Psalm 68

This psalm struck me in the way it interjected praise to God in the middle of what essentially seems to be a Psalm glorifying victory in battle.

It dawned on me that this was similar to how we live our everyday lives. The Israelites lived in a time full of battles. It was, in a sense, their way of life.

If I were writing this Psalm, it would be full of references to my life – my battlegrounds would be different. 

Maybe it would go something like this:

God, you help me overcome the difficulties that I struggle with daily.
When I am faced with a hard day, you help me from the moment I awake.
From sunrise to sunset, the wonders of your world remind me of how powerful you are. 
You shatter the obstacles that I am apt to trip over trying to serve the people around me.
You were at my right hand as I struggled with that difficult crown preparation. 
You were with me when I had to prepare the evening meal after a long day at work. 
When there was conflict with my daughter, you helped me keep my tongue under control.

“Praise the Lord; praise God our saviour!
For each day he carries us in his arms.” _{vs. 19}

God is the Lord of our lives.  For the Israelites, this meant that God led them through battles with the pagan tribes around them, to victory.

We may quickly read parts of the Psalms thinking “that doesn’t say much to me” but we all have our own battles, every day, in our ordinary days, where we need to stop and interject our thanks and praise to God.   It is never out of place.  Because God is the God of the world we find ourselves in.

“God is awesome in his sanctuary. 
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!” _vs.33