“Ascribe ye strength unto God” – Part 4

Psa 68:24 They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
Psa 68:25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.
Psa 68:26 Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
Psa 68:27 There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
Psa 68:28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
Psa 68:29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.
Psa 68:30 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.
Psa 68:31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
Psa 68:32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:
Psa 68:33 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.
Psa 68:34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.
Psa 68:35 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.

Psa 68:24 They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.

What a blessing and miracle to confess that we have seen the goings of God; “even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.” That is what happens when we know “at that day” we are in Christ, and Christ is in the Father. That is what it means to be “in the sanctuary” where we are being sanctified together as the body of Christ.

Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
Joh 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Joh 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Our discipleship is witnessed through this unity discussed in the following scriptures and is unfolding for the express purpose of doing this “that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” This unity of spirit is happening not just so the world will believe that the Father has sent Christ but also that the Father has dragged us to the Son and is sending us into the world as he sent Christ to do even greater works than Christ.

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

The greater works as we know now have to do with giving spiritual healing to the ears and eyes of those who Christ has already prayed for “Neither pray I for these alone” and we are simply trusting and waiting on the Lord to unfold these wonderful works through the Church that He alone gives the increase to in the order and time that He has ordained (1Co 3:6, 1Co 15:23).

These greater works that we see today (Mat 13:16) are being expressed in type and shadow in our first verse this evening with these words “They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.“

Psa 68:25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.
Psa 68:26 Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.

“The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after” reminds us that there is an order to this sanctuary where all thing are done decently and in order, and within that order God reveals to us that voice or word of God represented by “the singers went before” which is first or preeminent as Christ the Word is in all things.

1Co 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

That order is in His ministry as well, where we defer to our elders and teachers as instructed in God’s word, being persuaded by the fruit being borne in the life of our teachers that they are being used of God to bring forth living waters for the body of Christ through Christ who supplies all our need.

1Ti 5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
1Ti 5:2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

Mat 12:33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Heb 13:17 Be persuaded by your leaders, and be deferring to them, for they are vigilant for the sake of your souls, as having to render an account, that they may be doing this with joy, and not with groaning, for this is disadvantageous for you.”(CLV)

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

The elect are represented by all that is spoken of in this verse and the players on instruments and the damsels playing timbrels are spoken of to remind us that it takes the many members of Christ’s body to make us a “whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth”.

Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

We are Christ’s instrument given to this world, the elect are that instrument spoken of over and over in the Psalms that is played by the chief musician who is Christ in us fulfilling God’s purpose within us, both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Psa 76:1 To the chief Musician on NeginothH5058, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.

H5058
נגינת   נגינה
negı̂ynâh negı̂ynath
neg-ee-naw’, neg-ee-nath’

From H5059; properly instrumental music; by implication a stringed instrument; by extension a poem set to music; specifically an epigram: – stringed instrument, musick, Neginoth [plural], song.

• instruments, 2

Isa 38:20; Hab 3:19

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Php 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

We bless God because we have those living waters springing forth “from the fountain of Israel”, Jesus Christ, and we rest in the Lord knowing that he is able to manifest what the body of Christ needs and knows what we need before we even ask Him.

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Isa 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Psa 68:27 There is little Benjamin with their ruler , the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

This next verse carries on with the same theme of order, and as we learn to ascribe strength unto God we will be able to see and be convinced of that order more and more and where it is that he is making His strenght perfect.

God uses “little Benjamin with their ruler” and “the princes of Judah and their council” and ” the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali” to reveal something to us about the order in which He is workingHis great work for all of humanity according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11).

Benjamin is a type of the elect being the youngest brother of the twelve and is called “The beloved of the Lord” in (Deu 33:12, Gen 43:29).

Princes come out of ZebulunH2074 and NaphtaliH5321 and are princes by the grace of God, signifying in type and shadow that we are given our inheritance in Christ, our ‘habitation’ which we are gaining dominion over within and through Christ as we ‘wrestle’ through the night with our Lord.

H2074
זבוּלן   זבלוּן   זבוּלוּן
zebûlûn zebûlûn zebûlûn
zeb-oo-loon’, zeb-oo-loon’, zeb-oo-loon’From H2082; habitation; Zebulon, a son of Jacob; also his territory and tribe: – Zebulun.

H5321
נפתּלי
naphtâlı̂y
naf-taw-lee’

From H6617; my wrestling; Naphtali, a son of Jacob, with the tribe descended from him, and its territory: – Naphtali.

Deu 33:12 And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.

Gen 43:29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.

“The princes of Judah and their council” are a shadow of the elect of God who are used to bring forth His counsel which is all being accomplished according to His will (Eph 1:11).

As these verses below demonstrate, Judah and Benjamin witness (2) to the elect body of Christ who are being fashioned and formed in advance of the rest of the world and are spoken of in scripture as being blessed with that extra portion. None of these types and shadows will make sense unless we are given to believe that he is not a Jew which is one outwardly.

Gen 43:34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Psa 68:28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
Psa 68:29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.

With the foundational order in the temple of God that God is fashioning or has “wrought for us”, we hear another way of saying “Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God”.

Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Because God is doing this foundational work today in the elect in Jerusalem, which is above where we are raised in heavenly places, it is laying the way for all nations to come and learn what true worship is, where kings will bring presents unto God, which ‘presents’ represent the spiritual life of worshipping God in “spirit and in truth”.

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Psa 68:30 Rebuke the company of spearmen [see Rotherham version], 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.

God will continue to use the body of Christ throughout the millenium to condition the earth to one day receive the living waters of God’s spirit and so we read the underlined process of how rebuking:

• the company of spearmen [“the wild beasts of the reeds”-Rotherham = Egypt]
• the multitude of bulls [bulls of Bashan Psa 22], and
• the calves of the people [golden calf Exo 32:35]

…leads to ‘submit himself with pieces of silver’:

“till every one submit himself with pieces of silver:”

This verse is speaking to the truth that all men will be saved as God leads us unto repentance represented by “pieces of silver” (1Co 15:22). In order for this to happen the “people that delight in war” must be “scattered” which is spoken of in the very first verse of this Psalm and in the book of Numbers (Psa 68:1, Num 10:35).

Psa 68:31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
Psa 68:32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:
Psa 68:33 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.
Psa 68:34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.

We are that voice of God that is being sent out, we are those princes that “come out of Egypt” and “Ethiopia” who stretch forth our hands unto God. We are praising God now for we can clearly see by His grace and faith given that God’s “excellency is over Israel” and “his strength is in the clouds”.

Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

Princes come out of a place where they were held captive and the captivity of Egypt and Ethiopia is spoken of in Ezekiel 16. We understand that spiritually we are all first Sodom and Egypt, and we must live by every word of God and go by the way of Samaria, which represents our Gentile hearts as does Ethiopia which we must come out of by growing and maturing and progressing through.

Eze 16:53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:

Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Joh 4:4 And he must needs go through Samaria.

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

God rides upon”the heavens of heavens” and is sovereign over all His creation that is being brought unto perfection by working in the heavens of all men whose heavens are found to have both light and darkness.

[For more detail, see the article on the three heavens: What Are The Three Heavens?]

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Psa 68:35 O God, thou art terrible(H3372) out of thy holy places(H4720): the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

This last verse which will conclude our study speaks of yaw-ray’ or the reverence that God is going to bring to everyman to have on earth, using his elect, “thy holy places” (1Co 6:19). There is an ‘is, was and will be’ application to these verses, and our focus on this particular verse is how God will give “strength and power unto his people” which will come forth from “thy holy places” which is where “the God of Israel” is giving His strength and making His power known and perfected within His people! “Blessed be God“.

H3372
ירא
yârê’
yaw-ray’A primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten: – affright, be (make) afraid, dread (-ful), (put in) fear (-ful, -fully, -ing). (be had in) reverence (-end), X see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).

Psa 102:15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
Psa 102:16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Deu 2:25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
Gen 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
Gen 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

With God’s blessing upon Noah, who is a type of the elect, we see in shadow and type what God is going to do and is doing in earnest today through the church; and because it is His blessing and His decree that says these things will be so we ought to always “Ascribe ye strength unto God: [as] his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.“