Psalms 68:7

My Notes

What Does Psalms 68:7 Mean?

"O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah." God MARCHING through the wilderness — the image of the EXODUS retold as a divine MILITARY PARADE. God 'went forth' (yatza — went out, marched out) BEFORE His people (liphnei ammekha — before the face of your people). God is in the VANGUARD — the front of the column, leading the march, going ahead of the people through the wilderness. The divine Commander walks point.

The phrase "thou wentest forth before thy people" (betze'tkha liphnei ammekha — in your going out before the face of your people) makes God the LEADER of the march: not walking alongside, not following behind, but going BEFORE — in front, at the head, leading the way. The people follow where God walks. The path is carved by divine feet before human feet touch it. The wilderness that is unknown to the people is already KNOWN to God who walks it first.

The phrase "thou didst march through the wilderness" (betza'adekha viysimmon — in your marching/striding through the wasteland) uses TZA'AD — to march, to stride, to walk with deliberate, powerful steps. The divine movement through the wilderness is a MARCH — not wandering, not stumbling, but deliberate, purposeful, powerful STRIDING. The wilderness doesn't slow God. God STRIDES through it. The terrain that exhausts humans is MARCHED through by the divine.

The SELAH invites a PAUSE: stop and picture this — God marching at the head of the column, striding through the wasteland, leading His people with deliberate steps through the terrain of exhaustion. The pause is for the image to LAND.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What wilderness is God marching through ahead of you right now?
• 2.What does God going BEFORE (not beside or behind) teach about the vanguard-nature of divine leadership?
• 3.How does God STRIDING through the wilderness (deliberate, powerful) differ from the people's exhausted wandering?
• 4.What SELAH — what pause to picture God leading YOUR march — does your current moment need?

Devotional

God MARCHES at the head of the column. Through the WILDERNESS. Before His PEOPLE. The divine Commander walks point — leading the march, carving the path, striding through terrain that exhausts everyone else. The God who goes BEFORE is the God who faces the wilderness FIRST.

The 'BEFORE thy people' is the vanguard-position: God doesn't direct from the rear. He leads from the FRONT. Whatever the people will face, God has already faced. Whatever the terrain presents, God has already walked it. The path the people follow has DIVINE FOOTPRINTS already in it. The wilderness is pre-walked. The way is pre-marched.

The 'MARCH through the wilderness' is deliberate, not desperate: the verb is TZA'AD — striding, marching, walking with power and purpose. God doesn't WANDER through the wilderness. He STRIDES through it. The wasteland that confuses humans is MARCHED through by God. The terrain that produces wandering in humans produces purposeful striding in the divine. The same wilderness. Different steps.

The SELAH says PAUSE — picture this. The visual matters: the divine march through the wasteland at the head of the people. The image is MILITARY (a commander leading troops) and PASTORAL (a shepherd leading sheep through harsh terrain) simultaneously. The march is both a military advance and a shepherding journey. The wilderness is both a battlefield and a grazing-trail. The God who strides is both Commander and Shepherd.

What wilderness is God marching through AHEAD of you right now — striding where you'll walk next?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture