God Shall Scatter His Enemies
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 LET God, the God of battle, rise,
And scatter his presumptuous foes;
Let shameful rout their host surprise,
Who spitefully his powâr oppose.
2 As smoke in tempestâs rage is lost,
Or wax into the furnace cast,
So let their sacrilegious host
Before his wrathful presence waste.
3 But let the servants of his will
His favourâs gentle beams enjoy;
Their upright hearts let gladness fill,
And cheerful songs their tongues employ.
4 To him your voice in anthems raise,
Jehovahâs awful name he bears;
In him rejoice, extol his praise,
Who rides upon high rolling spheres.
5 Him, from his empire of the skies,
To this low world compassion draws,
The orphanâs claim to patronize,
And judge the injurâd widowâs cause.
6 âTis God, who from a foreign soil
Restores poor exiles to their home,
Makes captives free, and fruitless toil
Their proud oppressorsâ righteous doom.
7 âTwas so of old, when thou didst lead
In person, Lord, our armies forth,
Strange terrors through the desertspread,
Convulsions shook thâastonishâd earth.
8 The breaking clouds did rain distil,
And heavânâs high arches shook with ear;
How then should Sinaiâs humble hill
Of Israelâs God the presence bear?
9 Thy hand, at famishâd earthâs complaint,
Relievâd her from celestial stores;
And, when thy heritage was faint,
Asswagâd the drought with plenteous showârs.
10 Where savages had rangâd before,
At ease thou madâst our tribes reside;
And in the desert for the poor
Thy genârous bounty didst provide.
11 Thou gavâst the word, we sallied forth,
And in that powârful word oâercame;
While virgin troops, with songs of mirth,
In state our conquest did proclaim.
12 Vast armies, by such genârals led,
As yet had neâer receivâd a foil,
Forsook their camp with sudden dread,
And to our women left the spoil.
13 Though Egyptâs drudges you have been,
Your armyâswings shall shine as bright
As doves, in golden sunshine seen,
Or silverâd oâer with paler light.
14 âTwas so, when Godâs Almighty hand
Oâer scatterâd kings the conquest won;
Our troops, drawn up on Jordanâs strand,
High Salmonâs glittârings now outshone.
15 From thence to Jordanâs farther coast,
And Bashanâs hill we did advance;
No more her height shall Bashan boast,
But that sheâs Godâs inheritance.
16 But wherefore (thoâ the honourâs great)
Should this, O mountains, swell your pride?
For Sion is his chosen seat,
Where he for ever will reside.
17 His chariots numberless, his powârs
Are heavânly hosts that wait his will;
His presence now fills Sionâs towârs,
As once it honourâd Sinaiâs hill.
18 Ascending high in triumph thou
Captivity hast captive led,
And on thy people didst bestow
The spoil of armies, once their dread.
Eâen rebels shall partake thy grace,
And humble proselytes repair
To worship at thy dwelling-place,
And all the world pay homage there.
19 For benefits each day bestowâd,
Be daily his great Name adorâd;
20 Who is our Saviour and our God,
Of life and death the sovâreign Lord.
21 But justice for his hardenâd foes
Proportionâd vengeance hath decreed,
To wound the hoary head of those
Who in presumptuous crimes proceed.
22 The Lord hath thus in thunder spoke:
As I subduâd proud Bashanâs king,
Once more Iâll break my peopleâs yoke,
And from the deep my servants bring.
23 Their feet shall with a crimson flood
Of slaughterâd foes be coverâd oâer;
Nor earth receive such impious blood,
But leave for dogs thâ unhallowâd gore.
24 When marching to thy blest abode,
The wondâring multitude surveyâd
The pompous state of thee, our God,
In robes of majesty arrayâd.
25 Sweet-singing Levites led the van,
Loud instruments brought up the rear;
Between both troops a virgin train
With voice and timbrel charmâd the ear.
26 This was the burden of their song:
In full assemblies bless the Lord;
All, who to Israelâs tribes belong,
The God of Israelâs praise record.
27 Nor little Benjamin alone
From neighbâring bounds did there attend,
Nor only Judahâs nearer throne
Her counsellors in state did send;
But Zebulonâs remoter seat,
And Naphtaliâs more distant coast,
(The grand procession to complete,)
Sent up their tribes, a princely host.
28 Thus God to strength and union brought
Our tribes, at strife till that blest hour;
This work which thou, O God, hast wrought,
Confirm with fresh recruits of powâr.
29 To visit Salem, Lord, descend,
And Sion thy terrestrial throne;
Where kings with presents shall attend,
And thee with offerâd crowns atone.
30 Break down the spearmenâs ranks, who threat
Like pamperâd herds of savage might;
Their silver-armourâd chiefs defeat,
Who in destructive war delight.
31 Egypt shall then to God stretch forth
Her hands, and Afric homage bring;
32 The scatterâd kingdoms of the earth
Their common Sovâreignâs praises sing:
33 Who, mounted on the loftiest sphere
Of ancient heavân, sublimely rides;
From whence his dreadful voice we hear,
Like that of warring winds and tides.
34 Ascribe ye powâr to God most high,
Of humble Israel he takes care;
Whose strength from out the dusky sky
Darts shining terrors through the air.
35 How dreadful are the sacred courts,
Where God has fixâd his earthly throne!
His strength his feeble saints supports;
To God give praise, and him alone.
â Psalm 68 | Metrical Psalms and Scripture Selections 1696 (MP1696)
Metrical Psalms and Scripture Selections 1696 (Brady & Tate) British & Foreign Bible Society.
Cross References: Genesis 28:17; Genesis 49:14; Exodus 6:3; Exodus 13:21; Exodus 15:17; Exodus 15:20; Exodus 18:10; Exodus 22:23; Leviticus 26:4; Numbers 10:35; Numbers 21:33; Deuteronomy 10:14; Deuteronomy 33:2; Joshua 10:10; Joshua 10:16; Judges 5:5; Judges 5:18; Judges 5:31; 1 Kings 10:10; 1 Kings 21:9; 1 Chronicles 15:6; Psalm 29:11; Psalm 32:11; Psalm 36:6; Psalm 65:9; Psalm 102:22; Psalm 110:6; Psalm 119:21; Isaiah 17:10; Isaiah 38:20; Isaiah 48:1; Amos 8:7; Acts 8:27; Acts 12:7; Ephesians 4:8
Psalms 68 - Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
