Or Psalm 23, in which the Lord is cast as the Shepherd of His people, guiding, guarding, and girding them with the strength of His presence, now and forever.

Psalm 22 by David depicts the suffering of the Messiah, but His ultimate victory over death, while Psalm 72 celebrates Messiah’s Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit over all the earth.

Many of David’s psalms are like this, projecting powerful images and a compelling vision of the Lord in His glory and power. In Psalm 68 that vision of the Lord is directly connected with anticipation of the temple, which is mentioned in several places in the psalm, but which, in David’s day, had not yet been built.

David appears to have intended Psalm 68 as a kind of rallying-cry for the nation, a centerpiece for their worship to help them lock into his vision and plans during the later years of his reign. And in Psalm 68 the focal point of all attention and movement is the vision of God and His glory.

God with His people

This vision becomes clear through several important images and teachings about God. First is the reminder of God’s covenant promise, that He will be with His people to care for and bless them. David portrays God as in the midst of His people, rising to dispel and destroy all their enemies, leading them to rejoice in His presence (vv. 1-3; cf. Ps. 16.11).

God comes to dwell in the midst of His people, selecting a holy mountain as His habitation, recalling His appearing to Israel on Mt. Sinai  (vv. 5, 15, 16). He will dwell with them forever, never failing nor forsaking them and standing always ready to defend them against every threat.

He is with His people to rule over them, having ascended His holy mountain from which He receives and distributes gifts to His people (vv. 17-19; cf. Eph. 4.8). God is the God Who is with His people, in the midst of their daily struggles and the uncertainties of the future. He is the God of blessing and the God of salvation; He is everything Israel needs, and He is with them always, even to the end of the age.

God sovereign

Second, David shows God as sovereign, exalted far above the earth and its kingdoms, ruling from the heavens and directing the clouds, winds, and rain as He pleases (vv. 4, 8, 9).

From His dwelling place in the midst of His people, God rules all the nations of the earth, defeating and dispersing His enemies (vv. 1-3, 12, 14), claiming their lands for Himself (vv. 7-10), and visiting His just judgment against every transgressor (v. 21).\

All the nations of the earth acknowledge the sovereignty of God and bring gifts to honor Him at His temple (v. 29). Indeed, the nations of the world will sing to God as they submit themselves to Him and His mighty, sovereign power (vv. 30-32).

God is for His people

Finally, David celebrates God as the sovereign, “with-us” God Who is absolutely for His people and determined to do them good. He is Father to the fatherless, Defender of widows, the One Who gives homes to the homeless and release to captives (vv. 5, 6). He gives them gifts, blessings, and salvation (vv. 18-20), and He calls them into His presence to celebrate His magnificence in worship (vv. 24-28). He gives strength for His people to do all His bidding (v. 28) and to know Him in His glory in the heavens (v. 33). Over His people Israel, God is strong, excellent, awesome, and powerful.

And this God is the focal point of David’s vision. Everything David would undertake, and call the people to undertake with him, was in obedience to, worship of, and for the proclamation of the name of this God. God – not David or his project – was the driving force for what David accomplished at the end of his reign.

When our visions for the Lord’s Church are firmly grounded in a vision of Christ exalted, advancing His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, then we may expect the people to rally to the work we’ve been given to do.

Next steps

What vision of God comes from the teaching and preaching in your church? Talk with some fellow church members about this question.

Additional Resources

Download this week’s study, Visionary Leadership.

Sign up for ViewPoint Leaders Training and start your own ViewPoint discussion group.

Need vision for a revived church? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, Preparing Your Church for Revival, from our online store.

And men, download our free brief paper, “Men of the Church: A Solemn Warning,” by clicking here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.