higher still, as if to say, “Lift your eyes beyond the visible to the invisible!!! See the glorious God reigning in His heavenly sanctuary.” The most compelling motivation to praise of all is God in His holy dwelling place. The glorious king surrounded by the splendor of His throne room. We are encouraged by He. 4:16 to come into this glorious atmosphere with a bold and confident heart. Today make a decision to lift your eyes higher than ever before and behold the beauty of God.