Psalms 66-68

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Psalms 66-68

Psalm 66:1-20

To the chief Musician, A Song or Psalm

“Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him. He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah. O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. I will go into they house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: but verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.”

Introduction: Theme of the Psalm, ‘The One True God’

“Psalm 66, 67, 68, 65 also we finished last week, they kind of glisten in regards to the coming Kingdom, all of them make reference to the Millennial reign of Christ, they look forward to a day when he will come. Psalm 66 is one of “the orphan Psalms” in that we don’t know who the author is. We know obviously God is the author, but we don’t know what human put the quill to the page. And we’re not certain of the occasion that it was written in. The theme of the Psalm seems to be in regards to the One True God, there is One True God, and that’s a great thing to sing about in the days that we live in, because there seems to be too much confusion over that issue. The Bible’s not confused at all. There is One True God. [Comment: And for proof of that, check out the articles in the “Does God Exist?” section of this website at: http://www.unityinchrist.com/Does/Does%20God%20Exist.html] The first 12 verses are sung, evidently in a chorus, you see it’s written “to the chief Musician” which means it was sung publicly. And we find the word “we” and “our” through there, so it’s plural. So this is the choral part of it that was sung by a choir, by the congregation. And then verses 13 to 20 it changes to “I” and “my”, it’s a solo then, no doubt sung, but that is no doubt where we can make great personal application too, to our own lives. [These being Millennial Kingdom of God Psalms, see: http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg1.htm for a study paper on why it is needed, how it will come, and what it will be like.]

“Make A Joyful Noise Unto God, All The Earth”---This Is Going To be Universal, Everybody Is Going To Worship Him, At The Name Of Jesus Every Knee Will Bow

So you know the beginning, you’ve heard this before. It begins by saying “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:” the Hebrew is “all the earth” it’s the same as verse 4, “All the earth”. “Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth: sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.” (verses 1-2) won’t it be wonderful when all the earth is doing that? And you watch the news today, and you don’t know what they’re going to sing about, and normally it’s the Blues, that’s for sure. But there’s a day coming here, “Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth: sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible [or awesome, fearful] art thou in thy works!” i.e. ‘your works are awesome!’ “through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.” (verses 1-4) “submit themselves unto thee”, the idea is ‘they’re going to yield feigned obedience, even your enemies are going to fake some form of obedience,’ but verse 4 says but “All the earth” in fact, “shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.” Even though there are people offering feigned worship, he says ‘no, this is going to be universal, in the earth, everybody is going to worship him,’ you know Paul tells us ‘every knee will bow, of things in heaven, of things in the earth, things under the earth, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,’ that’s a wonderful thing. He has given him, not a name, but the definite article, ‘the name, that is above every name, and that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,’ it’s going to happen. He says, “All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah” ‘What do you think about that?’ (verse 4) That’s a great place for a “Selah” there, isn’t it? When you see that, “Selah”, no doubt the musicians continue to play, everybody else stopped, and they just thought about what was just said [or sung]. That’s a great place for a Selah. You can imagine the whole choir singing “All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.” and the music goes on, people were thinking, ‘what do you think about that?’

‘The God Of Israel, His Eyes Are Constantly Watching The Nations’

Now, verse 5 down to verse 7, speak of the God of Israel, “Come and see the works of God: he is terrible [fearful, awesome] in his doing toward the children of men. He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.” (verses 5-6) the Red Sea, here in verse 6 they speak of crossing the Red Sea and crossing the Jordan River, two of the most notable miracles that Israel would remember in regards to their God. “He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood [“the river”] on foot: there did we rejoice in him.” no doubt those were days of great rejoicing. “He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.” (verses 6-7) “his eyes behold the nations” it’s “his eyes consider the nations,” or “his eyes are constantly watching the nations,” nobody’s getting away with anything. All of what’s going on right now is under his gaze, you know. And you think ‘The world’s so crazy, why then? If God is there above, he’s on the throne, why all the insanity?’ That’s because when he shuts down the show it’s too late. You know, he’s kept the door open this long, you’re glad, I’m glad, because we got in. ‘Now that we’re in, the heck with everybody else.’ Or You can just come now.’ No, no, I still think we may see a great ingathering in these days. And your presence and my presence, Jesus again in Matthew 5, he says “you” it’s emphatic in both places, “you alone, are the light of the world.” Nobody else, no other religious system, “you alone, are the light of the world, you alone are the salt of the earth, nobody else.” Salt is a preservative. [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/wwcofg/wearesalt.htm to understand how that statement applies to us and how we should apply it to our lives, and our witness to those around us.] The only reason that judgment hasn’t fallen on the entire globe is because God’s people still sit here, you’re a preservative for everyone else. And while we’re here, God has chosen us for such a time as this, we should pray with all of our hearts that God will bring a revival. These songs are remarkable here, it says “He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold” [are constantly watching] the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.” ‘What do you think about that?’ (verse 7) ‘He’s got everything under scrutiny, don’t let the rebels think they’ve got something going on, what do you think about that?’

‘LORD, You Have Taken Us Through The Most Difficult Things, You’ve Refined Us As Silver Is Refined, But Then You’ve Brought Us Into A Well-Watered Place’

Verse 8 now down to verse 12 tells us the God of Israel is the God of all. “O bless our God,” Israel, not speaking to the nations, “O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.” (verses 8-9) “he holdeth our soul in life”, he keeps us alive, “and suffereth our feet not to be moved”, this is Israel speaking. “For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.” (verse 10) you’ve tested us, as by fire, the idea is, ‘you’ve tried us,’ or ‘refined us as silver is refined.’ ‘LORD, you’ve kept our life, our soul is in your hands, our very lives, LORD, we want all of the nations to praise you, you are our God, you’ve tested us, LORD, you’ve refined us as in the fire.’ Look what he says, “Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.” (verses 11-12) King James says “wealthy place”, it says “moist place”, it is a “well-watered place.” ‘LORD, you have taken us through the most difficult things,’ I think of course Nazi Germany, I think of the holocaust, you know, how much of this looks forward. He says, ‘Thou God, you hold our soul, our life in your hands, LORD, you have proved us, you’ve refined us as silver is refined, you brought us into the net; you laid affliction upon our loins, you’ve caused men to ride over our heads, we went through the fire and through the water. But then LORD, you brought us into a well-watered place,’ you know, 1948, reborn as a nation again. There’s some remarkable glimmers here.

‘I Will Pay My Vows, Which My Lips Have Uttered When I Was In Trouble’

Now in verse 13 it begins to turn towards personal resolve, personal commitment. Evidently the choir stops singing, and then you and I as individuals, the soloist would sing “I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,” (verse 13) now burnt offerings, you guys if you know, if you offer a burnt offering, that’s an offering of consecration. You took it there and everything was consumed, there wasn’t anything left, nothing for you, nothing for the priest. A burnt offering, as you’re going with a burnt offering, saying ‘LORD, I’m consecrating myself, LORD, I’m giving myself to you completely, I’m giving myself to you LORD, without restraint, without holding back.’ He says, “I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,” now verse 14 helps us understand, “which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.” (verse 14) look what he says, so he’s a lot like us, whoever this Psalmist is. He said ‘When I was in hot water, LORD, when I was in trouble, I made some vows, I said, ‘Oh, I promise, I promise, I promise, LORD, get me out of this, I promise, I promise, I promise, LORD, get me out of this, I promise, I promise, LORD, get me out of this, you can have all of me, whatever I have left, LORD, I’m smokin’ here, whatever’s left of me LORD, I’m giving to you, I promise, if you get me out of this…’ and that’s what he’s saying here. [Comment: Louie Zamperini made just such a promise to the Lord while dying of thirst on a life-raft drifting in the South Pacific with no water to drink. The Lord provided deluges of rain, several times, helping him to survive. The Lord held him accountable to that promise. The amazing story of his total redemption is in the book “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand.] “I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.” (verses 13-14) you know, when trouble comes, somehow that brings life into perspective. When the frailty of our beings, sometimes, comes, you know, you go through a day when you’re heart goes into atrial-fib, instead of going ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump, it’s going brrrrrr-bup-bup-bup! Bump, ba-bump, ba-bump! it’s playing music and stopping, and you’re thinking ‘Oh God, stop this, Lord I promise, I’ll never do that, I promise, I’ll get,’ you know, just one little thing happens, and we realize, we are so frail. We’re so fragile. But we take for granted life is going to go on day after day, you know, it’s when we’re in trouble we look up and say ‘What really matters, Lord, is my relationship with you. You know, I’ve given my life, my mind, and my heart to all this other stuff, and now when this happens, that don’t mean all that much. It’s nice, and it’s good, but if I might be breathing my last breath here, I ain’t taking none of that with me, what matters Lord, and I promise Lord, if you get me through this, I’m going to be more serious, I’m going to walk closer with you, I’m going to do that.’ That’s what our Psalmist here is saying. We don’t know his name, because it’s probably our name that should be written there. “I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.” (verses 13-15) he’s going to burn the whole herd, ‘What do you think about that?’ he says.

Now He Tells His Testimony: “Come And Hear, All Ye That Fear God, And I Will Declare What He Has Done For Me”---A Full Heart Never Has Sealed Lips

‘LORD, I’m going to give it all over to you,’ and he tells now his testimony, his personal witness as he ends the Psalm. Look at what he says in verse 16, he’s come out of his trouble, he’s been delivered. He’s sitting in a place, you know, you get in these places, you say ‘Lord, if you love me, why do you let this happen to me? Lord, why’s this going to go on?’ First we accuse him, then we tell him if he was as smart as we were, we would do it a different way, ‘God, if I was you, I wouldn’t do this,’ and then we finally just start crying out ‘Oh God, oh God, oh God, I promise,’ and then when we’re delivered, we take that deep breath, where it’s just good to wake up in the morning. I woke up this morning, I breathed in, I breathed out, it’s amazing! It’s amazing, breathing in and breathing out, that’s an amazing thing. And he says here now, he speaks of his rejoicing as he realizes what God has done. Look in verse 16, the personal witness, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.” ‘Come here, I want to tell you what he’s done for me.’ It’s interesting, one of the old authors I read said, “A full heart never has sealed lips.” You know, when God has done that, and your heart is full, it trickles out, it overflows, it comes out. God’s blessings overflow. So he says here, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God,” you know, if you reverence God, if your deal with the Lord is real, you’re drawing close to him, if you want to be genuine, he says, “I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.” (verses 16-17) ‘I told him how great he was, and I realized,’ he says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (verse 18) it’s, first of all, it’s “If” he didn’t say “he did.” And he says, the word “regard” here deals with the intent of the heart. If I’m out to do evil, I’m out to do what’s wrong, if my intent is to do iniquity, if I’m cherishing those ideas in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. “But truly God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.” (verses 19-20) ‘He hasn’t refused my request, he hasn’t turned my prayer, he hasn’t turned his ‘haseed,’ his covenant-love from me.’ So this first Psalm, Psalm 66, sung publicly, first the choir, and then the soloist, an interesting Psalm.

Psalm 67:1-7

To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song.

“God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.”

Introduction

Psalm 67 is called “The Missionary Psalm,” it is the favorite Psalm of many. And again, it’s an orphan Psalm, we’re not sure exactly who wrote it. The “Neginoth”, there’s smitings played on stringed instruments here. You’ll see “Selah” at the end of verse 1, ‘we want you to think about this,’ and then “Selah” again at the end of verse 4, and it’s a plea ‘LORD, work in my life, do what you need to do, be good to me, so that your testimony will overflow in my life to others that are lost, that need to hear the Truth.’ What he’s saying is, ‘You can’t give somebody the Measles unless you got it.’ You know, there’s no sense being an Eor Christian, ‘You need to get saved…God is great, praise the Lord,’ You’re thinking, ‘Whatever he does, who wants to do that, who wants to believe in what he believes in?’ He’s saying something vastly different here, again. It’s “to the chief Musician”, this was to be sung publicly, it’s about God’s Kingdom. And we need to sing some Kingdom songs in the world that we’re living in, exposed to the news that we’re exposed to, seeing all of the hypocrisy and all of the insanity and all of the violence, and all of the things the Lord told us we’d see in the days that we live in, all of the things that are askewed and going wrong, all of the times we sit around and feel ‘I feel so helpless, there’s over six billion people on the planet [7 billion now], what difference does it make what I do? What difference does it make God if I’m committed to you? What difference does it make if I’m really committed and I really give my life to you?’ Well it makes a difference, or he wouldn’t ask us. And his eyes go to and fro throughout the earth, looking for an individual whose heart is perfect toward him, that he might show himself strong on his behalf. Ezekiel 22:30 or 22, I always get them mixed up in my mind, he says, ‘I sought for a man who might stand in the gap before me, that he would not destroy the nation, one man. Not a church, not a movement, I sought for a man among them, an individual. Somebody to get on their knees and stand in the gap before me, that I might not destroy the nation, but I found none.’ Isn’t it interesting? And it’s very important for us in days like this, to have songs like this, to sing. It’s a great time to sing Kingdom songs, because the Kingdom is right around the corner at this point in time, it’s right around the corner.

“God Be Merciful To Us, And Bless Us”---Why? “That Thy Way May Be Known Upon The Earth”

Here is this Missionary Psalm, “God be merciful unto us, and bless us;” I can sing that all day, “and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.” ‘What do you think about that?’ That’s a great start, that’s what I think. “God be merciful unto us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.” (verse 1) you know what it’s like when you’re experiencing the Lord’s presence. You know what it’s like when you come through the Winter, the Spring is coming, you get through all this cold weather we’re headed into now, and you sit out somewhere, your eyes are closed, and the sun is shining on your face, and the warmth of the sun. He’s saying here, ‘LORD, let your face shine upon me, let me sit in your presence and absorb the reality of that, let that be something that overflows from my heart.’ “God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.” ‘what do you think about that?’ Here’s the reason, verse 2, he says why now, ‘God, we want you to be merciful to us and bless us and let your face shine upon us,’ “That thy way may be known upon the earth, thy saving health among all nations.” (verse 2) King James says “thy saving health,” the Hebrew is, “that thy salvation may be known among” notice, “all nations.” We’re going to hear “all nations” again down in verse 7. So he says, ‘Bless me, LORD, be merciful to me, cause your face to shine upon me, the reason being, that your way may be known upon the earth, and that your salvation might be known among all nations. LORD, if I don’t have the Measles I can’t give it to somebody, LORD, I need to be contagious. I don’t need to have an empty religious profession, I need to have the reality of who you are in my life, your blessing, your goodness, your care for me, your presence LORD.’ ‘Your face shining upon me, LORD, has to be real, let it be real in my life to the point where it overflows from my heart,’ you know, Paul talks about ‘The love of Christ being shed abroad from our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit.’ He says here, ‘This is why I want this, LORD, not just so I can be fat dumb and happy, not just so I can sit around say ‘Bless me, bless me, bless me. Because God I look at the world around me, it’s a mess.’ I look at my friends that are going to hell, and sometimes I’m more content to sit at home and watch a football game. [Comment: within the Body of Christ, there are differing views about what hell is, and the fate of the “unsaved dead.” For some other views, see http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm] I look at the hooker on the street where I live, and sometimes I look down on her, instead of sharing the truth with her, and praying for her. [I love in one of Mel Gibson’s Lethal Weapon’s movies, where he as an undercover cop, it’s a rainy, cold night, and he picks up a teenage hooker, gives her a $100 bill, takes her home to watch innocent cartoons for the evening, and then takes her home. Spiritually we have to do that for them. I think of Pastor Jim Cymbala, from the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, who would have evangelistic outreaches to The Salt Mines, an area in NYC where hookers, many of them teenage prostitutes, male and female, he’d go down there with church members on cold winter’s nights with hot soup in thermoses and blankets, and then invite them back to church for more hot meals, no strings attached, except that they could hang around and hear a sermon if they wished to, and many did. We have to shed the light of Christ into their lives. See http://www.unityinchrist.com/wwcofg/wearesalt.htm] I see the junkie on the corner, and I realize two guys OD’d this week, there was bad drugs on the street, and I disdain them instead of loving them and praying for them. I look at the politicians and how empty they are, Lord. Instead I get so riled up at them that I don’t care about them. My old friends, my relatives, how many are there that don’t know. He says, ‘LORD, fill me with your blessing, with your love, with your mercy, let your face shine upon me, LORD, that I might make thy way known, and thy salvation to all nations. LORD, do that.’ See

‘You’re Going To Judge Righteously, And You’re Going To Comfort The Nations, LORD’--- “Then Shall The Earth Yield Her Increase”

“Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.” Boy, are we looking forward to that day. Aren’t we? “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon the earth. Selah.” (verses 3-4) How wonderful to see that. “and thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon the earth.” the Hebrew is “and comfort the nations upon the earth. What do you think about that?” ‘I want you to come, I want to share your message, I want to see people turn to you, I know you’re coming, you’re going to judge righteously, and you’re going to comfort the nations, LORD. What do you think about that?’ What a day that’s going to be. “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.” (verses 5-6) All of the earth shall yield her increase, again, just a few verses I always think of, Isaiah chapter 2, ‘He shall judge among the nations,” he just said that, “he shall rebuke many people, they shall beat their swords, their cruise missiles, their nuclear weapons, they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’ He says when that day comes, ‘the earth shall yield her increase.’ Isaiah sees that day, and he says ‘The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them. The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose, it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,’ to the desert, ‘and the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God,’ he says then, ‘The eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing, and in the wilderness,’ that’s the desert, ‘shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, the thirsty land shall become springs of water, in the habitations of dragons [jackals] where each lay shall be grass and reeds and rushes.’ (Isaiah 35:1-10) Of course it wouldn’t be fitting if the Lord comes, and he sets up his Kingdom, for there to be these knarly desert areas with nothing going on. No, it says when he comes, the desert’s going to be in keeping with everything he is, the desert is going to blossom like a rose. Streams are going to break forth in the desert, rushes and reeds are going to be there, it’s all going to reflect him. And he’s saying that here in the Psalm, he says “Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.” Again, Micah repeats this, he says ‘He shall judge among many people,’ our Psalmist just told us that, ‘he shall rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruninghooks [scythes], nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore, they shall sit every man under his vine and his fig tree, none shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken it.’ (Micah 4:3-4) That’s why it’s going to happen. Again, Zechariah, ‘In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under his vine, under his fig tree,’ what a day that’s going to be. “Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.” (verses 6-7) or “reverence him.” Missionary Psalm, ‘LORD, do this, blow my mind, cover me with your mercy, bless me, let your face shine upon me, and do that, so that I am so filled with your presence I make your way known, I make your salvation known to all people, LORD, so that it comes to the point where the nations gather, and they all sing, and all worship you.’ Isn’t that what we want to see? You know, somehow it says, somewhere along the line, when the last Gentile [God intends calling accepts Christ], when the fullness of the Gentiles come in, the last Gentile, please listen, if you don’t know Jesus Christ tonight, and you’re here, you don’t know him, you never accepted Christ? You might be the one we’re really looking for, in our selfishness. Because the Bible says somewhere on the planet there’s the last Gentile that’s gonna get saved, before the Church is Raptured, and the program of God wrapping up and the end of the age begins. [Comment: the Body of Christ has differing views about Rapture verses Place of Safety, and timing of the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ at the 1^st resurrection to immortality. To view some of these differing Biblical interpretations for this “event,” see: http://www.unityinchrist.com/Prophets_Prophecy.html] So if you’re here tonight and you don’t know him, please don’t leave without coming forward at the end of the service. Please, so that we can pray with you. We want to overflow with God’s goodness, we want that reality in our lives so that we can say to you, you know, we want you to know his ways, we want you to know his salvation, we want you to be able to come here and sing with joy and lift your heart before the Living God, the Living God.

Psalm 68:1-35

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. 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. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness. Selah: the earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil. Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon. The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan. Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in, yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as is Sinai, in the holy place. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. Blessed be the LORD, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in trespasses. The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea: that thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same. 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. Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us. Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee. Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war. Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah: to him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds [heavens]. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.”

Introduction

Psalm 68, now, interesting Psalm, scholars through the centuries have said this is unequaled, it’s unsurpassed in grandeur. One scholar I read said “It is a lyrical fire.” One said it’s “Triumphant in praise.” The first 18 verses look back, they’re historical. For the last verses, 19 to 35 look forward, they’re prophetic, it’s not, you know, sometimes it’s good to be historical. I know it isn’t if your arguing with your wife, and instead of becoming hysterical she becomes historical, that can get old. But there is a good way to get historical, and that is with God. And you look back, and you think of his faithfulness and goodness and what he’s done. [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/kings/1.html] Because who he has been is the same one he will be, he’s unchanging. He’s the same, yesterday, today and forever. So, the Psalmist looks back in the first 18 verses, in talking about who God has been, what he’s done. Then he looks forward, and he’s assured in regards to that, what he will do. You’re familiar with this, they title this “Our Victorious God”, I love one title, it’s “Our Mighty Warrior”, we kind of sing that song. It’s “to the chief Musician” it’s to be sung publicly, he says it’s “a song of David” here. We know it’s a Messianic Psalm, because in verse 18, if you look there it says, “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive:”, you know, Paul quotes that in Ephesians chapter 4, this Psalm, relating it to Jesus Christ, so this is a Messianic Psalm, it looks forward to the Messianic Kingdom.

‘God Will Arise, His Enemies Will Be Scattered, Those That Hate Him Will Flee’

Again, and whatever the present difficulty is that David is facing, he begins with words that we appreciate greatly, and the first 6 verses he talks about our victorious God. He says this, “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.” (verse 1) There’s a little bit of that in us, too, isn’t there? “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered”, listen, the Hebrew here is beautiful, because it isn’t kind of a request, the Hebrew is actually an affirmation, the Hebrew reads like this, “He will arise, God, they will be scattered, his enemies. They will flee, those that hate him.” Each one is a positive affirmation. It isn’t ‘O God, let this happen,’ it’s ‘This is gonna happen.’ That’s what David’s saying, ‘this is what’s coming down, this is what’s going to happen, he will arise, God, his enemies will be scattered, those that hate him will flee from before him, this is what’s gonna happen, this is what’s in the future, this is our Mighty Warrior, his Kingdom is coming, these things are going to be a reality,’ and then he kind of describes. What’s that going to look like? How’s that going to work? He says here, “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.” (verse 2) As smoke just dissipates in the wind, As wax before the fire, just melt away. “But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.” (verses 3-4) Wonderful idea, our God and Father riding upon the heavens.

This All-Powerful God, What Kind Of God Is He? He’s A Father To The Fatherless, Giving Justice To The Poor And Widows

Listen to what it says about him. Is he just this big JAH up there, powerful, and we’re just trembling, and he’s just going to destroy everybody? It doesn’t say that, look at what it says in verse 5, “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.” “and a judge”, the idea is ‘to bring justice to the widows,’ “is God in his holy habitation.” Riding in the heavens, in his holy habitation, one day the wicked are going to be destroyed. The Psalm before this says ‘LORD, fill us, so that men will turn to you, before any of these things take place, we want to make your ways made known, we want to make your salvation known.’ But here he says, ‘Look, he’s going to come, we should sing his praises, he’s riding on the heavens, all powerful,’ but it says, ‘he’s tender,’ he’s “a father of the fatherless,” Any of you here, hidden underneath of your exterior, there’s a brand that’s stamped on you that says “fatherless”? That can happen because there was none, that can happen because the one that was, was so abusive you lived your whole life wishing he was dead or he had never been in your life. It is the number one contributing factor to everyone incarcerated in the United States of America, it is the single most dominating factor amongst every rapist and every murderer, every bank robber, when they sort through their profiles, the one thing that comes up most constantly, across the board, is no dad. I have good news for you, our God, he’s a father for the fatherless. You may have to really get before him and say ‘You know, when I say the word “father” I kind of cringe a bit, Father, please help me to trust you. Help me with no other human looking on, to be vulnerable before you. If you’re a father to the fatherless, there’s a huge hole inside of me, Lord. Fill that, fill that.’ I encourage particularly every young unmarried woman, whose been through that circumstance, because it’s almost text-book to see a young woman make herself vulnerable to a man, because she had that huge empty space inside of her, that another man should have filled, being her covering and her father [two of my adoptive daughters fit into this mold, and another one has a son whose fatherless]. Isn’t it wonderful, our God is all-powerful, he’s Jehovah in the heavens, and it says here he’s ‘a father of the fatherless, he’s a judge of the widows,’ and in David’s day the widow was the most vulnerable, defenseless position to be in, there was no Social Security, there were no social services, there was no Medicaid or Medicare, or whatever is left, I don’t know. Jerry knows, he’s old enough to know that stuff. ‘He’s a father of the fatherless, he’s a judge of the widows, that’s who our God is in his holy habitation.’ Look in verse 6, I love this verse, “God setteth the solitary in families:” One old translation I love says “he sets the solitary in flocks,” I think the Hebrew has the sense of “those without friends, he puts into families,”, another translation says “he gives the lonely a home.” I mean, it’s so pregnant with meaning, it’s so wonderful. Aren’t you glad? I mean, how many of us here have come to realize ‘This is our family,’? When everything breaks down, it’s people from here that bring meals, or people from here that call and say ‘I’m praying for you,’ or people from here that come visit in the hospital. How many times have we realized ‘This is my family,’ Cathy and I know that so well, this is our family, your faces. I can’t wait to come here, I can’t wait to come to work. I hated work for decades. I can’t wait to come here, I can’t wait to look in the faces of the people that I have the privilege of serving with, I can’t wait to come on Wednesday nights or Friday nights or something’s going on Sunday morning, prayer-meeting, because I never know what Jesus is going to do. I can’t wait to get here and see what’s going to happen, people get saved, people are going to get healed, people going to laugh they’re going to cry, am I going to cry, am I going to laugh, what’s going to happen during the worship? How’s the Word going to be? And you know, we gather in his family. And we look past all of the things that make us different that the world can’t look past, all of the seedbeds of hatred and division and bigotry, no room for that in this family. No room for that. Brothers and sisters. “God setteth the solitary” the lonely “in families:” how wonderful. “he bringeth out those which are bound with chains:” hasn’t he done that with so many of us? [i.e. chains of alcoholism, drug addictions, chains of depression or anxiety] “but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.” (verse 6) you know, if you’re fighting against God, you think you’re going to do it on your own, it’s dry, man. You come to him, he takes the shackles off, whether it’s drugs, whether it’s pornography, whatever. You know, it says ‘He’s the one, he sets free those that are bound with chains.’

God’s Shepherding, Leading

Verse 7 now, he talks about God’s, leading down to verse 10, “O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:” now he’s thinking, no doubt, the Book of Exodus, he’s thinking about, and he says ‘God, I’m thinking about when you went forth before your people, and then when you marched through the wilderness,’ and he can’t get any further than that, ‘What do you think about that!?’ He already has to stop and say that right there. ‘LORD, I’m just thinking about when you led your people, they got over 40 years in the wilderness, their shoes didn’t wear out, manna-food dropped out of heaven every day. A Rock followed them giving them water. None of their enemies had victory, LORD, I’m thinking about you leading them in the wilderness. What do you think about that?’ he can’t even get any further. He says “The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance when it was weary.” ‘LORD, you bless from heaven,’ “Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.” (verses 8-10) just everything that God has done, everything he has been.

The Most Difficult Verses In The Book Of Psalms

Verses 11 to 14 are called the most difficult verses in the Book of Psalms. You can translate them and get a literal translation of the words. Trying to gather the meaning together is remarkable. I mean, to hear what all of the scholars say about these verses, so don’t expect much from me. But, we’ll move through them here. McClarin says “This is a description of a battle scene where the battle is not described.” He says “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” (verse 11) now this is not speaking of the written Word, in other words, he gave the command, and “great was the company of those that published it.” They’re looking at a battle, the Lord speaks the word, the battle is won, because the battle belongs to the Lord. We sing that song, it’s not our own. And you may be up against things in your life, you think you’re never going to pull out, you’re never going to survive, you’re never going to get through it. He says here, look, ‘The Lord gives the word, the battle falls the right way. Great was the company or the army of those who published it, God’s spoke and it happened.’ “Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.” (verse 12) you know, it seems like the armies fled, and the women that were left in their homes, while the men went to war, they were able to come out and go through the enemy’s spoil and take those things for themselves. Because the Lord spoke in the Book of Revelation, he’s coming with a two-edged sword in his mouth, he destroys the armies of the anti-christ. He says, “Though ye have lien among the posts, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.” (verse 13) That should say “Selah” right there. ‘What do you think about that?’ ‘I don’t know.’ “though you have lien” some say in the fields, and the potsherds, it seems to be the picture of being pushed the ground during a great battle, “yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with the silver, and her feathers with yellow gold” “silver” is redemption, “her feathers with gold”, with glory. You know, ‘though these things are so miserable.’ Others try to say, ‘This is the enemy, they lie down in the pots to hide, but they’re going to be ripped up in the open like the wings of a dove with silver and gold wings,’ I don’t know. I like it the other way. ok? I like that God’s saying to his own people, ‘though you’ve been forced to lay down in the most humiliating circumstances relative to this battle, God has spoken, the victory is going to come, yet you’re going to be as the wings of a dove, covered with silver, her feathers with gold.’ “When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.” (verse 14) I don’t know whether it’s speaking about ash, just as he went forth, and the armies fell before him, or like the snow blowing before the wind, this is the area of Shechem, north of Jerusalem.

Our Salvation In Christ---Looking Forward To The Coming Kingdom Of God

Now to verse 18 now it kind of speaks of God standing up, his inheritance and all of this. “The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan.” (verse 15) Bashan, on the other side of Gilead, “an high hill as the hill of Bashan. Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.” (verse 16) Most scholars think it’s speaking of Zion, the hill there of Golgotha, Calvary, Moriah. “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.” (verse 17) ‘even thousands of thousands, or thousands of angels,’ look, it says you know, ‘God, when he comes in his glory, God when he comes to the battle, the chariots of God are twenty thousand, yea, thousands of angels, or thousands of thousands, the Lord is among them as in Sinai.’ What a scene it must have been when the LORD came down to give the Commandments. That’s why the people said to Moses, because when he gave the Ten Commandments, it wasn’t Moses up there like Charlton Heston, on the side of the mountain, and you hear that music, ‘Da, Dan, Da-Dan,’ and then this funny animated little thing of fire comes out and carves the Ten Commandments, burns it in the rock, like a welder. It tells us in the Book of Exodus, when God spoke the Commandments, that all 3 million of the Israelites heard God speak in the valley. It shook the mountain, it shook the valley. Imagine what a PA system it would take to do that, 3 million people in their camps, ‘I AM THE LORD THY GOD, THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER…’ ‘Ok, ok, ok, ok,’ you know, the whole valley. And then it says they come to Moses after that giving of the 10 Commandments and say ‘Go tell him, from now on he can talk to you, he doesn’t have to talk to us, whatever he tells you, you tell us, we’ll do it. If he gives us 11 Commandments we’re all gonna die of a cardiac.’ You have to think of the awesomeness of that. And yet they still went off and made golden calves. But he says here, it was like the chariots of God, with 20 thousand, thousands of thousands, the LORD is among them, as it happened in Sinai, the holy place.

What Happened At The Ascension Of Christ, What Does That Mean For Us?

He says now, “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.” (verse 18) He’s giving us an insight into the ascension. You know, the disciples went out as far as Bethany with him, Bethphage we’re told in the Book of Acts, and as they talked, Christ began to ascend, and it says as they stood there looking, as he was disappearing into heaven, then two angels come and said, ‘You men of Galilee, why are you standing around gazing up into the sky? This same Jesus is going to come in like manner.’ But it’s telling us on the other side of that equation, it seems to be saying, as he entered into heaven, there were the chariots of God, 20,000, and thousands of thousands of the angels of God were gathered, “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.” (verse 18) Not just captives, but captivity itself. “thou hast received gifts for men” interesting, in the Hebrew, the idea is, “to receive” is to take to yourself, like the spoils of a battle, so you can give to others, after you’ve conquered. So Jesus, in his victory over death, ascending, leading captivity captive, it says that he received gifts of his spoil, to give to you and I, to give gifts to us. And it speaks to us in Ephesians chapter 4:8-10, “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same that also ascended up far above the heavens, that he might fill all things.)” It says, look, “thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.” What in the world does that mean “the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them”? John Bunyan, when he wrote his book ‘Grace Abounding’ he said, “I knew God as a young man, I turned away, I sold him out, I spit on him, I gave up on him, I walked away from him, I would have no more of him. I thought he was done with me.” He says, “But if he has gifts for rebels, why not for me?” he said. “If he has gifts for rebels, why not for me?” Let me tell you something, that’s a true story. Not about John Bunyan, here. Yes, he bestowed gifts upon us, and he says here, “yea, for the rebellious also,” you know. I got saved in ’72. Now there’s not enough time to tell the story. Backslid, early, made mistakes, struggled, because I knew better. It wasn’t just like it was when I was an unbeliever, I mean, I was a baby Christian, but it wasn’t like I was when I was an unbeliever, I was sinning against Light, I was doing things I knew I shouldn’t be doing. And as I struggled to come back, I read in the Bible that God forgave me, but I couldn’t forgive myself. Huge struggle. And again, sitting in a large Assembly of God church in San Diego, and I went there because they were having free deserts that night, they had a guest speaker, afterwards where the coffee and cake was, I saw the guy kind of put a glance on me, kind of gave me the evil eye, I didn’t want any of that, so I kind of disappeared. Here comes this guy, and he finds me. He says “I have a word from the Lord for you.” I’m thinking, ‘Oh great, here I am in an Assembly of God church, I’ve got a word from the Lord from,’ just, you know. I never saw him before. He came up to me and he said, “God’s forgiven you, you haven’t forgiven yourself. And here’s the word of the Lord for you. You are accepted in the beloved.” I’m going to tell that to every prodigal, every backslider, everybody here tonight that feels guilty because you fell away from the Lord at some point, and you want to walk with him again, and you want to serve him. Look what I get to do. He even has gifts for the rebellious. Moia. And I want you to know this, don’t listen to the devil about your weaknesses and your failures. The word of the Lord is this, you are accepted in the beloved, you are accepted in the beloved. He paid the price, he paid for all of it. And when he ascended he ascended in majesty and power, with ten thousands and thousands of thousands of angels in majesty, and he received, he took for the spoils in his victory, gifts for men, “yea, for the rebellious also,” how wonderful. John Bunyan was glad of that too. “that the LORD God might dwell among them.” It’s it wonderful. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily leadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.” (verse 19) ‘What do you think about that?’ “He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.” (verses 20) ‘He’s the one who delivers from death.’ “But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.” (verse 21) God is a warrior, God deals.

The Coming Kingdom, Regathering Of Israel, Temple Worship

“The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea; that thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.” (verses 22-23) He says this, “They have seen thy going, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.” (verse 24) He says this, ‘When you realize where God is,’ I pray when you come here, and you know, sometimes during the week we’ll get phone calls or emails from people, you know, saying ‘I was sitting in church on Sunday, studying that verse, it was just like a light went on, I began to, I just wanted you to know, the Lord has set me free, my life is changed, during the worship, when Rob was singing this song, all of a sudden the Holy Spirit just fell on me.’ He’s saying here, look, “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.” young girls were playing timbrels, “Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.” I think we should, I think it’s a great thing to do, “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.” the tribes come together [i.e. the 12 tribes of Israel, of which Judah, the Jews, were only one tribe out of the 12]. “Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.” (verses 24-28) ‘LORD, let this be established, you’re the God of salvation, LORD, what you’ve wrought for us, strengthen it,’ “Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee. Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war.” (verses 25-30) there’s a day coming when it ain’t gonna happen any more. “Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:” (verses 31-32) ‘What do you think about that?’ There’s the call now for all the earth to worship. “Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah: to him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.” (verses 32-33) “to him that rideth upon the heavens” we had looked at that before, but he’s a father to the fatherless, a judge of the widows, he puts the solitary into families. “to him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds [heavens]. O God, thou art terrible [Hebrew awesome, fearful] out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.” (verses 33-35)

In Closing

So, I would say this evening, as the musicians come, as they move forward here, we have some great challenges about the Lord and his goodness, about paying our vows. Look, you know, when we get into a jam and we’re in trouble, we’re saying ‘Oh God, O God, O God, O God, I promise, I promise, I promise, I promise,’ that’s a great time when we come out of that, as we see his faithfulness and his goodness, to really step in line with the things that we said, and the things that he showed us as we were in difficulty. I think here we want God to bless us that way, we want him to fill us, we want his fullness in our lives, we want his face to shine upon us, so that we can share Christ with our lost friends and relatives. How many people around us are on their way to hell, and how often do we sit and think about it, and the real implications of that, and how often does that move us then to open our mouths and speak the truth to a lost world. [comment: there are a few differing beliefs within the Body of Christ about hell and what it is. To read some of these, see http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm] He says ‘LORD, bless us so that your way may be known on the earth, and your salvation among all nations,’ Lord, do that for us. And then he says then, ‘LORD, you’re going to arise, your enemies are going to be scattered, those that hate you are going to be driven away like smoke in the wind, you’re God, we’re going to sing your praises, you’re awesome. But even in your power and all your might,’ like David says earlier, ‘it’s your gentleness that hath made me great. You’re this awesome powerful God that stoops down to be a father to the fatherless, to bring justice to the widows, to take those that are lonely and place them in families, that’s who you are LORD. You’re the one that goes before us, and you have wrought such a great victory on our part, you ascend in majesty and power with all of the angels, and you have taken of the spoil of that battle to give gifts to men, yea, even to the rebellious, so that you might walk among us. We should sing unto him, we should give praise unto him, it should flow forth from our mouths.’ Amen? Amen, let’s stand…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Psalms 66:1-20, Psalm 67:1-7 and Psalm 68:1-35, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]