Psalm 68
According to the inscription, the psalm belongs to David. – “On Shoshannim” indicates a musical instrument on which the psalm can be performed. Some people translate the word shoshannim as “lily,” which defines the type of instrument that resembled this flower in appearance. The psalm was written during persecution from Saul, as indicated by David’s confession of his complete innocence before God (Ps. 69:6, 8), the power of persecution (Ps. 69: 2–4, 13, 16), and their injustice (Ps. 68 :5). The psalm represents a general image of the severity of persecution and was written generally in David’s recollection of this difficult time after it had passed.
Save me, O God, from the disasters that threaten my life (2–3). I was tired of waiting for help; the enemies persecuting me unjustly have become stronger (4–5). Help me, Lord, and thereby encourage all who seek You (6–7). For Your sake I bear reproach and suffering: my brothers have turned away from me, my enemies hate me for zeal for Your house, they laugh and mock me (8-13). Give me quick help, get me out of the deep waters of disaster. Hear me, since You see my reproach and my suffering: they feed me gall and drink vinegar (14-22). May my enemies perish from Your wrath for their cruelty towards me. Punish them for everything they have done (23–29). Then I will praise You for salvation and all those who suffer will rejoice. Let the earth and the seas and everything that lives in them praise His name (30–35)!
Ps.68:2. Save me, O God, for the waters have reached [my] soul.
Ps.68:3. I am mired in a deep swamp, and there is nothing to stand on; I entered the depths of the waters, and their rapid current carries me away.
Ps.68:4. I was exhausted from crying, my throat was dry, my eyes were tired from waiting for [my] God.
“The waters have reached the soul.” Waters mean an abundance of disasters, “to the soul” - life. David's troubles are so numerous that they threaten his life. It was indeed during the time of Saul, who was very unscrupulous in his means and very inventive in his methods of persecuting David, why the latter could never be calm and confident even for one day. - “I am mired in a deep swamp, and there is nothing to stand on” - David is immersed in disasters, as in muddy soil and there is no solid support under his feet; All the time he was persecuted by Saul, David did not have peace of mind and confidence in his safety. “The depth of the waters and the swift current” are images of the power of disaster, capable of destroying the one whom they comprehend, just as a storm at sea consumes its victims without a trace. In the face of such numerous and formidable disasters, David silently appeals to God for help, so that he is exhausted from this prayer, he is tired of looking out whether Divine help is approaching him. The latter expressions indicate a high degree of intensity in prayer to God, which was suggested by the danger of David’s position.
Ps.68:5. Those who hate me without guilt are more than the hairs of my head; my enemies, who persecute me unjustly, have become stronger; what I did not take away, I must give.
David, after the previous figurative and general description of his situation, now moves on to a more specific depiction of it. He points out the abundance of his enemies, who are more numerous than the hairs on his head; they hate him, but undeservedly, innocently (“without guilt” and “unfairly”); David has to answer for what he did not do (“what I did not take away, I must give”). It is known that Saul attributed ambitious plans to him, saw in him a dangerous rival, coveting the throne, which David was not, since his rise among the people, and hence his approach to the throne, was not the result of his ambitious machinations, but the implementation of Divine predestination on him . Jesus Christ was also subjected to similar persecution, Whom the Pharisees presented for trial before Caiaphas and Pilate, as the culprit for the fact that He self-proclaimedly ascribes to Himself sonship from God and seeks to become king over Judea (Matthew 26:63–65, 27:11) , while both belonged to Him by His very nature, so this place of the psalm also has an educational meaning.
Ps.68:6. God! You know my madness, and my sins are not hidden from You.
Ps.68:7. Let not all who trust in You be ashamed in me, O Lord, God of hosts. Let not those who seek You, O God of Israel, be put to shame in me,
Ps.68:8. For for Your sake I bear reproach, and my face is covered with dishonor.
David justifies the urgency and vigilance of his prayer to God by ardently confessing to Him his innocence and the severity of his disasters. After all, You, Lord, know all my behavior and my sins, you know, therefore, how undeserved it is that I endure. Help me so that my death does not confuse those who are close to me and who do not doubt that You can save the righteous. – “For Your sake I bear reproach” – David suffers because of the Lord. The Lord anointed him king over the Jews. Saul pursued him as a seeker for the throne, so David can and should seek help only from God.
Ps.68:9. I have become a stranger to my brothers and a stranger to my mother's sons,
Ps.68:10. for zeal for Your house consumes me, and the slander of those who slander You falls upon me;
“I have become a stranger to my brothers”—David was also shunned by his own family. Saul was suspicious of everyone who entered into relations with David and put obstacles to this in order to deprive him of all support from the outside. And such support could most naturally be provided to David by his family, which, for fear of bringing great disasters upon themselves and David, obviously avoided entering into relations with him. Another reason for David's misfortunes and Saul's persecution of him was the piety of the first and the wickedness of the second. David always enjoyed the favor of the Jewish priests, since they saw how David was “consumed by zeal for the house” of God, they saw in him ardent and sincere piety; neither this psalm nor historical books speak about the manifestations of this piety at this time. Probably, they were expressed in respect for the priestly class, love for worship at the tabernacle, and in the care possible, given his position, for the splendor of the latter. Saul and his associates did not possess the same piety. They relied on their strength and were champions of its brutal use; They laughed at David's piety, and thus they laughed at God. The less faith they had, the more they persecuted and hated David.
This extraordinary piety of David, his “zeal for the house of God” - the tabernacle - was manifested with particular force in his descendant - Christ, who was zealous for the restoration of the holiness of the Jerusalem Temple by expelling the merchants from it (John 2:13-17).
Ps.68:11. and I weep, fasting with my soul, and this is reproached to me;
Ps.68:12. and I put on sackcloth instead of clothing, and I become a byword to them;
Ps.68:13. Those who sit at the gate talk about me, and those who drink wine sing in songs.
The strength and abundance of the disasters suffered by David did not meet with natural, even purely animal compassion and active manifestation of sympathy among the people, but caused mockery of him. When he imposed a special fast on himself or dressed in sackcloth, the usual signs of expression among Jews of the sorrows they were experiencing, they laughed at David. The nobles, the judges (“those sitting at the gates”) and the idle (“those drinking wine”) mocked him. Hostility towards David was widespread.
The entire subsequent content of the psalm (verses 14–35) represents David’s prayer for his salvation.
Ps.68:14. And I with my prayer to You, Lord; in an acceptable time, O God, according to Your great goodness, hear me in the truth of Your salvation;
“In the truth of salvation” - real salvation, that is, not only make it easier for me in my present situation, but give me lasting, true and indestructible salvation from external enemies.
Ps.68:16. Let the rush of the waters not carry me away, let the abyss not swallow me up, and let the abyss not close its mouth over me.
“Let not the abyss close its mouth over me,” do not let me perish in the depths of the calamities of the waters, do not let the surface of the water become flat over me. An object thrown into water cuts it, forming a funnel. As the object is immersed and air is removed from this funnel, the latter narrows and, finally, the surface of the water takes on its previous, even appearance (“closes... its mouth”). The meaning is - don’t let me die without a trace and hopelessly.
Ps.68:18. Hide not Thy face from Thy servant, for I am grieved; hear me soon;
David calls himself a “slave” either in the sense that he is young, inexperienced and needs support from the outside, or in the sense that he is His servant, devoted only to Him, and therefore expects protection only from Him as his master.
Ps.68:19. draw near to my soul, deliver it; for the sake of my enemies save me.
“For the sake of my enemies, save me” - do not let my enemies triumph over me, since this triumph would contribute to the development in them of even greater disbelief towards You, confirming the idea of Your powerlessness to protect your readers.
Ps.68:21. Reproach crushed my heart, and I was exhausted, I waited for compassion, but there was none, I found no comforters.
Ps.68:22. And they gave me gall for food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
“Reproach has broken my heart” - I am surrounded by enemies on all sides and I, not finding sympathy anywhere, could only expect mockery (reproach) and suffering, from which I lost courage.
The attitude of David's enemies is full of malice. As he is tormented by persecution, he needs sympathy, encouragement and active help; instead, he is given “vinegar” when he is thirsty, and “bile” when he is hungry. Bile is a plant with a bitter taste, similar to wormwood; vinegar is a stupefying, sour, acetic drink that has the property of dulling consciousness for a while: David is given something that weakens his strength and makes him even more helpless. This image for characterizing the relationship of David’s enemies to the latter found full, actual implementation in the person of Christ, when they offered him both bile and stool on the cross (Matthew 27:34, 48).
Ps.68:23. Let their table be a snare to them, and their peaceful feast a snare;
Ps.68:24. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and let their loins relax forever;
“Let their table be a snare to them.” By meal one can understand all the external contentment, the wealth of David’s enemies. Let their happiness turn into misfortune, that is, punish them by taking away external goods; since in these external goods they see the value of life and are not shy about the means of acquiring them, then let them be rewarded for this and let their contentment bring punishment upon them.
“Darken your eyes”, “relax your loins” - deprive them of their joyful, happy appearance and bend their back under the weight of disasters.
Ps.68:26. let their habitation be empty, and let there be no dwellers in their tents,
“Let their habitation be empty” - deprive them of external wealth, “let there be no dwellers in their tents” - deprive them of their children.
Ps.68:27. for those whom You have struck, they are still
persecute, and multiply the suffering of those wounded by You.
All this is because they further increase the already difficult situation sent down to David by God with their malicious attitude towards him, as if thereby correcting God in His attitude towards David and as if condemning Him for being partial to his chosen one.
Ps.68:28. Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not enter into Thy righteousness;
To add “iniquity to iniquity” is to impose punishment on them according to the total amount of their sins. - “Let them not enter into Your righteousness” - let them not receive justification from You. David's prayer for such punishment of enemies is a prayer to God for justice, for retribution for enemies according to the actions they have committed.
Ps.68:32. and this will be more pleasing to the Lord than an ox, than a calf with horns and hooves.
The punishment and death of enemies and the salvation of David fills the latter with a grateful feeling, which he will show in composing songs. Such a form of praising God, full of sincere reverence, will be more pleasing to Him than the external sacrifice of a calf, burned with horns and hooves.
Ps.68:33. They'll see this
those who suffer will rejoice. And your heart will revive, you who seek God,
Ps.68:34. for the Lord listens to the poor and does not despise His prisoners.
Ps.68:35. Let the heavens and the earth, the seas and everything that moves in them, praise Him;
Verses 33–35 were written by David, and hence the entire psalm, after the end of the persecution, since here the writer invites the whole world to praise God for His mercies to the righteous, shown by sending help and salvation from disasters.
Ps.68:36. For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, and they will dwell there and inherit it,
Ps.68:37. and the descendants of His servants will be established in it, and those who love His name will dwell in it.
36–37 verses depicting Zion and the Jewish cities destroyed, and the Jews living outside Palestine, which was not the case in the time of David, were added to the psalm, obviously during the captivity, when the Jews prayed to God with the words of this psalm.
5, 10 and 22 tbsp. The psalm is called messianic-educational.
How and when is Psalm 68 read?
The psalm has significance in certain church services. For example, it is often read at the Royal Hours, a special service that is traditionally held at the end of Lent. Its goal is to direct the mercy of the Lord to the leaders of the country and enlighten them about the correct management of the state.
The power of the psalm can withstand natural disasters, especially floods.
At home, the psalm is read exclusively in front of the icon and in the dim light of a candle. His help is invaluable in the fight against mocking superiors who unfairly condemn other people.
Interpretation
Verse 1-4. The verses mention water. For the Jews of the past, water was considered a symbol of danger, as it often caused floods. David uses vivid comparisons to show his weakness in the face of the current situation. According to him, being in water “up to his ears” he cannot breathe, he is suffocating, the wet ground under his feet does not allow him to find solid support. A heart-rending cry, his prayer turned into a ready-made one, directed to God in the name of saving His servant from imminent death.
Verse 5. David continues the story of his obvious enemies. The central character of his story is King Saul. The dangerous ruler seeks to destroy David because he believes that David's thoughts are occupied with the same thing. But the former shepherd is honest before God and claims that he does not seek the death of Saul. It makes no sense for him to take power by force, because the Almighty has already anointed him to the kingdom. Moreover, David’s popularity among the people was given by God, and not by his ambitious aspirations.
Verse 6-13. David admits his sins. Being born in sin, the future king carries within himself that same ancient, original sin, which he cannot get rid of on his own. But the young man is not so sinful that he would be expelled from Jerusalem, his homeland. With this request, he continues to pray to the Lord for descent, kindling the fire of faith in his soul.
Verse 14-19. The future king expresses deep gratitude to the Almighty and hopes that the enemies will be overthrown, not at the request of David, but by the grace of God. Life for the songwriter is not as important as his purpose. Therefore, he asks the Lord for protection not for his own safety, but for the sake of His glory.
Verse 20-22. For David, who was mocked by the atheists, it is important that the Lord sees this and will soon help. If you delve into the details of the song, you can see direct analogies with future events, when Jesus Christ was mocked even at the time of the crucifixion.
Verse 23-29. The author does not tolerate sin and therefore prays to the Lord to free the earth from sinners. God's punishment is inexorable, it strives to bring purification and bless the world.
Verse 30-34. David refuses sacrifices, believing that the fact of sacrificing a lamb to the slaughter is not so important to God than the living and ardent Word that the future king will spread throughout all lands, increasing the glory of the Lord.
Verse 35-36. Salvation has not yet arrived, but the psalmist is already anticipating it and in advance praises the power of the Most High and desires to gain his mercy.
