The Gospel is Published Abroad Text: Psalm 68:11-14
Introduction: A God Who Gives the Word
Psalm 68 is a triumphant, sprawling, and sometimes difficult song of victory. It is a psalm that accompanies the movement of the Ark of the Covenant, a celebration of God's mighty acts in the past and a confident expectation of His victories in the future. It begins with that great battle cry, "Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered." And what we find throughout this psalm is that our God is a warrior God who defends the defenseless, blesses the lonely, and scatters the proud. He is the God who went before His people in the wilderness, and the earth itself shook at His presence. He is a God who does not sit idly by; He acts, He speaks, He saves.
The portion of the psalm before us today is a snapshot of this divine action. It shows us the entire process of a holy war, from the divine command to the celebration of victory. We see the cause, the effect, and the aftermath. We see God's sovereignty, the proclamation of His works, the routing of His enemies, and the glorious results for His people. This is not just an ancient battle hymn for Israel; it is a pattern for the Church in every age. God still gives the word, His enemies still flee, and His people still enjoy the spoils of a victory that He wins for them.
We live in an age that is squeamish about the idea of a warrior God. Our culture prefers a tame God, a therapeutic God, a God who is more of a celestial guidance counselor than the Lord of Hosts. But the God of the Bible is terrible out of His holy places. He wounds the head of His enemies and the hairy scalp of the one who goes on still in his trespasses. And this is our comfort. A God who is not a threat to His enemies is no comfort to His friends. Because God is a holy terror to the wicked, He is a Father to the fatherless and a judge of the widows. His wrath and His mercy are two sides of the same coin. We must not try to pry them apart. As we come to this text, we must see the whole picture: the divine initiative, the human response, and the glorious outcome of God's righteous warfare.
The Text
The Lord gives the word; The women who proclaim the good news are a great host:
“Kings of armies retreat, they retreat, And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!”
If you men lie down among the sheepfolds, You all would be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And its pinions with glistening gold.
When the Almighty dispersed the kings there, It was snowing in Zalmon.
(Psalm 68:11-14 LSB)
The Divine Word and the Great Company (v. 11)
We begin with the source of all victory, the divine initiative.
"The Lord gives the word; The women who proclaim the good news are a great host:" (Psalm 68:11)
Everything starts here. "The Lord gives the word." This is not just any word; it is the word of command, the watchword for battle. It is the word that promises victory. God does not send His people into battle on a whim or with a vague hope of success. He gives them His sure and certain word. This is the foundation of all Christian confidence. We do not fight for victory; we fight from victory. The outcome has been declared from the beginning.
And what is the immediate result of God giving this word? "The women who proclaim the good news are a great host." The word for "company" here is the word for an army, a host. The word for "those that published it" or "proclaim the good news" is a feminine participle. This is a deliberate and beautiful picture. When God gives the word of victory, a great army of women rises up to publish it, to evangelize it. This is not a usurpation of male headship; it is the proper and glorious outworking of it. The men go out to fight, trusting in the word of the Lord, and when the victory is won, the women are the ones who sing of it, who celebrate it, who spread the good news far and wide.
There is a rich biblical tradition of this. When God drowned Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea, it was Miriam who led the women in singing and dancing (Exodus 15:20-21). When David returned from slaying Goliath, the women came out from all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, proclaiming, "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands" (1 Samuel 18:7). Here, the message is that the good news of God's triumph is so great that it requires a mighty host to declare it. The gospel creates its own evangelists. And in a particular way, the joy and celebration of victory find their purest expression in the songs of the women.
The Song of Victory (v. 12)
Verse 12 gives us the content of their song, the news they are proclaiming.
"Kings of armies retreat, they retreat, And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!" (Psalm 68:12 LSB)
The song has two parts. First, the defeat of the enemy: "Kings of armies retreat, they retreat." The Hebrew is emphatic: they flee, they flee! This is not an orderly withdrawal. This is a rout. The proud kings, the mighty generals, the fearsome armies, they are utterly broken and scattered before the God of Israel. When God arises, His enemies cannot stand. They are driven away like smoke.
The second part of the song is the glorious consequence for God's people: "And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!" This is a picture of total victory. The triumph is so complete that not only do the warriors return with plunder, but the spoil is so abundant that even the women who stayed behind, managing the households, get to share in it. The victory blesses everyone. No one is left out of the celebration and the reward. This is a profound gospel principle. The victory was won by Christ alone on the cross, but the spoils of that victory, righteousness, peace, joy, and eternal life, are distributed freely to all of us who, by faith, remain in His household.
The Transformation of the People (v. 13)
Verse 13 is notoriously difficult to translate, but the sense of it is a glorious transformation from lowliness to splendor.
"If you men lie down among the sheepfolds, You all would be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And its pinions with glistening gold." (Psalm 68:13 LSB)
The image of lying down "among the sheepfolds" or, as some translations have it, "among the pots" or "saddlebags," points to a state of humility, rest, and perhaps even contempt. It's a picture of the people of God in their ordinary, humble state, before the battle. They are not mighty warriors in their own right. They are shepherds, potters, common folk. But when God gives the word and grants the victory, these same humble people are transformed.
They become "like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and its pinions with glistening gold." A dove, flashing in the sun, is a stunning sight. This is an image of breathtaking beauty, purity, and wealth. The spoil of the victory is so rich that it adorns the people of God and makes them glorious. This is what God does for His people. He takes us from the dust heap, from between the sheepfolds, and He adorns us with the riches of His grace. He makes us beautiful. This is the story of the Exodus, taking a slave people and making them a kingdom of priests. It is the story of the gospel, taking sinners and making them saints, clothing them in the perfect righteousness of Christ.
The Almighty's Victory (v. 14)
The final verse of our section gives us the ultimate cause of this victory and a final, cryptic image of its effect.
"When the Almighty dispersed the kings there, It was snowing in Zalmon." (Psalm 68:14 LSB)
Notice the name for God here: "the Almighty," Shaddai. This emphasizes His absolute power and sovereignty. It was not the cleverness of Israel's generals or the strength of their soldiers that won the day. It was the Almighty who scattered the kings. He did it. The victory belongs entirely to Him, and so the glory belongs entirely to Him.
And what happens when He does this? "It was snowing in Zalmon." Zalmon means "dark place" or "shady." It was a dark, wooded mountain. The image of snow falling on a dark mountain is an image of radical transformation and purification. The white snow covers the darkness. Some commentators believe this refers to the bones of the defeated armies bleaching in the sun, looking like snow from a distance. Others see it as a literal, miraculous snowfall that accompanied the victory, confusing the enemy. Whatever the precise reference, the theological point is clear: when the Almighty God moves in power, He brings light into darkness, purity into a defiled place, and total transformation. He makes all things new.
Conclusion: The Great Proclamation
So what does this mean for us? The pattern holds. God has given the ultimate Word in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus has met the kings of our armies, sin, death, and the devil, and has routed them completely. He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15). The victory is total and complete.
And now, the Lord has given the word of this victory, the gospel, to His church. And who is to publish it? A great host. We are all, men and women, called to be part of this great company of evangelists, proclaiming the good news. And what is our song? "Kings of armies retreat, they retreat!" Satan is a defeated foe. Sin's power is broken. Death has lost its sting. Our kings have fled. And we who remain in the household of faith now divide the spoil. All the riches of salvation are ours in Christ.
God has found us lying among the sheepfolds, in the filth of our sin and rebellion. And through the gospel, He is transforming us, covering us with the silver of Christ's righteousness and the glistening gold of the Holy Spirit. He is taking the dark places of our hearts and our world and covering them with the purifying snow of His grace. The Almighty has scattered our enemies. Therefore, let us be that great company, that mighty host, and let us publish the good news everywhere.