Today Our Daily Bread Psalm 68

Psalms 68: 1 - 35
1 For the choir director: A psalm of David. A song. Arise, O God, and scatter your enemies. Let those who hate God run for their lives. 2 Drive them off like smoke blown by the wind. Melt them like wax in fire. Let the wicked perish in the presence of God. 3 But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God's presence. Let them be filled with joy. 4 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! 5 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows – this is God, whose dwelling is holy. 6 God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But for rebels, there is only famine and distress.
7 O God, when you led your people from Egypt, when you marched through the wilderness, Interlude 8 the earth trembled, and the heavens poured rain before you, the God of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. 9 You sent abundant rain, O God, to refresh the weary Promised Land. 10 There your people finally settled, and with a bountiful harvest, O God, you provided for your needy people. 11 The Lord announces victory, and throngs of women shout the happy news. 12 Enemy kings and their armies flee, while the women of Israel divide the plunder. 13 Though they lived among the sheepfolds, now they are covered with silver and gold, as a dove is covered by its wings. 14 The Almighty scattered the enemy kings like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.
15 The majestic mountains of Bashan stretch high into the sky. 16 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? 17 Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots, the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary. 18 When you ascended to the heights, you led a crowd of captives. You received gifts from the people, even from those who rebelled against you. Now the LORD God will live among us here. 19 Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Interlude 20 Our God is a God who saves! The Sovereign LORD rescues us from death. 21 But God will smash the heads of his enemies, crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.
22 The Lord says, "I will bring my enemies down from Bashan; I will bring them up from the depths of the sea. 23 You, my people, will wash your feet in their blood, and even your dogs will get their share!" 24 Your procession has come into view, O God – the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary. 25 Singers are in front, musicians are behind; with them are young women playing tambourines. 26 Praise God, all you people of Israel; praise the LORD, the source of Israel's life. 27 Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way. Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali. 28 Summon your might, O God. Display your power, O God, as you have in the past. 29 The kings of the earth are bringing tribute to your Temple in Jerusalem. 30 Rebuke these enemy nations – these wild animals lurking in the reeds, this herd of bulls among the weaker calves. Humble those who demand tribute from us. F48 Scatter the nations that delight in war. 31 Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals; let Ethiopia F49 bow in submission to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth. Sing praises to the Lord. Interlude 33 Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens, his mighty voice thundering from the sky. 34 Tell everyone about God's power. His majesty shines down on Israel; his strength is mighty in the heavens. 35 God is awesome in his sanctuary. The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!
FOOTNOTES:F48: Or Humble them until they submit, bringing pieces of silver as tribute. F49: Hebrew Cush.
The New Living Translation

~Lena's Journalin'~
Dear God, help me see any rebelness in my life. Help me want it out. It is so against Your spirit, its nature wars against who You are and the establishing of Your spirit in me. When You shine brightly in me, your enemies flee away from me. It’s about filling space, when I’m full of God nothing else fits inside. When God’s spirit is all around me, there’s no room for any other thing to be around me. I’ve got to have Him in me and He’s got to continually be so full in me that He overflows me, pours out of me and surrounds my atmosphere. If I fill my atmosphere with God and His love, how can anything else dwell there? It’s only when I’m not filling it with God and His love that I find enemies coming in and invading my space. If my space is full of God and His love inside and out, then won’t anyone who comes into my space get a taste of God and His love? Once we taste God and His love don’t and won’t they begin to want to know Him more? When they fill their space with Him, then won’t they also cause others to do the same and then… a godly heritage is made, an army is formed, a people are unified, the earth is FILLed with His glory, honor and praise. Yes, Let God arise! I was just thinking of how this psalm began as a prayer and a cal to the need for a warrior in a battle, and ends up an action of praise. I wonder if the writer began to ask for help and God showed Him how to get the help he needed by praising and worshipping God, in that action the enemies do flee, the atmosphere IS filled with God and a difference IS made! ?