Commentary - Psalm 68:4-6

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 68 is a great processional anthem, a victory march. It begins with the ancient call for God to arise and scatter His enemies, the very words spoken when the Ark of the Covenant set out before Israel in the wilderness. The entire psalm carries this triumphant note. God is on the move, and when He moves, His enemies are like smoke in the wind and melting wax before a fire. But in the midst of this glorious, cosmos-shaking victory, the psalmist pauses to tell us the character of this mighty warrior King. Our passage, verses 4-6, is a close-up portrait of the God who wins such victories. He is not a distant, abstract power. He is the one who rides through the deserts, whose name is Yah, and He is a father, a judge, and a home-builder for the most vulnerable. The triumph of God in history is good news specifically for the helpless.

So the structure of our passage is a call to worship (v. 4) grounded in the character of the one we are to worship (vv. 5-6). We are to sing and exult before Him, not simply because He is powerful, but because His power is wielded on behalf of the fatherless, the widows, and the lonely. This is a profound revelation of God's heart. The God of the armies of heaven is the same God who stoops to care for the orphan. His cosmic victory has intensely personal and social implications. The rebellious find themselves in a parched land, but this is by their own choice; for everyone else, the victory of God means prosperity, family, and freedom.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 68 is a mosaic of historical allusions, celebrating God's victorious leadership of Israel from Sinai to Zion. It echoes the Song of Deborah in Judges 5 and looks forward to the gathering of all nations to worship God in Jerusalem. The psalm is filled with martial imagery: God the divine warrior leading His people, scattering kings, and receiving tribute. But it is not a psalm that glorifies war for its own sake. Rather, it glorifies the God who establishes justice and peace through His victory.

The placement of verses 4-6 is therefore crucial. Right after the initial blast of imprecation against God's enemies (vv. 1-3), the psalmist defines the nature of the God who is being praised. This prevents us from misunderstanding the victory. This is not the triumph of a pagan war-god, capricious and cruel. This is the triumph of Yahweh, the covenant God, whose defining characteristic is His tender care for the lowly. This theme runs throughout the Psalter and the entire Bible. God's strength is made perfect in weakness, and He consistently chooses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.

Verse by Verse Commentary

4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts, Whose name is Yah, and exult before Him.

The verse opens with a cascade of commands to worship. Four distinct calls are issued: sing to God, sing praises, lift up a song, and exult. This is not a suggestion for quiet, contemplative reverence, though there is a place for that. This is a summons to loud, joyous, public celebration. The righteous are to be glad and rejoice exceedingly (v. 3), and this is how they are to do it. Worship is the proper response to the presence of a victorious God.

We are to "lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts." The Hebrew here can also be translated "cast up a highway for him." The picture is of preparing the way for a triumphant king returning from battle. He is riding on the clouds, or through the desert plains, the Arabah. This is a picture of His sovereignty over all creation, even the desolate places. The wilderness was a place of testing and judgment for Israel, but it was also the place where God provided for them and led them. He is Lord even there. This rider through the deserts is none other than Jesus Christ, who was tempted in the wilderness and who leads His people through the wilderness of this world to the promised land.

"Whose name is Yah." This is a shortened form of Yahweh, the personal, covenant name of God. It is the name He revealed to Moses at the burning bush, the great "I AM." To praise His name is to praise His character, His very being as the self-existent, faithful God. And we are to "exult before Him." This is a full-bodied joy, a leaping and shouting for gladness in His presence. It is the opposite of the cowering fear His enemies feel. For the believer, the presence of God is the source of ultimate joy.

5 A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

Here is the reason for the exultation. Why is this mighty warrior-king worthy of such praise? Because He is a father to the fatherless. In the ancient world, orphans and widows were the most vulnerable members of society. They had no legal standing, no protector, no provider. To be fatherless was to be utterly exposed. But God Himself steps into that void. He personally takes up the cause of the orphan. Spurgeon said that God is the President of Orphanages, and that is exactly right. This is not a metaphor for God being generally nice. It is a declaration of His fundamental character. He is the ultimate patriarch for all who have no earthly patriarch.

And He is a "judge for the widows." A judge, in this context, is more than a neutral arbiter. He is a defender, a vindicator. He actively seeks out justice for those who are being oppressed. The widow, like the orphan, was easily exploited. God positions Himself as her champion. He hears her case and executes judgment on her behalf. This is a standing warning to all who would think to take advantage of the weak.

This is who God is "in His holy habitation." From His throne in heaven, from the sanctuary in Zion, this is how He governs the world. His holiness is not a detached purity that cannot be bothered with the messy affairs of earth. His holiness is an active, engaged justice that seeks out and defends the helpless. The throne room of the universe is also the ultimate family court and crisis center.

6 God causes the lonely to inhabit a home; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

The theme of God's care for the outcast continues. He takes the "lonely," the solitary individuals, and sets them in families. The Hebrew word is emphatic: He makes them to inhabit a home. This is a beautiful picture of the grace of God. He does not just provide for our needs; He brings us into community. He creates the church, the household of God, where those who were once isolated find brothers and sisters. This is a core part of the gospel. We are adopted into the family of God, no longer spiritual orphans, but sons and daughters with a place at the table.

He "leads out the prisoners into prosperity." This refers literally to Israel's deliverance from bondage in Egypt, but it has a far greater fulfillment in the work of Christ. Sin is the ultimate prison, and all of humanity is in bondage to it. Christ is the great liberator who breaks the chains and leads the captives out. And He does not just lead them out into a neutral space; He leads them into prosperity, into abundance and flourishing. The gospel is not just about subtraction (taking away sin), but also about addition (adding righteousness, life, and joy).

The verse ends with a stark contrast. "Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land." This is not an arbitrary punishment. It is the natural consequence of rebellion against the God who is the source of all life and blessing. The parched land is a land without God. To reject the Father of the fatherless and the liberator of the prisoners is to choose desolation. The rebellious insist on their own solitary confinement, their own self-imposed exile. God gives them what they have chosen. The same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. The presence of God that is life and joy to the righteous is a consuming fire to those who hate Him.

Application

First, our worship should be robust and joyful. The text commands us to sing, praise, lift up a song, and exult. This is not the time for timid, half-hearted religion. We have been saved by a triumphant King. Our singing in church, our prayers at home, our disposition throughout the week should reflect the reality of this great victory. We should be a people marked by a deep and resilient gladness because we know who our God is.

Second, we must have a heart for the vulnerable, because God does. If God defines Himself as a father to the fatherless and a judge for the widows, then His people must be known for the same concerns. This has massive implications for how we think about adoption, foster care, caring for the elderly, and seeking justice for the oppressed. A church that is not actively engaged in defending the defenseless is a church that has forgotten the character of her God. This is not an optional side-project for the "socially-minded;" it is central to biblical faith.

Finally, we must see all of this through the lens of the gospel. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of this psalm. He is the one who rode into the wilderness to defeat our enemy. He is the one who, on the cross, became the ultimate orphan, crying out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" so that we could be brought into God's family. He is the one who was taken captive by death in order to lead captivity captive and set us free. The prosperity He gives is eternal life. The home He builds for the lonely is the New Jerusalem. Therefore, our exultation is not just in a generic deity, but in Yahweh, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.