The God Who Rides and Rescues Text: Psalm 68:4-6
Introduction: A God on the Move
We modern Christians have a tendency to domesticate God. We want a God who fits neatly into our worship services, our quiet times, and our doctrinal statements. We want a safe God, a predictable God, a God who stays put in His holy habitation. But the God of Psalm 68 is not that God. This is a God on the march. This is a warrior God, a triumphant king, a God who rides through the deserts and on the clouds. This psalm is a victory parade, likely composed to celebrate the bringing of the ark of the covenant to Mount Zion. It is loud, it is boisterous, and it is unapologetically masculine.
The psalm begins with the ancient war cry of Israel, "Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered!" This is not the language of polite theological discourse. This is the language of total war. God is not negotiating with His enemies; He is routing them. They flee before Him like smoke driven by the wind, like wax melting before a fire. And in the midst of this triumphant procession, the righteous are called to do something that our neutered generation has almost forgotten how to do. They are called to exult. To rejoice exceedingly. To be glad.
The verses before us are the heart of this call to worship. They tell us who this warrior God is and what He does. He is not some distant, abstract deity. He is not a celestial tyrant who conquers for His own glory alone. This is a God who fights for the weak. He is a God who rides into battle on behalf of the defenseless. His triumph is their triumph. His victory is their vindication. And so, our worship of Him must not be a quiet, internal affair. It must be a robust, vocal, and joyful declaration of who He is and what He has done. This is not just a description of God; it is a summons to praise Him for being this kind of God.
The Text
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.
A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
God causes the lonely to inhabit a home;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
(Psalm 68:4-6 LSB)
The Summons to Exultant Worship (v. 4)
The first verse of our text is a fourfold command to worship, each part building on the last.
"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." (Psalm 68:4)
First, we are to "Sing to God, sing praises to His name." This is the fundamental activity of the righteous. When God scatters His enemies, His people sing. Praise is the appropriate response to deliverance. We are not to be stoic observers of God's work; we are to be active participants in His victory parade. And we sing not to a generic deity, but to His name. The name of God in Scripture represents His character, His reputation, His very being. To praise His name is to declare His specific excellencies.
Second, we are to "Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts." The Hebrew here can be rendered "clouds" or "heavens," but "deserts" or "steppes" fits the historical context of the Exodus. God is the one who led His people through the wilderness. He is not a static idol confined to a temple. He is a dynamic, powerful God who moves with His people. He is the God of the journey, the God of the wilderness, the God who is present in the desolate places. This is a direct polemic against the pagan gods who were tied to specific locations, mountains, or cities. Our God rides over all of it.
Third, we are told "Whose name is Yah." This is a shortened form of Yahweh, the covenant name of God, I AM THAT I AM. It is the name of the self-existent, eternal, and unchanging God. This is not a name to be trifled with. It is the name that is above every name. And yet, it is the name by which He has made Himself known to His people. He is not an anonymous force; He is a personal God with a name, and that name is our strength and our song.
Finally, we are commanded to "exult before Him." This is more than just quiet reverence. The word means to leap for joy, to triumph, to be jubilant. It is the unrestrained celebration of a people who know their God has won the victory. This is what worship should feel like when we grasp the reality of what God has done. It is not somber or morose. It is explosive joy in the presence of our conquering King.
The Defender of the Defenseless (v. 5)
Having been told to praise this mighty God, the psalmist now tells us why. What does this conquering King do with His power? Verse 5 gives us the glorious answer.
"A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation." (Psalm 68:5)
This is a staggering statement. The God who rides on the clouds, whose name is Yah, whose presence causes mountains to quake, this same God concerns Himself with the most vulnerable members of society. He is a "father of the fatherless." In the ancient world, an orphan was utterly destitute, without protection, provision, or status. But God Himself steps into that void. He adopts them. He takes on the role of the father, providing, protecting, and cherishing them. This is the heart of true religion, as James would later tell us (James 1:27).
He is also a "judge for the widows." A widow was similarly vulnerable, often at the mercy of greedy relatives or corrupt officials. A judge, in this context, is not just a neutral arbiter. He is a defender, a vindicator, an advocate. God takes up the case of the widow. He pleads her cause and executes justice on her behalf. Woe to the man who tries to exploit a widow, for he will have to answer to her Judge, the God who rides on the clouds.
And notice where God does this from: "in His holy habitation." From His throne in heaven, from the place of ultimate power and authority, He stoops to care for the lowest and most helpless. His transcendence does not make Him distant; it makes His compassion all the more potent. The fact that He is in His holy habitation means His defense of the fatherless and widow is not a temporary whim; it is an expression of His eternal, holy character. This is who He is.
The Blesser of the Lonely and the Bound (v. 6)
The theme of God's restorative justice continues in verse 6, with two more examples of His grace, followed by a stark warning.
"God causes the lonely to inhabit a home; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land." (Psalm 68:6)
First, "God causes the lonely to inhabit a home." The word for lonely is "solitary." It speaks of isolation, of being cut off from community. God's solution to this is not just a feeling of companionship; it is a concrete reality. He sets them in families. He builds households. This is a fundamental aspect of God's covenantal nature. He is a triune God, a God in eternal fellowship, and He creates fellowship for His people. He takes the isolated individual and makes him part of a family, a community, a church.
Second, "He leads out the prisoners into prosperity." This speaks of liberation. God is the great jail-breaker. He finds those who are bound, whether in literal chains or in the bondage of sin and despair, and He leads them out. But He does not just lead them out into a neutral freedom. He leads them into prosperity, into abundance. This is the story of the Exodus, where Israel was led out of the bondage of Egypt and into the abundance of the Promised Land. It is the story of every believer, led out of the prison of sin and death and into the abundant life of Christ.
But the verse ends with a severe contrast. "Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land." This is the other side of the covenant. For those who receive God's grace, there is family, freedom, and prosperity. For those who rebel against Him, there is desolation. A parched land is a place of curse, of barrenness, of death. The same God who is a father to the fatherless is a consuming fire to His enemies. His grace is a liberating flood, but to reject that grace is to choose the desert. You cannot be neutral toward this God. You either exult before Him and receive His blessings, or you rebel against Him and inherit a parched land.
The Gospel Procession
This entire psalm finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who rode into the desert of this world to confront the enemy. He is the ultimate expression of the name Yahweh, for He could say, "Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58).
Through His death and resurrection, Christ has won the decisive victory. He has ascended on high, leading captivity captive (Eph. 4:8, quoting this very psalm). And now, the victory parade continues as the gospel goes forth into all the world. And what is the nature of this gospel victory?
It is precisely what we see in these verses. Through Christ, God has become a Father to us who were spiritual orphans, alienated from the family of God. He has adopted us as sons and daughters (Gal. 4:5-7). Through Christ, God has become our judge and vindicator. We were spiritually widowed, cut off from our covenant head, but in Christ, we are brought into a new marriage covenant, and He defends our cause against our accuser, the devil.
Through Christ, God takes us who were lonely and isolated in our sin and sets us in a family, the household of God, the church (Eph. 2:19). He takes us who were prisoners of sin and death and leads us out into the glorious freedom and prosperity of the children of God (Rom. 8:21).
The call of the gospel is the call of this psalm. Sing to God! Exult before Him! Why? Because this great conquering King has made you His child. He has brought you into His family. He has set you free. But the warning remains. To rebel against this King, to reject His offer of pardon and adoption, is to choose the parched land. It is to remain an orphan, a widow, a solitary prisoner. Therefore, do not be rebellious. Bow the knee to the Son, exult before Him, and enter into the joyful procession of the redeemed.