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Psalms 68

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1 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.

2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

3 But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.

4 Sing unto God, Sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.

5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:

8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.

10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.

11 The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.

12 Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.

13 Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.

14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.

15 The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan.

16 Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.

17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

20 He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death.

21 But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.

22 The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:

23 That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.

24 They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.

25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.

26 Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.

27 There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.

29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.

30 Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war.

31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.

32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O Sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:

33 To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.

34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.

35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

   

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Exploring the Meaning of Psalms 68

За Julian Duckworth

Psalm 68 is one of several psalms in which the literal sense is about the Lord’s involvement in the biblical history of Israel, while the internal sense is that the Lord is always working for each of us, now, for our eternal welfare and fulfilment. In this psalm, this is most apparent in verses 7-12, and again in verses 26 and 27. Overall, the whole psalm is based on what God does -- and will always do -- to bring His blessings to those who live by what is good. It's full of striking imagery, which, as this is the Divine Word, corresponds to, and represents, spiritual things.

This is also a psalm with which Jesus would have deeply identified, since it is about overcoming and driving enemies away, and also about the greatness of the power of God to support and sustain. The whole Scriptures (Old Testament) and especially the Psalms had powerful resonances for Jesus, who would have heard them read from early childhood. (Arcana Caelestia 1461.2)

The psalm begins, “Let God arise!” In so doing this brings fear to the evil and joy to the good. Evil will be like smoke driven away, like wax melting before fire. Here, evil is driven by the fire of self-love and the world. (See Apocalypse Explained 539). With wax, the fire is the Lord’s love, which turns wax into molten liquid since evil cannot stand the presence of the Lord. (See Apocalypse Explained 405.42)

Next, God is described as "He who rides on the clouds by His name Jah". Clouds represent the ultimate truths of the Word in their purpose and application because they turn sunlight into radiant colours up in the skies. (Apocalypse Explained 594) ‘Jah’ is Jehovah, the name of God; this name representatively is the manifestation of God through Divine truth. (See Arcana Caelestia 8267)

Verses 5 and 6 bring out the point that God ‘sets the solitary in families’, for He is father of the fatherless and defender of widows. The spiritual meaning of this being set in families is the kinship between our spiritual understanding and our affections, in which all things show connection to all others. It is the’ marriage of good and truth’ which brings use. Where there is this harmony, there is the Lord. (See Arcana Caelestia 457)

Verses 7 to 10 use the wilderness journey of the Children of Israel to illustrate the goodness of the Lord to the people. ‘Israel’ means our spiritual self, our love of the Lord, even though it had many failings. The Lord creates it, gives birth to it and sustains it, which, here, is meant by ‘a plentiful rain’. (Arcana Caelestia 8416)

Verses 11 to 14 are about our response to the Lord, when He gives us the Word, bringing us living truth. ‘Kings flee’ means our understanding, which is unwilling to receive truth. ‘She who remains at home’ means our affections which receive and use truth. The ‘sheepfold’ or, literally, ‘hearthstones’, spiritually means humbly carrying out what we know is true, bringing heaven to earth. This then is acknowledged to be resplendent with ‘silver wings’ and ‘yellow gold feathers’ and the purity of it in the whiteness of snow. (See Apocalypse Revealed 245 and Apocalypse Explained 283)

Verses 15 and 16 tell us that the mountain of Bashan is the mountain of God, and no other is. God desires to dwell in it for ever. Spiritually, a ‘mountain’ is our sense of the heights of the Lord, which we see and feel are in the good of love and the beauty of truth. (Arcana Caelestia 1292)

‘Bashan’ means ‘fertile soil’, obviously referring to what all of this is able to produce. The ‘chariots of God leading captivity captive’ mean the Word and all the doctrines or teachings of truth which come from it and take us into life. (Arcana Caelestia 3186) This is neatly followed by the idea that ‘to God the Lord belong escapes from death’, since our obedience to the Word brings this deliverance.

Verses 21 to 23 graphically show how evil consumes itself from the head down, from its first principles; but the Lord desires to bring us back, and provides even a morsel – gods having their portion – for this to be provided. (Apocalypse Revealed 238)

Verses 24 to 27 present the ‘procession of God’ with all its entourage of music and maidens. Here are mentioned some of the tribes of Israel, each of which is some aspect of our spiritual life. Spiritually, to ‘process’ is to go more internally into spiritual truth so that they become truly and meaningfully ours in life. (Apocalypse Explained 863)

The rest of this great psalm explores the strengthening of our spiritual life, our submission to God with all that we are, our joy in the Lord, and his greater greatness than we can ever comprehend. (Arcana Caelestia 3938)

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Divine Love and Wisdom #413

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413, 13. Because of the power given it by love, wisdom or discernment can be raised up, can accept things in heaven's light, and can grasp them. I have already and often stated that we can grasp hidden treasures of wisdom when we hear them. This ability of ours is what we call "rationality," and it is ours from creation. This ability to see into things deeply and to form conclusions about what is fair and just, about what is good and true, is what distinguishes us from animals. It is also what I mean by the statement that discernment can be raised up, can accept things in heaven's light, and can grasp them.

We can also see a kind of image of this fact in the lungs, since the lungs correspond to our discernment. Looking at the lungs, we see that their substance comprises little chambers. These consist of the extensions of the bronchia all the way into the tiny sacs where the air is taken in when we breathe. Our thoughts act in unison with them because of their correspondence. It is characteristic of the substance of these little sacs that it has two ways of expanding and contracting, one in unison with the heart and the other almost independent of the heart. Its unison with the heart is because of the pulmonary arteries and veins, which come directly from the heart. Its virtual independence is because of the bronchial arteries and veins, which come from the vena cava and aorta, vessels external to the heart. This happens in the lungs because our discernment can be raised above its own love, which answers to the heart, and accept light from heaven. Even so, when our discernment is raised above its own love it does not leave it completely behind. It takes along some of it, which we can call a desire for knowing and discerning for the sake of promotion, praise, or profit in this world. Some trace of this clings to each love like a coating. This gives the love a superficial glow; but for wise people, there is an actual translucence.

I cite these facts about the lungs to show that our discernment can be raised up and accept and grasp things in heaven's light. There is in fact a complete correspondence. To see from correspondence is to see the lungs reflected in our discernment and our discernment reflected in our lungs, and to find assurance in each at the same time.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.