Psalm 68

C.M. D

1Let God arise, and scattered let His e-ne-mies all be;
And let the foes that hate Him all before His presence flee.
2As smoke is blown away by wind, may You blow them away;
As fire melts wax, let wicked ones so perish and decay.

3But may the righteous ones be glad: let them before God’s sight
be joyful; yes, let them rejoice in Him with all their might.
4Sing praise to God, to His name sing; extol Him with your voice,
Who rides on clouds—His name’s the Lord—before Him now rejoice.

5A father to the fatherless is God who sees their face;
Defender of the widow is God in His holy place.
6God sets the lonely in fam’lies, frees pris’ners with His hand,
They sing; but the rebellious ones live in a sun-scorched land.

7O God, when You went out before Your people in great might;
And when through desert wilderness, You marched them day and night,Selah
8The earth did shake, the sky broke forth and rain from heaven fell,
Before the One of Sinai—God, the God of Israel.

9You gave abundant showers, God, Your people did sustain;
You bless’d Your tired inheritance, and sent refreshing rain.
10Your people settled in the land, and from Your bounty, Lord,
You filled Your people in their need, provided for the poor.

11The Lord Himself announced the word, and many spoke it forth:
12“Great kings and armies flee in haste, and you divide the spoils.
13E’en while you sleep among the sheep, beside the fires by night;
You’re covered like a dove’s fair wings with gold and silver bright.”

14When God Almighty scattered kings, it was like Zalmon’s snow.
15The hills of Bashan are so great, majestic in their show.
16Why gaze in envy, mountains high, at the great mountain where
God chose to reign? The Lord Himself will dwell forever there.

17God’s char-i-ots ten thousand are, and many thousand more;
The Lord has come from Sinai to His sanctuary sure.
18When You ascended up on high, majestic there to reign,
You led forth captives—led a host of captives in Your train.

And You received such gifts from men, e’en from those who rebel;
That You, O Lord God, even there, in their midst You might dwell.
19Bless’d be the Lord, and praise to Him, who is our Savior sure,
Who daily bears our burdens and does save us evermore.Selah

20For our God is a God who saves; our lives are in His hand.
And from the Sovereign Lord does come escape from death’s strong band.
21But surely God will crush the head of those who are His foes—
The hairy crowns of those in whom great sin persists and grows.

22The Lord says, “I will bring them forth from Bashan unto Me,
And I will bring them from the depths of e’en the farthest sea.
23That in the blood of all your foes, your feet may be washed there;
And your dogs’ tongues will lick their blood—they, too, will have their share.”

24Your great procession is in view, O God of majesty—
Procession of my God and King to the sanc-tu-ar-y.
25In front are singers, after them musicians are arrayed;
With them are maidens who upon the tambourines do play.

26Within the congregation great, praise God with one accord;
All Isr’el’s vast assembly praise and bless the mighty Lord.
27The little tribe of Benjamin is leading them along,
Then Judah’s princes, Zebulun, and Naphtali’s great throng.

28Call forth Your power, God, show strength, as You have done before;
29To Your house at Jerusalem, kings will bring gifts, O Lord.
30Rebuke the beast among the reeds, the herd of bulls among
the calves of all the nations where Your glories have been sung.

Then, humbled, may they bring to You rich bars of silver ore;
Lord, scatter all the nations who delight in waging war.
31Then envoys and great kings will come from out of Egypt’s land;
Cush, too, will then submit to God, to Him stretch out her hand.

32Sing praise to God, O kingdoms of the earth from all around;
Sing praises to the Lord our God, raise up a mighty sound! Selah
33To Him who rides the skies above, which He of old did found,
Who thunders with a mighty voice—a mighty thund’rous sound.

34Proclaim the pow-er of our God, whose majesty on high
is over all of Is-ra-el; whose pow’r is o’er the sky.
35You are most awesome, mighty God, in Your sanc-tu-ar-y;
The God of Is-ra-el gives pow’r and strength—to Him praise be!